The Countdown

The countdown has officially begun! With each passing day the fact that I am moving to Spain for nine months becomes more and more real as I make the final preparations for my adventure. I have received my visa from the Spanish government, completed my TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certification course online, and made travel arrangements for my arrival in Spain. I am so excited for everything that the year ahead holds--a new city, my first apartment, new friends, and my first "real" job. Although I studied abroad two years ago in Madrid, I know that this will be a completely new and exhilarating experience. While the hallmarks of the Spanish lifestyle will not be new to me, a lot of the day-to-day aspects of my life in Spain will be different this time around, most of it for the better. I won't have to depend on my former host mother's questionable cooking, or listen to her argue with her 15-year-old daughter about the latter's desire for a tongue ring. I won't be as taken aback by piropos...but then again, how does one ever get used to being catcalled by aging Spanish men? And hopefully, just hopefully, I will get to experience the joys of Andalusian weather in winter, when Madrid would have been pretty damn cold.

Despite my general optimism about the year ahead, I have to admit I am nervous. There is a lot of uncertainty about this experience, not the least of which is moving to a new country without a place to live. In my old age of 22, however, I am learning to set my anxiety aside and approach new situations calmly. I only have control over so much, right? For that reason I am taking charge of what I can and leaving the rest to work itself out. This week's triumph was finding hotels in Madrid and Sevilla for my first week on the Peninsula as well as purchasing a train ticket from Madrid to Sevilla. It's a small step but one that makes me (and, most importantly, my mom) feel a lot better about my impending trip. The next step? Beginning to contemplate packing... which I will mostly likely put off until the first week in September.

One last note, for anyone who is traveling or is going to be traveling in Europe (especially on a budget): get a Let's Go Europe book before you hop the pond. It's one of a series of student-geared travel guides, written by Harvard undergrads and it made my traveling a lot easier the last time I was abroad. I recently purchased the 2010 edition and have been perusing it in anticipation of my year in Spain. As I've told many people, one of the greatest things about Europe is the ease and economy of traveling throughout the continent. It's one of the main reasons why I chose to teach English in Spain rather than in Latin America. And as I've skimmed the pages of my new book, I am reminded just how amazing the opportunities are over there. I'm already sketching out my travel plans... first on the list-- Austria and Belgium.