Pre-Departure

So, I'm leaving for Spain in 4 days!! I recently decided to blog my experiences mainly because my parents told me I had to but I also feel as though it's a great way to record and remember my journey in Europe. I've pretty much wanted to study abroad since high school but it's so surreal to me that I'm actually doing it.

Why I chose Madrid, Spain:
I originally applied to do a healthcare program in 3rd world countries but after being denied acceptance to that (they told me I applied too late but I'm pretty sure that was their excuse for we don't really want you), I started from ground 0 again. Three years ago I went to Barcelona for my parents 25th anniversary and absolutely loved it along with Greece, Italy, France, Estonia and Turkey. Out of all of these countries though, Spain was my favorite. Something about the culture just drew me in. It might have been that the World Cup was going on and Spain won that year so I was able to celebrate with the other Spaniards on the streets of Madrid as people were screaming and throwing beer from the balconies all while sporting the Spanish flag and team clothing. That night was undoubtedly one of the best nights of my life hence my attraction to study abroad in Spain.

My next step was deciding what part of Spain to go to. My sister, Sara, had been to Granada the previous summer and had made some really close Spanish friends there that wanted to be English teachers (convenient since my Spanish is pretty terrible). I really wanted to go to Granada so her friends could show me around and help me truly live the life of a real Spaniard but I was denied by the Study Abroad office. Apparently getting an A- in both semesters of Intermediate Spanish isn't good enough for the full immersion program (probably another excuse for we don't really want you either). I then thought about Barcelona since I had loved it so much last time I went but after about 2 seconds of convincing by my crazy and awesome friend Michelle I decided to go to Madrid with her. I think I made the right decision because I really don't know much about Madrid but I'm super excited to learn about it. As a bonus, all my classes are in English and I only have class Monday and Wednesday which sounds like the easiest semester I'll ever have.

My Program:
I'm attending Suffolk University (yes it's related to the Boston one) and will be living in a residencia with Michelle. I get three meals a day and my laundry done for me every week so I really have way too much free time but I don't hate it. The program I am going through is called api and I'm pretty sure they all already hate me for always giving me paper work in late, oops! Just kidding, they are all actually super nice which makes the transition easier.

My program gave me a diagnostic Spanish test and I got 0 out of 25 questions right, which somehow ended up being a 40% (not bad, right?) I'm a little worried about how well I'll succeed speaking Spanish but I can only go up from here!


Anyways, that's I'll I can think of for now! I guess my next post will be when I arrive in Spain!!!!