The Opportunity of a Lifetime...Again.

Funny how plans that have been set for months suddenly change after one day.

I was really looking forward to a long, hot summer in Arizona.

The pools.

The popsicles.

The water-fights at the park.

The late-night runs to Sonic and Pizza-Mart.

The family.

The boy.

The friends.

Fourth of July with everyone.

The swimsuits.

The barbecues.

The sunshine.

The heat.

The monsoons.

My four months of Arizona summer have now been cut in half.

I'll move out of my apartment up here mid-April, and move home.

The boy comes home mid-May.

(EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

And mid-June, I'm leaving him (yay for Skype) and everything else behind

to move to Brussels.

As in Belgium.

For 10 weeks.

And I'm getting paid to go.

Um...WHAT?!

Right now at work, we're doing this massive project that consists of scanning thousands of antique music scores from operas and ballets and putting them (along with all the current research on them) into a giant online database so that researchers around the world can have access to them. We're spear-heading the project, but we've been able to convince archives around the world, including Harvard, to scan their special collection archives as well to add it to the database. One of these archives happens to be in Brussels. Last summer, five of my coworkers went. This summer, my boss received funding for two (maybe three) students to go, and he's offering one of those spots to me. He also said that if I go this year, he'll probably send me back next year for a few days to present at an international conference. 

Once again, ummm...what?!

Oh, and did I mention that I'm getting paid?

As in, my food, housing, and flight are all completely paid for,

PLUS a paycheck on top of that.

So really, I could go for free if I want.

Except I'm going to do a lot of travelling on the weekends.

And probably buy a lot of stuff. :)

So...Yeah. I'll be gone probably from June 14th to August 24th-ish, ten days before Fall semester starts.

It's going to be awesome.

And hard.

And exhausting.

And life-changing.

I can't believe that this will be my third time in Europe, and I'm not even twenty-one.

I'm turning  into one of those people.

And I'm not sorry. :)

As for weekend travels, I'm already making my list.

London

to do all the stuff I didn't have time for last year.

Salzburg

didn't think I'd make it back to my favorite place in the world so soon.

Paris.

Spain.

Italy.

Germany.
Greece. 

Switzerland.

My friends who will be in Europe this summer, anyone care to meet up at Notre Dame Cathedral and split a baguette and some cheese?

Or how about some gelato on the bench outside Mozart's house?

Let me know! :)

Time to brush up on my Italian and German.

And time to learn some French.

I hate French.

Anyone wanna help me?