So, the last few days have been rather uneventful. I've done homework, taken an exam for my online class, and watched a few episodes of LOST (which is a fabulous show, by the way!). I have class tomorrow, so I wasn't going to be able to go with the Austrian Buddy Network on this weekend's Prague trip.... BUT.... it's looking like I will be able to after all! I e-mailed the lady in charge, and Amber and I are just going to take a night train and meet the group in Prague on our own. Then, we will be able to do the tours and everything with them. I'm hoping this all works out, because I hear that Prague is one amazing place!

Also, I just have to share two things that happened today:

1) I think that by being in Europe, the experience is trying to definately teach me patience. -- I'm one of those people who, when it comes most things (sports, school, singing, anything), I have always strived for perfection... or at least as close as I could get. On one hand, this kind of attitude has led me to try my hardest at everything, which, in turn, has led to a lot of success along the way. So, in that respect, I'm thankful for this kind of motivation (that I definately believe comes from having very hard-working parents and family). BUT, sometimes I can take it a little further than "trying hard," and I stress myself out about getting 100% on everything. I took an Operations Management exam today (my online class through UK), and didn't feel like I did very well on it. It was bothering me all afternoon, because I just had that feeling that I failed. I really started to stress myself out about the whole thing. -- Well... that's just not how the Europeans do things. They would just say "what's done is done," and be able to move on and just try harder on the next exam. Even Amber told me that I "stress out too easily." -- I got my grade back later this afternoon, and made a B, which is perfectly awesome for that test! When we looked at my overall grade, I still had a 99%.... and then Amber just looked at me and said, "you have a 99% and you were upset?" We just laughed about it for a while. I had no reason to stress out at all, but I had been all afternoon.... :)
Then, I thought back to some graffiti on a wall in Venice that I saw. It said: "No Work, No Stress!" <-- Now, I don't advocate for no work at all, but the stress part made me laugh. Maybe I can learn something from these Europeans after all..... where does stress really get us? I wasted part of my day being upset at myself for no reason at all. -- I think tonight, I will leave the homework due next week for tomorrow morning.... just relax..... watch Lost..... and not stress.

2) With our very busy schedules, Bryce and I haven't been able to have a spoken conversation in over a week. He has been studying very hard for physics, biology, and all things pre-med related.... and I've been traveling and taking exams as well. -- Well, finally, we caught eachother on Skype this afternoon and got to talk for about an hour! His 21st birthday is in less than a week, so I'm obviously missing that. -- While I'm on my travels, I've been keeping an eye out for cool birthday/Christmas presents, and I've definately stumbled upon a few (I can't tell what they are, because Bryce's little eyes read this blog, too!)... but just know that they're good! :)
So, I was telling Bryce that I had, in fact, gotten him a birthday present. Then, he told me probably the awesomest thing that I've heard in a long time. He said that usually he just asks for money for his birthday and Christmas. He said that he'll put some of it into savings, spend a little, and then with the rest, he sponsors an underprivelaged child for Christmas and shops for them some of life's essentials and then a few fun toys. I haven't been that touched by something in a long time. -- Lately, I've been getting a little down about not having many good Christian people to talk to over here in Austria. There's just a big difference in culture between here and home, and I've been missing some of that goodness from home..... but what Bryce told me was such a boost for me this week. There are definately still wonderful guys out there! :) Thanks for the blessing today, Bryce!