Life goes on

I am really not in the mood for updating. Let it be said that I am now registered as a legal alien in Austria for the time being, and that I am very sleepy. Heineken, for reasons unknown to me, has given each student at this dorm a small keg of beer. It's kind of awesome and bizarre: you can't get food for free here, but you can get beer. Whatever works, Kind.

Anyhoo, nothing much is going on: yesterday I finally got my ass down to the seat to study yesterday, and so it seems like I spent a lot of the day in Starbucks. Starbucks here is absolutely ridiculously expensive, but they do have good coffee, food, and large squishy chairs. I also thought that they would have wireless for free, but as usual I think there is some sort of sneaky pay-as-you-go program that will end up costing me an arm and a leg, so I just jettisoned that idea. Now that I've figured out how to register for the university wirelss network, that might become my hidey-hole. Only problem there is that I can't take tea or something in with me. Very sad.

Yeah

So I wrote that last post this morning and then forgot to post it. I'm feeling much less sleepy now, and I have an appointment with a rather interesting neighbor (who is *also* studying Germanistik and Evangelische Theologie). The way she talks about her classes, it's clear that they are actually studying theology and Biblical literature on a level that I'm not going to get until grad school. She has to learn Greek for her classes, and I am really, really jealous. I saw her textbook for it, and I am seriously wondering if I have enough balls to attempt to learn Greek in German. Because it would at least put me ahead of the game, and there is really, really a lot more free time here than I am used to from Wellesley.

I keep thinking it, so I'm just going to say it here: if I were actually fluent in German, this would be a lovely experience. The stress level here is so much lower, and people who really want to learn push themselves.

Wellesley is the loving mother of my soul, but one is constantly under scrutiny, and reaps the benefits and disadvantages accordingly. Every day counts: you have to joy of getting up in the morning knowing that you will be learning and thinking and growing in a very focused way. Everyday counts: you don't get to slack off, ever, and when you do it matters immediately and forever. The pressure is very, very high. But I'm finding that I kind of love Wien, and I am seriously considering grad school here, if I could get the money. Doing a doctorate here would be much cheaper, even as foreign exchange student, than anywhere else in the US.