Tickets and Families

The latest update is here! I was given a list of families to choose from for my stay in Spain and after quickly narrowing it down to 2 families, dwelling on the decision for almost a week, and changing my mind at the last minute I have chosen. The family I will be staying with is a 65 year old woman who takes care of her 5 and 3 year old nietos (grandchildren) at times. She lives about 30 minutes away from the school I will be attending and I will get there via walking to a tram station and taking the tram or taking the buss. I know two girls from WIU that have lived with her before and they say she is funny and really nice! She also lives closer to the downtown area and beach than most of the other choices I had.

Also last week I bought my plane ticket!! I will leave Chicago O'Hare Airport at 4:35pm on September 12th 2011, have a short layover in Dusseldorf, DE, finally I will arrive in Valencia, Spain at 1:45pm on September 13th, 2011. It all seems so real now that the ticket is bought.

I am still waiting on a background check that will have to be sent to the Department of State and then I will finally make my appointment with the Spanish Consulate to recieve my student visa. I am getting so excited and so nervous at the same time.

"All you have to do is step on the plane"

I have had an eventful week. One top of preparing for finals I have also been making appointments to get everything figured out for my trip before I leave for Spain. I have had many questions answered and I am getting even more excited and nervous for my trip. I thought that the best piece of advice given to me this week was my title "all you have to do is step on the plane". This is true, I cannot plan for everything and in the end the only thing I can do is step on the plane, everything else will fall into place from that. There are some things that I have to do before that, get a student visa, get my host family assignment, and actually buy the ticket, but really once I step on the plane I have to trust that when I get off on the other side that everything will fall into place. I have to have confidence and faith in myself that I can succeed in Spain. I thought that this was possibly the best advice I have gotten and possibly will get before I go. I just have to get on the plane.

The Adventure is Already Beginning

Although there is no traveling yet I still feel the rush of adrenaline as I begin really planning for my study abroad trip. I had a pre-departure meeting earlier this week and received an overload of information that I am still trying to take in! I will begin my classes September 20th and will be done with classes on June 9th. I have started looking into where exactly in Spain I will be studying and what is around it and thinking of places I want to go. I have so many questions to be answered and it seems that every time I get one answer a million more questions come up. I am very excited for my adventure and travels, but I am also scared. I will be gone for about 9 months. I know it seems like a long time now, but we all know that time flies, especially when you are surrounded by so many cultures, countries, and opportunities. That means 9 months away from all the familiar places and faces, all the comforts of home, and all the things I know. I will just have to keep myself busy with traveling to keep my mind off of home!

I figured I would start my blog now, as I begin planning my adventure, because in reality this is where the adventure begins. I will be writing funny phrases that I hear over there (translations included), pictures of all the beautiful places I visit, and stories about my travels. My first translation will be of my tittle. Mis aventuras España means my travels of Spain. I felt it was appropriate as I will be going to learn the language, the traveling is just a very good addition. Although I may not update a lot before my trip I will post all the big developments and once I arrive I will update as often as I find time to. For now I will be off to do more research and planning.

Te quiero! (I love you)