Pre-departure Preocupaciones (Worries)

If you were to ask me, one month ago, how I was feeling about Spain, I would say, "I haven't even thought about it. I can't think about anything else besides finals." My mindset towards Spain had been indifferent for a while up until a few days before leaving. The few days before I left, I was surprised by how nervous I was getting. I almost never get nervous about anything. But I was asking myself the questions: "Will everyone like me? What am I going to wear? What challenges am I going to face?" For those of you who don't know me at all, I wear sweats every day. Sweatpants, sweatshirt, and sneakers every single day. So, having to dress like a Spaniard, or a normal girl for that matter, is a fairly big deal for me. After my sister took pity on me and helped me pack, and after I actually left for the airport, I felt MUCH better.

From the moment I closed the car door, my worries diminished and my excitement grew. The pinnacle of my excitement was when we were about to land. As we approached the ground, I saw the beautiful lights that made up the city of Madrid. The airport was beautiful. The weather was perfect. I tried to contain my excitement to avoid being viewed as a hyper whack job. The bus ride to Granada was a quiet one, as everyone was reasonably exhausted. For the time that I was awake, the view was gorgeous. Endless hills were covered with trees. We passed herds of sheep and bulls. I couldn't wait to experience this country.

Since buying my lunch at a rest stop, meeting my host mother, and watching television, I've had a rude awakening about how underdeveloped my Spanish is. I can barely understand any native Spanish. I've become more silent than I would like to be so far. Nonetheless, I know that the current level of difficult in understanding and speaking Spanish will only push me to improve my Spanish that much more. I'm trying to get organized and get ahead on classwork so that I can make the most out of my time here. Above all, I know that God has big plans for this month, and I'm excited to see what He has in store.