Twilight view of suburban Vienna from my apartment For the past few months I have been living in a homestay in Vienna. My amazing host family lives in an apartment complex slightly away from the hustle and bustle of the city, though still conveniently close by public transportation. Over these few months I have formed a routine of approximately when I leave to go to school and when I return. As a symbol of the normalcy with which I have begun to treat the fact that I currently live in Vienna, I have increasingly thought little of my commute. No longer the amazing adventure it was the first few days, I had begun to ignore it. However today, on the slightly emptier-than-usual subway due to a national holiday, I reflected on the continuing wonder that I am in Vienna. In the context of friends back in the US stressfully preparing for exams, I reminded myself that I too would again be in the US at college with significantly less time to enjoy the little things in life. I tried to open my eyes just a little wider, and catch glimpses of just a few more things flashing by in between stations because just as soon as the Pilgramgasse stop turns into the Margaretengürtel stop, I'll be on a flight back to the US.
Though I am lucky that unlike the majority of my fellow students, I will not be returning to the US before the holidays, the fact remains that suddenly I have only four days left in Vienna. I am terribly excited for the following three weeks of travel, however I must acknowledge the impending conclusion of the major chapter of my travels abroad.
As I walked out of the subway station today, leaving the harsh noise of the train behind, I was embraced by the peacefulness of my little neighborhood. Stopping at a little overlook I usually pass right by, I took a moment to see the city around me. It was not that I haven't taken in the view before, I have, but it was the sudden realization that there are only a few more times that I will have the pleasure of seeing the surroundings that have become my home away from home. I stood there a while longer, two or three more trains came and went, breathing in the cool evening air soaking up for one of the last times these surroundings which have become so familiar. Be they one month or one decade old, daily surroundings can contain incredible beauty. Take a moment someday and stop. Think not about how much longer you are going to have to wait for the bus, or why the road is so icy today, but look at your surroundings with fresh eyes. You never know what you might see.
