Friday, December 13, 2013

Classes Complete

Another busy week of the holidays around here, although actually all of these festive Christmas market pictures are from last weekend.  This week, despite having much to celebrate, I've been fighting a cold so I have been trying my best to limit the number of hours standing out in the cold at Christmas markets...

A twinkling Stephansplatz

Finally made it out to Schönbrunn, which despite being completely packed with people is still a gorgeous spot for a market.

Some nice Austrian musical accompaniment 


And a nice little hidden punsch stand in town

Tuesday was also a big day, my cohort had our official master thesis proposal presentations all morning, followed by the annual charity Christmas party at school all afternoon.  Students took over cooking lunch in the cafeteria and the student representatives manned a punsch and cookie stand, with all proceeds going to a homeless shelter that we partner with here in Vienna. 

The choir performed some Christmas songs...

as did this brand new band which was super impressive...a group of undergraduates, MSc's, an MBA and a professor who had only practiced together once, and they were excellent.

And then Thursday was the last class ever for some of us.  Thankfully we all still have our thesis to write, so we're not actually going anywhere yet, but still the end of a chapter here.  These are the other two I started with back in March 2012, and now after 4 semesters and 22 courses, the three of us have made it together till the end.

Definitely called for popping some bubbly after class. 

I think at some point this semester I was hoping to get some sort of senioritis, or whatever the grad school equivalent of that might be, where I was just looking forward to not having to read and sit in lectures and work on group projects, etc. but that really never came.  This semester was tiring for sure, especially with the condensed time schedule, making each week seem almost impossibly full preparing for the week to follow, but these have been some of the most enjoyable experiences of my life.  I'm not even talking about all the fun extra-curricular things either, but actually sitting in classes and learning with this amazing group of people and wonderful professors is something I wish I could start all over again.  





I have learned so much, not only about Sustainable Development and its many facets and complexities, but I have gained invaluable knowledge about a multitude of nations and cultures so different from my own, and how we can all communicate and learn from each other.  I sometimes now forget just how different all of our backgrounds are and how truly unique this classroom learning experience has been.   

Thankfully though this semester ending doesn't mean an end to getting to go up to school and be on campus some.  I am still participating in a research project with a professor, working on my thesis, singing in choir, being a student representative, wine society and sustainability committee meetings and I'm sure I'll need to just go up there and socialize at lunch some as well.



Plus it is still one of the best views in all of Vienna, and I couldn't possibly go too long without it.


While I'm sad to see this small chapter of my schooling end, I am of course excited to see what 2014 will bring for me educationally and professionally.  Figuring out what comes next is top on my to-do list for 2014, and I have till mid-July to get that sorted out, which seems like a nice long time, but I know that will be here before I know it.

Friday, December 6, 2013

'Tis the Busy Season

It's been pretty crazy around here lately, lots of long days of class and meetings and papers and other assignments, thankfully also some time for some pretty cool events and holiday preparations.

The days are getting noticeably shorter, lots of days being up before the sunrise, and still sitting in class as the sun is setting...which is now officially before 4pm.

We've had our first bit of snow around here as well, definitely not as crazy as last winter so far, but we've had some nice seasonal snow showers here and there.

Our school has now expanded a bit into using some conference rooms and things at the hotel next door for lectures, or in this case a wine society lecture and tasting, with insanely gorgeous city views behind us.  (photo by Peter Frank)

A bit of an unconventional Thanksgiving for me this year.  I had an elective last week which meant class 9am-6pm including Thanksgiving day, so sadly no parades or turkey for me this year, but we did have a bit of a celebratory dinner with my cohort for completing our 3rd and final economics semester.  And everyone played along and said what they were thankful for, so it was almost just like being at home...

School did serve traditional Martin Gans meal the next day actually...goose with spiced red cabbage and dumplings...so tasty, and pretty close to Thanksgiving.

A highlight of this time of year is also the annual UN Womens' Guild Bazaar.  Stands from all over the world are selling crafts and clothes upstairs...

While downstairs there is food from all over the world...first stop Venezuela...followed by China, Paraguay, United States, Eritrea, and Brazil this year...

A proper Eritrean coffee ceremony. 


We've also been having some gorgeous winter sunsets lately

And of course now it's really feeling more and more like Christmas, which makes a lovely place to meet up with friends in the evenings when we can.



Probably some of my most favorite holiday decorations, so grand and elegant.

Or perhaps a cozy alpine scene is more your taste...Austria does it all.

Another cool thing I got to be a part of last week was being on the judging panel for the Tierärtze ohne Grenzen (veterinarians without borders) charity bake off.  The veterinarian university here in Vienna teamed up with Modul this year to host the event, so I was the student representative from Modul on the panel.

So many cakes!


All the pieces we have to taste...thankfully each pair of judges only had one category, although mine was Torten, and there were 35 entries in that category. Even at one bite a piece it was a lot, but definitely a very fun day.

And finally our annual MSc punsch crawl where we go from Christmas market to Christmas market hanging out, sampling food and drinks from various stands. 

Part of the group at Rathaus

This year it wasn't nearly as freezing cold as last year so we made it to four markets!

Finishing up the night at Altes AKH

This really is such a wonderful time of year to be in Vienna, everything seems to twinkle a bit and everyone is outside enjoying good friends and good food.  I'm still working on getting a few final assignments and things finished, including my thesis proposal presentation for Tuesday...but we also have a couple more holiday themed events happening as well including our church Christmas pageant and our school wide charity punsch day next week. All this and I'll be in NYC in about 10 days!