[most of the links in this entry are to pictures I took of the event mentioned]

Time is slowing down now. Three weeks ago, I caught the 2am bus to the airport and by midday I had found myself unpacking my things in a little room overlooking some vineyards outside of Vienna. This is my home for the next few months - a place where I can think in the mornings, focus on my studies, and meet people from all around the world. It was a busy road to get here, though, and certainly that road is worth a few journal entries on its own, but a (long) selection of highlights will have to suffice.

My last entry was at the end of Hilary Term in Oxford. during the intervening break, Kathleen and I spent a week over Easter in Spain. An absolutely fantastic break for both of us, this trip was my first to the country and also my first to the Mediterranean. People say that a change of scenery is sometimes the best thing for you, and that certainly was true of this trip. No obligations, no deadlines, and really not even much of a plan for the trip We just wanted to bounce around the Valencia/Murcia region and see whatever we felt like seeing at the time. The two most interesting encounters we had were with the City of Art and Science in Valencia and the Semena Santa festival. . . well, everywhere else.

The City of Art and Science in Valencia has to be the most gorgeous architecture I have ever seen. Completely organic is form, and pure white, the structures (I hesitate to call them buildings) are in the old river bed that runs through Valencia. There is a museum of science, a planetarium, a oceanographic area, and a soon-to-be-completed amazing art museum and concert hall. If you are ever in Valencia, this is definitely something you have to see.

The Semena Santa festival occurs the week before Easter in many parts of Spain. Many of the towns have brotherhoods that were formed to do community service. Of course, these brotherhoods were part of the Church. I’m not sure how the festival actually started, but in some towns it has grown to spectacular portions. The members of each brotherhood process through the town, generally after sundown (and sometimes at 4 in the morning!), cloaked in gowns and pointed caps (same type the KKK wear(wore?)). The procession was one of penitence, and they generally carry crosses and very large renditions of the stations of the cross. No matter what time of night or morning these festivals happened, the streets were always filled. We saw a number of these festivals in different towns, and it was interesting to see how each was different. In Murcia, the men all looked like they had shirts filled with rocks or sand. More penitence? We thought so, until they reached inside, pulled out some candy, and started handing it to the kids. In a number of the towns, the procession was slow, with a basic drum beat and Very out of tune horns being the only noise. Lorca, however, was a completely different case. The festival there was more of a corporate production than a march of penitence. The streets had been covered in packed dirt to cushion the horses and chariots(!), and the grandstands were set up for 30 euros a seat (all of the rest of the festivals were free and just had basic chairs along a normal street). There were dancing horses, lots of Romans, and, oddly, a twenty foot high float with Cleopatra on it. I think the meaning got lost somewhere…

We spent a few days in San Pedro del Pinatar, completely relaxing. I have to say, I was quite pleased with my sand castle.

The trip ended for me when Kathleen’s conference in Valencia started. She was the only student to present at the conference, and easily wooed the unsuspecting professors over. I flew back, but she went on to have a trip to Rome to see her cousins, and happened to be there just when the Pope passed away. Pictures from those days can be found here.

Right. Moving on, also during Easter break, I went back to America for a few days. My parents are moving house (how I’m going to miss my old room!), so I tried to pack up things a bit. This ended up not working very well, as I had to spend a few days getting my application ready for the James Martin Institute Studentship, which I ended up not getting. Still, it was fantastic to spend some time with Mom and Dad again. That weekend, we went up to see Emily in DC and did a little sight-seeing. It was a very needed chunk of time with the family, and I’m glad I got the chance to do it.

On a side note, the whole trip was possible because of my free ticket I got for being bumped from my flight over New Years (for the story, read the Journal entry).

