Six months ago the thought of leaving the United States to attend school in a different country had never even crossed my mind. I've been pretty content here in good ol' Iow-ay. As an 18-year-old getting ready to attend the University of Iowa just two short years ago, I tuned out the overly excited and in-your-face student volunteers constantly advising me to "Study abroad! It will be the best semester of your life!" As far as I was concerned, my days of foreign culture were left behind in an AP Spanish classroom as soon as I walked across the graduation stage and received my diploma. I would never need to know how to conjugate the verb "ser" again.
However, as I've accelerated through my various political science and economics courses, and realized that I only have three semesters left until I graduate (December 2016), it eventually dawned on me that after I receive my bachelor's degree and head off to law school, I will (most likely) never get an opportunity to live and take classes in a foreign country again. So, back in January, I braved the icy cold weather and headed over to the Study Abroad office, with no idea what to expect. At this point, I didn't even know whether or not I wanted to study abroad, and if I did, I certainly wasn't sure where I wanted to go. The student working at the time set me down on a table with hundreds of brochures to look at. The opportunities were endless. What about Portugal? Wait, I don't speak Portuguese. I've heard Australia is nice--but then I can't easily travel to other countries. Hey, why not hit up Latin America? Eh, I really want to visit the many countries of Europe. Well, if we're looking at Europe, I (sort of) speak Spanish, so I guess Spain? Yeah, sure, Spain sounds like a nice place to go.
At this point, I was overwhelmed and still had no idea if I even wanted to go anywhere. I mentioned possibly Spain to the front desk, which they took very seriously and set me up with an advisor. Okay, I thought, I'll actually get to talk to someone. So, the next week I met with the awesome Study Abroad advisor for Spain (shoutout to Aubree!) and at that point there was no turning back. She set me up with all of the applications, and next step instructions. I walked out of the office that day feeling like a different person--wow, I was actually going to be studying abroad. And here I was just the week before, wandering into the Study Abroad office like a lost puppy.
After speaking with some of the most important people in my life (i.e. my parents, my boyfriend, etc.) it was decided that I was really doing this. I was really going to Spain in just four short months. All I had to do was send in my application, get a passport, save up some money, and get through the semester. It didn't feel real. And to be honest, it still doesn't.
So here I am, done with the semester (and a solid 4.0), with my suitcase packed and waiting by the door. I have my passport, my travel adaptor, and my Spanish pocket dictionary ready to go. My flight leaves from Chicago tomorrow, where I will then make my way to Madrid, and finally to my destination in Alicante. In all reality, I have absolutely no idea what to expect. I expect to learn and to travel and to more than likely embarrass myself at some point, but to come back as a different person (in a good way of course!). But honestly, my biggest goal is to keep an open mind and explore as much as I possibly can.
So here's to the start of my journey--one that began unexpectedly, and will hopefully keep me consistently surprised along the way. I cannot wait to share my experiences with all of my friends and family, and this blog will help in doing just that. I hope to post at least once a week, between all of my classes, new friends, and traveling. So stay tuned for more updates to come, and hopefully pictures along with it!
¡Adiós, y viajes seguros!
