SOOOO CLOSE....

This weekend marks the point in which I feel that I am actually about to leave. We had a JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) fundraiser at our house yesterday for the annual diabetes walk and I got to see so many people that I haven't seen in so long. (Side note: If you haven't heard of JDRF, you should look into it, because it is a very good organization that supports diabetics like me...) Anyways, seeing all of these people triggered a lot of questions about school and how this semester is going so far. To several people's surprise, I got to say that it is about to be great since I will be living in Vienna! A lot of people asked me when I was leaving and I was able to say next week! How crazy does that sound?!? I am beyond thrilled and so thankful that this trip is about to be a reality! 

Last week we started our orientation process. We have had class all day everyday this past week and it will continue this week and then we will depart on our journey the next week! While we have been having class, I am still living at home. It is very strange to always be commuting back and forth and has made me grateful that I am not a permanent commuter. I would not want to do it because of the parking situation at Lipscomb. It is so terrible and if you don't give yourself enough time to find a parking space, you will not make it to class or wherever you are going. Anyways, since we have been having orientation, one of my friends that is also going on the trip is staying with us and that has been so much fun. Dara just loves her and she has been able to help our family with everything that has gone on this past week. She will be my roommate while we are there, so it has been nice to see how we will work living together! 

During our orientation, we have started to learn some German and have started some of our other classes. I think that this will be a wonderful semester, maybe one of the bests... We have also started to think about where we will want to travel and things that we want to do while we are in Europe. One day this week, we traveled by train (who knew Nashville had a commuter train?) to Lebanon. It was supposed to be like a mock travel experience, similar to the weekend trips that we will be partaking in. It was a good experience, but a very long and hot day! It will be interesting to see how trips like these in another country will compare.

I can't wait for all the memories that we are about to be making! I CANNOT thank my parents enough for helping to make this dream a reality! They are allowing me to participate in such a tremendous opportunity and it means the world to me that they are doing this for me! Now for the next week and a half in the the United States...

heritage...

This past weekend, I went with my mom and Dara for a short trip to visit my grandparents. We called it our "girl trip!" :) Anyways, it was overall a very good trip and seeing my grandparents makes me realize how thankful I am for them and for the rest of my family. This trip was especially interesting, because my grandparents are from Austria. So, we talked about my trip several different times and each time I was able to learn something new. There are now so many different things and people that I want to see while I am in Europe. I learned about distant family members that still live in Austria and Germany and I plan on trying to visit with several of them. Ahh! I am soooo excited! I have heard many incredible stories throughout my life about the life that my grandparents used to have when they lived in Austria. And even though it has changed so much since when they lived there, it is still the place that they are from and I feel honored to get to see this country! Hopefully I will get to visit the city that they are from, the church that they were married in, and many other symbolic places. Oma and Ota mean so much to me and I am so glad that I got to share in my excitement with them before I leave!

 Oh! Something that makes me smile: A couple of months ago, I was talking to Ota on the phone and we were talking about the trip a little bit and he asked me when I was leaving and stuff and then he asked me if I had room to pack him in my suitcase! He said that I needed someone to show me around! hahah gotta love it! :)

Vienna!!

I am going to Vienna. I am going to Vienna. I am going to Vienna!!

That sentence almost doesn't even sound real or something that should be coming from me! But, I love that I am able to say that I AM GOING TO VIENNA! Today is one month until I leave for my new home for 3 months! Recently, I have been becoming more and more excited about this trip! The closer it is, the more I think about it and all of the wonderful opportunities that are about to flood into my life. However, the closer the journey, the more I become a little bit nervous. I have never been away from everyone I love for that long and definitely never lived in ANOTHER country. But, I am pretty positive that the pros/pluses of this amazing adventure will out-weigh the small butterflies that I have! It has been really interesting to see people's responses when they ask me "When does school start for you?" and I surprise them by telling them I am actually leaving the country for the semester. Most people have either a lot of questions or a lot of advice, but I love to hear it all! It has really made me think. Actually the more people I talk to, the more excited I get! This amazing adventure has always felt so far in the future, but now it is all coming together and I'm sure it will flyyyyyyyy by. I hope to continue to update this blog until I return home and I would really love for you all to join me on this journey. Sorry this is so boring now, but I'm sure it will only be full of excitement in the next couple of weeks as we get closer to leaving. But for now, I just have a TON to do before my flight leaves! AHHH!!!