A Thank You Letter

Thank you Wien, Österreich for an amazing 4 months.  Thank you for allowing me to learn your rich history and experience your beautiful culture.  Saying goodbye was harder than I thought it would be.  There were a lot of tears on the  last day in Vienna.  The city's appreciation for Classical Music and love for Mozart is perfection.  And the city's love for the Christmas Holiday is divine. (These people go ham for christmas decorations all around the city & Christmas Markets)  I will miss this city so so much.  As much as I didn't want to leave, I was jsut as excited to go back home for the Holidays.  When I arrived at LAX, I accidently bumped into the woman infront of me and I response was, "Entschuldigen!" and when someone helped me with my luggage, "Danke."  I guess,  that was inevitable.  Of course, when I come home to the States I use German more than I did in Austria.  I will miss the city and going to see an opera as a leisure activity but let's be real, there's no place like home (for the holidays).  

Things I will not miss from Vienna:
PAYING FOR WATER 
PAYING FOR PUBLIC RESTROOM
Rude people you run into
People who try to sell you tickets outside of the staatsoper 24/7 (just run away from them)

Things I WILL miss from Vienna:
Public Transporrtation
Clean water out of the faucet 
Cheap tickets to opera/Vienna Philharmonic
CHRISTMAS MARKETS!
And its appreciation for Classical Music 


But more importantly, I wanted to dedicate this blog entry to those who made this study abroad semester the experience of a lifetime.  I came to study abroad with high expectaitons and in an instant, it felt like they were all falling apart.  Whether it was doubting the music program, the homesickness, or even the culture shock, I felt like I made a wrong choice coming to Vienna.  Sure, I felt a thrill when it was time to travel for the weekend to France or Switzerland but when I came back, I fell into a routine again.  

Now with only a week left of this semester, I now know that it was the consistent love & support from my peers that made this semester so so special.  Traveling around the world to see arguably the most iconic monuments in the world turned out to be the least exciting part of my story to tell.  Turns out, the friendships and new relationships were the peak of my study abroad experience.  

A huge thank you to my pianist for engaging in making music with me along with the long life advice sessions. A huge thank you to my trio, for a semester full of great music that lead to a greater understanding of each other and of ourselves.  And lastly, a huge thank you to the girls I live with, thank you for dealing with my mood swings and for the late night emotional talks.