Author Archives: als5690

Hola from Sevilla!

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so to start off i am very sorry that i have not written since i have arrived here. we have been more busy then i could ever even have thought! it is absolutely crazy how much we have managed to pack into the two weeks (officially today) that we have been here. we started off with a few days of orientation which was a complete whirlwind. we had many presentations that answered a lot of our questions we originally had before coming and we got to know pretty much everyone in our program (which is fairly large) within the first few days which was awesome because that was one of my worries! we were divided into smaller groups for orientation and each had a guia (or guide) who is our age and studies at the business school where we will study. they were all very nice and gave us a different perspective. we still keep in touch with them and have all become friends! since orientation we have moved into our homestays (i will write a separate entry about this soon!) and started our 2 week required intensive session course. this course has been extremely taxing and we have had a lot of work every night. but after all, we are getting 3 credits for two weeks so thats not too shabby haha. tomorrow is the final exam for the course and i can honestly say im glad we had to do it because you would be suprised how much you can learn to prepare you for classes and life in spain in only two weeks! although i cant say i wont be glad to be done. 🙂 as for seville itself, its gorgeous. it is rich in history and culture but at the same time is a working city which has modern parts as well. it is actually more modern that i expected but i’ve come to believe it has the perfect mix. we have already been to see the alcazar and la catedral de sevilla and have gone on a hiking excursion as well! there are so many things i could write about but as things settle down a little more in the coming week i plan on writing smaller entries that focus on those specifc things and have a little more detail. some i plan on writing about are my homestay experience, specific excursions, using spanish in everyday life, things to do in sevilla, and more. as for now, im loving seville more than i could have imagined and i am just so…. content to be here and experiencing this! hasta luego!


Location: Seville, Spain

Hola From Sevilla!

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so to start off i am very sorry that i have not written since i have arrived here. we have been more busy then i could ever even have thought! it is absolutely crazy how much we have managed to pack into the two weeks (officially today) that we have been here. we started off with a few days of orientation which was a complete whirlwind. we had many presentations that answered a lot of our questions we originally had before coming and we got to know pretty much everyone in our program (which is fairly large) within the first few days which was awesome because that was one of my worries! we were divided into smaller groups for orientation and each had a guia (or guide) who is our age and studies at the business school where we will study. they were all very nice and gave us a different perspective. we still keep in touch with them and have all become friends! since orientation we have moved into our homestays (i will write a separate entry about this soon!) and started our 2 week required intensive session course. this course has been extremely taxing and we have had a lot of work every night. but after all, we are getting 3 credits for two weeks so thats not too shabby haha. tomorrow is the final exam for the course and i can honestly say im glad we had to do it because you would be suprised how much you can learn to prepare you for classes and life in spain in only two weeks! although i cant say i wont be glad to be done. 🙂 as for seville itself, its gorgeous. it is rich in history and culture but at the same time is a working city which has modern parts as well. it is actually more modern that i expected but i’ve come to believe it has the perfect mix. we have already been to see the alcazar and la catedral de sevilla and have gone on a hiking excursion as well! there are so many things i could write about but as things settle down a little more in the coming week i plan on writing smaller entries that focus on those specifc things and have a little more detail. some i plan on writing about are my homestay experience, specific excursions, using spanish in everyday life, things to do in sevilla, and more. as for now, im loving seville more than i could have imagined and i am just so…. content to be here and experiencing this! hasta luego!

 

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Location: Seville, Spain

Waiting, waiting, waiting…

Hey there. Well the countdown officially reads 5 days till Spain today. Wow. I’m not really sure that it has set in yet. In fact, I know it hasn’t. After planning to study abroad for so long, it started to seem like one of those things that would be perpetually stuck in the future tense. At this point, I’m hoping it sets in sooner rather than later and maybe that will jump start me into feeling the need to pack. It’s going to be kind of a big deal fitting four months of my life into two suitcases. Especially since everyone and their mother have given me the advice to underpack so I have room to bring souvenirs, etc. back home with me. HA. Good joke. I can see myself sitting on my bedroom floor next Monday night staring at two empty suitcases that need to be filled by the next morning. I’m not psychic but trust me, that’s how it’s going to go down. But I mean, I have glanced at the recommended packing list and that counts for something. Right? Anyway, I’ll update you on how the packing process turned out later even though now you already know what to expect.

Goodbyes are strange aren’t they? I’ve already started making them. A few were back when the fall semester at State College ended. It was sad but my departure was still a month away at that point so it wasn’t too bad (except for my roomies, that sucked). Then I said some more to distant relatives that I only see around the holidays. That was ok considering I don’t see some of them beyond the holidays too much anyway. Then my close friends and boyfriend went back to school last week. That was the first set of goodbyes that really felt off. Partly because I’ll miss them of course but also because they are heading back to school and I’m not. So I’ve just been sitting on the couch watching HGTV and reading all their tweets and status updates about the good and bad parts of their first week and a little part of me feels sad to be missing it. Also, I can tell my mom is starting to get a little upset. Her hugs are a little longer the past few days and she’s been randomly telling me she loves me. Poor mamacita L

That’s about all I have for now. I’m nervous but then again, not really. I’m excited mostly. Not for any specific thing really, mostly just to finally get there. To finally get to the point where all the many unknowns become known. I have many expectations and many things of which I have no idea what to expect. It’s time to fix that.  5 4 3 2 1… GET ME TO SPAIN!


Location: Quarryville, PA

Introduction !

Hello everyone! My name is Angela and I can’t wait to start sharing my thoughts and experiences as I travel to Seville, Spain in less than two months!

I am currently a junior studying at University Park and am majoring in finance and minoring in Spanish. I love State College but I am definitely ready for the hot summer sun in Seville! I have been planning to do study abroad since my freshman year of high school when my high school Spanish teacher encouraged all of us who were really serious about Spanish to study somewhere where it was spoken someday and to embrace the culture. She shared her stories of living in Spain with us and it inspired me to make that my goal. The fact that I am so close is almost surreal to me after these past 6 years of saying I was going to Spain someday.

A couple other things about me are that I love my friends and family and boyfriend very much. I don’t know what I would do without them and it will be tough for me to be gone for so long. However, I know that this will be one of the best experiences of my life and I’m more than ready to venture out on my own and to see the world. As for the little details like the fact that I love reading, I don’t particularly like capital letters, my favorite color is purple, and I have spent way too much money on caramel lattes in my life – I’m sure you will learn more of these types of things about me as my entries pile up.

What you need to know for now is I am excited and nervous all in one. I can’t wait to leave, but at the same time I can’t imagine leaving.. you know? Will it live up to all I have been imagining it would be for the past 6 years? Will my host family like me and if they do at first, will they hate me if I don’t like the food?! Will I be able to maintain my GPA while taking all my courses in Spanish and still be able to get everything I want as far as travel and other experiences go? I just don’t know.

Time will tell. :# Adios for now!

 

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Location: Pollock Halls, University Park, PA