Skipping Class

Since I've been here, I've noticed that often times kids are in school for most of the day but will leave school for one or more class periods. I guess it's not really a rule to stay in school because when the teacher does attendance at the beginning of class, she never questions why a students name would be marked as “present” for History and Math but “absent” for English and Science. It seems that so far, almost everyone in my class has skipped at least once since I've been here. Today for example, the Philosophy teacher decided that he wasn't going to have class that day so some of my friends asked me if I wanted to go to the park with them. I figured that it was probably okay considering more than half my class was going. Everything was going fine until one kid looked at his watch and screamed something about being late. Instantly, everyone stopped what they were doing and sprinted towards the school. Well, except for a select few that decided they were just going to take the rest of the day off. (Why this is acceptable I'll never understand) Anyways, once we arrived back in the classroom, all the kids ran over to the attendance chart and started checking off their names while a student watched the door. When the student gave the warning signal everyone ran back to their seats. I don't think I've ever been more confused in my life. How could skipping class be this easy. If all you have to do is have a friend check your name off when the teacher isn't looking, why would you go to class at all? I could skip an entire day and no one would ever know. Don't worry, I'm not planning on doing this considering I'm behind enough as it is, but I just find it fascinating how easily half a class got away with leaving school.

Two weeks later and Spain still continues amaze me.

-Libby

Soo many study halls

Waking up today, based on the classes on my schedule, I was already preparing myself for a miserable day of school. To my surprise, it was the complete opposite.

I think my favorite thing about the Spanish school system is the fact that when a teacher doesn't show up, even if it's planned in advance, there is no class. For example, I haven't had a Math class all week besides the test because the teacher has been sick. For the past three days all I've done is sit and attempt to talk to my classmates because there is nothing else to do. Today though, the principal decided to chaperone our class and we ended up all having a group discussion where the students would ask me questions and the principal would translate for me. This was really helpful for me because while I do realize I need to be practicing my Spanish, it's hard for people to get to know each other when they can only communicate in basic sentences. My next class was, of course, Economy. I have never hated a class more in my life than Economy. Today, all we did was copy an extremely complex diagram on the board. I was actually relieved when I was finished. But then, the teacher, for some reason, thought I needed to make it bigger so I had to draw it again. As I said before, I hate Economy. For the next class I had another free period where there was no teacher to watch over us. I guess the guys in my class thought this to be the perfect opportunity to have some sort of paper ball fight which made it impossible to get any work done. After lunch I was supposed to have Science which I had been dreading all day but instead I was told to go to the Gym. Once there, my friend from class informed me that this was an information meeting because next week on Thursday, school was going to be canceled due to some sort of unemployment strike. (I'm still impressed I was able to understand her when she was explaining this to me.) Next, was once again, Economy. Why! Again, we had to copy some sort of stupid diagram that I don't understand and really don't feel like translating. I know I'll have to eventually but I'm too tired to care. Finally, I had history, a class that's usually difficult but once again for some reason we had a free period. The teacher just decided she didn't want to come to class I guess because she came in took attendance an left. That's four free periods in one day. I don't think I've ever had an easier day of school in my life. Well, except for Economy. Stupid Economy.

On a side note, after school today, I decided I wanted to explore more of Jerez. This was my first time walking far away from my house without anyone from my host family accompanying me so of course, I got lost. I was kind of hoping this would happen though because I really wanted to test how well I could learn my surroundings and I knew if I was really in trouble I could always just attempt to ask for directions. I did eventually make it back only to be locked out of my house for an hour which I guess is some sort of karma for semi-purposely becoming lost.

I would go more into detail about what I saw on my adventure in Jerez but it is now 11:30 and I'm just too tired.

Adiooo

-Libby

Settling in

As I predicted-

Starting school has helped me settle into a routine which is a good thing because now I can consider my life here more normal and not new and scary.

Basically my day or the past four days have gone like this:

At 7:15 I wake up giving me 30 minutes to get to the bus. No one else in the house wakes up until after I leave so I have to be very quiet when I'm getting ready. Once ready, I sneak downstairs to the kitchen and make breakfast which usually is just bread and olive oil (honestly the best bread ever.. I'm not kidding Ben.. Denise would be proud). I try to leave for the bus stop at 7:40 but so far I've been late every day. Hopefully I'll be able to improve on that as the weeks go on. Next I walk out to the bus stop where I then sit next to this really creepy guy who likes to talk to himself (Nina). I've haven't had the opportunity to talk to him yet though because about five minutes later this other creepy guy who has some sort of creepy obsession with skulls pulls up and picks him up...

