Truth Tuesday

Shout out to my Mama Bear for reminding me to write a Truth Tuesday.

• I'm down to less than a week left in Austria which is surreal. One minute I'm ready to be on that plane, and the next I'm clinging on to all the things I will miss here. Mostly food. And friends...I guess. ;) 
• I hate that I still break out. I'm so over it. 
• I had chocolate for dinner tonight and I don't feel the least bit guilty. I'm only here for a few more days, so I'm going to be a complete glutton. 
• So, I've always loved music. Maybe too much sometimes. But I found that for a while I just wasn't listening that much, and that makes me sad. Well, in the last few days that has dramatically changed. Now I have to have my headphones in or music playing while I'm doing something in my room. I'm discovering artists I didn't know I had in my music library and rediscovering old favorites. Music is one of God's greatest gifts to man. But seriously.
• Today I went to the top of pretty much the tallest mountain in Innsbruck by cable car. And it was incredible. There was lots of snow and it was freezing cold and I got to look down on my city. The city that felt SO big when I first arrived. And there I was today, days away from leaving, looking down on teeny tiny Innsbruck while feeling on top of the world. I can do hard things, guys. :)
• It's incredibly weird for me to think that a week from today I'll be HOME at my family Christmas party. I'm pretty stoked that I get to see the greatest people in the entire world in just one week. One week!
• I hate how dry my hands get in the winter. I feel like a 90-year-old woman with dry shriveled hands. Blehhhh...

I shall bid you all farewell on my final Tuesday in this blessed country! Aufwiedersehen! 

A Dream

I’m approaching the last week of my time here in Austria.

It’s been almost like a dream. While you’re inside of a dream it feels as if it has gone on for ages; it feels like it won’t ever come to an end. Then you suddenly wake up and it is back to reality once more, the dream feeling like it was a mere two minutes in duration. Depending on the dream, that awakening into reality can be dreaded or welcomed.

Like a dream, my time seemed to last forever but now as it's coming to and end it seemed so fast. So what is this sudden “awakening” to me in accordance to my time in Austria? Is the end dreaded or welcomed? That’s a difficult question to answer. First let me explain the many things I’ve learned since being here.

I’ve learned that I have an incredible support system back home. I have the most amazing mother. That woman knows me better than anyone. She knows exactly what to say to comfort me, to make me laugh, and I would most definitely not be in Austria right now if it wasn’t for her. Not only has she supported me financially (Christmas is covered for the next 15 years, Mom) but also emotionally and spiritually. She’s simply fantastic. Second in line to that mother o’ mine, is Kameron. He has been way more supportive about this whole thing than I ever could have hoped for. I know it wasn’t easy for him to give me up for two and a half months, but he knew it was something I needed to do and that I wanted to do, so he supported me. We talk nearly every day, and I feel even closer to him from 5,500 miles away then I did when I was at home. Needless to say, I’m pretty excited to see him again.

I’ve learned about a new culture. I’ve learned random things, like to remember that I need to have 50 cent coins in case I have to use a public restroom when I’m out. Or that I should bring my own bag to go grocery shopping so I don’t have to buy one while I’m at the store. I’ve learned that Austrians don’t like PB&J sandwiches. I’ve learned that Europeans dress really well and I have come to love wearing scarves every single day. I’ve eaten delicious food and will shed a few tears knowing I won’t have delicious European chocolate every day anymore. Never again will I have the chance to LIVE in Austria. I may come back and visit, but I can never get this experience again. So, when deciding what to do with one of my last weekends here, I chose to go stay with my roommate’s family rather than travel to Italy—a place I’ve wanted to visit for ages. And I’m so grateful I did. I can come back to Italy. I can’t always get the experience I did staying at Sandra’s house, getting to know her parents and her sisters, and seeing a little of the Austrian countryside with some true Austrians. Before I came to Europe, I was under the impression that I would see all these new places and countries and I would be traveling every weekend to some new area of Europe. That was not the reality, however. And I’m okay with that. No, I’m more than okay with that. I did get the chance to see some great new places, but more importantly, I lived in Innsbruck. Innsbruck became my home. I can go back to the States and while I may not be able to say that I saw a lot of places, I will be able to say that I experienced something. To me, that is where the value lies.

I’ve learned to appreciate what I have back at home. Like English everywhere, for example. I’ve learned to appreciate having stores that are open 24 hours a day. I’ve learned to appreciate ranch dressing and a gourmet hamburger. I’ve learned to appreciate drinking fountains, free water at restaurants, and instructions written in English. I’ll remember how lucky I am to have instant communication with my friends and family instead of waiting until they’re awake and they check their email or get on Facebook. I have learned to appreciate stores where I can buy cheap shoes, even if they fall apart quickly. Most of all, I’ll appreciate the close location of a temple and of church buildings. I am so impressed by the members here and their willingness to come to church every Sunday even if they have to drive an hour both ways. I’ve got it good at home, and hopefully I’ll remember that.

I’ve learned to be independent and to learn things for myself. I don’t know if I was necessarily shy before coming to Austria, but I didn’t ask many questions. I let other people do things for me. Here, I have to come out of my shell and peek my head out of that lovely little thing we call a comfort zone. And that has been the one of the greatest things to experience.

I’ve learned what it’s like to be in the minority. Not only do I come from a different country and speak a different language, but I come from a different culture entirely—a culture even a little different within my own country. I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. I don’t drink coffee or tea. I’m getting married at the age of 20. To sum it up: I’m different. And I’ve never been “different” growing up in Utah. Everyone around me was like me or at least knew the ways of the culture. It’s hard to explain if you’ve never been in a minority, but it’s humbling. And strangely, it brings you closer to those aspects about yourself that make you unique. It has made me more tolerant for those people that are different from me, and I’ll be forever grateful for that.

I’ve learned that I can do hard things. In the first month I was abroad, my wonderful mother sent me a package. Inside was a framed cross-stitch I received several years ago at girls camp that displays the words “I Can Do Hard Things” with an orange and yellow sun below the words. As I opened this package I got a little teary-eyed. That month had been one of the hardest times of my life. And by the time I got this package, I was just starting to figure out that I could survive it. Not only could I survive it, but I could genuinely enjoy myself. I had never expected my trip to be as difficult as it was. This isn’t to say I was miserable, because that is far from the truth. I was having a good time and loving it, but it. was. hard. This little framed cross-stitch sits as one of the only things on my nightstand and I see it every morning when I wake up. Things aren’t near as difficult as they were those first few weeks, but every morning I’m reminded that tough times don’t last forever. I can do hard things. Which brings me to my last and most important lesson.

I learned how much the Lord loves me. I learned that He is an essential part of my everyday life. Before coming to Austria, I knew the church was true. I went to church every Sunday, I prayed, I read my scriptures, and I felt the spirit. However, there was always a part of me that felt like something was missing. Perhaps it wasn’t that something was missing, but that I was missing something. I saw people stand and bear witness of Christ with so much conviction that I felt I would never have. I didn’t doubt. I knew it was true, that Christ is my Savior and that He died for me. I knew that God lives and that he answers prayers. But why didn’t I have such conviction about it? Then I came to Innsbruck. My first day here I had no phone, no internet connection, no knowledge of the city, the language, the people. I had no friends here and no connections to home. So I used the one connection that I know I’ll never lose—prayer. I knelt next to my bed in my empty apartment and offered up the most sincere prayer of my entire life with tears streaming down my face. At that moment, God was the only person I could turn to. He was my only friend. And in the next weeks, as things settled down, he became my closest friend. Something drastically changed within me. My relationship with the Lord has never been stronger. He was right by my side though every little struggle or pain or longing for home and He gave me comfort when I needed it most. Now, as I write this, I once again have tears in my eyes. But these aren’t tears of fear, loneliness, sadness or longing. These are finally tears of conviction. I know God lives. And that knowledge is the souvenir I’ll cherish most.

