it's so close, but yet so far away

it's amazing how everything can come together in just a few months. i was officially accepted into my study abroad program in january. after being accepted i completed all the necessary paperwork, and received my flight itinerary. i fly out the afternoon of june 18th. my first stop is london, england where i will stay for 2 days. during that time we'll be free to explore the city and be taken on a guided tour featuring buckingham palace, westminster abbey, the houses of parliament and the tower of london.  from london we'll take a flight to madrid, spain where we'll stay for 2 days. we'll have another guided tour featuring plaza mayor, catedral de la almudena, puerta del sol, saseo de la castellana, plaza de españa, museo del prado. we'll then travel by bus to our final destination: salamanca, spain.

i am also happy to announce that i received a scholarship from the siue study abroad office. i am extremely grateful for receiving the scholarship.

with all the excitement, i'm beginning to feel a bit nervous. being a creature of habit it's a bit nerve wracking to think i'm choosing to uproot my life to not only a new city or country, but to a completely different language. my daily routine will be completely different, and that's what i'm so excited for. this is such a wonderful opportunity. i'm ecstatic to meet my host family and learn the spanish way of life. i'm going to spain with an open mind and limited expectations.. because in reality.. i have no idea what to expect. i hope to fall in love with the city and everything it has to offer. right now i feel that the food differences may be the biggest barrier. spanish people primarily eat a mediterannean diet, which means fish will be part of many dishes.. my extent with liking fish stops right after fish sticks. :) with that being said, i'm going to try everything... and maybe i'll surprise myself.

so for now.. all that stands between me and spain is: required pre-departure meeting, an intense month long semester of spanish class (hopefully to brush up and improve my speaking skills before i leave), and trying to decide how to pack everything i will need for 1 month into 1 suitcase.