(Ok, disclaimer: I really apologize for all of the SOM references in my post titles, but they’re just too perfect to resist…)

Sadly, this week was the time to say auf wiedersehen to Austria. It was extremely bittersweet to leave, but I know it was a “see you soon” kind of situation, and certainly not “goodbye”. I don’t know when, but I have every intention of returning to that beautiful city of music and culture. Maybe if my dice fall right, I’ll even be up on one of those stages some day, but who knows.

It was very interesting to spend a widely celebrated American holiday in Italy. On American Independence Day (the Fourth of July), I spent the morning teaching the four-year-olds I work with about the holiday and about American independence. Only one or two of the students are American, and I was surprised to find out that they did not know much about the holiday. In the United States, I usually spend the Fourth of July grilling hamburgers and hot dogs with my family, swimming, and ending the night watching fireworks from the balcony at my house.

Our final program trip was to the beautiful Wachau, a stretch of the Danube Valley between Melk and Krems.

It’s been an incredibly rainy week here in Freiburg.

The gray clouds started rolling in around Saturday and made Freiburg their home early Monday morning. It’s been cold, wet, and icky. As such, I haven’t really done much of anything my last week in Freiburg… There’s been a lot of Netflix, some (European) Football – see more below-, food, and classes… a pretty normal week for me when the weather has me stuck indoors.

Salut!

The Garden Route extends along the south-eastern coast of South Africa. Our journey started at home in Rondebosch and went all the way to the Wilderness. This was a three day trip of exploration and excitement!

With only 9 days left in Dublin, I’m starting to take special notice of the things I’m going to miss. For simplicity’s sake, here’s a quick list: