Travel Day



Entry 1

    Why I decided to study abroad:

Studying abroad is honestly pretty far out of my comfort zone, and I think most people that know me were shocked by my decision. There were several motivators for a semester in Spain such as finishing my minor and learning history from a non-American perspective, but it mostly came down to: when am I ever going to get an opportunity like this again? Likely at no other point in life will I have so few responsibilities or the financial ability to afford a four-month long trip. I couldn't pass up an opportunity that good, so I just ignored the rest of my brain which was terrified at the thought of being on an entirely different continent from everyone I know for four months, with conversational language skills in Spanish, at best.
   
    Pre-departure:

I both over prepared and procrastinated at the same time so fingers crossed that cancels out and everything will be fine.

I read several articles and watched at least two dozen videos about essentials for studying abroad in Spain in the spring during the two weeks leading up to departure, but didn’t start packing until a couple of days before and didn’t finish until the morning of.

I’m incredibly excited to actually be in Spain but equally stressed and anxious about flying there alone and dealing with a language barrier when I land. I’m sure I’ll pick up on the Spanish quickly due to the constant immersion, but I fear the first day will inevitably be overwhelming and confusing.

Goals for this semester:

- Improve my Spanish language skills

- Travel to as many countries as possible

- Take advantage of the opportunities to learn about other countries histories and perspectives


(my family seeing me off at the gates)

   Travel/Landing:

Traveling was less scary than I thought it would be but more horrible than I expected. My first flight got delayed so I missed my first connection which resulted in 8 extra hours of layover and an additional flight. But after all of that, I'm finally here! And I only cried a little bit (sort of)! I traveled for over 24 hours, and I think that I was so tired that I could not even panic so the first night was fairly easy. 


(my first glimpse of Sevilla)

 

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