"Adventure is Out There!"

Well, I officially have only one more week until I leave for Spain. It still has not quite sunk in yet that I will be in a completely different country - across the Atlantic Ocean - on an unknown and distant continent.

This is something that I have been thinking about since middle school, hoping for since freshman year, and planning for since sophomore year of college. It is finally happening! 

Whenever people ask me why I want to study in Spain specifically, I always say the same thing: 

“ Spain is just a place that has always seemed to interest me. My uncle lives in Mexico with his family (so I have visited several times), my high school Spanish teacher is from Peru, I've traveled to Costa Rica... I want to experience yet another facet of the Spanish culture by living in Spain for a few months. ” 

Of course, I am facing uncertainty and fear, but I also have hopes and expectations as well. 

A few of my fears: 

1). I will forget every ounce of Spanish that I have ever learned and get very tongue-tied. 

2). The unknown. It's pretty scary to think about travelling to a foreign place by myself. Not only will I need to speak Spanish, make new friends, learn the city of Seville, and study for classes, but I will also need to do this all in a place other than home. There's just something about the familiarity of home - it's known and it's safe. 

But, I am also looking forward to: 

1). Living in new place! Since I have lived in the Seattle area basically my entire life, I am actually excited to step outside of my comfort zone and experience the world.

2). Taking some non-Accounting classes. As much as I love my major, I'm also excited to take be taking -

• Architecture and Painting in Seville
• Popular Culture in Spain: Andalusia
• The Culture of Food and Wine in Spain
• Advanced Spanish Language and Literature

3). Learning and growing. I have been told time and again that anyone who has ever gone on a Study Abroad trip has come back as a different person. I know that I may experience frustration, confusion, awe, anticipation, and a wide variety of emotions in between, but I am confident that I will not regret this trip. Change and growth are part of what makes life enjoyable! Who knows what I will learn in Spain, but I am certainly excited to find out!

“The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.”  

- Gilbert K. Chesterton

“Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”  

- Miriam Beard