My last class officially just finished yesterday! The past few weeks have been a series of going away events as everybody is getting ready to head home or onto their next destination. It is easy to forget the feeling of alone we all once felt when we first arrived when you start to realize how many new and incredible people you have in your life. The people I have had the opportunity to meet and get close to have made my life that much more full. I will certainly miss the Sunday struggle when all the grocery stores would be closed and having friends to call in the building to ask what ingredients they have so you can possibly combine your items and make something edible. Coming home and shouting up the building and having friends greet you through their windows in all their different accents.
As I head into my last week in Austria, the feeling of ?end? is really sinking in. I am starting to get all my final grades, close all the remaining paperwork for my housing contract, and packing up nonessential items. The last few weeks, I have helped so many people to sort and clean their places but it is hard to believe that it is now my turn to do it. Some of my closest friends have already left but I am glad to not be one of the last ones here. Everyone is chatting excitedly about their plans for summer and their remaining travels after the semester ends and I am so happy that I now have so many connections all over the world. It is incredible how quickly the time has come and gone and I would not have changed a single moment of it. Vienna and all the experiences I have had on this exchange semester have filled my life with so much beauty and joy. To all the people I cherish, I will never forget how you have changed my life and it is not a matter of when we will see each other again, but where in the world we will be when that does happen.
One more week. One more week until I head to my next destination, Jerusalem, Israel. I have been given the opportunity to volunteer in a hostel in Jerusalem which is something I have always wanted to do but never imagined actually being able to. This next chapter of my life excites me but I realize once again I will be in that lonely place of being in an entirely new country while a completely different culture. But looking back on everything I have accomplished since I first left the United States earlier this year, I am far more confident in myself that I will be able to face whatever challenges lie ahead. This opportunity has certainly been a once in a lifetime opportunity and I will cherish all the memories I have made and perspective I have gained for the rest of my life.