The Final Countdown

I'm so close I can feel it. Everything I've worked for, every meeting I've sat in, every scholarship I've applied for, every contract I've signed is all about to pay off in a big way. This will be my last full week in the United States and I'm finally starting to realize that this is really about to happen to me.  This is it. This is my dream coming true. The years I spent watching Disney movies, telling me that dreams are a wish your heart makes, finally makes perfect sense.. Dreams are possible if you want them bad enough.


A few days ago, I was finally given my host family. After months of assaulting my email account, I have a name, address, and phone number. They're an older couple named Isabel, 63, and Juan Manuel, 68. I don't know what they look like or how nice they are. All I know is that they are laid-back people with a son named Javier. Isabel is a good cook, according to "my adoption papers," as I tend to call them. I don't know if they speak English or if I'm going to share a room with another international student. I'll find all of that out when I meet them. I'm very excited about moving in with them. They have a terrace and live 15-20 minutes from my new university.

When I leave Louisville on Sept. 18th, I'll fly to Dallas, London, and then land in Madrid on the 19th. I'll get to return to the Prado Museum.. see some of my favorite paintings again.. and go back to Toledo, Spain. I laughed when my program sent the five day itinerary of what we would be doing once we arrived. Everything on the list was something that I had already done before. I'm more mature now then I was went I left. Hopefully I'll see the world through wiser eyes.


Here area few photos from my trip in 2011:

Museo del Prado in Madrid

Toledo, Spain

Toledo is known for its steel. When I visited, I was able to see a man make a sword.  The history of steel in Toledo is quite interesting. You history junkies should Google it.

I made a promise the morning that I left Spain that I would be back and I'm so blessed that this is one promise that I swore I'd keep. There is so much excitement running through me when I think about all the things that I'm going to see, the people I'm going to meet, and the impact on my life that everything is going to have. Spain is a beautiful country full of beautiful people. These people are going to mold me into a better person, share their lives, and help me learn how to speak their language. I feel like Pocahontas, except her hair looks much better than mine in a windstorm.


I want to go away for awhile and just sit and marvel at something. I want to stick my toes in the Mediterranean. I want to see Real Madrid play at the Bernabeu. I want to watch football games and eat tapas with people that are just as happy as I am. I want to watch a bullfight and visit cathedrals, castles, and palaces. All of this is going to happen even if it takes everything I've got.


Despite my excitement, there is a lot of fear inside me.

When I walk away from my family at the airport, it's going to take everything in me to not turn right back around. They mean everything to me. They raised me to be a lady and pushed me to have enough confidence in myself to apply for this opportunity. I wouldn't be who I am or where I am if it hadn't been for them. My mother especially... (Hi, Mom. I know you're reading this... I love you so very much and I'm sorry "your little angel" is flying farther away than you would like, but know that I'll never forget my way home.) Leaving my family and friends is a tough pill to swallow. I know they'll be right here waiting for me to come back, but I will miss so much while I'm gone.

I just have this fear that during this school year, I'll slowly start to disappear. I'll miss out on things that I should be home for. I'll miss my brother's first year of high school. I won't be able to celebrate Thanksgiving, Mother's Day, etc. Everyone's lives will continue without me in it and I'm afraid of becoming insignificant to people that mean the world to me. I don't like that I can't text my best friend when something funny happens. I can't call my mother at 10 in the morning when I miss her. I can't sit on my grandparents front porch and listen to them tell me stories. My absence will really hurt them and I hate that I'm selfishly choosing a life that's so different from theirs. I wish I would have been more like them, happy with staying in one spot.. but God didn't mold me from the same cloth. I want the world and I can't help it.


My journey is 9 days from beginning. It's the final countdown. I'm in the process of seeing people, saying goodbye, eating tons of macaroni and cheese, driving, watching movies, and breathing in that good ol' American freedom. My life is about to change and all I really need is assurance that I'm going to be okay.


Continue to pray for my family and me. The overwhelming support is what keeps me motivated. God bless.

One Month Away

When the opportunity knocked for me to be able to study abroad for 8 months, I didn't hesitate to open the door. I study Spanish language at the University of Louisville and my professors inspired me to apply for scholarships to Study Abroad. I could choose anywhere in the world. I could have went to Peru, Panama, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador... Anywhere within the Spanish speaking population. The world was my oyster. I contemplated what would be best for me, where I would be the happiest, where I could learn about more myself from the people I meet. The choice wasn't as easy as some would think. It would have been much easier for me to choose somewhere in the Americas. Peru would have been nice. Machu Picchu has always been on my bucket list, but at the end of the day, I already knew where I wanted to be. When I was told that I had been given a scholarship, I knew that my decision had been the right one.

Where are you going?

On September 18th, I'm leaving the US for Granada, Andalusia, Spain. The decision to choose Granada rather than Madrid or Barcelona came after I read about it and learned that Granada is one of the most popular college cities in all of Europe. The University of Granada (UGR) has roughly 65,000 students, of which only around 2,000 are international. UGR has a Modern Languages department that is similar to what the University of Louisville has, so I knew that the transition would be somewhat easy. Granada is located in the south of Spain along the Mediterranean Sea. I have the best of both worlds. I will be living in the city next to the Sierra Nevada mountains and will be a short distance to the Mediterranean. After seeing photos of Granada and reading testimonials from other students that had studied there, I was confident that it was the place for me. My adviser had studied in Granada and throughout the long and never-ending process of applying to study in another country, she shared her stories and memories that helped me realize that I was doing the right thing.

