The winter blues

I’m not going to sugarcoat it, things are going downhill over here. Not having a Thanksgiving break or meal with family got to me. There’s that saying, “you never truly appreciate something until it’s gone.” Well, I definitely didn’t realize how much I like Thanksgiving. I love the warmth of the holiday: that feeling of all gathering together, cooking, eating and catching up about life. It is also a perfect time to be reminded about the practice of thankfulness, which is something I desperately need currently.

Without Thanksgiving break, these gray winter days before Christmas seem to drag on and on. It also doesn’t help that my German progression is now moving at a snail's pace. Earlier I had two major breakthroughs, one after fall vacation and another a few weeks ago. The first improved my speaking abilities and the second, my comprehension. Since then, however, I’ve stagnated. It is not so easy to see any improvement. Now, I just have to push through, which is what it usually comes down to before Christmas break. Maybe there are some students at Union who can empathize with me.

Aside from the German language though, there are other reasons for this downward spiral. Currently, I cannot travel. Austria has been in lockdown since November 22nd. Everything is closed. I am trying to stay positive about the situation. I always knew there was a chance of lockdowns happening during my time in Europe, and I’m just lucky I made it this far without one. I’m also fortunate to have an Austrian student visa, so I can probably make it home for break. The top thing to be thankful for is that, (unlike most students here) I’m not in quarantine, yet, fingers crossed. Everyday a student tests positive for COVID and then is confined to their room for the next two weeks. The mood here has become rather glum, as people lose more and more friends to solitary confinement. I’m sorry to write more about COVID as I’m sure most people have heard enough about it, but in Austria it seems to be everyone’s primary concern right now. 

COVID brings a certain heavy mood of boredom and loneliness. People just wait for the time to pass, for something to change. Some friends and I decided to start doing things to make life interesting again. So far, we’ve played some pranks on people, started a meme account about Bogenhofen and implemented movie nights. These have all drastically improved the situation, especially the meme account. Bogenhofen is the perfect size for an account with some very niche humor. 

Anyways, I hope this article was not too depressing. I hope that the winter blues have not set in over at Union. Good luck to all of my fellow students with finals.

By Sierra Lastine