Once I get on the bus I just find the first empty seat because for me it's to early to try and embarrass myself making conversation. For some reason the sun doesn't rise here until about 8:30 here so I have a really hard time staying awake on the bus.

So far, each day at school has been different. For instance yesterday, I found myself not understanding anything and making no conversation with the people around me. Today though, was the complete opposite. I was actually able to pick out entire sentences when the teacher was talking. I think I've accepted the fact that I'm most likely going to fail this trimester. Yesterday I took a math test and I had no idea what the unit was even on. I know we're learning algebra but the problems are way different than anything I've ever seen. I didn't want to say anything though because I'm pretty sure the math teacher already hates me. Some teachers are really understanding with my reasons for being here and some I can tell just see me as a bother to the class and usually just ignore me struggling. English is still by far the best class obviously although it's getting a little boring considering all I do is just sit there. I don't even have to do the exercises. I literally just sit and pretend I'm listening. I had my first French class today. Surprisingly, even though I know absolutely no French, I found that knowing English and some Spanish I was able to make some connections. Of course that was just on months and numbers but it's a start I guess. I'm not to concerned about trying to learn French at the moment. Right now I'm more focused on the subjects I need to pass Junior year.

After school I always go straight home for lunch. I'm starting to love Spanish food. It's all so thoroughly prepared and always tastes really good. Usually, for me anyways, there's always a main meal, a smaller meal, kind of like an appetizer but it's served with the meal, and bread. For example, today the main meal was grilled pork in olive oil (amazing), served with a side of fresh shrimp and mussels, with another side of some sort of tomato salad, and bread. Lunch is served as soon as I get home for my family and you're expected to wait until dinner to eat which is anywhere from 9-11. Dinner is optional and I usually just skip it because that's also the time when I'm able to go downstairs and use the internet. Yesterday at 9:30 my host sister asked me if I wanted to go for a run which was actually just a really fast walk. We walked right past an outdoor band which was pretty interesting because it consisted of kids as young as 6 to adults. I'm excited to run more by myself and explore more of the city by foot instead of car.

Sunday I was able to go to the beach for the first time. Beaches here are a lot different than in Maine. I'm pretty sure everyone must go to the beach on Sundays because it was packed. I even saw one of my friends from Boston there. On the beach, I noticed that many women didn't wear bathing suit tops. This took some getting used to. I just stared at the sand until I decided to go swimming. The water here is so much warmer than Maine yet only a few people were swimming. Hopefully I'll get to go back soon because until I find a club to join I'm pretty sure that's the only way I'll be able to swim.

Anyways,

I think I have an Economy test tomorrow,

I should probably study for that,

Ha

Jokes.

-Libby

First weekend in Jerez

I guess to keep this post from being confusing I'll break down my weekend into the three days it consisted of.



Friday:
For some reason my host family thought that it was okay to leave me alone in the house for like four hours while they went out dancing. I decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to explore around the neighborhood and see more of Jerez. Unfortunately my camera was dead so I couldn't take any pictures but there really isn't much to see anyway so for now I'm not too worried. After I was done exploring I immediately ran up to my room and got out my guitar because I realized that this was the perfect opportunity to finally play my guitar. Of course I sounded terrible because I had to tune by ear but I mean, it didn't really matter considering no one was around to hear me.



Saturday:
Saturday began as one of the most boring days of my life and ended as one of the most exciting. I woke up around 12 to my host mom telling me that we were going to go grocery shopping...again...even though we'd just gone the day before. Now normally I wouldn't mind going to the grocery store because it's not like I had anything better to do but going to the grocery store here is not the same thing as back in America. First,we had to go pick up the grandparents for some reason I still don't understand considering they didn't buy anything. Then we drove to a completely different town 45 minutes away to that towns grocery store because I guess some of their foods are cheaper. Then we began what seemed like the longest three hours of my life.
I don't know if it's just my family but every time we go to the grocery store we start at the beginning of the first aisle and slowly make our way down each aisle inspecting each item to see if we need it or not. After this careful process has been completed we make our way to the meat section. I can probably say I have never been so close to puking in public in my entire life than the first time I walked into that part of the store. Instantly after walking in I saw a wall of dried pig legs, hooves and all. The smell of that alone was enough to make me want to run for the door. Then there came the tables of 3 feet long fish with eyes staring directly at me. Finally for the big finale was the freezer of frozen pigs bunched up in plastic wrap. It was honestly so disturbing I wanted to cry but of course I didn't and pretended like everything there was completely normal.



