Mi Llegada - My Arrival

Hello everyone!! I have been in Spain for just about three days now and loving every minute of it.  After a long day of flights and some rough times with the airports ( including a long wait in London and my suitcase getting lost) I am just happy to be here.  Many other people from the program (like my roommate Greta)  haven't been able to make it in yet because of the hurricane.  So I figured as long as I'm here, I'm pretty darn lucky.

The first night in Madrid we took a tour of the city in a bus. 

This is a statue of Christopher Columbus in the middle of the Plaza de Columbus

This is the Banco de Espana. It's a very old, very large bank. I think the tour guide said this building used to be the city hall building but I'm not really sure.

This statue is in the center of the Puerto del Sol which is the center of Madrid.

I'll write about the second and third days another time.  It's 2am here right now and I shoud probably get going to bed. We leave at 11am for Granada and we'll be meeting our host families.

Hasta Luego!

Mi Salida - My Departure

Well, it's finally here.  I am getting on a plane that will take me to Spain!!! Actually I'm getting on a plane that will take me Chicago and from there I'm getting on a plane that will take me to London. But from London I am getting on a plane that will take me to Spain. It's going to be along day of planes and airports but at least flying will get me there faster than any other form of transportation.  My flight out of Louisville leaves at 7:55 and I will arrive in Madrid at 9:40 on Sunday.

I am flying into Madrid to meet there with other students from my program. In Madrid we will be going to The Museum Sofia Reina and El Palacio Real (Royal Palace).  We'll so be doing a panoramic city tour. I don't really know what a panoramic city tour is but we're going to do it. From Madrid we are going to Toledo for a day and we'll be in Granada by Wednesday.

I'll let you guys know when I'm in Spain and I'm sure there are lots of really cool pictures to come!


Hasta Luego! ( By the way, Hasta luego is a way of saying see you later in Spanish)

Estoy Lista - I'm ready!

I just finished packing my suitcase and honestly, I'm not sure if I could fit anything else in that thing.  The weight limit for checked bags is 51lbs and mine is weighing in at about 46lbs so hopefully our scale is right.  The information we got on packing said to be sure that you can carry it upstairs by yourself and to tell you the truth I could have some issues with that.  Most of the hotels in Spain have elevators. The problem is there made for like one or two people. Throw some suitcases in there and it's really uncomfortable. So sometimes it's easier and faster to just take the stairs.  Maybe a cute Spanish boy will help me.  So I'm ready to go.  I just need to wait a couple more days and I'm out of here!

Hasta luego!

El Principio - The Beginning

Hello!!!! Thanks for reading my blog.  El Camino Mio, the title of my blog, means My Journey and that is exactly what this is all about.  You see, I'm leaving in just about a week to live in Granada, Spain for a year and study Spanish language and culture at the university there.  Now that's a journey worth sharing.

So some basic info about me...I just finished my freshmen year at the University of Kentucky (UK).  I am majoring in Spanish but I'm not really sure what I'm going to do with that yet.  I'll find something. You know translating, teaching...it all sounds fun to me.  This won't be my first time to Spain.  I went on my high schools forgein langauge trip my senior year. We went all over the place, Madrid, Segovia, Granada, Sevilla, Cordoba, and Cadiz.  It was a great trip but two weeks was just not enough time for me and that is why I decided to go back.

While I'm in Granada, I will be living in a home stay.  The home I was placed in is the home of a single woman and another student will be living there as well. Like I said before, I will be taking classes at the University of Granada.  In order to get credit at UK for the classes I take in Granada I have to take all of my classes in Spanish.  This makes me a little nervous, mainly because I have to do well enough on my placement exam in order to take classes in Spanish.  In fact, now that I think about it, I should really start reviewing a little bit.

I am so excited for this trip.  I can't believe how fast it is coming up.

Hasta Luego!!