I'm currently writing this from a bus in the middle the Spanish countryside1. I am on my way to Valencia for a three week study abroad trip for my job. I am incredibly excited and fortunate to be taking part in such a once in a lifetime experience. As I was planning for the trip I was trying to think of the best way to keep people back home informed about how things were going. Ultimately I decided that jumping back into the blogging pool was the easiest way to go about it2. My hope is to write a post every day or so giving updates, sharing stories, and, as is typical of my writing style, regale you with nonsense riddled with misspellings3.
So how did I get to Spain? Well I'm lucky enough to be apart of a team focused on giving our students a well rounded collegiate experience, so a few years ago we began to offer affordable study abroad trips in May. Most of our students wouldn't be able to afford to a traditional study abroad experience, so a short term one like ours is a great fit. My role in all of this is as one of two instructors on the trip. It's been a long, exhausting journey over the last semester in order to get ready and now that we're here it's almost surreal. For the longest time the trip seemed like a distant object on the horizon that never came closer. Just in the last few weeks did it begin to feel real. Really I haven't had much time to process it all, or even consider what I hope to gain from the experience. We ask our students all the time what they are most looking forward to, and to be honest I don't know that I ever had an answer to that myself.
But, what good is a blog if you can't use it to process things in your life4. So without further ado, here is my list of hopes, wishes, and goals for the next three weeks.
1) To allow myself to be immersed into Spanish culture. As an introvert and a 9 my default is to retreat inward and to find comfort in the familiar. I want to get out and experience Spanish life and all that entails.
2) To connect deeply with the students on the trip. Of the 20 students on the trip I know about half fairly well and about 4 of them very well. I know that I won't ever know all them at the same level, but I want to get to know them all more than I already do.
3) To stay active. Whether it's working out in the morning, going for hikes, or only biking around town, I want to stay active over the next three weeks.
4) To know myself better. I am always encouraging my students to be self-reflective and to look inward. This last semester it hit me that I don't do this often enough myself. I hope that upon returning to the states I better understand what motivates me, what my goals are, and of who I am as an individual.
5) I want to be an adventurous eater. Food is weird guys. I'm not an olive fan, I'm not a mussel fan, I've never had sardines but they don't sound too good. Guess what foods I'll see a lot of the next three week? Olives, mussels, and sardines. I'm going to force myself to try some things that I might not normally enjoy. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.
6) Have a wealthy Spanish countess fall madly in love with me5. This one's self-explanatory.
Random Spain Factoids of the DayTM:
- Our contact in Valencia looks like a Spanish Agent Coulson.
- My room reminds me a lot of Bruce Willis's place in The Fifth Element6.
- Paella count: 1
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1) As I was typing that sentence I looked to my left and saw a herd of sheep.
2) Granted this pool may have dried up two years ago, but I just couldn't bring myself to great a tumblr account.
3) And of course footnotes, lots of footnotes.
4) I mean, that's why Livejournal was created.
5) I don't know if there are Spanish countesses, but a guy can dream.
6) Which really was Bruce Willis at his finest.
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