Going on a business trip makes me feel fancy.

I went to Vienna for an international math education conference. I was definitely the youngest person there, but I’m getting used to that. Sometimes I have to remind myself that it’s only my 3rd year teaching and I shouldn’t get mad at myself for not having mastered every aspect of teaching. My colleagues think I’m a baby (they don’t treat me like one though, thank God) and joke about how I could be their child, or I could have been their student 7+ years ago. Today they joked about how I probably wasn’t alive yet when the Backstreet Boys were popular. Little do they know that it’s likely I still know the words to all their famous songs….

Anyway, how lucky am I that I got a free trip to Vienna during the season of Christmas Markets. I got to enjoy glühwein, bratwurst, and hot chocolate in the company of a new friend (probably the second-to-youngest teacher at the conference) in arguably the most architecturally beautiful city I’ve been to. Moments like these make me feel fulfilled.