Reality Check

On Today's Menu: Necessities. 

The reality of my summer ambitions is beginning to sink in. As each day comes another piece of the puzzle materializes before my eyes. I can actually feel them widening with every tick of the clock, providing excellent accompaniment to my increasing blood pressure. I have determined that it is one thing to sit around dreaming, while it is quite another to actually pursue those dreams. As for me, at this point in my journey I am seeing all the things I have been working towards since last September come together. I have entered into a phase I like to call the "Survival Stage" during which I am: 1) gathering all the necessary material items I will need over the summer 2) gaining more confidence in my Spanish speaking abilities and 3) preparing myself mentally for what is to come (well, as much as one can prepare for the unexpected). Here's what I have come up with so far:

✓ Understanding I am not on vacation: The whole reason I am going on this trip is TO LEARN. I will have CLASSES. I will be attending UNIVERSITY. I say this as a reminder to myself...everyone keeps telling me to have a great trip, to be sure to go here and spend a day there and just have fun! Appreciate the well wishes, but seriously, Leah. You will be in class five days a week for five to six hours a day. Stop thinking of this as an extended vacation and remember you are actually there to learn something.

✓ The Spanish-Only plan: Cassie and I came up with a plan to get together every week and practice conversational Spanish; in other words we will talk about everyday things like: ordering at a restaurant, buying toothpaste, asking how much a train ticket costs, asking where my classroom is...all the necessities. I'm a visual learner, so I bought Barron's "Spanish Visual Language Guide" so that I can "learn with pictures." Very elementary, I know, but I think it will prove effective. I'll let you know.

✓ Communication: Yesterday I received my international cell phone through the mail. API (Academic Programs International) has a contract with Piccell Wireless, an international phone company designed for study abroad students, which allows me my very own cell phone for the duration of my trip. I've been reading through said contract and I discovered that I can receive incoming calls from anywhere in the world for free! However, I can't call out for free, nor can I text. The exchange rates are unbelievably high.

✓ I decided on an Apple: "Once you go Mac, you never go back." That's what the sales guy told me when I purchased a brand new, shiny white MacBook to take with me this summer. Originally I had not planned on taking a computer with me. However, upon further consideration, I decided that a computer might be necessary should I have assignments such as papers, etc. According to the packet of info API sent me, universities in Spain typically do not have computer labs. Most students go to internet cafes or they have their own personal computer.

✓ Since we are talking about Macs: My computer has a DVD player, so for a while I considered taking a few movies and/or TV shows with me for entertainment purposes while I am waiting around in the airports and such. (I have some astoundingly long layovers). However, I didn't want to take up extra space in my carry on bag so I decided to forgo the thought. That's when I remembered iTunes. Oh, iTunes...sigh. There are so many movies and shows available for download. I'm considering loading a few onto my computer...but there are so many options I can't decide which ones to load. Any recommendations?

✓ What not to wear: API has made it very clear that we should not wear the typical American student uniform - athletic sweatpants, college tee shirt, flip flops, and a messy head of hair pulled back into an even messier pony tail. You know, that "just rolled out of bed, I guess I'll go to class, leave me alone" look. Seeing as I have never dressed in such a way in my entire life, I think I will be alright with what I have. All I need to remember is that it averages 100 degrees in southern Spain, so I can leave my winter coat at home.

✓ Putting one foot in front of the other: I like to think ahead. I like to know what to expect and how to best prepare for it. In this situation I have no idea what is coming or what I need to be ready for it. This as a gigantic leap of faith for me...and I am slowly learning that "leaping" comes one step at a time. It is a lesson in trust. A development of steadfast faith. And a miraculous thing to be a part of.

Ending the Beginning

On Today's Menu: Springboards

It has been a grueling semester; one which has required considerable focus and absolute conviction. True, I only participated in one class. However, I would submit that mine was an exceptional case seeing as I had not taken a course in Spanish in about three years. My final exam took place this morning at 8:00am and the only remark I can make about it is that I am grateful it is over. Hopefully I can now get a full night of rest after a week of insomnia due to over studying and mid-night outbursts of Spanish expressions. 

Anyhow, regardless of grades received, I feel that I have accomplished what I initially set out to do and that was to increase my comprehension of the Spanish language. My intention when registering last fall was to use this class as a springboard into a commitment to develop the necessary skills for a future vocation. Although I am a far cry from fluency, I am making certain progress. I have absorbed a lot of linguistic, as well as cultural, information in the past months; but I must be honest and say I am thrilled to see this semester end. 

