This post took a weekend in the making. Thoughts and experiences, though braised over to keep it short, this Love Diary post is close to my heart. And it all started like this…
A month ago my BF asked me to come with him to Vienna for the 125th Year Jubilee of the student association he belongs to, to be celebrated at the Palais Niederösterreich. After much preparation, we took our Zurich-Vienna last minute flight with Austrian. It was the first time I was not just meeting elderly members of his association but also meeting his brother, needless to say I was nervous.
My first “prost” to his family member was some 10,000 feet above ground, mid-air across Swiss Austrian border, while incredibly nervous ( I am a nervous flyer even after years and years of flying cross continents atleast once a year) – and added butterflies as this was also our first trip together. I do not believe that travelling together keeps a couple together but I do believe that if travel is like love then it is perhaps because we are in a state of awareness, – heightened by fatigue, stress, excitement, and many other factors that make us receptive of our surroundings and mindful of our actions and reactions – thus giving an insight to our compatibility and affection in its true form.
I will not go into the details of Vienna the city, for that you have travel blogs – but I will tell you about Vienna the feeling when you are with someone you love, and as a Swiss Student Society member. It’s a blur. Of giddy emotions, good friends, familiar faces, laughter and conviviality of conversations, beer, and slow dances under canopy of frescos.
Needless to say, we were happily drunk, with our colleagues from Austrian Students’ (ÖH and ÖCV), and being colour bearing women from Swiss Student Society (SSS) – which often has its plus, – we got to meet our colleagues from other European Student Societies, and in such a rare case – we even got the opportunity to enter their buildings for a good round of drinks and networking. So the first evening (as many companions of our association’s brothers enjoyed making apfelstrudel), I enjoyed chatting up at the kniepe, and finally attend the kommers where a very lucky fux became a bursch! And of course, I wore my Orion colours with pride. And for this, I can only thank our former Central President (a woman) of SSS who pushed for colour bearing women to be able to participate equally.
What I really loved about this evening (apart from the official grandiose) was the fact that vodka shots after beer might have left me floored but the man I love was there to safely bring me back to the hotel, and tuck me in for a goodnight sleep. That is a safety and security that comes with love and affection.
Oh! Here’s a fun fact about me. When I am tipsy it gets hard for me to switch between languages – and usually I am jumping between English, French, individual dialects from people, and high German – as modes of communication during events. I stutter a bit and often I say my thoughts out loud in badly formulated sentences, only half explaining what I mean. So that happened a lot this weekend – leaving a bunch of people very confused. But somehow they understand me. I am thankful for that! And yes… communication goal achieved.
Next day, Saturday, I walked around with highly polarized reflective Ray Bans, cause my eyes, my head, my face – everything hurt! I was hungover. But my enthusiasm! Went to the hairdresser and got my hair done for the ball, and finally went to my room and slept for two hours before getting ready. Best decision ever. Of course, BF joined in after a few glasses of beer, and we snored in harmony. Well, I think I snored too. (Not sure. But must be.) Needless to say, evening was star studded – with our friends, and the ball was fabulous! We all looked ravishingly good, and our dearest older gentlemen did a comical production that was Broadway worthy, – leaving us younger generations with a challenge! And oh! Finally I got to wear the gown I had planned for my friend Catherine Colonna de Stigliano’s Bal Des Étoiles (that I missed on accounts of health, work, and studies). I was happy to note that the size alterations (to make the gown smaller to fit) finally worked and the gown didn’t just fall off. Also, despite our gowns, none of us fell on our faces while dancing.
But Sunday came too soon. And with Sunday’s boat ride and lunch on the river (with a phenomenal lobster soup, and stimulating company), we said bye to Vienna, taking our designated shuttle to the airport. Through it all, this trip was undimmed by familiarity and ready to be transformed into new and wholesome as we enjoyed a weekend away from work and studies and stress – and somewhere deep down I think my BF knows that the best gift that we can give eachother is a lifetime of laughter, mutual support, understanding – and adventures.
ANTHROPOLOGY OF LOVE 