Adios a los Estados Unidos

I leave for Spain tomorrow and I honestly might just pop and explode into an excited puddle. I have dreamed about this day for at least six months, it’s probably felt like a lottt longer to everyone who had to deal with my spastic excitement (you guys are all the best). It’s not going to be perfect, but in a way, that’s what makes it perfect. I am excited for every single second. For the awkward conversations and the misunderstandings and being late and lost and confused. Even if everything goes wrong, it will be a beautiful disaster and that beats a boring one everyday of the week.

 As excited as I am, I am obviously scared out of my mind. Four months is such a long amount of time, I’m not just popping over to Spain for a weeklong vacation. I’m living with a host mom who doesn’t speak English, and my home isn’t just five hours away. Spanish culture is very different and I have no idea how well I will adjust. I mean, they eat dinner at like ten, and for all of you who know me know that a hungry Christine is not a happy Christine. Plus saying goodbye to everyone is just no fun! But I feel like being scared for something makes you feel so alive. So I think it’s worth it. Plus, daddy always says, fear is my only courage.

Anyway, I guess that's enough of my drama. I am very close to being all packed (in my ugly but practical orange duffel), and at this point, I have no idea what all I am taking, but I ended up fitting a lot more clothes than I thought I would be able to, so I am not worried at all about running out of things to wear. Oddly enough, when I last weighed my bag, it was still ten pounds under what the airline allows, which gives me a great excuse to buy a lot when I'm traveling around.

In terms of actually getting to Spain, I have a long day ahead of me. I leave tomorrow from BWI then have a layover in JFK (where I will meet up with Alison!) then fly from JFK to Madrid then from Madrid to Malaga. But it is supposed to be 70 and sunny when I land, which will make it all worth it because I am so tired of the cold weather. On that note, the weather is supposed to be in the 60's and beautiful for my first week in Spain, I don't even want to think about how cold it is in Ithaca. When I get to Malaga, I'll have orientation for a day then be bused to Granada, where I'll meet my host mommy and get settled in. All I have heard about her is that she is a nice older lady, and I am hoping that she is full of great stories, and that I'll be able to understand her. My classes don't actually start until the 11th, so I will have plenty of time to explore and take a ton of pictures.

My goals for the semester are to try new things, meet new people, and not be afraid to fall in love with as many things as possible!

I'll miss you all like crazy so please keep in touch!