This spring, I'm headed off on my biggest travel adventure yet -- studying abroad in Seville, Spain. The plane tickets are booked, the class registration is complete, and the closer I get to my departure date, the more excited (and nervous) I get. It's going to be an incredible experience, there's no doubt about it, but I think a little anxiety is apropo considering that I'll be living in a foreign country with no one I know for three and a half months. Thankfully, my Spanish is quite good, so I shouldn't have too many difficulties with communication, but the concept of not speaking English for a whole semester is a little daunting. It will do incredible things for my language skills, but I do worry that I won't be able to express myself fully and I'll get frustrated. But realistically, I'll have to speak English whenever I Skype with my parents, so that should relieve any language-related stresses I'm feeling.
My classes, on the other hand, don't make me nervous at all. I'm taking some really fun ones -- lots of advanced language courses, a class on international business in the European Union, one on the psychology of learning a second language, plus flamenco dance and Spanish cuisine. I deliberately kept my credit load lower than my usual 18 so I'll have time to enjoy my cultural experience and not miss out on every Spain has to offer while I'm studying. I'm also really excited for the excursions. The program I'm in offers a few day trips and weekend trips to various parts of the country, and you know there's nothing I love more than going everywhere I can go and seeing everything I can see.
I've got some pretty big hopes for my time in Spain. First and foremost is improving my langauge skills, since language is what I want to make a career of. My Spanish is great when I'm talking to other English speakers or putting words on paper, but I get a little flustered when I talk to native Spanish speakers. Sometimes their accents throw me off, or I get scared that I'll say something bad on accident, even though I know enough Spanish to not mess up!
Long story short, I'm nervous, I'm excited, and I'm ready for my big Spanish adventure!