Patience and Endurance

I now realize after being here for the second time. That it takes a lot of patience and endurance to study abroad. I have learned so much about myself by being away and in new country. It pushes me in ways I have never would have imagined. I have enjoyed many aspects of Spanish life and the main things have been the importance of family central, enjoying the entire the whole day, enjoying life and working for a living and living not work. I am in awe of my host family and how they can open up their home and allow me to come and live with them an take part of their lives. Everyday I am met with an new challenge it may be simple like interpreting directions or hard like trying to explain a misunderstanding in Spanish. It makes me appreciate being in Texas so much more. I know that living abroad is much more than glossy photos and notions of travelling Europe. It is everyday mundane activities put into new and different settings. I am so proud that I have studied abroad twice and would do it again in a heartbeat just to learn what I have learned.

Mi Familia

I absolutely love my family here in Spain! They are the main reason I wanted to return to Spain in the first place. My family has hosted for 6 years. They have different students three times a year. I stayed with them the summer of 2008 and I had a wonderful time and chose to live with them again for the spring 2009 semester. My Spanish family consists of my host mother (Teresa), father (Manuel) and two host sisters( Marie and Rocio). I am constantly amazed at their generosity. They open their homes and hearts and trust that we will do the same. My host mother in particular is so joyful and full of life and she is always willing to help me with homework, directions, or anything I am confused about. When I am traveling by myself they always call and check in on me. Rocio is always inviting me to hang out with her and her friends. Everyone in my host family is always making sure we are included and feel like a part of the family. My favorite people to talk to are host grandmother and Teresa’s granddaughter Maria. The grandmother is eighty years old and has a lot of stories to tell. While Maria is two so I get to see what life is like for Spanish children. Maria is learning how to speak and I imagine the ways she talks sounds just like me when I am trying to grasp on to a new concept. Extended family is very important in Spanish culture and through my family I have had great opportunities to observe the relationships central in their lives. My host family has been like a second family and I will be very sad when I have to leave them.

Background on my Blog

Just to explain my blog and the order of the posts. There is no order. None at all. It is simply my thoughts as they come whenever they come! I write and try to post when I have access to the internet. Thank you for reading!

Hitting the Wall!

Today I am very frustrated! There are those days when you just want to go home and climb into your own bed with your own sheets and blankets and lie down. I get so tired of having to work so hard for the simplest things. I just want to be able to manuveer around Spain and everyone to understand me. I am sick of school and I feel that our teachers do not understand how longs it takes to learn a new language. I have been speaking english for almost 22 years atleast and it is hard to learn a new language. I just have those days where I just want to go home! Where people get me.

Back again for the second time!

Upon arriving in Seville for the second time I instantly felt like was at home. Although the troubles with transportation and my lost luggage quickly overshadowed my feelings of warm fuzzies about my trip back to Spain.

Loosing your luggage is fine. At some point it is going to happen. On Day 1 you are content. Day 2 you are optimistic. Hey who does not love shopping! Day 3 you are a little annoyed and the annoyance only increases from there. By Day nine I was depressed.


This quickly overshadowed my joyful feelings about learning the language of Spanish. I only craved American comforts such as Mcdondalds, Starbucks and Friday´s. It is so suprising how much little things such as familar food can comfort you. Going into an American resturant in a foreign country can do wonders for your soul! You forget about the outside world and breathe in the sights and sounds of Big Macs and fries!!! You can even block out the languages that the menu is currently written in. Who cares if it says hamburgesa instead of hamburger! These temperoray comforts helped to ease the pain of not having Luggage and overall helped me Idenitfy why American adbroad someimes flock to American resturants ts not just for the food but the sights and sounds.