After endless hours of traveling, lugging around 100 lbs of clothes, and eating airplane food, I have officially arrived in Barcelona, Spain. It's a strange feeling when you step off the plane. Besides your body-clock being messed up and there being no way to contact people, you suddenly feel a rush. You feel a sense of independence, even though you'll be relying on Google Maps most of the time. It hasn't settled in that this is home for the next four months. It hasn't hit that you're now in a cab, driving to a new home with new neighbors and a new lifestyle. It isn't necessarily scary, but it does bring along a feeling of anxiousness. How will these next four months go? Am I living in a good place? How much will I be traveling? Will classes be hard? The questions run through your mind at a mile per minute, but the funny thing is it gets you excited. The thought of not knowing excited me. I have full control in how I spend my time, and I'm not going to waste it wondering about the what-if's.
After wandering the streets for the first time and somehow finding my way home, I realized it felt as if I had been here for much longer than I have (it's been two days now). I started to recognize certain monuments and felt a little more confident in my sense of direction (which has never been the best). Walking to and from class, most of the time being alone, is sort of relieving and comforting. Walking through a city to call your own and taking it all in: the sounds of cars zooming past, people talking in multiple languages, construction occurring. It all brings you peace in the midst of noise and movement. Am I jet lagged? Of course, but the thought that you could miss out on a minute of the new world you're in makes you kind of snap out of it. (Currently it should be 5 AM, yikes).
If you take anything from this post, take away that all the anxieties you may feel before going abroad quickly decease once you are here. The unknowns aren't scary anymore and the control is in your hands. An opportunity to live in a country as beautiful as Spain for a semester doesn't come around often, so take advantage of it while you can.
I'll be posting blog posts throughout the semester about my experiences, from traveling to Amsterdam to trying to understand Catalan as best I can. It'll be a potluck of topics, but I'll try and express myself as thoroughly as possible so maybe if you are considering going abroad, you decide to do it. As I sit on the patio of my apartment (which is unreal) wondering when I'll ever go grocery shopping, I am getting giddy at the idea of traveling to dozens of other cities and multiple different countries in the upcoming months. I'll write about almost every trip, just as if you're there with me. Oh, right, and I'm taking classes too, I guess (just kidding mom and dad). From academics to the Amalfi Coast, it'll all be here. I can't wait to express my experience with you all and am eager to begin!
