Austria, 1800

I didn't even get to say goodbye, I think sadly. This is what bugs me when I find that I am an Austrian princess circa 1800.

I don't have friends. I have a court. I am never alone. We traipse up and down the palace doing nothing in particular. Part of our job is to look bored. I think that my being Asian should look so odd but when I look at a mirror I see that I'm blonde, blue-eyed and over-all Austrian looking. I start to cry. No one will recognize me now, I think.

Against my better judgment, I come up to some people and ask, "Will you be my friend? Will you be my friend?" But no one wants to be my friend because, well, politics, they explain.

I've been imported, they explain. I will meet my fiance soon.

Fiance, I think. How depressing. Third world made-to-order bride.

I decide to make the most of Austria, 1800. I assume a voice of authority. (This is something I learned from films.) I order tutors. I want to learn Latin, I announce.

People start taking notes.

Latin, I repeat, to make sure they have it. When I am sure I am not going to be contradicted I continue. German, French, Fencing, World History, Cuisine...

I rattle off things I want to learn feeling I have made the most of a depressing situation.