Champing At the Bit

I am very excited about my upcoming trip to Oviedo. I have always wanted to learn Spanish, and I feel so lucky to have been able to seize this opportunity. I am just as excited about the academic challenge as I am the prospect of living in a fascinating new (to me) country for a while. At the moment I understand only English, but from past snippets of experience I believe that I have the potential to perform well with a new language, and I have also learned that I perform well in immersion-style teaching, at least I have for other endeavors.

I don't know what Spain will be like, but the uncertainty just adds to the excitement for me. Culturally things will be different, and I think it will be fun to get a view of life from a new perspective.  I will need to adjust my thinking about some things.  For example, I am very used to having large amounts of personal space at all times (I grew up in Utah, space and rocks are our chief natural resources). I understand that this isn't necessarily the case in Spain, so that will take some getting used to. Also, as I mentioned, I don't speak the language, so that will be different. Honestly though I think the most trying part for me is going to be waiting the rest of the week I have left before I leave. When I get back to the U.S. I pretty much get to go straight to grad school, so in a way this trip marks the beginning of a new chapter for me. I'm eager to start the adventure.