And so it has. Class is over. Now I must work. Now I must save. Now I must independently study. Before too long it will be time to take the next step. 

Derby Afterthoughts

On Today's Menu: The Hat Parade

I don't know a thing about horses. I know even less about horse racing. However, every May I faithfully set aside two minutes of my life, assume my role as a proud Kentuckian, and anxiously watch as twenty peculiarly named horses make their Run for the Roses. It's all part of the Kentucky experience. It's our culture. Our claim to fame. My favorite part comes the day after; when the media begins picking apart the apparel of the rich and famous who paid sickening amounts of money on horrifying, over sized hats and two minutes of trepidation. I fully believe that these attendees intentionally select the most hideous hats available so that they may go down in history as members of the coveted "Hat Parade" and may even land themselves on the front page of the Lexington Herald Leader or Louisville's Courier Journal. I saw this parade on line and I think I found my favorite adornment thus far....

Amazing isn't it? That takes some kind of guts. Ah, Kentucky Derby culture...gotta love it.

A Blogger's Rant

On Today's Menu: Seeing beyond your front yard.

WARNING! This blog contains monumental amounts of sarcasm. Some of its contents may be considered unsuitable to the parochial reader.

I overheard a most provocative conversation this week. I wish I could say "participated in" but the reality was that I simply sat listening to this dialogue with a mouth struggling to open and a conscience cloaked in a painful, staggered silence. The discussion referred to the influx of legal and/or illegal immigrants into our glorious nation and how the Obama administration is or isn't handling the situation, how our local government is or isn't handling the situation, etc, etc. Now, I hate politics. I seriously hate politics. For that reason, at first recognition of what appears to be political dialogue, my first response is to flip the auditory switch in an effort to block the tedium coming my way. However, at that particular moment I was late in reaching said switch and listened to a conversation that I quickly and rather astoundingly realized was not a political discussion. Instead, political deliberation was merely the mask of a much deeper issue. 

Of the people involved in this discussion, every last one of them agreed that it should be required of all immigrants to use English only in everyday life, to adopt American traditions (such as our ways of celebrating Christmas or Thanksgiving), and to never allow the integration of non-native children into our well established school systems as it could minimize the progress made by our own English speaking American children. One member of the company even went so far as to suggest that: should "these people" not comply to this list of demands, then they "should be kicked out of the USA and sent back to their own land." Subsequently, the group reflected on personal encounters with the immigrants living in our own community and commented on the inappropriateness of their displaying the flags of their native countries on their vehicles and wearing t-shirts with non-English writing. "If they are going to be in America, then they need to behave as Americans," they said. Sensational attitude. I think that should be the tag line underneath that banner we so proudly wave professing this the "Land Of The Free."

Inevitably the conversation ended and I was left alone with its remnants...I felt dumbfounded and naive. I wanted to scream. 

If this is how the whole world thinks, tell me then, how I am to behave while in Spain this summer?  Should I dye my hair dark brown, apply massive amounts of spray tan to my skin and start proclaiming soccer...I'm sorry, football...as my favorite pastime? I should definitely forget about bringing any t-shirts screen printed in English and I certainly don't want to disrupt the social norm by speaking my native language. So tell American Eagle Outfitters sorry! They're out of luck when it comes to my buck! To be accepted I must leave at home my American flag along with my American pride! If I am to be in Spain, I must become a Spaniard or else I will be drop kicked back across the pond and into a life I know I do not want. 

I spent the rest of the day reflecting. Fighting intense feelings of anger, annoyance, offense, and sadness. Angry with them for saying and believing such things. Annoyed with myself for not speaking up. Offended by such debasing comments. Extremely saddened that this is the reality I live in. I felt alone in my thoughts. I wondered if anyone else could see what I was seeing and if they could, would they care? Why was I reacting so strongly? Why did I feel such passion? What am I supposed to do about it? Can one person make any kind of difference in this great big world that's so set in its ways?

Mounting Olympus

On Today's Menu: Outing the Old, Bringing In the New

Over the weekend I purchased a beautiful new digital camera: an Olympus FE-340 with 8.0 megapixel and 5x optical zoom. My old camera, though it is digital, is old as Methuselah when compared with the newer models. The old one is a Canon, which is a good brand, but this particular model has only 2.0 megapixel and 2x optical zoom. So, needless to say I thought an upgrade might be beneficial to me as I am planning on taking quite a few pictures while in Spain. I found my selected camera at Sears, who also offers more advanced models, including 10.0 or 12.0 megapixel, video, etc. but I decided that I really don’t need all the bells and whistles. I just want one that produces excellent picture quality and is small enough to fit in my pocket.

