Preparation and Packing

So, 4 days until the takeoff for Spain which I have been waiting for since high school. I am so thankful for this opportunity and all the support and love from friends and family. I can thank my friend Colleen Reedholm for the catchy blog title! I am keeping this blog as a requirement for possible Honors College credit as well as to keep all my friend and family updated on this exciting experience.

 Before then I have to figure out how to pack for 4 months, two season changes, in two suit cases and a backpack. The To Do list goes on and on.  Personally this could be my biggest challenge I tend to always over pack because I am terrible at predicting what kind of mood I will be in and what I actually feel like wearing compared to what I actually bought. When going to all the pre-departure meeting the Spain advisor told us that in Spain people dress nicer for class than we do in America, on a typical day of classes in Lubbock, Tx you will see most of the student body, depending on the time of year, in either a sweatpants or shorts with a T-shirt. I am one of those students you would see.

I have been reading a book called The Ghosts of Spain, the introduction of this book has somewhat prepared me for the Spanish culture I am about to experience in the next week. I have taken note of some of the things I have found helpful to know. For example, being invited into a Spaniards home is very personal and intimate, so I should be understanding of that when my host family picks me and my roommate up without the slightest knowledge of us except for a maybe a few things they might have picked up on our roommates survey, such as non-smoker. The book I have been reading has been very interesting it takes a look at the current feelings of Spanish Civil War that took place over 70 years ago, a time of significant change in Spanish politics that it seems most Spaniards seem to put behind them. As a foreigner and not anywhere close to an expert on Spanish history I not sure I fully understand the silence of the past. I am hoping I will be able to speak with someone maybe a professor or even my host family, after I become a little more conversational.

Well I guess that will wrap up this entry for now there won't be anything more exciting til maybe I get to the airport or arrive in Sevilla.