That night I went to my first discoteca. It was nothing like anything I'd ever experienced before and I mean that in a good way. I went with my host sister and her friend who speaks some English which made everything easier. We didn't end up leaving until 12 which was way later than I expected. Before we went to the discoteca we stopped at a pre-club block party. It was basically just a street filled with kids. It was a lot like the clam fest block party but with three times as many people. I was able to meet all of my host sisters friends who were all really nice and interested in introducing me to as many people as possible. At around two in the morning they decided it was late enough to go to the club. They told me I was too young to legally go into the club so I was just supposed to pretend I didn't understand any Spanish while they did all the talking. Somehow...it worked... No one really showed up until around 3 in the morning but once everyone did get there it was soo much fun. Everyone there was dancing and the music was really good so all in all it was probably the best time I've had since I've been here. My host sisters friends say they come here almost every weekend so hopefully I'll get to go back soon.



Since this post is already really long I'll explain my day at the beach in tomorrows post.
Now I'm off to tackle Philosophy homework
Should be fun.
-Libby

Entiendes? Kinda!

Today was my second day of school and thankfully a Friday. Some classes I had yesterday but a few were new to me. My school's schedule is broken up into six hour long periods. Three in the morning with a half hour break and then three more after. It's extremely hard to pay attention during school because I already know I'm just going to Google translate everything later but I still feel that I should at least try to understand what the teacher is saying. Experiencing a Spanish school has come to make me appreciate American schools much more that I had before. Spanish classrooms are basically just four walls with a white board and a bunch of tables. The teacher walks in, talks, and leaves. It's up to you how many notes you take and how well you understand the material. Questions are limited because most classes only meet two or three times a week (except for economy........) for one hour. I've noticed that many students don't bother taking notes unless it's for homework. From what I've seen there are no group projects or open discussions. The teacher may have a computer but that's it. I haven't even bothered bringing my phone or laptop for I know there is no use for it. It would make school very boring if everything wasn't so new to me. I'm sure as time goes on I'll start settling in and school will be as boring for me as it is for everyone else.



If you're interested on how my classes went today here's a brief description
History: The teacher used a slide show today so I just basically wrote down everything on the slides with the plan to Google translate what I don't understand later. I did actually understand some of what the teacher was talking about which I guess is progress from where I was a week ago not understanding basic sentences.



Drawing: Why. I don't even like drawing yet apparently I have to go once a week to draw buildings, birds, and other objects I can't draw. I guess this wouldn't but the teacher told me I have to go buy 4 different sketch pads and 3 types of paint. More money spent on something I don't want. Another reason to appreciate American school systems. Supplies is usually provided for you.



English: This will definitely be my favorite class. All I have to do is sit back, relax, and enjoy understanding every single thing that's going on around me while for once everyone else is struggling and asking for help.



Philosophy: All we did was talk about the word philosophy. Literally just the word. I'm not even going to begin to start on how pointless/boring that class is.



Science: nope.



Literature: I guess I have to go out and buy three different books, read them, and then take a test on them. Where I'm going to find these books? No clue. Luckily communication between my host mom and me has gotten better and she told me she would call my local coordinator for me (she doesn't speak English) so hopefully she'll be able to tell me where everyone's buying all these extremely expensive supplies.



After school I faced quite a few fears that I didn't think I would have to deal with until much later. I successfully made it home on the bus alone telling the bus driver where my house was (with some help) and I rode on a motorcycle/moped/I don't know what they call it here. This was by far the scarier of the two. I didn't even know I was facing this fear until I was on the bike cruising down the cobblestone road. At first I was freaking out and planning my funeral for I was sure the sister was going to get into an accident. Eventually though, I was able to put my fears aside and enjoy what was actually the coolest thing I've done here. Bikes don't have any rules in Spain. They cruise through traffic and only stop if absolutely necessary. The only sketchy part about the experience was that there was no strap on my helmet so it was basically just for show...... Needless to say while it was very fun I'm probably not going to take part in that adventure again any time soon. Well, not until I get a safer helmet. :)



Tomorrow I'm going to my first Spanish club!
This should be interesting..
-Libby

First day of school

Today I was finally able to go to school! This was yet again a day of many emotions ranging from extreme sadness to extreme happiness. I expected as much though considering the number of things that were going to be new to me.



