Today is Friday and I leave Monday. I am overcome by so many thoughts when I think about this being a reality. I'm nervous as all get out, excited beyond belief and absolutely ready to go, but stay at the same time. I want to be in so many places at once. If only I could be. I want to be in Indiana; I want to stay in Vienna; I want to go to South Africa; and more and more lately I've been missing Pittsburgh. 

I've loved Vienna since the moment I stepped out of the airport, but the longer I'm here, the more in love with it I fall. Everything about this city is amazing. It's beautiful, it's busy but relaxed at the same time, it's easy to get around and everyone lets you be. The everyday people you pass on the "U-bahn" (the trolley system) or on the streets aren't overly nice and don't go out of their way too much, but they certainly are very polite. Everyone just kind of does their own thing and minds their own business. The people I have met here though, are extremely sweet. In fact, a lovely couple and their children came over for dinner earlier. Mat is the pastor at Dawn and Ted's church, and Shelly is his wife. They have two adorable little boys, Sam and Joe. They made dinner and brought it over; it was so delicious! Shelly and Mat are actually from South Africa too! Mat is half-South African and half Austrian. Shelly is full South African. They both grew up there, so it was nice to talk with them a bit about it. Shelly is the sweetest lady too. She was really interested in wedding plans and she even told me some stories from her wedding time! I wish I could spend some more time with them and get to know them better. This is definitely a place I could see myself living someday!

I skyped with Beth and Ashley (the two interns that are already there) last night, and it definitely got me more excited! They told me all about the office and what to expect. Everything there is really professional and we get our own office! They said that the nights get really cold, but the days aren't too terrible. Beth is working with the broadcasting and the actual radio aspect of things, and she's already been live on-air twice! Maybe I'll get to jump right in and begin working! I can't even think straight when it comes to leaving! Prayers are always welcome: Nerves, relationships, health, safety, etc.  : )

Today is Wednesday and I'm sitting in an empty dining room. Justin went home on Monday. He's staying in Indiana for the summer and going to work at the Huntington's Excel office. I'm excited for him! And that he'll be near the area and be able to pick me up in Chicago in August ; )

Monday was a hard day. It was sad saying goodbye to Justin. But at least I'll get to see him in eleven weeks. His poor parents have to wait until Christmas time. Eleven weeks is still too long in my book though! After we took him to the airport though, I went with his parents to the TWR office to help out. His mom was preparing for a conference in Greece so I got to help make powerpoints and make folders of TONS of information for everyone. Yesterday I went back with them to help out some more. I also got to meet Kate, Dawn's intern for this summer. She's from Colorado but goes to college in Oklahoma. She seems like a really nice girl. It was cool being at the office and helping out...almost like I'm getting a head start on my internship. Kate, Dawn and Ted left for Greece this morning and will be gone until Sunday, so it's just me and the kids until then. I'm not too nervous. I think I know my way around well enough by now to get anywhere I need to go. The kids don't have school tomorrow because it's a national holiday in Austria, but they have a picnic at a park for the school, so I think we'll probably go to that unless it rains and it gets canceled. I'll have sometime to explore a little bit by myself, and on Friday Micah (he's 10) has an awards ceremony at school in the morning that I'll go to and then he gets out early, so maybe I'll take him out for ice cream afterwards.

Africa. I leave for Africa Monday evening. How crazy is that?! I've been waiting so long to go, and now it's so close! I'm excited, but definitely nervous! I can't wait to meet the other girls and get moved into our apartment, or "flat" as it is called there! Ashley and Beth have been there for about a week and a half now and are all settled into their "flat" already. Alena will get in about 12 hours after I do, and Alyssa will get in about a week after us. There are going to be so many adventures! I was in contact with my boss/mentor yesterday, and it sounds like shark cage diving is definitely going to happen at some point! He also said that I need to be prepared for really cold weather. He said that at night it has been getting below freezing! Yuck! During the day though, it seems to have been getting to the mid to high 60s. I'm really going to miss summer!

Anyway, I guess that's all for now. I think I'm going to go for a walk and get a few gifts maybe. Keep looking at pictures on facebook! And keep praying!! : )

I think I want to move to Vienna! It is absolutely gorgeous here! It's really easy to get around and pretty clean. Even with not knowing German, it's pretty easy to communicate with people, and it seems like if I actually lived here and wanted to learn German, it would be pretty easy to pick up. We got a chance to visit a little town in Hungary too, Schopron. I loved it so much! It was so cute and very quaint. We walked around the town and then had lunch at a little restaurant. The lady who took us knew the owner, so that was nice when it came to ordering and such. I had a goulash soup and it was very tasty! Then we walked around some more and stopped in a few shops. There were several stands where they sold hand-made lace and little crafts. The day ended with the "best ice cream in Hungary." It definitely was good!

Yesterday we spent the day in Bratislava, Slovakia. It's been my favorite so far. The city just seemed more "real" than the others. I don't think it's supposed to be as safe as Vienna, but I didn't feel unsafe at all. We (me, Justin, his mom and dad) went to the TWR office first. It was cool to see another office like the one I'll work in soon! Alenka, a print and web journalist for TWR showed us around the city after showing us the office. She knew so much! I enjoyed getting to talk to her about things I might be doing in South Africa. We went to a local Slovakian pub for lunch. I had a helushki-type dish. It was noodles with a sheep cheese sauce with bacon and smoked sheep cheese on top. It was delicious, but really filling. I maybe finished half of it and felt like I was going to explode! I took tons of pictures.. it was so pretty there! We went up to a little castle that you could look out from. You could see the entire city and you could even see a lot of Austria! We had ice cream there too. It was so good! One thing's for sure...I don't know if I'm ever going to like American ice cream again! Ice cream, or gelato, here is more like a frozen custard. And it comes in any kind of flavor you could imagine! Out of all the places we've had ice cream, my favorite is at a little plaza here in Vienna near the Christian school that Justin's siblings go to. My favorite flavor is pistachio. It's delicious!!

