Whew…it’s been a few months, so I’ll hit the wave tops of the goings on over here:
Midterms were okay, but finals were a test of survival more than actual knowledge. I had two midterms, but five finals. All in all, my grades didn’t scorch the earth, but aren’t terrible: (2) B+, a B, and a B-. I’m okay with a 3.1 GPA, because this school is immensely challenging, and having a balance between studies and a life are important to me. In other words, I won’t kill myself to get A’s.
Before finals, I went on a pretty epic 10-day road trip which started in Genoa, took a ferry down to Sicily for New Year’s (stayed in Palermo, and checked out Corleone [of The Godfather fame], Catania, and Messina).
After Sicily, we drove up to Bagnara Calabra, Pompeii, Pescara, and San Marino (a tiny microstate completely enclosed in Italy – is the fifth smallest country in the world, and the only one where there’s more cars than people).
After finals, I made it to three separate places: Malta (which is the 10th smallest country in the world, and is technically on the African continental plate), Hungary, and Austria – the last of which amounted to an adult prom that a lot of my classmates attended for the Wissenschafts Ball of Sciences in The Rathaus (Vienna city hall).
After traveling for 17 days in January, I was pretty happy to be home:
Now for this semester, I’m tacking on an extra class (making it 20 credit hours plus a language), have plenty of work to do as the now editor-in-chief of the school’s newspaper, and on retainer for social media work back in the US. It will be a busier semester, but I also get to carve out some time for visitors: my best friend Kyler and his girlfriend Éowyn will be here in 11 (holy shit) days, Nolan will be here next month with my mom and my aunt, and in April my neighbors Ryan and Rebekah will be here.
This week, I’ll be sorting out Nolan’s passport situation (it’s expired, and requires both mime and his mom’s signature to process), and generally getting things situated for school/social life.
(Bonus: caught my first-ever soccer game; Bologna FC 1909 vs. Fiorentina)
Arrivederci!
Single Dad Abroad 