Who are you living with?

I'm living with a host family. The idea is both exciting and terrifying. Imagine moving in with a family of strangers that may or may not speak your language. The thought does scare me. I would be lying if I said it didn't, but living within the culture inside a Spanish home is the best thing for me in terms of learning not only the language, but the culture as well. At this point, I still don't know who they are. I'm playing the waiting game, waiting for someone to adopt me. I should know who they are within the next few weeks. I'll update everyone when I know more. The only thing I know about them is that they will be centrally located near the university. 

What are you going to do if you are homesick?

Let me be clear... I'm already homesick and I haven't left yet. I am leaving behind everyone and everything that I have ever known to live my dream. I'm going to miss my family, my friends, my hometown, my home university, and everything about the United States every single second of every day. I already know that. But I'm also going to be living my dream, something that I have worked endlessly to have. This opportunity did not come easy and I struggled for over a year in trying to make it happen.  I'm so excited and ready for what this stage of my life has in store for me. I have waited for this moment for as long as I can remember and despite my love for the United States, I miss Spain. I've always missed Spain. Ask anyone. When someone mentions Spain, I light up like a Christmas tree. I'm going to be so absorbed in my new life that I won't have time to be homesick. I'll be in contact with my family every single day. I will have a cellphone. I'll be able to get on Facebook. I'll still tweet daily. You can write on my wall, send me a tweet. It will mean more to me than I could ever describe. You will remind me of what I'm coming home to. I'll need that optimism and support. It'll keep me emotionally stable to know that there are people  back home rooting for me to succeed.

When are you coming back?

As of right now, I'm scheduled to come home on May 23rd. That's when my semester ends. School in Europe is a little different than in the United States. I begin classes on October 1st and I finish classes at the end of May. I'll come home when classes are finished.

It is possible that I could make a surprise visit on Christmas Eve. Don't start playing "I'll Be Home For Christmas" yet because there is no guarantee. There has been talks of flying me back for the holidays because of my grandfather's health and not being sure of how many more Christmas' that I'm going to have with him. I have no objections to spending Christmas with my family. If I come home, I will be able to stay for a few weeks and then I'll go right back to Granada. 

What are you going to miss?

My family, my friends, my 21st birthday, Thanksgiving, ice, my pets, cold milk, English, Green River Cinema 6, the season premiere of the Vampire Diaries, Taco Bell, standard US plug-ins, bacon, driving around Louisville, driving in general, wide streets, trucks, Geico commercials...

Mostly, I am going to miss my birthday. I'll be turning 21 without the people who helped raise me. However, I have plans already in Spain to celebrate the occasion. Can someone say Real Madrid?

Do you think it is safe to travel by yourself?

Yes, but I'm not alone. God will be with me every step of the way and when I arrive in Spain, I will have guides to meet me at the hotel. I'm not by myself once I get there. The only time I'll be by myself is when I am flying. Airports are so heavily guarded, I don't have any fears of being kidnapped, and I trust our government enough to feel safe en route. I understand traveling. I understand airports. I know what I have to do and the rules that I have to follow. Accidents and tragedies happen, but I'm not afraid of any of that. I am confident that I can travel safely on my own. There is danger everywhere. I can't let fear keep me from pursuing my dream.

What advice would you give to someone that wants to study abroad?

When you believe in something with everything you have, you can find a way to make it happen. If you are interested in studying abroad, attend a study abroad fair in college. They are usually at the beginning of the school year, which is right around the corner. Look at their brochures, talk to program representatives. They can explain any questions you may have. If you already have a place in mind, then focus on that... but still give other options a second look. I originally wanted to study in Barcelona, but in the city of Barcelona... the people speak Catalan. I could have studied there, but it would be more difficult to learn Spanish if the city I live in speaks something different. You have to be reasonable and weigh your options. Don't pick something on a whim. Do your research and understand what you will be getting yourself into. There are short term stays and long term stays. I chose the long term because I will come home fluent in Spanish. I like the idea of perfecting a language that I have grown to love. Short term stays are great for people that don't want to be gone for too long, but still want to have that cultural experience. If you have any questions about studying abroad or college in general, don't hesitate to shoot me a message.

The purpose of a blog...

I have always planned to have a blog while I was gone. I typically keep a diary when I travel and write in it daily about different things that I've done and what I've seen, but I thought it would be fun to keep my hometown updated on what's going on with me. There are more people that care about me than I realized. When I started to let people know that I would be taking a year away from UofL to study abroad, I had so many people send me love and well wishes. My family reads these blogs, my friends read these blogs, and hopefully people that I barely know will read them as well. I want to inspire people and encourage them to see other walks of life from a different perspective. I want to give people who don't have the time or the ability to  travel the opportunity to see what I see. I want to make you laugh, make you think, and make you realize how much the world has to offer. Who knows, maybe my little ol' blog can make you choose a country to study in. 

There is a comment tab below to give me feedback, your thoughts, and any questions that you may have. Or there is always Facebook and Twitter. I'm excited to share Spain with you and I hope you can take something away from each post that I write. Let me know what you think. 


Buenas noches, amigos.