Justin is leaving on Monday. He'll go back to Indiana and work for the summer. I still have a week and a half left. I'm glad I don't have to leave yet, but I almost just want to leave with Justin! It's going to be a long summer! 

Two of the girls got to Jo'Burg this week and it's making me really anxious to go! I just want to be there and start working and see what I can do. I want to explore the area I'll be living in and get to know all of my "coworkers." None of that is to say I'm not nervous, because I definitely am. I'm scared that I won't be able to put what I've learned at school to use or that I won't know what I'm doing. I'm not very good at asking for help. 

That's all for now. I'll try and update again soon. Be sure to check out some pictures on my facebook page!

So Justin and I are in Vienna now! I wanted to update yesterday from the airport, but we couldn't get internet. It was a long day yesterday; we got to the airport at just a little bit after 8 a.m. Our flight left at around 2:30 p.m. When we got into Frankfurt, there was a slight delay when it came to customs..it was shift change and so we had to wait in line for about 20 minutes or more! It was pretty frustrating, but we got through with enough time to make our flight to Vienna, so that's good!

When we got here this morning, Justin's parents greeted us with flowers and a balloon. They seemed pretty happy to see us! It was really good seeing them. It was also really good getting to stretch my legs a bit :P

Justin went to sleep as soon as we got to the apartment. I showered, and then me and my future monther-in-law went for a little walk and visited the TWR office here in Vienna. Vienna is such a cute city; and it's so easy to get around! I could definitely live here!

After that, we came back and Justin got up and showered and got ready. We got gelato at a little shop and then went to pick up the kids from school. I think I've decided that if I ever have kids, that's the type of environment I want them used to. I'm not sure if I'm going to want to live in Europe, but a diverse culture is very important to me; and from what I've seen of Vienna, it's very diverse! After we went to the kids' school, we went to Kerith's volleyball game and then to Micah's baseball game. It was a lot of fun! We came back and ate dinner, and now here I am! Just blogging away!

On Thursday we are going to Hungary! I cannot even wait! There has also been talk about a small trip to Slovakia or Italy too! Can't wait!! We'll see what happens!! For now, I am finally going to bed! I've pretty much been up (aside from sleeping a bit here and there on the plane) since about five on Monday morning!! Don't forget to keep praying! Thanks!

One week! In one week Justin and I will be on our way to Vienna! Actually, we'll just be sitting at the airport at this time, but anxiously awaiting our flight! I can't believe it's come so soon. All that stands in my way now is editing a paper, a few finals and packing. How crazy is that? This year absolutely flew! And after Vienna, it's off to South Africa for me! I'm so nervous, but extremely excited. It's definitely going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience! I'm excited about everything I'll learn, and about all of the people I'll meet. I just need to get through this week! Keep praying! Here are some things you could be praying for:

• That I use my time wisely (studying for finals and such)
• Concentration and motivation
• Safe travels
• Relationships

Okay, so I promise to try and be better at keeping this blog updated once I'm in Africa. Hopefully then I will have more exciting things to say anyway! I've been working on homework for everything all weekend, but mostly just my senior seminar paper. Taking this class has really made me wish I was already graduating! But in 2 weeks I can officially be categorized as a senior! Also in 2 weeks, Justin and I will be almost on our way to Vienna! I can't believe it's so soon! I have no idea where this semester went at all! I do know though, that it will be really nice to have a little break before next school year starts! It seems like every year just gets busier and goes by faster. Next year is going to fly!

I am so grateful for all of the blessings right now. I've made it to be a junior (almost senior!) in college, I am going to Africa for a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I'm getting married to my best friend! And that's just a few of the highlights! Life is awesome!

As South Africa is creeping up faster, I'm having mixed feelings. More than anything, I'm excited. I've been dreaming of doing a trip like this since I can remember, and it's finally happening! But at the same time, it's scary. I'm going to be in a new country with people I don't know. It's scary, but I have a sense of peace about it at the same time. Just continue to pray, please. Until next time!

In just 18 days, Justin and I will be on our way to Chicago! And then it's on to Vienna with a short layover in Germany. You wouldn't believe how excited I am! It's definitely going to be a good trip! I'm really excited to be part of the family! :)

Annnnnnd then.. South Africa! I can hardly focus on anything else right now, which isn't completely ideal ... I still have a lot to do yet this semester. It doesn't feel like we should pretty much be done; I feel like the work is never going to end! My flights are all in order, and just about everything else is done. Now all I want to do is pack and leave! It can't come soon enough!

It's going to be one amazing summer, that's for sure, but it's going to be tough too. I've never been away from my family that long, it will be a long time without seeing friends, and it will be a really long time not seeing Justin. I know I won't be completely on my own; once I get to know my roommates (I am living with two of the other interns) and whatnot, but it will take some getting used to. I'm excited to meet them and work and live with them! I think we'll all get along really well and we're already thinking of different adventures for while we're there!

For now, I have to go and get some more reading done before I go to bed. It never stops. I've never had so much reading as I do this semester! Please be praying for me, as well as the other girls, that we can keep focus as we are finishing up school and that we are able to finalize everything we need to this summer so it all goes smoothly! Good night!