Emocionado por España

I leave for Sevilla, Spain in approximately 7 days 15 hours and 29 minutes....but hey, who is counting? For those of you who don't know, I am a Junior at Texas A&M (I refuse to do the wildcat here) and I am studying abroad through ISA for the Spring semester of 2011. I will be gone from January 18-May 14. A solid four months: by far the longest I have been away from home. This past semester, I have gone through several stages of emotions (excitement, sadness, anxiety, longing, dreading, wondering, giddiness, and then excitement again) in anticipation for my semester abroad. Being that I am a highly emotional girl, you can imagine the roller coaster I have been on the past few months. Currently I am in a stage of excitement. It is an interesting feeling to know you are leaving for the second part of the year. I feel like I understand to an extent what seniors must feel like. My mindset was one of being "half way there" all year long. I didn't want to get too involved, attached, or committed to life in College Station. Not sure if that was the right way to think, but I did none the less.

I have an overwhelming amount of tasks to do before I leave. I am big into making lists so be expecting many of those to come. Yesterday my big task I accomplished was making my to-do list....and that's it (catching up on sleep before I go may or may not be taking priority at the moment). 

EXCITEMENT

This is the main emotion I am feeling at the moment. This Winter Break has been one of reading blogs, researching, emailing, and shopping...all in preparation for my European adventures. I want to just say that I still feel totally, completely, and overwhelmingly unprepared. But that is supposedly normal at this point...or so I have heard.  

I am EXCITED to be out of my element. I am EXCITED to learn Spanish. I am EXCITED to live with a host family. I am EXCITED to eat good food. I am EXCITED to drink good wine. I am EXCITED to learn more about God. I am EXCITED to meet new people. I am EXCITED to get away from my normal life. I am EXCITED to pray about my future. I am EXCITED to cross off some items on my bucket list. I am EXCITED for Portugal. I am EXCITED to blog. I am EXCITED to journal. I am EXCITED to take pictures with my new camera (thanks Alli). I am EXCITED for two 10 day breaks. I am EXCITED to take classes in Spanish. I am EXCITED to listen to podcasts. I am EXCITED to listen to new music. I am EXCITED to fly internationally by myself. I am EXCITED to see Katherine and Alli in Italy. I am EXCITED to meet Liz. I am EXCITED to be reunited with Mackenzie. I am EXCITED to see Leslie when she visits. I am EXCITED to send postcards home. I am EXCITED for three day weekends every weekend. I am EXCITED to have time alone. I am EXCITED to rely on God. I am EXCITED for a break from real life. I am EXCITED for Tapas. I am EXCITED to see different countries. I am EXCITED to fall in love with Spain. I am EXCITED for Feria de Abril. I am EXCITED to learn about myself. I am EXCITED to see how big God is. 

So I am writing this blog for myself and for those of you who won't be with me next semester. I will miss you all every day and I wish you were here with me. But I am EXCITED to see what God has for me these next four months. I hope I use this blog to stay connected with each of you, and so that you can experience Spain with me. Vale! Vamanos a España!