I'm leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again (December)


I'm back and I've been saving all my writing genius for the next insane few months of my life because I am MOVING TO SPAIN IN 12 DAYS. 

I currently still have nowhere to live, I've never been to Madrid and after a summer with zero Spanish speaking practice (apart from a lovely chat with an Uber driver in Miami) I'm beginning to panic that I won't even remember how to speak Spanish. But with all that aside, I wanted to talk about how I'm feeling, what I'm expecting so far and what I hope I'll learn from the experience - kind of like a time capsule to look back on. 

Firstly, it makes sense to tell you where I'm going and what I'm doing. I'll be studying at la Universidad Pontificia de Comillas which is a very prestigious university in Spain, and I'll be based in the Cantoblanco campus for Las Ciencias Humanas y Sociales (Human and Social Sciences) (see some lovely google images below).



In terms of what I'm studying, it works a little bit different to universities in England. I belong to the Faculty for Social Sciences and my degree is still the same, but in European universities you get the opportunity to pick up modules in any subject from across that faculty. So, the modules I have chosen for this semester are: Spanish Cinema, Modern Art, Literature, History, Gender in the Media and Spanish for International Students. 

A lot of people have asked me if I'm nervous to move abroad or have said that they would never be able to do it, but to be quite honest I don't feel much else other than excitement. To be in the capital city of Spain, getting to speak the language I love every second of every day is such an incredible opportunity. 

But more than that, it's a way of escaping what I already know and having a bit of adventure. Travelling abroad gives you a much broader perspective on life and I hope that it will help me to see that things I once worried about were really small in comparison to problems in the real world. 

To be honest, what I'm more worried about is that I won't want to come back and that England will seem so small and suppressive afterwards. I've spoken to people who have gone on the year abroad and they have all said that it changes you and makes you the person you will be for the rest of your life. 

What if that person returns and realises that everything she had before suddenly doesn't fit in her life? I can't know for sure, but I do know that change can be good and I do have high hopes for my experience. 

I hope I'll learn not to be quite so ditzy. I've lost my debit card about 5 times in less than a year and honestly, I really don't want to lose my passport in a foreign country! I also hope to make an effort to immerse myself in the language and actually get as fluent as I possibly can. I will NOT be lazy and speak English! Finally, I hope to become stronger, happier and more independent. I want to seize every opportunity I can and I won't let anything bring me down. 

So on 23rd August I'll pick up my three massive suitcases (metaphorically speaking that is - my dad can do the heavy lifting), get on an aeroplane and move to Spain, away from my family, friends and everyone I know. Cool. 

I hope you'll stick around because I'm aiming to post about all my adventures (such as probably losing my passport) while I'm there.

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