Intern International

   Crocuses and Snowdrops are beginning to bloom in the mulchy beds where last summer's flowers were, which means spring is not too far away. The appearance of the winter flowers seems to have tricked the sun into coming out a bit more than usual lately and I've used this time to steal a few of its sweet rays. I enjoy walking down to the nearby castle. Its quaint spires reflect on the green pond, casting a dancing image over the swans and coots that live on the bank. If you walk around to the other side, the castle courtyard opens into a lawn that's emerald even in winter. It is bordered on one end by a stone chapel and is home to an old grove of trees, which let the yellow sunshine through in liquid shafts. In summer, the banks of the pond are overgrown with ivy. Snails and frogs live under their shady leaves and birdhouses and suet attract nuthatches, Eurasian robins, and tits.     A low stone wall keeps the rising river waters from flooding the lawn, and if y...

    After realizing I am down for pretty much any outdoor adventure, Kendra invited me to go on a 12-mile snowshoeing trip. I promptly said yes. Touring the cities in Europe has been a thrilling experience, but the more I do so, the more I feel like I'm missing something pivotal. The longer I have thought about it, the more I've realized it's the outdoors. I have the keen sensation that I'm not really seeing the countries I visit, not in their entirety. So, I've been trying to think of more ways to get outside and see the countries from other perspectives. After talking it over, I might be going on a hut-to-hut trip through the Dolomites with Kendra and we also want to make plans to backpack in Norway this summer. We'll see what happens, but at least I had this little adventure to look forward to.    Kendra invited me and one other friend; Jose. Jose is a volunteer from Panama and a good friend to both of us. The plan was to meet up with another friend who lives...

    We all know the real reason I came to Austria was to travel. Learning German was just a good excuse to come. Regardless, learning the language still affects my GPA so I try my best. So how is it going? Honestly... I'm not really sure. Last year I had to study Koine Greek for my major and I absolutely loved it. It was my favorite class and I loved translating passages into English. I loved it so much that I kept it up all summer. And I'll admit, the language came quite naturally to me. So I assumed learning German would be a similar situation.    I was wrong. Currently, there's really nothing about the German language I enjoy. Greek was a very orderly and logical language, German is not. None of the rules seem to follow any patterns and concepts. For example, the Dative and Accusative Cases, which made perfect sense in Greek, make no sense in German. I really think a lot of it has to do with the way we are being taught. We follow this textbook that doesn't actuall...

   I should be sleeping right now, but I've been thinking about it and I realized I've never talked about my school experience here in Bogi. For all you guys know, I might not be going to class at all. I also realized that I have never talked about my experience living and traveling in Europe from a practical and financial perspective. So I want to talk about them both, starting with traveling. :)     For context, 1 euro is worth about 1.75 dollars. So everything is just a bit more expensive in Europe.     Well, obviously I've been traveling a lot. It seems like I'm in a new country every month. So the question is, how has it not broken my bank? Traveling in Europe is actually pretty cheap. Since I came here with the intent of seeing and doing as much as possible, I'm willing to drop money on new opportunities and experiences, but that doesn't mean I don't like to be thrifty. But it's not hard. A huge blessing is that quite a few of my trips hav...

    One of the perks of being an international student is that trips and outings come included with my school. The trip I was most looking forward to when I signed up for this whole adventure was a week of skiing. I brought an extra suitcase just for my ski gear.     One of my favorite things about myself is that I have two very distinct parts of my personality. The one most people tend to know me for is the really nerdy, studious, bookish, artsy girl who likes to dress in interesting clothes and collect pretty books about ancient Greece. The other girl, less known, is the one who likes to dive for frogs in muddy ponds, catch five feet of air on the piste, jump off cliffs into lakes, and climb mountains. What I love most about these two pieces of myself, is that although they seem contradictory, they work quite well together and are equally important to who I am. Those who truly know me, know this. However, now that I'm in an academic environment, most of my fri...

    The start of the semester has not been the best for me. I already talked about the struggles I had the first week. The second week also started with a great deal of stress because I have an online class that I'm taking with one of my professors back at Southern and I had to double up on my work so that I would be ready for a ski trip the following week. Then, on Tuesday, I received some very devastating news.     My kitty, Darth Vader, was very sick and we had to put him down. Saying goodbye to him was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Darth has been with our family since 2007 and I can't remember a day of my life without him there. He was one of my first friends and a constant companion. He never scratched or bit, and he always wanted to be near us kids even though we were not always the gentlest.    Perhaps it may sound strange that I am talking so personally about a cat, and maybe I sound silly to be this heartbroken, but I really c...