So back to my original question: do I dread the end of my trip or is it welcomed? Easy. Both. As they say, “There’s no place like home.” I’m incredibly excited to be with the ones I love again. But I’ve learned more about myself here in two months that I’ve learned in the last 20 years. I’ve grown to absolutely love this country and the people in it and I’ll be sad to leave. All good things must come to an end, but luckily for me, this end means the start of a wonderful and beautiful beginning.

Until next time, Austria.  

It’s been a dream.

Truth Tuesday

I'm lacking sleep and I'm about to take a nap, so hopefully this post makes sense.

Truth Tuesday!

• I turned in my last paper and gave my last presentation of my semester today and it feels SOOO nice. (I have two more papers to finish, but I'll be a married woman by the time they have to be emailed to the professors.)
• I was super stressed and worried about my presentation running like half an hour too short, but I ended up having to cut it down a lot due to lack of time. That was a pleasant surprise. 
• I have completely changed my sleeping habits since being here. I usually go to bed before midnight and wake up around 8:00 every morning. Anyone that knows me well knows that waking up at 8:00 on my own is totally not normal for me. I think the latest I've slept in here is like 10:30. That's a normal wake up time at home when I have nowhere to be. I wonder if this will continue. 
• If I ever have to count things, I now count in German without thinking about it. 
• I've recently started watching Modern Family and I can't stop. I think the show is incredibly funny. It's not very often that a show can make me literally laugh out loud when I'm alone, but this show does. I would recommend it. 
• I'm going to take a nap right now. That's the truth. 

I hope everyone has a splendid Tuesday! :)

Nauseating Words

Just in case you're wondering: Yes, this is me avoiding the last page of my paper. Sue me.

Okay, I have several pet peeves in this world. For instance: when people use the word "legitly," extreme indecisiveness, loud chewing, and the incorrect use of the word "your." (That's just to name a few. I think I have an unhealthy amount of pet peeves.)

But there is one pet peeve that happens most often over social networking sites. It happens when two people fall in love. All of the sudden, every post or status update has to do with their significant other.


I'm not talking about an occasional, simple post where a mature adult is expressing their gratitude for their spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend. That's a completely different thing.

What I'm talking about are the countless people that constantly post things such as: "OMG I'm so totes blessed with the greatest bf in the whole world and I'm so lucky and he's my everything and rainbows and butterflies!! omg."

Okay, so that might be a little exaggerated. But you get my point. You all know the posts I'm talking about. I'm all for people being in love. I myself have turned into a cheesy fool since meeting Kam and I'm fully aware of what love can do to a person. It makes you say nauseating things.

But keep it off of Facebook, please.

I say very seemingly nauseating things to Kameron all the time, but I try to only say them privately to him, or I'll say things to friends about him, but not to the rest of the world. When it happens more privately, things actually have meaning. The cheese becomes something cute and meaningful rather than embarrassing because it gets posted in everyone's news feeds and people want to throw up. 

In fact, Kam and I like to do the exact opposite of the aforementioned offense. A few examples:

• Kam's RSVP for our wedding on Facebook is currently "Maybe Attending"

• When I posted a picture of my engagement ring, I captioned it with: "It's okay, I guess."

• I wrote Kam a Facebook post telling him we needed to go to a comedy show on Jan. 28th, but felt like there was something else going on that day, but that it probably wasn't important. 

• We joke about how the only reason Kam got engaged was because he's paying me. (Slacking on the payments, Kam...)

• I always tell people the number one reason I'm marrying Kam is for money. Love is about seventh on the list.

So you see, we're not the lovey-dovey Facebook couple that seems to be taking over the world. And I'm so grateful for that. If anything it shows me I'm marrying the right dude. We have the same sense of humor and it's perfect.

I'm not going to make a countdown to my wedding on Facebook and I'm not going to gush over how excited I am that I get to marry my best friend, even though I've never been more excited for anything in my entire life.

I don't have to change my Facebook status to prove to anyone that I'm in love.

But I still reserve the right to blog about it.

Gratitude Challenge

My dear friend Alyssa posted this in her blog. It's from the First Presidency message "The Choice to be Grateful" and at the end they issue a Gratitude Challenge.

Challenge accepted.

1.Write 10 physical abilities you are grateful for: Walking, running, hugging, smiling, seeing, laughing, sleeping, eating/tasting, talking, aaaaand kissing. (Do you expect me to lie?)

2. Write 10 material possessions you are grateful for: laptop, phone, car, iPod, contacts/glasses, a good coat, my bed, books, a camera.

3. Write 10 living people you are grateful for: This one is hard because I have 10 siblings. I'll count them (and their spouses) as 5. Okay? Mom, Dad, Siblings (5), Kameron, Janice, Kirk.

4. Write 10 deceased people you are grateful for: Grandma Turley, Grandpa Felix, Grandma Felix, Joseph Smith, Gordon B. Hinckley, George Washington, Gutenberg, Martin Luther, Edgar Allen Poe (yes, really), Abraham Lincoln

5. Write 10 things about nature you are grateful for:  mountains, sunny days with light breezes, snow (sometimes), the smell after rain, thunderstorms, laying in the green grass, lakes, the colors of Fall, spring flowers blooming, FRUIT!

6. Write 10 things about today you are grateful for: Finishing my project, Christmas markets, listening to the BNL Christmas album, a warm bed, understanding some German, Austrian food, the internet, Skype, feeling happy about life, good friends.

7. Write 10 places on earth you are grateful for: Home, my second home in Bountiful, the temple, the church building here in Innsbruck, Schloss Ambras, anywhere in the mountains, Logan, Sammy's (craving a pie shake right now), hospitals, the Christmas markets. :)

8. Write 10 modern inventions you are grateful for: internet, computers, MP3 players, cell phones, automobiles, airplanes, ATMs, microwaves, A/C, heaters

9. Write 10 foods you are grateful for: Wienerschnitzel, GOOD hamburgers, hot chocolate, popcorn, Nutella, bacon, pasta, chocolate, raspberries, cucumbers.

10. Write 10 things about the gospel you are grateful for: The Atonement, repentance, eternal families, constant companionship of the Spirit, prayer and answers to prayers, temple work for the dead, the true happiness it brings me, modern revelation, hymns, the Plan of Salvation. (If you want to know more about these things and the LDS faith, click here to find out more! :) )

I love my life. I'm seriously so blessed!! Thanks to everyone that has made me the happy girl I am today. :)

Truth Tuesday

This might be a bad time to write my Truth Tuesday because I'm in the middle of figuring out what I want to write a 10 page essay on and I'm extremely frustrated. I'm so ready to be done and I lack all motivation. So this Tuesday, I might not be as upbeat as last Tuesday. Sorry.

--Writing essays makes me sick to my stomach. Not always, but sometimes I'll hit a point where I realize I have no idea AT ALL what I'm going to write about, what argument I'm going to make, and how in the world I'm going to reach the page requirement. And then I get stressed and can't focus and my mind goes everywhere and I just want to give up and cry. Yep. That's how I feel right now. I just want someone to write the paper for me.

--I think I'm ready to come home. I really do love it here and I'm going to miss it immensely, but I'm ready to be home. I'm ready to be surrounded by English, I'm ready for some sense of normalcy, I'm ready for ranch dressing, I'm ready to have nothing to worry about other than planning my wedding, and I'm ready to see Kam again. I have just under three weeks, all of which will go by quickly, but I'm giving up fast. I blame the schoolwork.

--I hate that I avoid hard things. Like this essay. Instead of cramming my nose into books I distract myself by blogging. If something is hard, I'll just not do it. (The exception to that being my trip here to Austria). Usually this pertains to schoolwork. I'm trying to break that habit.