After DC, I flew up to Boston to see Tom & Kate - my old roommate from St. Olaf and his wife (who was old roommates with my best friend Camille), and visit Camille in Vermont. Again, it really was an amazing trip. This was the first time I had seen Tom and Kate since before their wedding (which was exactly a year ago today. Happy Anniversary!). Stepping into their house was like going back to Olaf. I was quickly reminded of what a unique place St. Olaf was while we were there, and of the calibre of friends I made those four years. I was really swept up in the great trip this had turned out to be by this point, and then I headed out to see Camille at the Vermont Law School. I had promised Camille I’d get out to see her before she graduated, and I was so happy to be able to keep that promise! I had never been to Vermont, with its winding roads and picturesque mountains. VLS is in a very small town (a 10 minute walk for end to end) in a valley by a river. I got a chance to meet a number of Camille’s friends that I had heard so much about over the last few years. It was brief, though. Camille had exams the next week, so I only had an afternoon with her. It was enough, though, to get a good taste of her environment.

Isn’t strange that you can tell so much about someone by experiencing the environment they are in? Camille and I have never spent much time together in the years we have known each other. We haven’t even been in the same town, state, or country, for a matter of fact! As a result, there were times where I just couldn’t connect when she was talking about life at VLS. A short afternoon later, however, and I completely understand things that made no sense to me before - just because I had the chance to be with her for a bit in context. I imagine the same is true for many of us. Every time I go home and have a chance to see my friends and family in a new context, I not only can understand their thoughts and concerns more, but I also feel closer to them because I can see a new side of their personalities.

It tears me apart that I haven’t been able to get back for the weddings of all of my friends. Tom & Kate and Rob & Betsy both got married on exam dates, and Amber’s (my swing dance partner) wedding to Drew is coming up in a short few weeks, but I will have to miss it because I am in Austria. These are big events, and I had been looking forward to Amber’s wedding in particular for a long time (LOTS of dancing!!!), though I’m not sure the groom would let me flip her around It saddens me that I can’t be a part of these events, but so far I have done pretty well at seeing a few old friends every time I come across the ocean. I wonder how your views and understanding of me would change if you could see me in Oxford, or now in Vienna. . .

When I returned to Oxford, it was time for Trinity Term. The weeks just flew by. I spent a few days in Sussex doing research at a library there. Right now I’m trying to pull together my interests in security studies with my interest in social science (and science and technology) perspective on policy analysis. Sussex has a research group called the Harvard Sussex Program that focuses on analysing policy about chemical and biological weapons. While there I looked into complaints that have been raised against current export control regimes: how, by whom, for what? Do complaints actually have a forum where they can be made? Does anyone listen? Are export controls still the best idea for limiting the spread of weapons given the plethora of dual-use items (having both peaceful and hostile possible applications) available today? What kind of process might be needed to develop a better system of governing the flow sensitive technologies? Better for whom? Big questions that I’m still whittling down to researchable chunks.

Trinity was also a time for hellos and goodbyes. Camille is spending the summer working in London. Ah, how the fates love to play. We did get to spend a few days together, though, including a stint punting on the Cherwell (see the Trinity Term pictures above). It is actually working out pretty well because she is staying my room this summer and paying my rent Nick has now left Oxford to pursue his law career in London (though I think he’s in Paris at the moment). Nick, Kathleen, and I have been friends since the two of them first came to Oxford in 2003, and I will really miss having Nick around to set me straight and lead me down paths in life I may never have walked on my own. It was also a time to saw goodbye to Kate, Elin, and Eve, three friends whom I ate dinner with whenever I was able to make it to Hall. They started their first degree when I came to Oxford in 2002, and were some of my first friends. I can’t believe they are now graduating!! Also, on a brief trip back from Austria for an interview (for another post I did not get), I finally got to meet Camille’s boyfriend, Aaron.

Just before I left for Austria, I took part once again in the Summer Eights bumps racing. This time, I was in the MCR boat way back in 7th division. It was a lot of fun to teach some of the guys how to row and then throw them into the middle of the chaos that can ensue in the lower divisions.

And that brings us, at long last, to Austria. I arrived in Vienna at the end of May. It was hot, and I expected cool. It was flat, where I expected mountains. Those, however, are the only ways this wonderful city has not lived up to expectations. I have quickly developed a love for Austria, and feel entirely at home here. My knowledge of European geography, I have come to learn, is appalling. Did anyone else know that the Czech Republic is actually North of Austria? Did you know that it is further from Vienna to Geneva than from Geneva to Barcelona?! If, like me, these are all news to you, have a look at a helpful map of Europe. I am trying to meet up with Julia a some point this summer. She is in Sophia, Bulgaria, and I thought, ‘Hey we can meet in Prague! That’s a nice middle point.’ Whoops.