School here is a lot different than in the United States. As I said yesterday each student is assigned a different track. I assume I'm on the economy track considering I had economy twice today. (already my least favorite class) Some other classes that I'm taking are:
-Math (I couldn't follow everything that was going on but I did understand that he was trying to teach the class exponents so I can't imagine it's going to be too hard)
-English (I have this tomorrow. So excited.)
-Study Hall (Best class)
-Gym (I'm looking forward to this only because I haven't been able to run at all since I've came here.)
-History (The content looks so interesting I just couldn't understand anything that was going on... this was the point in the day when I started to miss home only because I love history when I can understand it.)
-Science (death.)
-Religion? (I guess I'm able to choose between religion and study hall but when it came time to choose the kids in my class decided that I was going to stay in study hall.. oh well..)
-Philosophy (Considering I've never taken a philosophy class in English I don't really know how this is going to go... hopefully this credit won't count in Yarmouth)
-French (learning French in Spanish..ha)
-Literature (Well I think that's what the schedule says.. I'll guess I'll find out tomorrow)



In Spanish schools, the teachers go from classroom to classroom instead of the students moving. I find this weird and annoying only because sitting for six hours with only one half hour break is not what I like/am used to. I also don't understand why I had economy twice today. You'd think they'd spread it out more throughout the week but they don't. I guess people here just really like economy...



When I first walked into the classroom I was immediately surprised at how many kids there were in the classroom. There were at least 35 kids in one tiny room. Everyone of course stared at me as I introduced myself and then walked to the back of the classroom extremely embarrassed (I was 30 minutes late for class). As class went on all I could think about was how hard it was going to be to make friends here. Everyone obviously already has friends and I couldn't just interfere with that especially not knowing the language. By the end of first period I was just settling into a mood of depression when all the sudden the bell rang and immediately all 35 kids got up from there seats and came back to my desk. I don't think I've ever been more relieved in my entire life. Everyone was so nice and patient with me. They all wanted to practice their English with me which was pretty hilarious. One girl name Paola decided it would be her mission to show me around school and make sure I was doing okay. I'm extremely grateful to her because anytime there was any sort of break she would take me out to the hallway and introduce me to as many of her friends as possible. I think she even invited me to a party this weekend but I can't exactly be sure considering she was talking in a mix of Spanish and English. I also found out I have to buy like 10 books costing over 200 euros total. Awesome..



Tomorrow should be even more interesting and exciting..
Can't wait!
-Libby

My big day.

So today was a big day for a few of reasons.



1. I registered for school!
Finally my paperwork went through and I was able to register for school. I don't think I've been more excited this entire time that I've been here. The principal was extremely nice and even though I couldn't understand him, he was still very curious about America and my reasons for coming here. Even though we're not supposed to be able to choose our track I made sure the principal knew that I hate science and wanted to be on a history track so hopefully that will help. For anyone who doesn't know what a “track” is, it's basically like a path you take throughout high school. For instance if I had chosen the science track I'd be taking chemistry, physics, biology, and some math classes. Because I told him I wanted to be on a history track, those classes include languages, writing, history, and other stuff along that line. I really hope I'm on history track otherwise school is going to be way more difficult for me than I was already planning.



2. I was able to see one of my friends from the Barcelona trip. She came with me to register for school and it was really good to see her even though I don't know her that well, because it was really nice to have a conversation where I understood her and she understood me. I'm very happy she's going to be in my school so if all else fails and I can't seem to make any Spanish friends, I know I'll have a friend somewhere in my school.



3.I finally was able to gather up enough hunger to eat three whole meals making my host mom very happy. The food here is so different from back home and while I do miss good ol' junk food I'm growing very accustomed to the meals made here. It's a little weird that most meals I have no idea what's in them and I have no idea whether or not I'll like them but I guess that's all part of the experience. So far I've been good and eating the food whether I like it or not.

Wish me luck on my first day of school!

