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The dreaded day had come: finals. So, when the day came, I decided to spend my time in the most efficient manner: I slept in. Since I didn't have the art class, I could get away with it. I finally woke up around noon and got some lunch into me. Then, I spend the rest of the day just hanging around the Schloß. When I tried to study, I eventually got sidetracked into some sort of card game on my computer. This lasted for some time. Eventually, the final was scheduled to be taken shortly after dinner at 19:30. So, I finally ended up taking my theology final. Every time that I take a final for Dr. Castleman's class, I kind of wish that I would have ended up majoring in theology. Well, to be honest, I wish that I would have majored in just about anything other than computer science, but scholarship money is a powerful decider in such matters.

After the final, we all gathered in one of the fireplace rooms in the castle that we've kind of claimed for our own sort of gathering spot. It was essentially a party time since finals were officially over. Dr. Ostrander surrendered to the rest of the group, pulled some strings and got us a copy of The Sound Of Music. So, we spent the rest of the evening watching the movie despised in all of Austria. I, however, we pleased. It reminded me of when I was in the play my freshmen year of high school. It brought new meaning to the movie when we actually walked through the very areas where the movie was filmed however many years ago. Of course, I appreciated The Sound Of Music for what it is: a story about a man who refused to become a Nazi stooge. It might seem that we don't have that problem in America. The truth is that I see a lot of parallels in American society today: the Reichstag fire and September 11 to Dachau and Guantánamo. The more I study the topic, the more I see history repeating itself. Maybe I'm just allowing my anti-American bias to influence my views. Still, being careful as far as personal ethics can never be a bad thing.

After the movie, we all sat around in the room talking to each other for a while while others went to bed. I sat beside the fire until the fire died down. There has been a major fire in the Schloß for every century of its existence, so the staff at the castle are very careful concerning fire and fireplaces. Being around the fire made be desire the days when we had a real fireplace in my home. However, there's something nice about being able to flip a switch and have fire.

The next day was a complete free day for us to do whatever we wanted. Some people went mountain climbing in the Austrian Alps. There was talk of some taking a van ride down to Venice, but that never substantiated itself. I really don't know what everyone else did because I slept in again. I finally woke up far past lunch or breakfast. After initially feeling sick, I felt better after I ate Jim's leftover lunch. Then, I just set about writing a paper. I had forgotten that I still had to write a paper about St. Mark and talk shortly about Veitshöchheim as a part of our village and saint projects. Once that was done, we pretty much all went our separate ways. Dayton went into another fireplace room to set the stove on fire, and I joined him not wanting to leave him alone. Jonathan and Dr. Ostrander came in later. I then expressed my disappointment that we didn't get to have a mock witch-burning. When we were given a tour of the castle on Wednesday, they showed us a room that was used to torture witches. That gave me the great idea to stage a mock witch trial and burning in the same way that it's tradition to hold a mock wedding every year. However, Dayton took a piece of paper, and, being the artist that he is, made an effigy of a witch. Jonathan took out his camera and filmed Dayton in his best Strong Bad voice,¹ played the part of the defendant and prosecutor. Jonathan recorded the whole thing which will be a whole lot funnier to watch in the morning. Although I didn't have his class, Dayton is freakin' hilarious. During The Sound Of Music, his smart-alec comments in his Strong Bad voice inspired the title of this post. You have to say the title in the Strong Bad voice for the full effect.

After the witch burning, I went and packed. Then, I went to the library to write a journal entry and look up some basic phrases in Latvian for one of the group members who's headed to Latvia tomorrow to work at an orphanage as a part of an internship. I also had to look up how my very own Maria Sharapova is doing in the Roland Garros Tournament. To be on the same continent as the French Open is going on but not being there tortures me!

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1. I hate Homestar Runner, if anyone's curious.