--I've been really emotional lately and it sucks.

--I wish people would write academic essays in everyday language. I feel like I don't understand a lot of it and I have to slow down and read it carefully and look up some words and it takes a long time. Curse the smart people....curse them...

I'm done complaining. And the more I put off this paper the more stressed I get, so I should probably get back to working on it. Pray for me.

'Tis the Season

Thanksgiving is over.

Let the Christmas celebration begin.

(On a side note, we had an amazing Thanksgiving dinner. Everything tasted just like it does at home and I got to share one of my favorite holidays with people I've come to really love. Some of them had never celebrated Thanksgiving before. It was a unique and wonderful experience that I'll cherish forever.)

Christmas is by far my favorite holiday. I love everything about it: the lights, the trees, the nativities, the snow, the hot chocolate, buying gifts for people, all the decorations, and the music. Especially the music. To me, Christmas just isn't Christmas without the music! I'm the type of person that doesn't ever change the radio stations from the Christmas stations until the 26th of December. In fact, this season is one of the only times I ever really even listen to the radio at all.

Therefore, I've made a list of my top 10 essential Christmas songs:

1) O Holy Night. This is probably one of my all-time favorite songs, no matter who sings it. Oooh especially when the higher part is belted out and it's just...ahhh...

2) Sleighride. As far back as I can remember, my sisters have played a duet on the piano of Sleighride every Christmas. It's a great memory I have of sitting in the house when it was getting close to Christmas and hearing two of them playing it in the other room. For that reason, it will always be in my Top 10 favorites.

3) Deck the Halls by Mannheim Steamroller. Mannheim Steamroller will ALWAYS remind me of my childhood Christmases. I can remember sitting in our dark living room in our old house with nothing but the lights of the tree shining and having Mannheim in the background. Bliss, I tell you! Deck the Halls, to me, is the essential song to play during Christmastime.

4) O Tannenbaum by Vince Guaraldi Trio. Okay, so any song by Vince Guaraldi for that matter. For those who don't know, he is the one that does the music for Charlie Brown Christmas. It's soothing, it's jazzy, and it's Christmas.

5) God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings by Barenaked Ladies feat. Sarah McLachlan. This song....is fantastic. I don't really know what else to say about it other than that, really. I love God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen anyway, but this version is by far my favorite.

6) Christmas Eve by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Okay, who doesn't love a little Trans-Siberian Orchestra? They rock. Literally.

7) O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Just another favorite of mine and a must for the Christmas season. So beautiful.

8) The Christmas Song. The title says it all. It talks about everything I love about Christmas, and therefore, I must listen.

9) Carol of the Bells. Alright, I'm having a hard time coming up for reasons why these are on my list other than I just really like them and they make the season what it is for me. Okay?

10) Last Christmas by Wham. Okay, I have a reason for this one. And I never said I actually ENJOYED every one of these songs, I just said they made Christmas for me. This song is one of the longer running jokes in my family. Someone has to sing the lines to it at least once when we get together around Christmas. "Last Christmas I GEV you my heart, but the very next day, you GEV it away..." Classic.

So there you have it, folks. Your (my) Top 10 essential Christmas songs. May your days be merry and bright. :)

Thankful

Today has definitely been a homesick day, but this is one day I believe I can be totally justified in saying that. I woke up this morning, realized it was Thanksgiving, and had a little twinge of sadness. I love waking up Thanksgiving morning. I love knowing that food is probably already being prepared, that I don't have school, and that I'll be seeing a bunch of family later. This morning I just woke up, got ready for class, and it's been a normal day so far.

But despite all of that, I'm very thankful. And here are the things I'm most thankful for in my life:

• First and foremost, I'm thankful for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was lucky enough to be born into it. Even greater than that is that I've come to a knowledge on my own that it is true. I have no idea where I would be without the gospel, and I frankly do not care to know. It brings me the greatest happiness and I'm beyond grateful for it. 
• I'm thankful for my amazing family. Anyone that knows me knows that I come from a very unique family situation. We're huge, we're different, we're growing, and we love each other. I love getting together with everyone and laughing and joking. I'm just going to throw it out there: I have the greatest family in the world. This includes my future family as well! I love Kameron's parents and siblings so much. From the beginning they've been friendly, welcoming, and kind to me. I look forward to being a part of their family. 
• I'm thankful for Kameron. Duh. I don't even need to explain this one, do I? The guy is, forgive the cliche, the greatest thing that's ever happened to me. Every day I think, "What in the world did I do in order to deserve a guy like that?" He's everything I've ever wanted in future husband and more. I think I'll keep him. 
• I'm thankful for this opportunity to be in Austria. I'm pretty sure I've felt every emotion while being here. It's been the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, and I would NEVER exchange it for anything. I've learned so much about myself, about a different culture, about my relationship with God, everything. I come home in 3 1/2 weeks, and that is nuts. I'll never regret this decision, I know that for sure. (And of course, being thankful for Austria also includes being thankful for the chocolate here.)
• I'm thankful for my wonderful friends. I have the greatest friends in the world. Whether I've known them for 2 years or since I was 2 years old, all of them are amazing. They cheer me up, they make me laugh until I can't breath, they let me cry, and they've got my back. If I could have all of them come live with me forever, I probably would. I'll have to talk to Kameron about that. 
• I'm thankful for technology. I'm grateful that I'm able to communicate with people back home while I'm here by simply getting on the internet and clicking a button. It's been so nice. 
• I'm thankful for hot chocolate. Because it's delicious. And it's warm. 
• I'm thankful for a healthy body. I'm grateful that I can play sports and walk around and hike and do all sorts of great things with this body of mine. I see people that are sick or suffering all the time and I can't imagine what that would be like. 
• I'm thankful for Elder and Sister Glover. They're the senior missionary couple here in Innsbruck and they have saved my life here. They are the most kind, caring people I know and they're are so willing to drop what they're doing and make sure things are going well for me here. They're funny, they're easy to talk to, and I'm going to miss them incredibly when I leave. I'm going to miss the whole branch here, for that matter! They've all been so great and welcoming. I love them!

So, these are just a few things I'm thankful for.  The list goes on and on and has only gotten longer since coming to Austria. I can't wait to get home and enjoy the things I've taken for granted.

Like ranch dressing.

:)

Truth Tuesday!

Alright guys. I've had an extremely good Tuesday, so this is one Truth Tuesday that won't be filled with only complaints. Hopefully. :)

--I found this hair conditioner here in Austria and my hair has never felt better, softer or smoother. I may have to take some of it home with me as a souvenir. I also really hope it's actually conditioner. I guess even if it's not, I can't complain. My hair feels great.

--I also feel like my hair is getting longer and that makes me really happy. I'm one of those girls that lets her hair grow out a little bit, gets sick of it, cuts it shorter, and then regrets it once she sees the first old picture of longer hair. I just know that once it gets pretty long I'll get hair amnesia again and say, "I think I'd like shorter hair."

--I've been really proud of myself for how well I've been able to stick to my standards here in Austria without making anyone (including myself) feel awkward, judged, uncomfortable, etc...even though I've felt some pressure to go against what I believe to be right. It's a new experience for me to have to explain my beliefs to people (born and raised in Utah County, folks) so, I'm quite glad to know that I'm strong willed in that area of my life. :)

--WARNING: This part could be labeled TMI Tuesday for some, so if you don't want to know, don't read. Anyway, I started my birth control today. I don't feel old enough for birth control. Haha it's crazy to think that I could potentially be a MOTHER in less than a year. We want to wait a little while for that, so hopefully this little device I'm using will work, but I could always turn out to be the one percent. Hey Reality, what's up?

--I'm pretty sure I'm having a love affair with Mumford & Sons. I really can't stop listening to them. I absolutely love just plugging in my headphones as I walk down these Austrian streets and remind myself how incredible my life is right now.

