The bane of my existence: packing

Sure, it's a first-world problem, but I have never been good at packing. 

I'm an over-packer. I think it's a common problem, and its effects make my parents call me a pack mule whenever I go anywhere.

There's always that extra pair of underwear that may come in handy, that shirt you haven't worn in months but you just may find the occasion to wear it, those running shoes in case you feel the need to exercise while on vacation and that stuffed animal you just can't sleep without.

But now I'm faced with my toughest challenge yet: packing for a five-month trip with the same flight baggage allowance as someone gallivanting to the Bahamas for a weekend.

I recently began laying out clothes, which are now strewn all around my room as I continue trying to live among it all.

Each night I lie in bed considering everything I need to add to the pile.

Here are some of my current dilemmas:

1. Do I take my U of I pillow pet? My brother got it for me for Christmas and it'd be great for planes and trains (and possibly automobiles). But it's kind of large.

2. Which carry-on do I use? I have a duffel bag that's slightly over the size allowance. Do I risk it, or carry something that's obviously an OK size?

3. How many pairs of shoes should I bring? Anyone that knows me well knows that I love shoes. After all, shoes can make or break an outfit, right? But with my limited outfits and limited space, bringing a ton of shoes is unfortunately not an option.

4. How many books should I take? I imagine I'll have downtime to read, but just how much?

Fortunately, this list turned out to be a lot shorter than I thought it would be, so thanks for dealing with my dramatics there.

But on the other hand, I picked up potentially my most important piece of luggage on Thursday: my student visa. It's just a little imprint on one of the pages of my passport, but I will keep that passport forever because of it.

Mis habilidades españoles

Estudiaré español en España para terminar mi especialización secundaria en español. Entonces, pienso que es una buena idea para practicar la lengua en este blog. Lo siento para mi errores por adelanto. 

Espero que durante mi tiempo en Granada, mis expresiones orales además de mis habilidades de escritura mejorarán. Viviré con una familia española, y no sé si hable ningún inglés. ¡Entonces, tengo que depender de mis habilidades españolas!

He tomando español desde el octavo grado. Ha sido un tiempo largo que he estudiado español, pero no he tenido muchos oportunidades para hablar la lengua porque muchos tiempos, estudiantes americanos están preocupados de hablar y cometen errores. Este semestre, tomé un clase de español oral. Esto era una buena idea, porque lo me preparó para la vida en el extranjero.

Pre-departure jitters

In less than a month, I will be leaving the country for five months. I'll be living and studying in Granada, which is in the Andalusia (Andalucía) community of Spain.

I've never lived in another state besides Illinois, yet alone another country. I have traveled abroad before, but I know that living abroad is a whole other story — one that I've wanted to experience for years.

This semester at the University of Illinois has been strange, but wonderful. Strange in the sense that I've been living as if this were my last semester on campus, even though I'm only in my junior year. Wonderful in the sense that I'm having a lot of fun in the meantime. 

My friends and family have been asking me all semester if I'm "so excited" to go to Spain. Up until recently, I told them that I was mostly sad to be leaving campus. I'm going to miss my Marching Illini friends, the piccolo section, basketball band and working at The Daily Illini. I'm going to have a new identity in Spain. Or rather, no identity at all. Here, I define myself as a journalist and a musician. In Granada, I won't have those things. I'll have myself and my hopefully adequate Spanish language skills.

Last weekend, I went to a study abroad orientation hosted by Illinois' Study Abroad Office. That day was the first time this whole study abroad thing felt real. I was able to talk to students who had previously studied in Granada, all of whom had amusing stories and helpful tidbits of information (One being to take 3-minute showers. I have yet to start practicing that). We were taught specifics about Spanish culture, such as who the king and queen are. It strikes me as intimidating that most people in the world know that the president of the United States is Barack Obama, but I didn't know that the leaders of Spain are King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia. In other words, I have some research to do before leaving.

But overall, when people ask me now if I'm ready to jet across the pond, I'm thinking about all that I will experience, and not what I am leaving behind. And yes, I am so excited.

Photo credit: lonelyplanet.com