Preparations and Procrastination

Hello, blog world! Well actually, probably just hello to my friends and maybe my family, since I don't know if anyone else cares enough to read this.

There are only nine days until I leave, which means nine more days to eat Brookside, nine more days to see all of my friends and say goodbye, and nine more nights to sleep in my big, comfy bed! This still is not real to me. Every time I come home, I feel like I am in high school again since I'm surrounded by all my old friends. There is no way I am 21 and about to leave the country for four months!

This is where I'm going! Here's to hopefully warm weather :)

Despite my nerves, I am so super excited to finally be in Spain!  I have always thought about studying abroad, and for some reason, Spain was always the #1 destination on my list.  Despite my somewhat negative experiences with Spanish teachers (Senor Cohan kicking me out of class junior year of high school and my Spanish TA from sophomore year at UConn calling me "unrespectful" come to mind), there have been many great teachers (Pagano!) who have given me a desire to speak Spanish fluently.  Although I am very nervous to live with a family and take classes all in Spanish this semester, especially after not taking a Spanish class since sophomore year, I know I will pick it up fast! Well, I hope so anyways.

I have no idea what to expect from my semester in Granada.  So far, my only hopes are that I: 1) learn a lot of Spanish, 2) travel a lot! This girl has never been to Europe before, 3) Meet amazing people and not just stick with the UConn group-I want to meet natives and people from other universities, too!

I tend to get homesick, so I'm hoping to keep busy so I won't remember that I am not going to see my mom for four months (my dad, however, is coming to visit!). I will miss all my UConn and Simsbury friends a lot, but I know they will still be here when I come home.  Hearing about my soccer team's games will be hard, since I know I am going to wish I am playing with them and seeing them every day! (But I suppose I am kind of going to the soccer mecca of the world...Jealous?)

Some of the people who I will definitely miss!

I guess for now, I have nine days to enjoy the rest of my so-far very relaxing break.  I have seen mostly everyone I wanted to, and now I am trying to figure out what I have to bring overseas and what I can leave at home! I will obviously be procrastinating on the packing thing; how am I supposed to fit 4 months of life into a suitcase? I guess we will see...

Love,

Lauren :)