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.
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| Photo credit: lonelyplanet.com |
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