december thus far

Poor Greece. The unrest in Athens right now is very scary, and the students and I are glad to have missed the riots by exactly a week.

While I still would like to write up my time in Athens and Santorini, the week and a half since that trip has been so eventful that I'd rather document that first.

We returned to Vienna the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and from that evening until the following Saturday night, I had one mission: to finish this blasted book chapter once and for all! If you've not been keeping up with me until recently, I've been working on a writing project with one of my Wake professors since last June. Our paper will become a chapter in a book about self-esteem across the lifespan. Our chapter talks about the idea that when older adults do creative things, it can help their self-esteem.

I won't bore you with details, but for a variety of reasons it was difficult for me to make much writing progress this summer and this past fall, despite the fact that I've taken a big binder full of journal articles EVERYWHERE with me for the past 6 months. What matters most is that I've got 20 pages of decent writing and over 70 sources to back it up! Sending this second draft to our editor was absolutely exhilarating.

I stole the picture below from Kristi's blog to show you our women's Bible study at the Christmas party we had on Wednesday:


These women are wonderful, and I am thankful that I can continue to get to know them when we start up again in January. My attendance this Fall was pretty sporadic, given some travel conflicts and general confusion about whether or not I was free to leave the house on some Wednesday mornings. I think it'll be a lot easier this Spring.

Speaking of dear Kristi, we spent the day on Tuesday at one of the largest malls in Europe--totally overwhelming. I will be in Vienna over Christmas to help with a Wake Forest vacation package for 17 Wake Forest alumni and their families. Part of my responsibilities for this include decorating the house, so Kristi and I did our best budget shopping at IKEA and other places for some beautiful things that Wake Forest can use this year and in Christmases to come. I'll take some pictures for you when I get the place all gussied up.

My dear students! Today's their last day in the house all together. Most are leaving tomorrow, some are traveling for a bit and then flying out of Vienna in a few weeks, and one is staying on for the Christmas package at the house with his family. I am so sad to see them go--I have SO enjoyed getting to serve these kids this Fall. Each one is so bright and unique, and I'll look forward to keeping in touch to see how their lives unfold from here. I don't know. You probably think all of this sounds cheesy. But I love 'em, and I'll miss them a lot.