My departure day is right around the corner. It is surreal to think that I'll be flying out the United States in 4 days. It hasn't really clicked that I'll be LIVING in Spain very shortly but I am trying to mentally prepare myself to embrace a whirlwind of experiences. I slowly getting all my things together; I am following eight different packing lists and checking in with friends already abroad just to make sure I don't forget anything major.
Throughout this last week I have been receiving all the last bits of information about my program and homestay. I received a letter and introductions from my family that just filled my excitement to just get there and meet them. The home consists of a mother, Teresa, and her ten year old son, Lorenzo. I found out she is baker and makes lots of pastries at home (yum); Teresa's letter let me get a glimpse of what to expect from their home's location to the city center and their interests and ways of life. She signed her letter "Un Beso" (a kiss) which reminded me that I will be surrounded by Spanish (as if I could forget) I can't wait to practice and work on my Spanish in her home and see how much my confidence in speaking can grow. My program sent over a 90 page program information packet including a calendar and a more outlined agenda for my time abroad including my orientation week schedule, planned program excursions and any and all tips and tricks that I could ever need. My planner heart adored the multiple breakdowns and several versions of calendars to use and reference. I am been very fortunate to have a study abroad program that gives me more information that I could ever need so I can have a better sense of a peace of mind.
I haven't officially planned any trips outside of Sevilla as I am waiting to confirm class schedules, mandatory program meetings and class excursions; however, my program has put together three that I can assure you I will be traveling to soon. My first weekend abroad we are going to Cordoba on Saturday. In February I we will be going to Granada and March to Lisbon. I know I definitely want to take a trip to visit Barcelona, Dublin (or anywhere in Ireland), Berlin, Amsterdam, London, Paris, and Rome. My goal is to make it to the Vatican for Easter. Some cities others I'll try to get to might include Edinburgh, Prague, Florence, Naxos, Istanbul and Santorini. My cousin Mary is currently in Vienna so I hope to visit her as well. As it might be expected, Madrid might get more than one (or two) trip(s) as both my best friend and boyfriend are there studying abroad as well. This semester will obviously be filled with traveling and seeing as much Europe as I can; I can't wait to share the journeys with you all. If you have any "need to visit" cities or places please send them my way!
I am honestly really bad at remembering to reach out to people and give updates so I hope this can be my way of trying to document my experiences but also letting you know what is going on with me. Feel free to comment and send me messages through here too! I am going to try to update this with a blog post and photo collection additions once a week but not sure what day yet. I believe if you subscribe to the page you can get email updates to when there is a new blog post; I might try and post something on my social media pages to let you know when a new post is up as well!
If you're looking to reach out to me while I am gone I have a few options for you. If just wanted to send a quick message or question over you can reach out to me over social media messenger or email (kayleeharris7@gmail.com). If wanting to chat, call or video chat please download and use the app "WhatsApp" which is connected to my US number. If you already have my number you can find my account through syncing your contacts!
I thank you all for supporting me on this journey.
Viajando translates to traveling. I hope you enjoying tagging along and traveling with me this Spring.
¡Hasta la próxima vez! (until next time)
Kaylee