According to my info packet from API, theft is rampant in Spain, especially in the larger, highly populated cities. My honest opinion is that it would be difficult to make a distinction between such behavior in Madrid or Barcelona and such behavior in New York City or Los Angeles…but that’s just me making unfounded assumptions. Anyway, my API student mentor informed me that during his semester abroad, a number of his classmates became victims of theft when they visited the larger cities. Barcelona, Madrid, Toledo, Seville…these are all places I will go, so I want play it smart and prepare as best I can. All that is to say, this is the very reason why I selected a smaller, pocket-sized camera. I don’t want to carry a bag if I don’t have to. I don’t like carrying purses even when I am at home, so why change things up and do it there?

what is this feeling, so sudden and new?

On Today's Menu: The Real World vs. The Land of Oz. (I've been listening to Wicked a little too much lately...)

As the reality of my summer voyage overseas is beginning to settle itself into the recesses of my brain, I have noticed large amounts of stress consistently being deposited into my blood stream, resulting in a pretty serious condition of deer-in-the-headlights syndrome. One would think that the ugly stress monster would raise it's head right off the bat, considering the mountain of paper work that had to be filled out, passport information sent, fees paid, flights booked, and so on. This, however, was not the case for me. Instead, as the summer faithfully spins its way back around the seasonal wheel, I am becoming more attentive to the certainty of this trip. I guess it was easier back in the fall to remain in a dreamlike state, seeing only through my mind's eye and not my existent eye, that this experience wouldn't take place for another so many months.

But now here I am: application sent, acceptance letter received, mountain of paper work conquered, flights booked, expenses paid...summer approaching. There is a huge portion of me screaming "Woohoo!" while another huge portion is saying "um, what have I gotten myself into?" Weird how it works like that, isn't it? I guess it's all part of the human experience, no?

So now you may be wondering: what does this reality look like? Well...I have moved out of the "taking care of business" phase and into a new one I like to call, the "questions without answers" phase. This includes:

1. Who are the other applicants?
At this point I know of exactly one person, a dude attending the University of Kansas who will be in the same program I will be in, and at the moment, I can't even remember this guy's name.

2. What will my dorm be like? What will the university/my classes be like? Should I take a computer? I'm definitely taking my English/Spanish dictionary!

3. What will the weather be like? The food? Transportation options? Is there a dress code?

4. And then the mother question: What am I going to do when I get off the plane in Madrid and come face to face with the realization that I don't know a single person in the entire country and really don't speak the language well enough to get around on my own?

Okay, I just read back over this entry and realize that it sounds like I'm having a major freak-out, but let me just take a moment to reassure you (as well as myself) that these questions will and do have answers. The program has been faithful in sending me information about some of these things and has promised to send more detailed information in the coming weeks. I'll let you know what I find out.

¿Dónde está…

On Today's Menu: figuring out where the heck Granada is. Lately, as I have been preparing for my upcoming summer excursion and sharing said progress with others, I have noticed that the instant I mention Spain the immediate response is:

"Oh, so you will be studying in Madrid? Oh, Barcelona? Oh, wait...what?...where??"

That being said, I resolved to learn more about this city called Granada; including everything from culture to cuisine to climate and more.

I have leafed my way through travel book after travel book after...yadda, yadda. Each one has provided me with tidbits of valuable information, but unfortunately nothing more than a tidbit. Last weekend, however, I was wandering around Barnes and Noble (as I often do) and found what I believe to be the best travel guide available. It's from the Rick Steves' European travel collection and it is amazing! So if you ever travel to Europe and need an up-to-date informational guide book complete with foldout color map, check out Rick. He's got it going on.

Anyway, according to the map, Granada is located in southern Spain...in the province of Andalucia, to be exact. According to Rick, Andalucia is quite the vacation hot spot during the months of July and August (which, of course, is when I will be there). There is a flamenco dance festival that takes place around mid-July and it is also the home of Alhambra, an ancient Moorish palace. The city is surrounded by snow capped mountains, but is only about an hour or less from the coast. Rick also says that during this time of year, the average temperature stays around 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Yikes. Good thing I like warm weather.

Researching has been exciting...but I have to remember that I will be in school...so I'm not sure how much traveling I will get to do. I received an informational packet along with my acceptance letter a few weeks ago which let me know that classes will take place five days a week (M-F) and each class will last about 4-5 hours. Which I guess is why they call it an intensive program, no?

Anyway, so far it is sounding like I will be attending a nice university in a nice city.