Balance

I've read a lot of useful advice about touring Europe recently. But I guess it just finally sunk in today that I'm going to be studying abroad. Studying being the key word. Not that I've thought of this semester as a vacation, but I haven't really gotten excited about what I will be learning in Vienna.

I will go back to Europe sometime later in life, if at all possible. I've already come to grips with the fact that you can't experience all of Europe in one trip, even if you have the entire semester. So I've picked my places carefully. Trips to Croatia, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, and Hungary would have to fall into my lap. I'm planning on not going to any of these places that I once considered. Not to mention the other 3/4 of the European nations I didn't even consider visiting, like France, England, Ireland, Denmark, Amsterdam, Spain, Greece and the rest. You could live in Europe your entire life without seeing everything worthy of being experienced. So I'm okay with the fact that I won't get to see everything I want to see.

And if I never get back to see the rest of Europe, I can still be happy with this amazing opportunity to see it this one time, because most people can't afford to go.

The entire experience will be a new one, of course, but at least for traveling I can research things to do and places to see. I have no idea what to expect from my classes, teachers, and classmates. I hope they will be worth at least as much as the sightseeing I mean to do.

I won't know what classes I actually got until I arrive, but here is what I signed up for.

Music Performance Workshop. W - 4:35, R - 6:10, F - 12:15
Austrian Art and Architecture. M - 1:15, W - 1:00 (waiting list)
Gustav Mahler. M - 10:35, W - 10:35
Vienna Past and Present. W - 1:25 (waiting list)

The Classical Symphony. T - 1:25, R - 1:25 (alternate 1)
Advanced Music Theory. M - 1:15, W - 1:15 (alternate 2)

I wish I had signed up earlier before Austrian Art and Architecture filled up. I am especially excited about the Mahler class. I have read about places around Austria where Mahler, Brahms and Richard Strauss visited and found inspiration.

What excites me most about this opportunity is that I will be able to be immersed in the history and tradition of perhaps the most important city in the world for classical music. What I learn there won't be just information out of a book. I hope to take all of my experiences to heart and come out of this semester a better musician and a wiser individual, not just a world traveler.