Well, after a year of preparation and extra classes, I am finally in Spain! Right now, I am sitting in the Madrid International Airport waiting to board my last flight to Alicante.
These past few weeks and months have been a blur; it was surreal to realize that I wouldn’t see my family, home and friends for 9 months, or ever come back to Mission Viejo High School. Sad thoughts, but for me, this experience in Spain will be more than worth the separation. So, after a fantastic goodbye party, I left at 5 am for LAX and have been traveling since then.
I’m a little nervous about having to speak solely in Spanish, especially during the first few months, but I’m feeling a little better about it after having met Graciela. She’s an Argentinean woman I met on the plane who speaks no English. We talked in Spanish for about 20 minutes, and in the middle of the conversation, I suddenly realized that, although no English had been spoken, I was able to understand and respond very quickly, with few mistakes. I think after a month, I’ll be completely fine in everyday conversation.
Right now, before seeing Altea and before meeting my host family, I am feeling mostly excited, but very tired and a little nervous as well. Although my host family and I have communicated through facebook and email, we know very little about each other. I really hope that this year will be a fantastic experience for both the family and for me, and I am so thankful for this wonderful opportunity.
As of now, my goals for this exchange are:
-to become fluent in Spanish
-to live like a local, not a tourist
-to make great friends
-to become more independent
We’ll see how it goes.
My biggest fears are:
-that I will have no friends in school
-that I will be unable to understand the schoolwork
-that life with my host family will be very awkward
As the year goes on, I’ll address, evaluate, and possibly change these goals and fears. Wish me luck!
**I really did write this in the airport, but I didn’t have internet connection to upload it until my 2nd day :)