--Thanksgiving is this week and I have mixed emotions. One part of me is sad that I won't be stuffing my face with my family or that I won't be watching large men tackling each other on my TV screen or that I won't have to debate what stores to go to the next morning at unreasonable hours. But the other part of me is really excited to celebrate this holiday with the Americans I know here as well as sharing it with the European friends I've made so far. Not many people can say they've spent Thanksgiving in Austria (I guess a whole lot of Austrians can, but does it count if they don't celebrate it?). I'm just going to enjoy every bite of that dinner and not dwell on the fact that I'm not with my loved ones. Even if I do have to go to class that day. First and last Thanksgiving I will ever have to do that!

--I'm more excited to buy people gifts here than I am to buy things for myself. I just can't narrow down exactly what I want to get for people. There is so much goodness all around me!!

--Sometimes I find joy in the little things, like changing the highlighting color on my computer. Now when I highlight things it's red instead of green. Sometimes a little change is good. ;) 

--Alright, since I'm in such a good mood, I have to include something about Kameron. Nothing has really been different or changed with us (as far as things said or frequency of communication), but the last few days I've just felt really overwhelmed with giddiness and joy that I get to marry that boy. He's super great. I kind of love him. And I gidda keep 'im! Forever! YES.

Truth Tuesday

Well, it's Tuesday again. Which, to me, is crazy because I feel like Tuesday happened three days ago. Anyway, here are my truths for this splendid Tuesday!

--I wish that I had a lot of money to completely redo my entire wardrobe. I know what style I like and want to have, but I just can't afford to buy the clothes to complete the style. I also feel like my style has changed mentally, but not in my actual clothing. Oh well. Maybe someday.

--I keep having this fear of being a terrible wife. I CAN cook, but don't do it often and the thought of making dinner all the time is a frightening one. I am scared to have to decorate somewhere to live. And I really hate cleaning. We'll see how this goes...

--Today I had some Haribo gummy frogs for breakfast. I don't care. I really don't.

--I've been comparing myself to other people a lot lately and that blows. Because then I get in these modes where I get so down on myself and degrade myself. It's such a crappy, worldly view that I know doesn't come from a good place. I'm always thinking I'm not _______ enough. It's hard to break away from it, too. It bugs me. I bug me.

--That being said, I had a realization the other day. I have a lot of great, wonderful, amazing friends. I have a fantastic family--the greatest, even. And I have a wonderful, caring fiance. And these people all like me for who I am right now. Even if I don't have the perfect body, wardrobe, or whatever it may be, they all still like me. One is even going to marry me. I feel like most people that I meet genuinely like me and get along with me. So, that should say a lot. I'm a cool person, right? That's what should matter most.

--I think I've given up on doing really well in my classes here in Austria. I'm in EUROPE. How am I supposed to focus on school? Hmmm?! I'll still work hard, but I'm done stressing.

--I think I'm going to pick up my violin when I get back to the States. It's been a long time and I realize that it's a talent I don't want to lose.

--I'm usually that person that gets really mad when people start celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving is over. I'm totally being hypocritical this year. But they're decorating streets here with lights! And there are huge Christmas trees everywhere! And they're setting up the Christmas markets! And my iPod likes to pick Christmas songs when it's on shuffle! What am I supposed to do in a country that doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving?! So, I'm allowing myself to get a TINY bit excited for Christmas early this year. But that doesn't mean you guys at home get to do the same and think it's okay. I told you...I'm being hypocritical.


Until next week! I'm going to go accidentally listen to some Trans-Siberian Orchestra...

In the Words of Bon Jovi

This is one of my favorite parts of the city.

We're halfway there.

 

Today marks the halfway point of my journey here in Innsbruck.

Never thought it would be so bittersweet. 

When I first got here, I had a hard time. It's not to say I wasn't enjoying it, because I was enjoying it. I recognized how lucky I was and saw how beautiful the city was. I just had a lot of homesickness, jet lag, and frustration. Everything was so new, I didn't understand any of the language, and I had no idea where anything was or how anything worked.

Well, things have changed. Innsbruck feels like home now. I wake up now, and instead of feeling an instant pang of homesickness I simply get ready for the day with a smile on my face. (Except when I have to wake up early on Tuesdays. I still hate early.) I've had the chance to see some new places, make some amazing friends, and taste some incredible food. (Sorry new friends...I might miss the food the most. ;) ) I also find myself not caring that I can't understand everyone, and better yet I am starting to understand a few things myself. Not to mention this country/continent takes Christmas to a new level. It's only the second week in November and they're setting up trees, lights, and the Christmas markets should be opening within the next week or so. Christmas is by far my favorite holiday and I'm so excited I get to spend part of the Christmas season here. 

So you can see why it's bittersweet.

I absolutely love it here. But I also absolutely love home and the people waiting for me there. I am so excited to see everyone again, but when I think about leaving Innsbruck I get sad. It's not like I can easily hop a plane and come visit whenever I want. 

So what does this mean for me? This means I'm not going to waste a day sitting around. Even if that just means walking around the city doing nothing in particular. This means I'm going to make the best of the last half of my time here. This means I'll probably take a lot more pictures. That is if I can remember to charge my camera...

When I first got here, I counted down every day. I would say, "Okay...I made it through another day...only this much longer..." and the days passed by so slowly. Now I've virtually stopped counting. I'm still keeping track of how many weeks I have left but it's not constantly on my mind anymore. And time. Is. Flying. Funny how that happens. I wish the times I wasn't having as much fun would have flown by and this last half could slow down. 

I almost regret feeling the way I did when I got here. I could have enjoyed it so much more. But at the same time, I think I needed to feel that way. I needed to know what it was like to have culture shock. I needed to know what it was like to figure things out on my own and learn. I needed to miss home incredibly to appreciate what I have waiting for me. 

But now that's over and I'm going to "live it up," as they say.

Look out, Innsbruck.

Truth Tuesday!

Alrighty, bloggity blog world. I like to blog stalk, and one of my favorite blogs to stalk is my friend Kelsey Keller Weller (I'll always call her that. I think it's fantastic.) She does a weekly thing called "Truth Tuesday" where she tells the truth of what is on her mind for that day, namely Tuesday. (You can read her blog here. It's really great.)

Naturally, I'm stealing the idea. And it's Tuesday. So, here it goes. It will probably just be a lot of random thoughts going through my head.

--I hate writing papers. Some would think I'm in the wrong major, but I don't think so. I love reading, analyzing, discussing...but writing papers on my analysis? No thanks. I'll happily write something creative, but no academic writing ever brings me joy.

--I love that Austria is becoming "home" for me. I'm finally starting to feel like I'm living here rather that just visiting here. It's going to be hard for me to leave.

--I can't believe how well some of my classmates can speak English. I'm learning German (which in my opinion is probably easier to learn than English) and I can't imagine being as fluent in German as they are in English. It's impressive.

--Sometimes I really feel like I'm not smart. I feel like there are a lot of people around me that can grasp concepts that are just so hard for me to understand. Maybe I don't apply myself enough. In fact, I'm sure I don't apply myself enough, because it bothers me that I don't. Of course, changing that is nearly impossible for me. Which also bothers me. I'm just bothered.

--I've been having this obsession with a couple songs lately, and it frustrates me that I can't express why. I love the English language, but dang it, sometimes it's just not adequate to express how I feel about some things. So when I fall in love with a song, I end up turning to someone and going, "AH! This part is so good...just..ah, man. And the way...this part. It just makes me feel..." See? No words. I can only hope that someone understands what I mean.

Anyway. That's my first Truth Tuesday. Unfortunately I have to get back to writing a blasted paper, so that's all I can write here for now. Stay tuned for another Austrian infused post soon! (Hopefully...)

