the hills are alive

For as detail-oriented and nit-picky I can be about the little things in life, I have a pretty lax approach to handling the big things. It's not that I'm unconcerned about my future, it's just that I take seriously God's promise to work together all things for the good of those who serve him. The larger decisions in life I find easier to let go of and wait for God's leading because they're already out of my hands and too big for me to fully comprehend.

The first prime example of this is my decision to come to USF. I always knew I wanted to go there, probably because my cousins had loved their time at the school. But there was no way we could ever afford it unless I got the very top scholarship the school offered. I'll admit to being a little worried about that one for a little while, but I knew I didn't want to go anywhere else, so I trusted that it would work out. And it did. God cleared the way for me to spend four amazing years being nurtured and challenged by friends and professors and an amazing Christian community.

The summer I first worked for the Sioux Falls Parks and Rec department I quit my job at Hy-Vee before I knew what I would do instead and made plans to live in Sioux Falls for the summer. All I knew was that I didn't want to work another summer at the salad bar, away from the home I was making in Sioux Falls. I turned in an application at Parks and Rec so late in the spring that I shouldn't have had a chance, but another girl left a position at Tuthill, and they needed a new person at the last minute (I got the call just as I was finishing spring finals), but their required background check took exactly as much time as I needed for my trip to the Boundary Waters and my brother's wedding. I couldn't have planned it more perfectly if I had tried. But God planned that one. He gave me the gift of spending one last summer with my grandma, living in her house and being closer to her than ever before. I am so grateful for that.

And then there was Boston. I had never heard of Simmons College, and possibly never would have, before Dianna suggested we go to Boston over fall break our senior year. She had people and a school to visit and wanted me to come along. So I did a little searching and found a school in Boston with a library science program that I could visit, to legitimize missing the last day of class before break. Enter Simmons College and a school visit that would change my life and draw me back to Boston for my graduate studies.

This is how I live my life: I see things that look fun and try for them. Sometimes it works, and sometimes I get something better instead. I've been turned down for jobs at both Harvard and the JFK library since coming to Boston. Instead, I spent an awesome summer as a tour guide at Park Street Church and look forward to doing the same after graduation this May. I think that job has done a far better job of preparing me for what's coming next.

And what is coming next? In case there's anyone left who hasn't already heard, I'm going to Salzburg, Austria in the fall for a three month library internship at the Salzburg Global Seminar. Don't feel bad if you haven't heard of it--I hadn't either before the internship announcement found its way into my inbox. I initially applied on a whim, figuring that it wouldn't go very far but I may as well take a shot at such a great opportunity. After weeks of hearing nothing, I got an email just days before Christmas from the director, asking if I would be able to do a phone interview in January. Well, that got me pretty excited, and I started actually telling people about the internship possibility, since it suddenly seemed like a real possibility. The more I talked about it, the more excited I got, and I had to remind myself I hadn't actually gotten accepted yet.

My first full day back in Boston I spoke with the director, Cheryl. Apparently the seminar hasn't been able to keep a full time librarian for a few years now and there is quite a bit of work to be done. The actual collection is only about 10K volumes, most of them rather old, but Cheryl wants the library interns to look into ways for the library to expand online services to visiting scholars. She figured that recent library school graduates would be the best to fill this role, since we've just had two years of reading and talking about the most current library science topics and should be better prepared to help bring the little old library forward into the digital era. It's a little overwhelming to think that I will be the sole librarian working on this in September, but it's a challenge I look forward to. I wouldn't want a job that was too easy, even in such a place as Salzburg.

Another thing that makes the challenges easier to face is the library itself. I have seen one picture so far, and it is beautiful. The Salzburg Global Seminar is housed in the Schloss Leopoldskron, Max Reinhardt's old home, the 18th century "castle" of Sound of Music fame. The outdoor scenes of the movie were actually filmed on the lake, though not on the actual property, due to conflicts in scheduling between filming and seminar sessions. But if you think about the Captain's estate in the movie, that's pretty much where I'll be working. And where I'll be living. The internship is unpaid, so they provide room and board, as well as paying for my travel to and from Salzburg. I will have a room (with private bath) in the Schloss, and will take my meals with the seminar interns and visiting scholars. And apparently I'll also have the use of Max Reinhardt's office. And the great music hall, where Mozart is said to have performed. Could someone please pinch me?

There are, of course, a few more hurdles, including applying for a three month work visa. But there's plenty of time to get the details smoothed over. And learn a bit of German so I'm not completely lost when I leave the seminar for tourist-y fun. Plus finish library school and learn as much as possible about what I'll be doing at the Schloss.

But I trust that will all come together.

-Kim