:)

Yesterday, I went to class for a few hours in the morning and then went to check out a few museums in Vienna that are on my bucket list. I like going to museums by my self sometimes because then I can go at my own pace and see the things I want to see. First I went to the Albertina museum where I saw art from artists like Bruegel, Picasso, and Monet. Then later I met up with Alyson and Kate (exchange students) and we went to the Leopold Museum. That was by far my favorite museum I've seen so far. One floor was completely dedicated to art throughout the ages that has a cloud theme. There was one wall covered in over 200 small paintings of cloud landscapes which was super cool! There was also an installation from Andy Warhol with a room full of silver bags (representing clouds) floating around the room freely. The whole idea almost felt like a childish dream and we were all giddy with the thought of it. The museum also held works from Gustav Klimt, Van Gogh, and Monet. There was also this massive glass window giving a perfect view of the Vienna skyline. We sat for a while and stared at the city that has become our home. It was a sentimental moment as we all reflected on our year, and how we've changed. My time here is really coming to an end, and that makes me really nervous. I want to make sure I spend time equally with school friends, exchange friends, and my host family, and I don't want to leave any loose ends behind. I only have one more week left in school here, and I am actually sad about it. School itself isn't too great, but my friends there make it so worth going. I know it is going to be really hard to say goodbye and I'm so grateful I'll be seeing most of them again in September when the class goes on a trip to the U.S.
I leave tomorrow with my host family and Alyson to spend a few days in Carinthia (the only state of Austria I haven't been to yet) and maybe a day trip to Italy. Then on Wednesday I leave on my EuroTour!!!! I am so stoked to travel the world with the best of friends, but sad at the same time knowing it will be the last time I see many of them. Again, it's going to be really hard to say goodbye. But in the words of Winnie-the-Pooh, "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."