Somehow we've reached the last week of July and I haven't posted anything in over a month. Whoops. Once the thesis was out of my hands I was happy not to be anywhere near my computer unless absolutely necessary, but now I'm trying to go back and actually create some sort of record of this time. I'm still working on compiling and going through photos from the past couple weeks of vacation, so in the mean time I thought I'd post just about the first part of the month until graduation!
The end of June I got a wonderful 4 day visit from Ema, which we successfully filled with a nice mix of tourist activities and just hanging out and catching up. She's now in Amsterdam so hopefully this will be a more frequent occurrence.
Some time in the vineyards of course
Once Ema left it was finally time for my thesis defense presentation, the absolute last box to check before graduation.
My supervisor and second assessor in their prime front row seats.
aaaaaaand done! Masters degree officially completed!
My new-found free time then allowed for some long overdue museum trips including one to the Albertina.
One of my very favorite holidays is the 4th of July, which of course over here doesn't usually result in much celebration. This year however, my program manager at school, who is also American, decided to throw a proper 4th of July barbecue!
Our best attempt at s'mores fixings...it was a good first attempt, but we're still awaiting some imported graham crackers to round out the complete experience.
The American delegation!
And of course our favorite internationals got to join in on the fun as well, most of them also decked out in their red, white, and blue.
Gorgeous summer evenings complete with the moon overhead.
The Film Festival and International food stands are back at the Rathaus for the summer, and while we've had some crazy thunderstorms lately, we have been able to get in some good food and movie evenings as well.
Listening to Beethoven's 4th, 5th, and 6th Symphonies.
And then just over 2 weeks ago, my family arrived! Mom, Lexi, and Granny came for graduation and then some relaxing vacation to follow. Since I've been living in Vienna they've come twice, both times in winter, so they were looking forward to experiencing some of the outdoor activities the warmer weather allows.
Right as the family arrived graduation activities and celebrations began in full swing, starting with the annual Alumni Farewell Dinner at a Heurigen in Grinzing.
The Masters students graduating this semester
Reading the MU Academic Oath
After the ceremony a few of us and our families and close friends had a wonderful dinner at a local Heuriger. The weather wasn't fantastic, it rained off and on all day, but we had such a great time celebrating together. There were about 30 of us from all over the world eating, drinking, laughing, and singing for hours, which was a perfect capstone to this chapter.
I still cannot really believe it's over. It seems like such a bizarre few months and surely I have more classes or papers or something that should be done in the fall. I'm in job search mode at the moment, both in Vienna and elsewhere, and I have a few other projects and things which are still in progress to keep me somewhat occupied until I find something more permanent, hopefully soon!
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