The accomplishments of today's to-do list...

As promised...some snapshots of my lovely little flat. Except that it is laid out in a different shape and an extra bedroom, it reminds me a lot of Katrin's flat in Vienna. :)

my "terrace" ;)

the living room area

the kitchen


my bedroom

I also accomplished my other goal of finishing the SAI bulletin board! Impressive, huh? Actually, the pictures still need pinned up on the board, but they were all sufficiently glittered this evening and laid out to let the glue dry first.

Today was the first day of classes. Oy! Good but frazzling...for all. This semester, I don't have class till 11AM!!! The first time ever that I don't have 8AM or 9AM classes! :)

I received two syllabi today that were like 7 pages. Okay. That's fine. What's wrong with double-sided copies, though? Let's save some trees, please! It's easy bein' green!

My ethics professor is pretty much the absent-minded professor. haha! You know Ape big ape on George of the Jungle? For some odd reason, my professor reminds me of him.

Right of the bat, I had a lesson with Lynn. It was INTENSE. But in a good way. I did so well not getting very frustrated at all. However, I am pretty sure I was frustrating her a little bit as she tried to figure out a million different ways to tell me the same thing. It's getting there, but I realized today just how much work I have cut out for me for this year on my voice.

My German class, I think, is going to be sweet. Dr. Moeller is brilliant. She is from Hamburg, Germany, and this is her first year teaching at my university. At first, she has this big, stern German facade, but then the shell cracks and she has this ridiculous sense of humor. I think it'll be fun. As soon as she walked in the classroom, she started speaking to us in German and expected us to pick up on how to respond. I got it right from the start...I knew my German knowledge would begin to bounce back...hopefully it keeps happening! ;) (P.S. Katrin and Martin, thank you for correcting my pronunciation of "universität," so I didn't look like a complete idiot when I had to say to answer a question with it this afternoon!)

Then, I thought I may have heart failure at the price of some books I had to purchase. Oy! I just don't understand how something so little can cost so much! It's like a scam!

Well, I only have one for tomorrow, so it'll be an errands day. My roommate wants to get a hamster. I kind of want a little fishy. ;) Who knows what tomorrow will hold...

Gratitude 112

It was an absolutely beautiful day. And although frazzling and exhausting, I'm doing my best to let that lovely sunshine flood my entire life. :)

Gratitude 111

I love to make people smile. :)

Last week, while I was doing the international student orientation, it was Maki's birthday. Maki is one of the Japanese students here on a three-week intensive ESL (English as a Second Language) course. So...I baked her cake! :) It was great fun. (However, Samantha had to be "Miss Creative" and decide at 11PM to write "Happy Birthday, Maki" in sprinkles...oy! I was up till 1AM. haha! Go figure! Arts and crafts are my therapy...but also my frustration!)

We've done lots of activities this past week with the international students. We even went putt-putt golfing with the students from Kyushu, Japan (the ones who are here for only three weeks). Over the next couple weeks, there will be other various adventures with them until they leave. Next Saturday is either the zoo or Old Man's Cave...I'm hoping for the zoo! ;)

In other spectrums of life, I have been decorating the SAI bulletin board in the conservatory this week. hehe! So much fun! (I am the Editor this year, so my job is to take pictures and play with glitter. YES!) It is nearly finished...a picture will most definitely come of that, too!

I got to see Lynn on Friday for the first time since June! I love that lady! :) She make me smile. We talked lots about life...that whole "what to do next" ordeal. It is really freaking me out. And classes of SENIOR YEAR begin tomorrow! EEK! It'll be okay, though...right? Whatever is supposed to happen will. I am going to do my best to just enjoy my journey. I love it, but it is über scary not knowing what will be waiting on the other side of this HUGE corner coming up in the road. It feels like I am walking blind right now.

I told Lynn that at this current moment in my life, I do not feel ready to enter my graduate studies. It is something I realized in this past week. I very much want the Master of Music, but it is not something to be rushed into. I may still return to Hungary for a year or so. (I, sadly, received the rejection letter this past week for the scholarship I had applied for. However, not receiving it does not necessarily rule out the possibility...) Lynn and I decided we are just going to do a bit of exploring in the coming months and not close any doors just yet.

As for my flat...I LOVE IT!!! Ah! I wish I could just transport this place everywhere I go for the next few years! And my walk to and from home, all of which is a mere block's distance...not even!...is so cool. It is like walking through a little gallery district...little boutique shops and tiny art galleries line the distance. Pretty! And for an instance in time, I feel like I am not in Ohio...as silly as that notion sounds. haha! My goal tomorrow is to finally take pictures of the place and post them tomorrow.

