I’m in SPAIN!
After two flights, two suitcases, three airports, two airplane meals, and one bus ride, I am finally in Madrid. Although it’s almost one in the afternoon here, it feels like seven in the morning to me. I caught a few hours of sleep on the plane, but not enough! Our ISA coordinator suggested that we try to stay awake so that we can fix our sleep schedule, so I am going to TRY but no promises. I might need a quick nap.
I left Tuesday afternoon for NYC then caught my connection to Madrid. The flights weren’t too bad – only about seven hours from NYC to Madrid. I sat in the window seat, so I had a nice view of the sunrise and Spain when we flew in. This was the first time I really traveled on my own, so at first I was stressing out more than I should have. Standing in line for the plane to Madrid, I started feeling shaky – worried about not quite understanding the Spanish that passengers were speaking around me, but once I arrived and met other students, I began to feel more comfortable.
Now, I am in my hotel in Madrid. I am spending two days here – touring tonight and tomorrow. Then, I go to Toledo for one night (so excited, I LOVE Toledo). And then I will go to Sevilla and meet my homestay families!
Since this is my first post, I wanted to use it to set some goals for my time abroad. When I was thinking about what I wanted my experience to be, I came across a quote that helped me put it into words (I know! So cliché to include a quote by a famous person, but I had a lot of time on my hands at work this summer!):
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
Explore. Dream. Discover. These are my goals.
Explore
In the literal sense, I want to explore Spain and Europe. I want to see new things, go new places, and have one-of-a-kind experiences. I really want to be adventurous and outgoing. I don’t want to let language barriers or cultural differences keep me from doing something new.
Dream
First of all, I am accomplishing one of my dreams by doing this study abroad. But more importantly, to truly fulfill my dreams I need to learn something and walk away with valuable experiences. Also, I want to use my time here to think about my future dreams and really start to understand myself and what I want.
Discover
Finally, I want to discover. Not only do I want to discover new things about myself, but about Spain, Sevilla, the world, France, Italy, Morocco, people, travel, language, history, art, friendship, and life. I want to think about my personal experiences and learn from them. And, I want to come home from Spain in December with new eyes – a new way of looking at the world around me.
So, yes, these are my deep meaningful goals for this semester. Oh, but I forgot these ones too…
Eat, make new friends, dance, drink sangria, learn to cook, improve my Spanish, eat bocadillos and paella, and HAVE FUN!!
Here are some photos:
My luggage…I may have over packed, but oh well
Saying goodbye to my puppies!
I love and miss you all (especially Sam and my parents (and Crosby and Bella!))
Besos!
Sara
My Semester in Sevilla 