Tschüss! :)

Ladies and Germs

Back to blogging about my adventures! Thanks for letting me take a slight break. :)

So, earlier this week I went to Neuschwanstein castle and München! Or Munich. I'm just trying to sound like I speak a little German. My friend Kelsey Barker from high school is studying in Germany so we met up in the middle at Neuschwanstein and traveled around together. 


My first day started off a little hectic. I woke up with plenty of time to catch my train on Monday morning, got to the train station at around 6:15 (my train left at 6:35) and realized that I had left a very important paper at my apartment approximately 10 minutes away. This paper had a list of exactly every place I was supposed to transfer trains or buses. This is even more important because I had to get on one train, then switch trains, get off that train and on a bus, get off that bus onto another bus...and I had no idea where I was going or which stops to get off at. That paper told me where I was going. Therefore, I literally sprinted home, snatched the paper, sprinted back to the train station, and caught my train with about three or four minutes to spare. Thank heavens I did, otherwise I know I would have gotten lost. 


From there I had one of the prettiest train rides ever. It was through a lot of foresty area and I got a great view of the Austrian countryside. I'll admit that until I arrived at the castle, I was completely nervous that I was going the wrong way, that I had missed my stop, that something would go wrong, everything. I couldn't relax until I was finally off the last bus. 

When I got off that last bus, it was FREEZING outside. I got there before Kelsey, so I decided to explore some gift shops and touristy things like that. I bought myself a ridiculously overpriced hot chocolate and waited for Kelsey.


When Kelsey finally came she explained that she had overslept and that's why she was late, but it all turned out just fine. Mainly because she met some Australian guys on the train that were part of a tour group and they told her that we should tag along with them and just tip the tour guide at the end. So that's what we did. I need to take a side note here and describe to you our tour guide. He sounded EXACTLY like Norm MacDonald, and the more you listened to him the more he started to look like Norm MacDonald. Kelsey hit it right on the nose by saying "He's the American that American's make fun of." He would use all sorts of phrases that nobody in the States really uses seriously such as, "Let's boogie," and "Come here, Ladies and Germs," and "this is a hoot and a half..." and things like that. He talked way too much, but it made for a really good memory. 


As for the actual tour of Neuschwanstein...holy cow. That place is incredibly beautiful. We hiked up to the castle and we were surrounded by trees that were changing colors and the temperature was perfect. We talked with the two Aussies, Matt and Brody, and we also met a couple, Roxy and Sammy, from California who had been backpacking through Europe for three months. We walked through the castle, which was really cool. King Ludwig II died while they were building it and they so stopped building right after his death and the castle is still unfinished. That made the tour a lot shorter than we all expected. That's okay, because the best part in my opinion was looking at the castle from the outside. We hiked to this bridge packed with people that looked out over Schwangau (the town) and waterfalls, and the castle. Breathtaking. Then we hiked further down to more waterfalls and streams and awesomeness. Gosh. It was amazing. I was so content. 


From there we took a train back to Munich with the tour group we were with. It was about a two hour train ride back, but Kurt, our tour guide, talked to us almost the whole way back about the controversy surrounding Ludwig's death. It was pretty entertaining. We also discovered that Matt was staying in the hostel right next door to us, Brody was leaving on a train late that night, and the Californians were in a different hostel and were leaving for home the next day. 


When we got back to Munich, we checked into our hostel, dropped our bags off, and met up with our friends for some dinner at an Italian place. It was interesting because we were in Germany, at an Italian restaurant, and the waiter kept speaking French to us. Multicultural dining, folks. After dinner, we exchanged information, said goodbye to our new friends, and decided to walk around Munich at night. It's a really cool city, and it was foggy which made the visual even cooler. All my pictures I took from that night look really creepy. We found the Hofbräuhaus, a really famous bar in Munich, and went inside for a little while. It was soo crowded, but we got a taste of classic Bavaria. There were women dressed in traditional German outfits carrying several hug mugs of beer, the floors were sticky, there was a Bavarian band playing, and people singing drinking songs...it was awesome. Since it was so crowded and we had already eaten, we decided to go back the next day for dinner.

So, we went back to our hostel. Lucky for us, there was a crappy Finnish cover band playing that night! Even more lucky for us, we were in a room with a terribly patched hole in the ceiling, so we could hear the music loud and clear as we tried to fall asleep. It was louder IN our room than outside of our room. I was really tired, so I didn't have that hard of a time falling asleep once I put my headphones in.

We woke up the next day and headed out to the city to walk around and take some more pictures in the daylight. We were planning on taking a tour of the concentration camp Dachau, but the tour didn't leave until about 11:15. It was a Catholic holiday so most of the churches were having mass. It was actually really cool to walk in and kind of watch some of the things that were going on inside the churches.

Then, we met up with Matt, our awesome Australian friend, and found the tour group. I ended up paying only 18 Euro for transportation there and back as well as a tour of Dachau. Pretty stinkin' good deal. I need to find more of these tour companies when I travel other places. We took a train, and then a bus up to Dachau. Kelsey and I sat next to these two Italian guys on the bus that knew VERY little English or German. So, he kept saying things like, "Italiano! Spaghetti! Si! Lasagna! Bella!" and we just laughed and repeated everything he said. It was really quite entertaining.

The tour of Dachau was something I'll never forget. It ended up being about a three hour tour or so. Our tour guide was this small little Irish guy that was very knowledgeable and had a very good way of explaining everything in the camp. It really was a spiritual experience being there, and it's kind of hard to explain the way I felt there, and I'm so glad I had the chance to go.

We didn't have too much time left after we got back because Kelsey and I both had trains to catch that night. We decided to head back to Hofbräuhaus to eat and then take off. Matt came with us and we all enjoyed a great, traditional meal together. Kelsey and I got great pictures of us drinking our non-alcoholic beverages (water for her, apple juice for me). Then we kind of lost track of time and ended up running to catch my train. I made it just fine, had a pleasant ride back to Innsbruck, and slept like a rock that night.

So there you have it! One of my adventures while being here. It was a really great trip. And in other news, I'm doing very well here. The homesickness is very, very minimal now and I'm going to be incredibly sad to leave this place. I'm only a few days away from the halfway point, which is crazy. It's a good thing I've got some pretty great things waiting at home for me, or I'd probably never leave.

Auf wiedersehen! :)

My Life is a Crappy Love Song

So, I'm kind of sure most people have been reading my blog lately to hear about my Austrian adventures (even though I'm terrible about posting them), which makes sense. But that means I need to give this post a disclaimer:

1.) This isn't going to be about Austria (which I am loving, by the way). I'll get back to that soon, I promise.
2.) This post is going to be boiling over with cheesiness, so if you hate love or hearing about love...don't read. You've been warned.

So. On with love.

Being 5,500-ish miles away from Kameron has been pretty tough. I don't regret coming to Austria one bit; I'm having the time of my life. But I wish he was here with me, experiencing all of these amazing places. However, as much as I wish he was in Austria right now, this whole experience has been incredible for me and for us. I feel like I appreciate him so much more than I did before I came. It has also been incredible that I haven't had to worry about how this trip will affect my relationship. I told that to my brother Chris and he said, "That's how you know you're in a real relationship." And I am. Basically, I thought the decision to marry him had already been confirmed to the highest extent. Then I came to Europe and it's been confirmed even more. I'm supposed to marry that curly-haired, goofy, happy, handsome man I have waiting patiently for me at home.


I'm usually not one for cliches. At least I try not to be. The only times I ever really use them (them = lovey-dovey cliche phrases) is when I'm saying something to Kameron in an email, text, or something and I honestly can't think of a better way to something I'm feeling. They're easy to fall back on (and sadly, they're usually very true). So instead, I found a couple quotes that say things much more eloquently than I could ever hope to. But, guys. I'm in love. In a really big way. And I want to tell you about it. So whether you read it or not: here are my amped-up cliches.