This afternoon I saw this car parked across the street. It's Herbie! How cute! :)

This evening, Q, Tracy, Chad, and I had dinner on the "terrace". hehe! It was brilliant! We chatted for so long. I think I am loving this way too much. Dina, one of our music professors that lives downstairs came outside and was just in shock. "Samantha, what is this? Is this how it's going to be? I didn't sign up for this! I'm surrounded! School hasn't even begun until tomorrow." haha! It was all said in good fun and was very hysterical. And I think Alexa (my roommate) and I are going to have far too much fun this year, too.

Updating blog...Speedy Gonzalos-style! ;)

Wow! I owe a huge apology for not posting for so long. Life happens, and there isn't much that can be done about that. There is still no internet in my apartment, and I went home for a few weeks. I just returned to my apartment Thursday. I am going to try to recap some happenings in Samantha world to bring life up to speed.

My flat is brilliant! I love it! We are still settling but it is nearly all together. I will post pictures on here ASAP. :)

The 21st was névnapom...my name day in Hungary. ;) It actually slipped my mind until I opened my planner that evening. Just a little fun trivia.

Also, speaking of ridiculous trivia, my little sis and I decided that Chad, Tracy, Q, and I are Will and Grace in a little package deal. haha! I have always joked that Chad and I are like Will and Grace, but we thought about the four of us together and decided that Chad is Will, Tracy is Grace, Q is Jack, and I, somehow, Karen. On some bizarre level, it all works.

I am currently working as a Global Ambassador for the international student orientation at my university. The Japanese students on a three-week study program here from Kyushu arrived this afternoon. They are adorable! It is like deja vu of being plopped in Hungary! haha! They speak English fairly well, but it is the circus act of trying to interpret meanings. Slang terms always complicate matters. So far so good, though. They are learning quickly and so am I. Tomorrow, we are going putt-putt golfing! :) Exciting! The rest of the international students, which are here to begin degree programs, will arrive tomorrow.

Classes for the fall term begin next Monday, August 31. Ready or not, here they come. It should be alright. I cannot believe it is my senior year! In less than a year, I will be holding my Bachelor of Music! Eek! So crazy! And so huge! I have smacked into the "What do I do next?" brick wall. I find out about the scholarship I applied for to spend a year of study in Hungary next month. I have also been toying with that Fulbright application. However, my proposal ideas have screeched to a halt. I had a million and now none. I need to find a set of Hungarian songs to focus on, and then it will all fall into place, but until then I am back at the beginning of my research. Jaj! As for grad school...AAAHHHHHHH!!! I have NO idea what to do! I want my Master of Music, but I need to find the right place and the right teacher for me. Nem tudom!

This summer has certainly not been my favorite, but I suppose we all must weather through some storms to find the clear skies. However, growing weary and tired takes so much energy out of you. I was feeling so burnt out...and the school year had yet to even come close to beginning! Nem jó! But then I got to tie up some loose ends and finally spend some time relaxing at home. All will be well. And now for some of those updates...
Enjoy! :)

Note: The updates will consist of the next three postings. They are in order from oldest to most recent info. :)

Baby's First Steps

Gratitude 108

I am thankful to have been home to see Baby Xander's first wobbly steps. It was so adorable! Of course, since this was a few weeks ago, He is now tottling around everywhere. He looks like a little drunken man stumbling. haha! It is absolutely hilarious!





The little guy will be 1 year old on September 2nd. Not a baby anymore...

Let's hit the road!

I'm the Cookie Monster now! Watch out, fuzzy blue man!

Splish Splash!

A Typical Sunday Drive

Okay, maybe it's not so typical...but for my family, I guess it is.

Gratitude 109
I spent some one-on-one time with my dad while I was home. Dad got me on the Spyder (that yellow motorized contraption my parents got for their anniversary) for not just one but two Sundays! Motorcycles really aren't much of my thing, but it was nice. Lots of pretty views and always a good restaurant for dinner. ;) I hate that sitting there makes my butt goes numb, though!

Flowers, bumble bees, and some taps on the shoulder from above...

Gratitude 110
I am thankful for God's little reminders of blessings in life. :)


Mom, Jessi, and I went wine-tasting, and Becca and I took some snapshots of the landscaping at the winery/vineyard:








This last picture is of an inscription on the side of the chapel at my university...an inscription of my "new philosophy" that I embraced several months ago. Yet, I seem to have forgotten to live it.



A week or so before I moved to my new flat, I was walking across campus, and the sunlight fell upon the inscription. I have always known it was there, but I suppose it had slipped my mind. I don't often walk along that particular pathway. Life was at a pretty low point, and as typical Sam, I was trying to hold on to all control myself. (I still am...but I am working on it...) God seemed to be tapping me on the shoulder telling me to just let it all go and what is supposed to happen will, indeed, happen. It so frustrates me not knowing what will come next in this "big picture" of life...or when the opportunities will finally come, but I must remember that His will, not mine, will be done.