-Libby

P.S. I found an ice cream stand right next to my house. That's going to have to become a regular stop on my way home from school 

Experiencing Jerez

When I first got here I'm not gonna lie but I was a little disappointed with my surroundings. Only because all I saw were busy streets, lots of trash, and the constant smell of cigarettes. Today though, my host mother and sister and I went on a walk all around the shopping parts of Jerez where there are no cars and lots of beautiful statues and buildings. I'm basically in love with that part of Jerez and I can't wait to go back. My favorite parts of touring the city were the reactions they gave when I told them that the stores they love here were not in fact in the U.S. While touring the city we ran into one of my host mother's cousins (I think) and we spent about an hour standing in the middle of the street talking to her. I found that quite interesting because from my experiences in America the most any two people talk to each other is about 10 minutes tops. Especially if they just see each other on the street. Usually in America we just smile and wave when we see a friend but here they went through a long intense conversation right there in the middle of the street. I'm not sure if this is common but it sure was different.



Unfortunately I'm not able to start school tomorrow like I'd planned. I don't really know why yet but it has something to do with my local coordinator. While you probably think I'm thrilled I actually really want to start school. I'm ready to start making friends and experiencing everything Jerez has to offer. As I've said before it's hard not being able to hang out with anyone. Staying in the house all day has just made me homesick and I'm tired of feeling homesick.



One thing I've found interesting about this particular family that I'm staying with is the fact that unlike what everyone has been telling me, I've yet to experience the long family dinners where everyone sits at the table and shares big meals for hours and hours. So far, I've had basically the opposite experience. There are no set meal times. Whenever I say that I'm hungry the mother asks me what I want and just points at things until I nod my head. I think the mother is getting a little worried about me though cause I've only been eating one or two meals a day and I basically just drink tons of water. This is because the heat is always making me thirsty causing me to drink like 5 times more water than the rest of the family. I'm not really sure why I haven't been eating. I'm just never hungry. It's not because the food is bad because it's not. The bread here is absolutely amazing. (Ben if you're reading this it's better than the bread at canels! Plus there's unlimited olive oil!)



While I know I've only been in Spain for a few days now here's some things I'm already starting to miss (besides the obvious friends and family)
-My bed (my new bed doesn't fit me..it's too short..)
-American television
-Lemonade
-Ice Cream (not Gelato I mean like the fake ice cream you can only get in America)
-Playing guitar/singing (I'm afraid I'm going to annoy them and I still haven't figured out when/how to ask them)
-Swimming (If I don't swim soon I'm going to go crazy.)



Anyway even though those are all things that I miss I'm slowly learning to adapt to my new situation. Hopefully once I start school I'll start to be able to create a routine thus allowing me to call this place home.
-Libby

continued..

I just realized that I never said what I did on my first day. This is because all I've basically done is sleep. 5 days of travelling really tired me out. I got to meet the grandparents today though who are really nice and I got to see what I think is my school. I guess I'll find out tomorrow :)

First day with my host family.

So let me just start out by saying that yesterday and today were by far the two most difficult days of my life.Signing up for this I knew that things were going to be hard but living in a completely new town with a completely new family speaking a language that I'm pretty terrible at surpasses anything I've ever believed to be challenging or difficult. I think part of the reason it's been so difficult is because of the terrible feeling of being alone in this new situation. Up until now for the past two days I haven't had any internet access so whenever I'm in my room all I have is me and my thoughts which often lead to me panicking. I want to say that I'm having the time of my life right now but that wouldn't be telling the truth. I'm torn between wanting to come home where I have friends and a family who understand me and wanting to stay here and keep trying to learn the language and culture. It's sad but the only thing really keeping me here is the fact that coming here took me almost a week and I don't want to go through that again. I know it's going to be worth it in the end and that I just have to stick it out but I really wish there was just someone familiar here. 

On the upside, yesterday I was able to navigate a train system in Spanish. I ordered food got on the correct trains and made it out in time which was scary but pretty fun. The trains here are much nicer than in America. America really needs to get their act together and start working on a better train system because it's so much nicer than flying everywhere. I was able to get from one end of the country to the other in 7 hours which didn't even matter because the trains were so nice and the view was so amazing I could have stayed on that train all day. 

Well since I started writing this post the family has returned from wherever they were (I honestly can't understand half of what they're saying) and I think I should probably get off the computer. Sorry if this post was a little depressing I am happy that I'm here it's just really hard when you feel like you're alone and if anything goes wrong you feel like you have to no one to talk to. For instance today I thought I was getting sick and I knew I couldn't tell the mother because she would've taken me to the doctor or well that's what the guy from Interhispania said. But aside from every challenging thing that's been going on I know that once school starts I'll hopefully start making friends and settle into a routine.