Just to clarify, My hostel is in M??dling, which is southeast of Vienna just outside the city borders. I work in Laxenburg, which is about the same distance from Vienna but a little more south. It’s only a 20 minute train to the city centre from M??dling, so we usually go in once or twice a week.

My research this summer is going to be an intensive literature review of the relationship of cultural theory to other tools of policy analysis. It is a necessary part of my doctorate, and will be very useful for research currently going on at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), my office/palace for the summer. In addition to the hours I spend in the former bedroom of Empress Sisi, I have had a chance so far to meet a bunch of the 60-odd other Summer Scholars here from all over the world. My roommate is Swedish. In my division at IIASA, we have students from Japan, Sweden, South Africa, USA, India, Poland, Vietnam, Germany, and China. You can read all about us here, and there is more information on the program here.

There have been a number of adventures already in our quest to see this part of Europe. We spent a day in downtown Vienna just to get our bearings, and a few of us went to Schroenbrunn Schloss, the summer palace of the Hapsburg Dynasty. I have been to the Staatsoper, the Vienna State Opera House, to see the ballet Spartacus. Just yesterday, I saw some ruins in the hills behind the hostel, and then we went for a “long night of music” in Vienna. This is a fantastic event that is held a few times a year. When we got into the city, we bought a single ticket that was good for over 60 concert venues that had music playing from 7pm until 2 in the morning. Everything from Rossini to Tom Waits to Electronica and Swing. We listened to some folk music in the Jewish Holocaust Museum and some electric blues in a bar that reminded me of the Wabasha Street Caves. Speaking of the Caves, while some of my friends went to Rossini at the Staatsoper, Dimitri, a Ukrainian, and I decided to check out the swing scene. The band was good. A cover band, but they had the beat. The floor, however, was empty. There were lots of people there. There was room to dance. But no one. . .was dancing. What’s a guy to do? I started sweating just listening to the music. Lindy, East Coast, Jive, they played it all. I looked across the crowd, and on the other side I noticed a woman, tall with brown wavy hair, obviously enjoying the music. I made my way through the crowd and finally got a chance to ask her if she would like to dance. Two left feet, she said. I said that was alright, but she wasn’t budging, so I looked elsewhere. The tempo was increasing. I couldn’t hold it in. I started asking randomly if anyone wanted to dance. Ah! A girl, looks American (actually Austrian), surely she knows how! She said she knew the basics, and agreed to give it a go. Fantastic! We danced a song, then Demitri danced a song with her. But no one else joined in. The swing scene, it was clear, did not exist in Vienna. Well then, we must create it ourselves! Out the back door Demitri and I went. In the alley I taught him the routine Michael and I worked up years ago at St. Olaf. Back inside, we waited for the right song. Jump, Jive, and Wail. That’ll work nicely. Taking over the floor, we started with the old ‘you stand up straight, I’ll leapfrog over you’ trick and dug right in. After the routine, we let other people have the floor, but no one came! So we got back out there and just let ourselves go for the rest of the song. It felt so good! The next song - the last of the evening - also had an upbeat tempo. Early on, we noticed two girls who started to dance together. Aha! Politely cutting in, we proceeded to dance the night away, and by the end of the song, we had a few more couples out there as well. The early beginnings of a summer of swing, perhaps? The next big event on the list is a Swing Dance I’m putting on at IIASA on 1 July. I can’t wait to let the rhythm flow.

And that, my friends, as they say, is that. Many stories left untold, but I now feel that you are up-to-date on where I stand. I plan on Journaling a lot this summer, as events happen quickly and my thoughts move right with them. As always, feel free to leave comments on my website for Journals and pictures.

I hope you are well, and look forward to hearing what’s new with you.

Cheers,
~Sam