"Do You Really Wanna Do This?"

With only twenty-three days left in the United States (woah), people have been frequently asking me “Do you really wanna (Rhode Island accent) do this?”  I’d be lying to you if I told you that I wasn’t thinking about it, because I have been daily.  More than ever, I’ve been quite reflective with this whole study abroad concept (thanks, Jesuits).  To be perfectly honest, I’ve been weighing out its options, however for every fear or doubt I have, there’s triple the amount of positives.  Even though I’m in a state of mixed emotions, I’m most excited, and that’s what motivates me.  

As much as I truly love and will sincerely miss Holy Cross (friends, faculty, cool beans, caro, chalupas from lower... wait why I am leaving?), I’m really pumped to study abroad.  I’ve actually never been to Europe, so I’m beyond excited to live, study and travel all over.  However with that being said, I’m most looking forward to finally making some serious progress with the Spanish language.  A fun fact about me is that I’m half Colombian.  Growing up, I’ve always heard my mother’s side of the family speaking Spanish (after all, it is their first language).  To this day, it kills me that I cannot confidently communicate with them in Spanish, however poco a poco, I will.  Although they are bilingual, I feel as though I will truly connect with my family’s history on an entirely different yet deeper level if I achieve Spanish fluency; furthermore, it’d be sweet to keep in contact with some distant relatives that I barely know due to the language barrier.  Sorry to get rather sentimental, but for me, studying abroad is more than just enjoying my time outside of the United States (although that’s very important and probably a close second on my list of priorities).  

Quick visa update, because I know that all of you were concerned: my apostille arrived in the mail today, so aside from packing my life away in two suit cases, logistically everything is looking good to go!