"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are." --Captain Corelli's Mandolin
      I love this quote. I still very much have times where I'm that stupid, giddy, excited girl in love. But I'm starting to feel that real love, which to me is much deeper. It's constant and it lasts. The only way I can think to explain it is complete comfort. I trust Kameron and I'm excited to work together in our marriage and have a blast in the process.

"Love is friendship set on fire." -Jeremy Taylor
     Simply put, Kam is my best friend. We laugh at the stupidest things that I'm convinced NOBODY else in the world would find funny. One of the initial thing that attracted me to him was our ability to be completely sarcastic with each other. I'm always content doing absolutely nothing with him, and he's always the first person I think to tell if something funny/lame/sad/awesome happens to me. I'm pretty convinced we're going to have the greatest life and coolest family because we have so much fun together.

"The most wonderful of all things in life is the discovery of another human being with whom one's relationship has a growing depth, beauty and joy as the years increase. This inner progressiveness of love between two human beings is a most marvelous thing; it cannot be found by looking for it or by passionately wishing for it. It is a sort of divine accident, and the most wonderful of all things in life." -Sir Hugh Walpole
      I didn't go looking to start dating Kameron. I had just BARELY gotten out of a relationship, and I wasn't really looking for anything. Yep...that changed, and it changed pretty quickly. I stumbled upon this love that has become a core part of my life now, but it wasn't an accident. Someone's looking out for me. Like I said earlier, I'm so excited to grow with this man.

"You come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly." --Sam Keen
     One night as I was falling asleep, the thought hit me how lucky I was to find a man that loves me despite my imperfections. Sometimes I'm hard on myself. I think I'm not good enough, pretty enough, funny enough, creative enough, kind enough...the list goes on. But despite these faults I find in myself, Kameron still loves me with his whole heart, sincerely. That's the biggest confidence booster a girl needs. Kameron isn't a perfect person, but he's the perfect person for ME and, in my opinion, that is perfect. We get to strive towards perfection together.

Thanks for reading my cheesy post, folks. I let Kameron know on a daily basis how grateful I am for him, but I think it's time I let everyone else know how crazy in love I am. I'm in a perfect place in my life right now, and I've never been happier. And in a little less than three months, I finally get to marry the man that's responsible for it.

Praise the heavens.

Vienna and Some Other Things

Hello, my dear blogging world!

It's been a little while (or at least it feels like a little while) since I've blogged. And let's face it, my last blog post was a little depressing.

Let it be known that I'm doing SO much better. I'm really beginning to love it here and it's starting to feel like home. I'm starting to really understand what an amazing opportunity this is and that I need to take it in while I can or I'll regret it.

One thing that really helped me come to this realization was traveling to Vienna. This was the first time I've left Innsbruck since arriving, and heaven knows I needed to travel. I love Innsbruck, but I was starting to spend time in my apartment more than the city because I didn't know what else to do. So Marissa and I hopped on a train and visited Wien for a couple days.

We wanted to spend as much time as we could in Vienna, but didn't actually have that much time. Therefore, we woke up at 4:00 am on Friday morning to catch a 5:00 train. The train ride (my first!) was about four and a half hours, and I did my best to sleep the whole way there.

We got to Vienna around 9:30, ate some breakfast in the Bahnhof, and attempted to understand where to go and what to do next. We didn't really have much of a plan other than directions to the apartment we were staying at that night and a list of sites to see that my wonderful roommate wrote down for me.

We ventured outside and found the subway system. It's super easy to use, which was very nice. Our plan was to find the apartment, and then go site seeing. After getting on the wrong subway once, we finally found our way to the right stop and tried to find the apartment by foot. We walked for probably a good half hour, only to find out that we had been walking parallel to the right street the whole time. We backtracked, found the apartment, rang the doorbell...and nobody answered. We resolved that we would just come back at night and go find some sites.

Our first stop was Stephensdom. Man, this place was awesome. We came up the escalator from the subway and immediately saw this HUGE cathedral. It was amazing. We walked inside (equally awesome) and saw that there was an English tour in three hours, so we decided to come back later for that.

We walked outside, where we saw a bunch of horse carriages. We figured we'd be touristy and take a short city tour. Well worth it. Vienna is an incredibly beautiful city. Our driver (is that what you call them?) was a really nice guy that asked us all about where we were from and what we were doing in Austria.

Next we decided to just walk around and explore. We found more awesome buildings, awesome street performers, and I found some hot chocolate because I was FREEZING. Then we made our way back to Stephensdom for the tour. However, instead of THAT tour we changed our minds really fast and decided to take a different tour of the catacombs underneath the cathedral. SUPER creepy, but also really cool. During the time of the plague, they would just throw bodies down there because people were dying so fast. But then it started to stink really bad so they had to clean it up a little, but there are bones of over 11,000 people down there and they stacked all the bones up. There was a little room where the entire wall was just bones. It was insane and so cool.

Then we made our way to Schloss Schoenbrunn, which is a pretty sweet castle. Okay, it's more than pretty sweet. However, everything was already closing by this time so we decided to come back the next morning and instead just find our way back to the apartment.

We found the apartment and people were home this time. (By the way, we stayed with the girlfriend of a guy in the branch here. Her name is Melissa and she and her roommates were so nice and wonderful.) They were having an Institute activity so we went with them and played games with other YSAs and it was really fun. When we got back, some of the YSAs came over and they started to make plaster masks, but I was so incredibly tired that I ended up just going to sleep.

The next day we went back to Schloss Schoenbrunn and spent a good couple hours there. We got a tour of the palace, walked through a maze, got an incredible view of Vienna, and wandered through some gardens. We had to catch a train not too long after we finished, so we just went back to Stephansplatz and walked around until we headed back to the train station and made our way back to Innsbruck.

I really wish we would have had more time in Vienna. It was sooo amazing and there was so much to see that we just couldn't fit in. I definitely want to go back if time and money allow.

One great thing about going to Vienna was coming home and feeling like Innsbruck was home. It was a city I was familiar with. It felt good to finally feel at home here, you know? We got in at around 9:00 pm, I walked home, and promptly went to sleep. It was a great weekend to be sure.

In other news, I had my very first presentation today for one of my classes. I feel like it went really well, and I got a lot of really kind comments afterward. One of my classmates said, "Well, I can't even give a presentation now because it won't be that good." In all reality, I feel like I have a huge advantage because 1) My first language is English and 2) I've been analyzing literature for at least two years. Most of the students in my class can't say that. So, I was able to focus on the text instead of focusing on my English. All I know is that it feels good to get one done and over with. Three more to go! (With four more long papers due as well, but...let's not dwell on those.)

In conclusion, this place is amazing. I got the first hint of "I'm really going to miss this place" this week, which is a good sign. One thing I'll miss for sure is the food. More on that another time. Kudos for reading this far. I'll try to do better about blogging.

I'd post pictures, but I'm falling asleep writing this. They're on Facebook. Check them out there. I'm lazy, I know.

Anyway, I love you all. See you in 7 1/2 short weeks.

Tschüss!

Home Sweet Home

Hey friends. Just a heads up: This isn't really a "Tell you of all my travels" post.


Today has been a homesick day. Only, it's my fault because I haven't done anything but sit in my room and study. It makes life so much easier if I'm out and about doing something in the city or even going to class.


I don't want to seem like a downer. I'll preface this post by saying that I'm so grateful that I'm here. I have already learned so much, and this place is beautiful. I am loving it.

But I'm allowed to have hard days.

Right?

I keep struggling with this. I am in an amazing city, learning a new culture, making friends, and I really am loving it. So why do I constantly want to come home? Why can't I go through one day here without saying, "Alright...I've been here X amount of days, which means X amount of weeks left. I can do this." It is seriously the weirdest mix of emotions. I am in love with this place...but want nothing more to leave it and come home.


