Tourists....

Coming from a small town in Michigan, I am not used to having tourists around. When Target gets too crowded and I can't look for what I want in peace, I am often inclined to simply drive home without buying anything. Try putting a person like this in Salzburg, Austria, and, not only that, but on the most touristy street in this already touristy city. I often get annoyed when I am on my bike and am blocked by the Japanese tourists taking pictures of the cement or something else just as interesting, making me arrive at my destination 30 seconds later than I wanted to. For someone that wakes up at the last possible second every morning, it makes all of the difference.

Kidding aside (okay, large crowds do annoy me), I do feel incredibly lucky to be able to spend a year in a place like this. In the morning I do wake up to church bells that are so loud, I often think that my parents can hear them all the way in America. But I get up, walk out of what is a former convent, and walk across the narrow street to the bakery. There I greet the same woman I see every morning and order my usual: a hot chocolate to go and a bread roll. I stroll along the street and glance quickly at the post office, reminding myself that I mustn't forget to send this or that person a postcard to remind them that I miss them. Then comes the small chocolate and fruit shop. I always stop and glance at the older gentlemen that owns the place. He wears glasses that are always low on the bridge of his nose and looks as if he could be a coin collector. He is there every day, 7 days a week, and I often wonder what his life story is. Then I pass the wine bar, that I remind myself I must go to, being the lover of wine that I am. Then it's time to cross the bridge, where I stop to glance at the mountains, the hills, the beautiful greenery and the architecture, while also simultaneously trying to quickly walk past the tourists that are, again, taking horrible pictures of each other that indeed will not turn out well.

Finally I can take the bus to class. When I actually am in class, and am not feeling particularly interested in the subject, I look out the window and admire the beautiful view of the mountains and the huge fortress that lies before me, and am so grateful for who I am and how far I've come. After all, it has lead me here.