The Very Beginning

I know that my blog needs to transition into being my ‘study abroad’ blog at some point, but I’m not sure where or how to do so! I’ve decided I’ll begin with this post, abrupt as it is, to start it off. First, to rewind a few months, I applied to the USC Madrid study abroad program in February, and was admitted in March following the application and interview process. After a whirlwind of paperwork and meetings with the other students in my program, it was finally official! I will forego the fall semester at USC— and miss what is going to be perhaps the best season of Trojan football in decades— in favor of studying in Madrid, España for the semester :)

Fast forward to today. My program places us with homestay families scattered around Madrid, and we had filled out a housing application and questionnaire months ago with the pile of paperwork. I had been anxiously awaiting the email that would tell me who I was living with, and this morning I awoke to see that very message waiting for me. I will be living with another girl in my program named Priscilla, and we’re super happy about it! The best part of the housing assignment, though, lies in the coincidence of who our Señora will be: Priscilla and I know another girl who studied abroad last year, and she had told us all about her Señora and how much she loved her. Low and behold, Priscilla and I have been placed with the very same Señora. If you know me, you know that I love coincidences and seeing proof of how small the world really is. Thus, I am in heaven right now.

Receiving my housing assignment has begun to make the trip seem more real. I’ve booked my flight, I know where I’m living and who I’m living with, and have even begun to make a packing list, three months in advance. It still seems so far off, but I know that the summer will fly by, and next thing I know I will be boarding my flight at LAX.

And so the countdown begins. I have 90 days before I leave my fluffy pink bed, and my parents, and my dog, and my friends, and my school, and all that is familiar to me. I have 90 days before I must pack up my life in suitcases and ship them to a country that I’ve never been to before. I have 90 days to get used to the idea that I will be away from all that I know for a semester.

I have 90 days until the biggest adventure of my life begins. And I cannot wait.

Jun 02. 0 Notes.