How does that work?!

In all reality, if someone said, "You can go home right now!" I don't think I'd go. I have a lot I still have to do here, learn here, and I have to grow a little bit more. (Now if someone said, "We're flying Kameron to Innsbruck!" I'd have no objection. At all.) And in all reality, when people ask me how I'm doing, I can honestly say I'm doing well. Really well. I'll never regret coming no matter how many of these tough days I have.



Time.


The way we view time can a strange thing. This is what I mean:
If I think, "I've been here two weeks." That feels like I haven't been here long at all and that I have forever to go.
If I think, "I've been here half a month." It seems like SO much longer than I've actually been here and I only have to/get to do that four more times...much more bearable.
If I think. "Two more months." That is killer and seems like forever.
If I think "Nine more weeks." It doesn't seem bad at all.


But it's all the same amount of time.


And speaking of time, I know everyone says that time goes faster when you don't count down. But that's like telling someone not to think about a penguin. As soon as you say, don't think about a penguin...they think about a penguin. So, any time I think about NOT thinking about how much time I have left...that's all I think about. But if I say, don't think about NOT thinking about it...well then I still think about it. It's very complicated, you see. Basically, I'm pretty sure I'll be counting down the whole time I'm here. Deal with it.


Now.
Here is where I just talk about Kam. So, tune out if you want.


The hardest part of this whole trip has been to be away from Kameron. I knew it would be difficult. Of course it would be difficult. But I figured that since I only got to see him on weekends anyway, it wouldn't be AS difficult. In some respects, it probably is easier than if I saw him every single day. But this is in NO way easy. I only get to talk with him once a day if I'm lucky, and it has to be at a specific time due to the time change. I miss the simplicity of being able to pick up my phone and text him whenever I want. I wake up every morning in the hopes that I have an email from him or that he's still awake and online late at night. I'm trying not to have my time revolve around when I can talk to him, but...that's hard. I'm quite fond of him. :) But I've been so INCREDIBLY blessed that he has been supportive as he has been. He doesn't ever really tell me if he's having a hard time with it (which, maybe he's not, but I don't think he'd ever let on to it either way) and I appreciate that. I honestly feel guilty for leaving, especially when I know at least six people that got engaged after us that are getting married before us. I feel selfish at times. Because I needed to take this time to learn and grow at his expense. He has to wait for me. And that's a hard thing to stomach sometimes, especially when I miss him like crazy.

The point is, though, that he's been so good about it. It helps me focus on what I need to focus on here. And then I get to go home and get married to him and spend the rest of eternity with him. And the greatest part is that I get that AND I get this experience, all because I chose a man that is willing to put my needs before his own. I'm eternally grateful for him.


To sum things up:

This is is the greatest thing I've ever done.
This is equally the hardest thing I've ever done.
Time will pass, and I'll be home soon.
I'm engaged to the most understanding, kind, loving, incredible man out there.
And he'll be there when I get back. Win-win.

So bring on the next two months.

One Week Down

Oh hey. 

I've officially been in Austria for a week now. Kind of crazy. 

I've finally begun to get the hang of how things work around this place. I still can't understand what anybody is saying around me, but that doesn't really bother me anymore. I'm sure it will be a super weird thing to come back to the States and hear English everywhere. As creepy as this is, I miss eavesdropping. Sometimes people watching is more fun if you understand what they're saying. 

Anyway, on to some adventures. 

Mostly this week has been spent on my feet walking around this beautiful city. I live really close to my favorite part of town, and it's nice to just walk around and look at all of the old, colorful buildings. I've gotten to taste some local Austrian food, which is delicious! I have to be careful because 1.) I need to save my money to travel to more awesome places, and 2.) I have a wedding dress I need to still fit into at home. 

We've done some more exploring as well. Marissa, her roommate and I all ventured to a castle here called Schloss Ambras. We didn't get to go inside because everything was closed, but the grounds are HUGE. It's kind of a hike to get to the actual castle, and there are trees and grass everywhere. The day was beautiful and once we got to the top we could look out on the city. Pretty sweet. 

We also went with our Austrian friend Evelyn up part of the mountain. Eventually I want to take the cable car all the way to the top, but we just took the bus part way up this time. There is also a zoo on your way up, which is something I must see before I leave. Here is a view of my beautiful city:

Yesterday, we went with Elder and Sister Glover to Kristallwelten, or Crystal World. It's the factory for Swarovski crystal, but they have this exhibit you can walk through with a lot of (very modern) art and whatnot. Here we are outside the "Giant" before the entrance. 

As you can see, it's cold and rainy here. Even though it was like 75 degrees the day before. Kind of like home. :)

My homesickness is less frequent now. I still miss home a lot, but I'm doing a lot better. It helps if I keep myself busy. I'll probably be traveling in a few weeks. I still want to get a little grounded here before venturing. School starts Tuesday, so that's good! I'm anxious to see what the classes are like on this side of the pond. It should be an adventure. 

Ten weeks left. But I'm not counting. 

Put Another Shrimp on the Barbie

Dear Blogging world,

Sorry I haven’t been blogging since I arrived in Austria. This will be a long post, for sure.

The truth is this: coming here has been a lot harder than I imagined. I have been very homesick (mostly for Kameron, I think. Sorry everyone else.) I basically came here all by myself, so I felt very alone with very little contact to the world back in the States. Everyone around me was speaking German and it was easy to feel like there was nobody to relate to in this city.

So let’s start back to the first day.

I flew from Salt Lake to Chicago, Chicago to Frankfurt, and Frankfurt to Innsbruck. Loooooong flights. I tried to sleep on my longest flight to Frankfurt, but despite my greatest efforts, it didn't happen. Which would explain why I was (and still am) so jet lagged. I arrived in Innsbruck at around 10:00 am, and was picked up at the Airport by Andreas (our program director here). He is an extremely helpful guy. He helped me buy sheets. But then I was left on my own. I had no internet connection, no phone, no idea where I was, and no roommate yet. 

It. Was. Terrible. 

I have never felt more alone in my life. The internet was the one way I had planned on talking to people once I got here, including the senior missionary couple I had been in contact with. I had no way of telling my mom I was safe, no way of finding the church, and I didn't know what I was going to do about it. I walked all around the city looking for some place with a wireless connection, but no luck. Finally, I came back to my building and found a very nice girl that lives on the floor below me. She let me use her computer to email Kam and my mom, and then let me use her phone to call Elder Glover. So, prayer answered. From there I tried to sleep, but that was off and on. But I had made it through my first day. 

The next day was Sunday, and also General Conference. The Glovers offered to come pick me up and take me to the church. So, I got to watch the Saturday afternoon session and the Sunday morning session...in English! Woo! Conference is amazing. It was nice to be around people as well. The elders showed me that night where to buy a bus ticket, how to get back to the church and how to get to the University the next day. Again, prayer answered.

Monday was the absolute longest day. We (me and the other girl from USU, who has become a good friend now) had to get registered at the school, with city hall, sign contracts for housing, get an ID card, set up a bank account...everything. So we ran around town for most of the afternoon. There were a few issues with the bank account, but hopefully everything is worked out now. I went to FHE that night, and while most of it was in German, it was still nice to be around people and feel welcomed. 

Then yesterday was the best day. We did so much walking and exploring around the city. Marissa, the other girl from USU, had met a girl from Innsbruck on a website for writers. We met up with her in this awesome cafe called Triebhaus. She brought a friend and we talked with them for about 3 hours. They were very nice, offered to help us with anything, and their English was very good. After that, the Glovers took Marissa and I to buy phones, or as they call them here, Handys. We found a good deal, purchased them, and then the Glovers took us on a little tour around parts of Innsbruck. We ate dinner, (I had a Sandwich Kebap, which is hard to explain but also one of the most delicious things I've eaten) got some history lessons from Elder Glover, and then got some gelato. So overall, a very good day. 

