Before it Begins

I’m currently sitting in my friend’s apartment in London. My journey in Europe has already began since the start of winter break. In Finland and Switzerland, I saw the Northern Lights in Saariselka, slid down the longest toboganning track in the world, snowtreked under the star-covered sky in Zermatt… I am having the time of my life, and yet it’s just the beginning.

Had the best time riding and driving these husky sledges.

walking to our snow igloo! Spend our night up here enjoying the snow trekking adventure, jacuzzi, cheese fondue, ice furniture, free shots…

An aurora, on an unexpected night

Cheese fondue is a MUST in switzerland!

After two weeks in the cold, I’m looking forward to the warmer weather in Barcelona. I love traveling, but I am also excited to settle down, at least for a few months, in my new home and with my new family. I don’t feel prepared at all and I don’t really know what to expect. But perhaps these are the few things I have in mind:

1) Practice the very limited Spanish I know and get better at it. Throw out the worries, insecurities and just SPEAK it!
2) Explore Barcelona like a local. Get familiar with the city, discover hidden boutiques and cafes, parks.. Learn about its past and present,
3) Find inspiration, then create! This includes visiting art galleries and antique markets, wandering around with my
camera to take pictures and film things, sitting down with my sketchbook or a good book to read..
4) Meet new people, and learn about their stories. students of IES and UAB (the local university), my host family &
roommate, locals, random strangers…..hmm.
5)  Travel. Other than visiting other countries (Morocco, Turkey and India are on the top of my list), I also want to see
Spain as much as possible.

This list could go on and on.. but I guess the most important goal I have for myself is to embrace challenges, to make the most out of my semester abroad. How?, you may ask. Well, I’ll figure that out when I get there!