Bittersweet December

Today is December 4, 2009. That means in 19 days I will fly across the Atlantic Ocean and back to reality. It also means that I can eat a chocolate out of my teddy bear advent calendar! Now that reality is settling in I am making winter break plans, applying to internships, and making my Christmas card.

This year Julianne and I are making Christmas cards. I don’t know what age you are supposed to be to do this, but I guess I have gotten there. I think that people send out Christmas cards after they get engaged, or married, or have pictures of rugrats to put on the front. Luckily, my sister and I have avoided all of those things up to this point in our lives and have no pictures of puppies, husbands, or kids to display. So, what could be better to send to all of our friends who have kids, mortgages, first homes, etc, then pictures of us gallivanting through Europe?

I’ve lived here long enough were not every week has been filled with incredible goings-on. One day this week, instead of going out to the hookah lounge for happy hour with my friends I went to the book store. I spent close to 2 hours there. After much debate, I ended up buying “American Pastoral” by Philip Roth and A PUZZLE! I know, it’s sad, but that night my friends went out to two bars, and I stayed in to do a puzzle. I totally made the better choice. Plus, this puzzle is epic. It’s a 1,000 piece puzzle displaying rows of European and American beers.

It’s my last month in Austria and people are disappearing like pieces from my puzzle. People are starting to pack up and go home. It’s pretty bittersweet to think about returning to the land of the free. I’ve decided to buffer my expectations by doing what I do every day for pretty much every situation: make a list.

Things I am excited for in America
1. Customer Service
I miss it so much. When I go home I am probably going to hug the first customer service representative that I see.

2. The majority of the population speaking a language I can understand
English or Spanish
3. My family
Especially since I am coming home at the best time of the year: CHRISTMAS!
4. American Dollars
the size, the smell, the color, the value, woohee it sends chills down my spine
5. Driving a Car
6. Real Schoolwork
I am 100% disappointed in the courses here. I am a nerd who loves learning, but my classes here have been terrible. I have two more left this month. I am hoping they will salvage my opinion of European education.
7. Capitalism/Democracy
The political/governmental situation here is…kind of unsettling. I don’t feel like you have real freedom here. I don’t want to go into detail, but some stuff has gone down here that would NEVER fly in America.

Things I will miss about Austria
1. The food
Specifically the creamy chocolate and the Turkish food. Turkish food here is like Mexican food in America. It's almost as good, if not better than it would be if I was actually in Turkey. However, Mexican food here is bad, as I expect Turkish food would not be as good in the US as it is here. I will not miss traditional Austrian dishes, because they normally consist of breading, pork, and pork.
2. All my friends in Haus Erasmus
People are already starting to go home and it’s very sad. It’s like the end of summer camp: you tell them you’ll be friends forever, but you’ll probably never see them again.
3. Being able to go clubbing several nights a week without affecting my schoolwork AT ALL.
I am not a party girl. I like throwing a few back and hanging out with my friends, but the amount of clubbing I do here is bordering on insanity. The problem is, I never have an excuse not to go clubbing. I don’t have work in the morning, homework to do, or any other semblance of responsibility. Last night at Praterdome, I realized that I had been there 5 Thursday nights in a row, if not more than that. I don’t think I will be able to maintain that kind of record stateside.
4. Being able to take public transit at all hours of the day
So, I do miss driving my car, but always having a designated driver is awesome. Thanks Wiener Linen for always having a night bust, S-bahn, or U-bahn for me to ride home.
5. Cheap and delicious beer and wine
You can buy wine and champagne here for one euro. If I spend 2.50 euro on a bottle of wine, I expect quality. Half a liter of beer from the grocery store is normally just above 50 cents. Even vodka here ranges from 5-10 euros. When I go back to American the cheapest wine I will be able to buy is Carlo Rossi or Franzia, for over $10. Going back to that swill will be very tough to cope with.

I am almost done with my European Adventure and I have not even come close to filling this blog with all of the shenanigans I have been up to. Perhaps people will just have to find out the old-fashioned way and ask me in person.