Expectations & feelings & excitement & nerves & Austria

I MADE IT. I survived delayed and missed flights, sweating through my clothes because I brought so many dang carry-on bags, not peeing for like 18 hours (I have no idea why I did that - there were plenty of opportunities to go to the bathroom), & customs (which was surprisingly easy - thank you, Austria!). I am currently chilling in my cute little hotel room by the Vienna airport, trying to prepare myself for tomorrow - the first day of my IES Abroad Vienna Program.

IES stands for the Institute for the International Education of Students, & even though I haven't even started the program yet I already adore this organization. I researched different programs for probably a combined total of 8 full days of my life and chose IES Vienna for a few reasons:

#1 Academics

The academics actually seem to be vital to this program, which is really important to me. And that isn't just offering the classes I need to graduate, but offering really interesting & engaging classes & experiences that take advantage of what Vienna & really all of Eastern Europe have to offer. People don't believe me when I say I really am excited to do the "study" part of study abroad, but GUYS MY CLASSES ARE SO COOL I CAN'T FREAKIN WAIT.

#2 Culture

Although this doesn't particularly have to do with IES as a program, my Grandma on my Mom's side is from Austria. She grew up in a little town called Obersdorf that I'm not kidding you is so small it isn't even on Google Maps. Some of her family members still live there, including my Great Aunt Hermine (whose name is basically Hermione & how cool is that??!?) who knits these awesome mittens & sends us some pairs every few years. Last year, I decided to dissect the pattern & make some myself because they are so dang awesome:

Mom modeling the pair of Hermine's mitts that I made for her last year for Christmas.

Hermine is one of the reasons I wanted to start knitting in the first place, & I would love to get the chance to meet her. Hopefully I can learn some German first so we don't just sit around & eat cake & knit. Although that really doesn't sound too awful... but the main point is: I've always felt really connected to this part of my family & I want to fully immerse myself in the culture that I already love so much.

Looking forward

I have a lot of feelings about these next few months - mainly feelings of excitement & determination to explore & learn & grow, but also a whole lot of homesickness. I've been planning on studying abroad for basically my entire life, so I expected pretty much nothing but excitement as it got closer to my departure date. Buuuut I got a reality check as soon as I started saying goodbye to friends & family.

It almost didn't feel real that I was leaving until I talked to my Mom on the phone for the last time before I boarded my flight or until I couldn't look back at Grayson/Rachel/Jaclyn (who all drove me to the airport - you guys are the best!) while I went through security because I knew I was going to cry & that would have been super embarrassing (I cried anyway. People avoided eye contact. Oh well).

I didn't expect the sadness of leaving to hit me so hard before I fully experienced the excitement of going, but that's okay. I know that this semester will mostly be filled with things that I don't expect & I'm learning to embrace that. There will be ups & downs, but I think them best thing I can do is remember perspective - because I AM IN AUSTRIA, PEOPLE. AND IT IS BEAUTIFUL. How could I be anything but excited about all of this?!

Tomorrow, I head to Mariazell - a small town in the Styrian Province of Austria that's situated among the Austrian Alps - for a 3 day Orientation (casual, right?). I looked up this photo on Google & I already want to go live there, but I'm expecting maybe just a little more snow this time of year.

Mariazell, Austria (Thank you to Google for the photo. I will post more of my own once I actually get there - hopefully it lives up to this beautifulness.)

I'm going to try to update this blog as least once a week with all of my adventures & mishaps, and I promise to have a lot more photos once I actually leave the area around the airport. I'm trying to get together a short list of places I want to visit, so please - if anyone has any suggestions, let me know! I'll be communicating via iMessage, WhatsApp, email, or social media.

Auf Wiedersehen! I'm off to try to conquer jet lag & get some rest. I'll be in touch!