School doesn't start until Tuesday next week, so we're trying to find things to do with our time before school starts. More exploring, most likely. I think we're going to wait to travel until we've gotten settled a little bit. It's a lot to take in. I'm getting less homesick, which is good. I still will have waves of it where I miss people and home incredibly much, but overall, I'm doing much better. And it will only get better from here. :)

I love you all, and bless your hearts if you made it through this whole post. It will probably be more of a journal for me than entertainment for you. I've posted pictures on Facebook, so check those out. For now I'll leave you with one or two of my favorites I've taken so far. :)

KISS: Keep it simple, stupid. Great advice. Hurts my feelings every time.

Day three: A picture of the cast from your favorite show.

The Office. 

Everyone loves it now. 

And I hate to be THAT person, but I totally loved it before everyone jumped on board. 

When I was in Jr. High and high school, I was pretty much known for my unhealthy obsession with The Office. I had an equally unhealthy (if not more so) crush on John Krasinski. Before Jim and Pam became Jim and Pam, I would spend so many hours watching fan-made YouTube videos about them. I could quote any episode, and peg a quote no matter how obscure it was. I would TiVo a late night talk show anytime there was even the slightest mention of the show or any of it's cast members. It seriously occupied my thoughts for the majority of every day. 

Now that I've told you a slightly embarrassing part of my past...

Luckily I'm not like that anymore. It probably wasn't the best thing for me to be doing. 

And even though I'm not the faithful watcher of The Office that I once was, it's still my answer when I'm asked, "What's your favorite TV show?" It holds a special place in my heart. 

And I still have an unhealthy crush on JKras. :)

For your reading pleasure, here are some of my favorite Office quotes:

"It happened on company property WITH company property, so we're fine." -Michael

"I don't think you know what double jeopardy means." -Ryan

"Sorry...what IS 'we're fine'?" -Michael 

"Yeah, I went hunting once. I shot a deer in the leg. Had to kill it with a shovel...took about an hour. Why do you ask?"-Dwight Schrute 

"I've been Michael's number two guy for about five years. He's like Mozart and I'm like...Mozart's...friend. No! I'm like Butch Cassidy and Michael...is like Mozart. You mess with Mozart, you're going to get a bullet in the head, courtesy of Butch Cassidy!" -Dwight Schrute

"I suggested we flip a coin, but Angela said she doesn't like to gamble. Of course by saying that, she was gambling that I wouldn't smack her." -Pam Beesley (Halpert)

"I come from a long line of fighters. My maternal grandfather was the toughest guy I ever knew. World War II veteran. He killed 20 men and then spent of the war in an Allied prison camp. My father battle obesity and blood pressure all his life...different kind of fight." -Dwight Schrute 

"Andy Bernard does not lose contests, he WINS them...or quits them because they're unfair." -Andy Bernard

"I wish I could help, but I can't. Well, I can...but won't. Should--but shorn't." -Michael Scott

"C'mon, Michael." -Kevin Malone

"What part of 'shorn't' don't you understand, Kevin?" -Michael Scott

Waltzing Matilda

Day two:  A picture of you and a person you've been close with for awhile.

Chelsea Johnston. I have been friends with this girl since before I can even remember. From the time our moms visit taught together when we were two ("There are babies on the ceiling!") to now, where we're both grown up and going to college and being adults. She's been there for me through thick and thin. We've had a lot of thick, but I think the thin shines through. I think I've laughed my very hardest with Chelsea. We have COUNTLESS inside jokes and I'm so grateful to have such a funny, beautiful, awesome friend in my life. :)

Thirty Days

I've been doing a poor job of posting on my blog.

 The main reason for that is simply this: writer's block.

 However, I recently started reading my future sister-in-law's blog, and she is doing a "thirty days of introduction"...thing.

Each day is paired with a picture and something to write about it. Naturally, I'm stealing this idea. So, thanks, Lauren, for unblocking my writers block. :)

 Here is goes: Day One: A picture of yourself with fifteen facts.

Facts: (I realize that I already have a blog post with fifteen facts. I'll try to make them different for you few people that regularly read my blog.)

1. Sometimes I miss being blonde. Then I thinking about going back, and I don't think I'd ever actually go blonde again.
2. I've lived in Utah my whole life and I've only been to one of the awesome national parks we have.
3. I'm an English major that happens to be a horrible speller.
4. I've always wanted to be a twin.
5. I love dogs. I've always known this, but lately I've been making Kameron look at pictures of dogs and I literally freak out while looking at puppy pictures. We're talking involuntary squealing, people.
6. I hate shopping for pants.
7. I will rarely make a semi-big/big decision without asking the opinion of someone I trust.
8. I'm not a drink-the-milk-after-you-eat-cereal kind of girl.
9. I believe there is no greater feeling than to laugh so hard you can't breath.
10. I have a fairly large collection of Beanie Babies.
11. If I have a lot of things to get done, I'll usually resort to doing none of them. I'm more productive when I have one or two tasks to accomplish that day. Otherwise I just want to sit around and forget about stuff.
12. I LOVE finding new music.
13. I don't mind when people say "Legit" but I can't stand when they say "Legitly." Just say "Legitimately." Please.
14. I'm not the biggest fan of chocolate.
15. I love to read, but do it near enough.

There you have it! The start of my 30 day...thing. (And I just realized I'll have to finish this in Austria. Crazy.)

"She needs to sort out her priorities..."

Ron Weasley. He said it best.

I just finished packing up my room to move home.

And the thought just hit me.

This will be my last time living in Logan.

Almost five months ago, I started dating Kameron. As soon as I found out he would be graduating and getting a job in Salt Lake it really got me thinking. Early on I knew he was the type of guy I could see myself marrying. If I was to marry him, that would kind of throw a wrench in my future plans. No more Utah State. Maybe no Austria. No next summer on the A-Team.

So, I needed to sort out my priorities.

And it took a good long while for me to really understand what was most important to me. I remember sitting down on the floor in my living room talking to good old Zack Wilson. I remember expressing my worries to him. I had only been dating Kam a few weeks, but I had really begun to fall for him and had no idea what was going to happen when he moved. It occured me that I would never live in the same city as Kameron again unless this relationship ended in marriage, and I got worried that our relationship couldn't handle all of the "See you next weekend!"s that come from a long distance relationship.

So what did I want?

It would have been fairly easy to back out of the relationship at that point. I could have just assumed it wouldn't have worked out, told him I couldn't do the distance thing, and moved on.

Thank heavens I didn't.

In a very short amount of time, I began to realize what this kid actually meant to me. He wasn't someone I could just say "see ya later" to. He was so much more. In an equally short amount of time, we talked about marriage.

Now I seriously had to sort out my priorities.

Only this time, it was easy for me.

I absolutely love going to Utah State. It has been my home away from home, I've met countless friends I'll never forget, I found out who I really was, and I grew more than I ever thought possible. I can't begin to explain my attachment to this school.

But I love Kameron more.

That's what it comes down to.

I love Kameron more.

I feel like lately I've been getting a lot of people telling me they can't believe I'd leave Logan. That they never saw me leaving. That it's absurd that I'm dropping all my plans.

But hasn't my plan been to

marry a worthy man in the temple

since the age I even knew what the temple was?


So, yes, I'm leaving the place that has helped shape me to the adult I am today.
Yes, I'm leaving friends that I'll miss more than ever.
No, I may not get my degree from the school I've grown to adore.

But I will give it ALL up to marry an incredible man for time and all eternity.

And so that's what I'm doing.

I'm not settling, I'm progressing.

Once an Aggie, always an Aggie.