¡España!: One Step Closer

Well... I cannot believe I leave two weeks from today for Spain. It is crazy how time has flown by so far this summer. I have been traveling all over the state of Mississippi lately, making trips to the gulf coast, Hattiesburg, Madison, and Brookhaven. It will actually be nice not to drive my car for 5 weeks. For a good week and a half I practically had my whole closet in my trunk and would just pick something out each day from it in each place I visited. I have also mastered the art of moving by myself from a 4th floor apartment to a 5x10 storage space, it is not as easy as it seems. I would have never made it without the help of my wonderful friends who selflessly took time out of their day to help me, it truly made a huge difference when there were more than one set of hands.

As I finally finished moving yesterday, I received an e-mail saying my study abroad company had posted the "Final Packet". I practically ran up the stairs to my apartment and went straight to my computer. The only thing running through my head was who my roommate will be, and then thought I was not paired up with anyone. I kind of started to freak out because I did not want to walk into my host family's home and have them start speaking Spanish and I not know what to say back. Right then I e-mailed the study abroad coordinator and asked to make sure I was not missing anything. Turns out that I did not scroll all the way to the bottom of the page to see my name and who my roommate will be. I friend requested her on Facebook and shortly received a wall post from her. It was so good to hear that she was excited but nervous also. I did not want to be the only nervous one. I felt 10 times better and it seems like we are going to be getting along great!

While my mind finally was at ease in finding out that I had a roommate, I read the information on my host family. From the way the study abroad company describes them, I could have not asked for a better family to be paired with. A woman named Carmen and her husband Jesus who are in their late thirties with a two year old, also named Carmen. It described their house and it seems like the perfect set up. The information said breakfast is flexible, but lunch will be served at 2:00 pm and dinner at 9:00 pm. Well if you know me, you know I eat lunch at 11:00 or 12:00 and dinner at 5:00 or 6:00, thanks to the sorority life-style. This is definitely something I am going to have to get use to. Also they have WIFI and central heating, but no central air, looks like I will be investing in fans. These two things are only minor bumps in the road though, I cannot wait to get over there and meet everyone in my group, my roommate, and my family. It is going to be so great!

Until I arrive in Spain I am heading to the coast with my family for a week and spending quality time with them, except my sister. I am so sad I will not get to see her before I leave, but I am just going to have to call her and skype. I am also attempting polish up on the Spanish that I do know before I get over there and am expected to speak it. I know I am going to have to invest in a Spanish-English dictionary to help me while I am with my family and out in public. I cannot wait to finally tell all my readers about my journey over there... Only two weeks!!

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks and what I have been up to with my friends and saying my final good-byes till August.