ne me quitte pas

I'm exhausted from a long weekend travelling to meet up with friends, catching up over calzone and watching the Scotland v Italy rugby match at Murrayfield, the first one I'd ever seen! The photo above is Suzie, Annie and myself (l-r)enjoying the sunshine before the game.

As everyone does, I've been wondering recently what I will do with my life after graduating (2 years away but when did that ever stop me from daydreaming?!) Then I spoke to a friend who is travelling, asking what his plans are when he returns back to Australia and he said "I barely plan the next few days, let alone a year away". That is my main goal I guess, living for the moment and enjoying the now. I'll only be who I am and doing what I am doing right now, so best to revel in it while I can.

Nevertheless, I would quite like to fill up all my spare time abroad with some volunteering plans (I figure the busier I am, the less time I have to dwell!). I am looking into teaching/childcare/human rights and of course interpreting/translating jobs but the latter seems SO hard to get into. I am also really interested in spending next summer working at an orphanage/doing community work, but there seems to be so many companies offering this and other gap year type work I have no idea where to start narrowing down. Please feel free to share your experiences on this! However I worry that if I started doing such work, I wouldn't want to return to do my final year of my degree..

“Love for yourself means love for all, love for animals,
love for everything, for you are all one.”
— Swami Vivekananda

puppy power!

We have a new addition to the family! We've always had golden retrievers and have had a 2 year break since having our last dog so the time seemed right to get little Oscar! We absolutely adore him, he seems so at home already but I wonder if he's going to grow up into a dog or a lion as his paws are HUGE!

#

I really enjoyed a weekend showing my sister the city I've called home for the past two months (Vienna, if you've not been reading).

I'm finally back home after getting annoyed at airport security (why is it never consistent? They took my photo this time at Heathrow!) and staying in Newcastle for a few nights (the Wagamamas was deeeeelightful!) and we watched the final Harry Potter (how unconvincing are their older selves?!) Glad I wasn't tempted by the shops as my wardrobe/chest of drawers are groaning, I really have gone crazy these last years... I'm thinking I won't really *need* to buy anything for a good few years, but that's not going to happen, living in Germany and France (Paris, no less...) however there is that pesky suitcase weight limit..... it's all about the capsule wardrobe, Beth!

Tonight was not only my first night back, but also Zumba night. Mum is obsessed with it (this brings with it her discovery of Shakira, Lady Gaga and J-Lo!) and I was surprised to find myself absolutely knackered after an hour of it... I was very impressed that women A LOT older than me kept going that long... I blame it on being weighed down by lots of cake and sausage/schnitzel from my time abroad... I wonder how long I can use that excuse for?! I'll definately be going back next week!

Hello August!

I've finished reading 'The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy'. Although quite amusing and an easy read, to me, the story didn't really go anywhere (perhaps I should read the sequels?!) and was left unsatisfied with the lack of deep and meaningful quotes I thought I'd find. (I need to accept things for what they are!)

I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you've never actually known what the question is (We always search for answers and solutions and never really know what we really want in the first place?). I guess this book, more so than others, can be interpreted in so many ways and that is why you either love it or loathe it?

Anyway it was the first book I've read in far too long and I'm going to try and keep rotating between English, French and German books.

This weekend I visited Sigmund Freud's old residence where you can sit down and read his works and lots of other books on psychology in the 'Living Library'. Hundertwasserhaus and Kuntshaus Wien left me feeling very happy and inspired, I want to visit the church he designed!

Tonight I'm going to register for my classes at Heidelberg university, book flights and look up info on my accommodation! They've been extremely helpful in sending me lots of emails keeping me up to date on the never-ending stream of paperwork us ERASMUS students have to do.