It's August 2nd, which means I only have to wait 29 more days until my Spanish adventure begins! I can't even begin to describe to you what that means for me. We will leave here on August 31st and arrive in Salamanca on September 1st, after taking a quick stop in the Philadelphia and Madrid airports. I assume that night is when we will meet our host families and get a first look at the place we will call home for the next four months. We filled out a quick questionnaire which asked us our opinions on living with children, pets, having food allergies, etc., however, our host families are going to be a complete surprise until we arrive. From there, we will have the weekend to explore and take a few group tours of the city, and then we begin in our "cultural immersion - pre-real-classes class", which I assume is similar to the one we had in Guanajuato but will be a few weeks shorter. These classes are only Monday-Thursday (I think), so there will be some extra time to travel/do whatever. I am so ready to get back in a culture that lives slowly and meaningfully. Sometimes I feel too stressed out here in the United States because everyone lives in a constant state of hustle and bustle, although right now it's summer time and I am used to a more relaxed lifestyle.
I got my visa this past week when I went to Chicago, and am now completely "listo" to pack my bags and head to Spain. The Spanish consulate in Chicago is very nice and although it is bureaucracy and makes you jump through a thousand hoops, they were helpful and patient. This is something one of my friends says is a miracle because apparently other consulates are not-- tisk tisk Italian consulate of Detroit.
Tomorrow I have an appointment with the doc to check everything out and get a prescription filled before my travels begin. After that---I could literally pack up and leave.
I'm not really nervous at all because I have already studied abroad once, and for a longer period of time. I also have gotten to the point that I feel pretty confident in my Spanish and hope that people in Spain will understand my "Mexican slang". Hopefully I will quickly adapt and begin using some of their slang, but I hope to God I don't pick up that hideous Spanish lisp. Grathias. Ew.
I'm bringing my cannon and should probably bring a smaller camera, and have to pick up another cloth bound/recycled paper journal (I'm very particular about journals), but other than that I am good to go! Everyone keeps asking me when I'm leaving --even more so than before-- and while I keep telling them it's a month away, I keep wishing it was a couple days away. I'm ready. Powell is boring because most people are gone, and the people that are still here are leaving soon for school/jobs, so I will definitely be ready to be social again once August 31st arrives.
Then comes the next question, what's next after Spain?
...and we all know I don't have an answer for that.
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