Hasta luegooo

-Libby

P.S. Still working on the picture situation. They take forever to upload and because I only have internet in the basement I feel like it's  burden to use it. I'll work on it though.

Last day in Barcelona

Today was my last day in Barcelona because tomorrow I will finally be meeting my host family!! For anyone who doesn't know, The family consists of a mom who is a stay at home mom, a dad who is an engineer, and two sisters ages 16 and 19. The 19 year old sister will be in college but visiting on the weekends. The 16 year old is obviously my age and will be attending my school which is nice. Today, as expected, was mostly just orientation. This was actually very useful because it taught us more about the culture and the day to day lifestyle of the people in Cadiz and Jerez de la frontera. After orientation we got to see more of Barcelona which was very nice because it gave me the opportunity to take a lot of pictures and try and practice Spanish on some of the locals. While most people think that people in Barcelona only speak Catalan they actually are for the most part bilingual so they'll speak in both Catalan and Spanish fluently. It's really interesting to hear a conversation between two locals because sentences will often be a mix of Spanish and Catalan.

Tomorrow I have to be out of the hostel by 10 but my train isn't till 3 so I'm not sure exactly what I'll be doing in between them but it doesn't matter because by tomorrow night I'll be with my host family :) Besides excited, I'm also very nervous about meeting my host family only because I know so little about them. I'm hopefully starting school on Monday but I still have to find out my classes so I probably won't be going to actual school until Tuesday. Another thing that I'm looking forward to yet very nervous about. Everything here is happening so fast and I love it :)

P.S. I've gotten a lot of questions about my lost guitar and I did end up retrieving it so no worries.

Day 1/2/3

So.......

I made it to Spain!!

It took two days in Boston, a six hour flight to Frankfurt, a two hour flight to Barcelona, and a lost guitar but finally I arrived in the youth hostel of Barcelona. You'll have to excuse the grammatical structure of this post because I've been awake for over 35 hours with no sleep. I would've waited to post this but tomorrow is full with more orientations and host family information. 

So to sum up what has happened these past few days....

Day 1:

After many sad goodbyes, which I must admit were a lot more difficult than I thought, I drove down to Boston where I met up with the 15 other kids who were going to Spain. Most kids I found were staying no where near me but I did find a couple of kids who would be in my town and one in my school which is better than I expected. Traveling around Boston was hard only because I was extremely anxious to get to Spain and unlike some of the other kids I've seen Boston many times before which made most of day 1 and 2 very, very boring. On the upside spending time in Boston gave me more opportunities to talk to people who I hadn't been able to say goodbye to in person without fear of international charges. 

Day 2: Travel day.

Day 2 kind of ties into day 3 because of the fact that I still haven't slept since 6:00 am Thursday morning and it is now Friday night. But basically after another day of traveling around Boston I finally was able to board the plane. I ended up having to switch seats with another person which put me alone making the flight a little boring but now that I'm here none of that really matters in retrospect. The second flight from Frankfurt to Barcelona was beautiful. Unfortunately I was wide awake and saw the entire thing but as I said earlier it was beautiful. I'll just end day 2 there because by this point it was basically Friday

Day 3: Barcelona!!

After arriving in Barcelona we immediately went to the youth hostel. For anyone who doesn't know what a youth hostel is, it's basically just a hotel with tiny rooms bunking up to 8 people on tiny cots. It's a good thing I'm as tired as I am because otherwise there would be no way I would be sleeping on those mattresses (equipped with no sheets/blankets) From the youth hostel we went toured around Barcelona on a bus and went up to a beautiful cathedral on top of a mountain overlooking the entire city. I have tons of pictures but at the moment I have no time to upload them so I'll wait till I'm with my host family to do that. Basically after the tour all we've been doing is settling in to the youth hostel and adjusting to Spain.

Well that's all for now

-Libby

First post :)

So after procrastinating for months and months, I've finally decided to start my blog which is supposed to document my adventures for the next ten months while I'm in Spain. The reason I've been procrastinating on starting this blog for so long is because up until now nothing about my trip has felt real. It's weird because when I signed up I was aware of how long I would be away but in the past couple weeks the reality of the situation has really been setting in (in a good way). I'm extremely excited about my trip to Spain. I know that this is going to be the most challenging and amazing experience of my life and I'm extremely anxious for it to begin. Now that I have my visa and my flight information I have to start the challenging task of packing. The next time I update I hopefully will be in Spain so until then.
Hasta Luego :)
-Libby