There is a typical pattern of a college semester- the first two weeks feel amazing as there are no real tests or projects due in the imminent future and everyone is fresh from the break. Piano lessons and ensembles during the first week are the most important part (which continue to be throughout the semester). Around week four or week five, midterms commence and project deadlines approach, creating a hamster wheel effect. We as students enter the hamster wheel on Monday morning, and by Friday afternoon we feel like we’ve been spinning in circles for a minute, hours, oh wait I mean a week. Soon enough, finals are over and then we run away never to see school ever again…until next semester.
I have found ways to exit the hamster wheel throughout the semester with limited success. Each departure from this wheel feels like a breath of fresh air, connecting my soul to a part of the real world instead of stuck in a schedule. Whether this break might be seeing a new concert on campus, or walking a different way home, spontaneously playing chamber music with friends, deciding to go swim in the middle of the afternoon, or just thinking in the brisk air about life, there are many ways for me to connect to the world. Feeling the earth underneath my feet and breathing the fresh air outside allows me to slow down for a millisecond to enjoy the world.
Here in Vienna, there are so many ways to get this “breath of fresh air”. The irregular schedule the IES Abroad program provides allows for the feeling of staleness never to creep in. We just finished the first week of classes after the German intensive, which is later than most semester programs. During each day I try to find something new each day. Whether I spend an hour wandering the first district of Vienna, finding a coffee shop, or visiting another museumor concert, I try to find something that will let me breath and remember where I am. The number of concerts, games, museums, vacation spots, hiking spots and more will never run out for the next three months.
Oh, and how wonderful trying the new can be for all aspects of life. It really creates that new perspective. So, if I ever again catch myself on the hamster wheel and not able to feel connected to where I am, I will take a breath of fresh air, at least on the weekends. The question is will you?
Thoughts with David 