view from castle ruins on the top of a mountain we climbed. The castle was one where King Richard the Lionhearted was thrown in prison by somebody of the way home from the Crusades. Mom, as a tribute to you and your teaching skills, I remembered EXACTLY who Richard the Lionhearted was, even before they told us that he went on the Crusades.
view from the Melk monestary...myself, and two foreign exchange girls who are also at the Kartause with the Franciscan students (Pona, left, and Daria, right)
my friend/roomate/household sister Bri
Monastary at Melk, a small town not far from Gaming
I love the way every step of my life feels like a rhythm. Places and people flow in and out, and time passes without permission from me. No sooner have I convinced myself that I couldn't possibly be more comfortable and content in the place that I am...then it changes and I find myself somewhere new, and happy. So happy. Don't get me wrong, my life is no bowl of oranges, but I have realized that while I miss my sister's when I leave their homes, when I say goodbye to a friend for a couple months, or when I think that nothing will be the same, it is, and I'm ok. It's the way life goes. I love realizing the balance of missing the people you're not with, while appreciating the place that you are.
Especially when the place where you are is...I don't know, EUROPE???? That's right, I'm in Gaming, Austria for the semester. On my plane ride from Buffalo to Chicago, I sat next to the Philipino couple, late 60's, and that dear woman talked my ear off. Half the time I didn't even need to put in any input, she just talked. Some of it I couldn't understand, but I DID learn that she doesn't like too many things on her pizza, her 3 kids like to travel, and "plane rides go fast when you talk, no?". I sat in a dirty airport for 8 hours without internet or a phone or companionship, and was almost glad to get on the plane from Chicago to Warsaw. I sat next to this girl going to study in Florence, Italy, and she was my age and from LA! I was so happy about my luck! She was really sweet, and by the end of the 9hr flight we were best buds. In Warsaw, Poland, I paid 6 euro for a cup of coffee that was half the size of a small in the US.....however, it was delicious. The plane ride from Warsaw to Poland was short and bumpy, and I thought our teeny, tiny, neon plane was going to break at the seams.
The Vienna airport was a joy to behold, and we were only a baggage claim away from freedom from airports. Myself and the other Franciscan students waited for an hour, and by the time our flight number disapeared from the baggage claim...we each had one piece of luggage. I looked around for the lost and found office, and booked it for the nice lady in red. Another hour passed as we reported our luggage missing and they promised to send it to the Kartause the next day. I don't remember the bus ride from Vienna to Gaming, except that I dreamed about a shower. When we got here, we had just enough time to make mass, and then I FINALLY got a shower.
I am in love with Austria. I've been here 3 days, and I can't get enough at just LOOKING. All I want to do is stare until I can finally believe I am here. You turn around, and BOOM, a mountain that looks close enough to touch. Accents so thick I just want to listen to the people here talk, it sounds so cool. It's amazing to me how fast I have adjusted...how fast this feels like home. It's not home, of course, but I don't feel like a traveler in a strange place. But, of course, I am.
your there!!!!! and already posting beautiful pictures! Seriously, you look like you've already been there at least two weeks, not 3 days. You do adjust quickly, which is a wonderful quality. You just look SO natural in the pictures...I can't describe it. You better high tail your behind back to the states sooner or later and not elope with all of Europe just cuz it suits you well or something like that :) Thanks for making me smile and laugh out loud. I love you!
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