My New Life is Only 35 Days Away

Hola!

Today was one of my very few days off of work and I decided that there was no better way to spend my free day than reading blogs of past/current returnee participants from study abroad in Spain,(it really wasn't the best way to spend my day, but I learned a TON). I also watched a few of the videos submitted by Spain students, which were really cool.

Then something really weird hit me.

I'm not sure which video I was watching but I think it was one where the kids were all sitting together in their bright yellow AFS t-shirts, waiting to board their flight to Spain. Something about seeing them made my 36 days left in America seem very short. I started thinking about how much my life will really change. I also realized that when I come back and I'll have the hundreds of questions to answer like:
"How was Spain?"
"How long did it take you to become fluent?"
"How is Spain different from America?"

And honestly these people won't really understand how I felt, all the struggles I will go through, my frusteration because of the language barrier. They'll just nod their heads and say "wow that must have been an amazing experience". I think the past exchange students and ones that will be leaving in the fall are the only people we will have to talk to with about how we're feeling. Even though not everyone's situation will be the same, we all share a common ground, we're all about to embark on one of the, if not the biggest,adventures of our lives. Some may call us crazy or weird for wanting to study abroad but I think that we would all agree that this oppritunity is something that will change our lives. It sounds so cliche to say that this will change our lives ,but it truly will. I sometimes wonder how different I'll be when I come back home. As of right now, I feel that I am fairly independant, mature and responsible. Of course, like any other teenager, I'm not perfect but compared to some of my peers, I think I'm doing pretty good. It's hard to imagine me in a year from now. This should be interesting.

I started this blog for two reasons 1.) to keep my friends and family updated on what I do in my daily life in Spain. Another reason is so I don't have to tell someone about my trip in 5 sentences. I know that when I get back, I'll probably be able to talk about my trip for hours on end, but unless you've been there and done it, you kinda start to get lost in what the person was telling you about. I figured that if I had this blog, i could just tell people to read it. You might actually learn something new about a different culture. So when I get any of the "How was Spain?" questions, I'll know who has and has not read my blog. And to those of you who do, I really DO appreciate it.

Number 2, To see how much I have changed. You don't really notice change, since it is so slow. But I believe that by writing in this blog at least once a week and being honest with how I am feeling, seeing the changes will be something really mind boggling to look at after 10 months.

With each passing day I am getting more and more excited, the days seem to be flying by! I currently only have two things on my packing list but that is another post, all of its own.

Keep checking back, there will most likely be something new :)

Adios!