Today begins my wonderful and beautiful journey through Spain. I will be heading to Madrid to spend a few days in Spanish bliss, soaking in everything from the language and culture to delicious wine and tapas. I will be in Valencia at the beginning of next week meeting my host mother and my other roommate (named Anna!). My classes will start soon afterward and I am absolutely terrified. I won't be in my normal routine of walking into a classroom of 15-20 students where every face is familiar. The University of Valencia has about 50,000 students, which is bigger than my ENTIRE hometown! 50,000!? Correct me if I'm wrong, but this sounds bigger than OSU, and even if it isn't, I will still assume it is because it's in a foreign country making it seem a million times larger. Here's hoping I don't get lost.
I am quite nervous to speak Spanish, but I can't figure out why. I love the idea of being able to communicate and learn in a completely new language on another continent across the world. When I was in Poland this summer, it absolutely infuriated me that I couldn't speak more than 10 words of their language. American students are not often in Warsaw, and I felt like we were being rude and that everyone resented us for not speaking Polish. This time, I am able to speak the language, and if I ever catch myself holding back from speaking Spanish, I will remember how I felt last summer. Well that, the millions of hours of Spanish I have taken, and Dr. Danford being in the back of my mind telling me, "Anita, being immersed in the language and culture is the best way to learn!" :) Thanks Dr. D.
I cannot wait to enjoy every single part of this semester/vacation abroad, and even if I don't like something at first, I will force myself to! You only live once, and, for sure, only get to experience Spain like this once.
About Me
- Anna Bjerstedt
- Anna is an International Leadership Studies and Spanish double major with a minor in History. She is from Lebanon, Ohio, and is a junior at Marietta College. Anna is attending the University of Valencia in Valencia, Spain, during the Spring semester 2009. She is taking classes on Spanish grammar and culture, on history of the Spanish language, and a literature class on Cervantes and El Quijote.
4 comments:
Hello Anna,
My name is Jake and I am really excited to follow your blog because I spent three weeks in Spain some time ago. I stayed in Barcelona for almost the whole time but did travel down to Valencia for a day or two. One thing I was amazed by was the differences in cultures between areas of Spain. The country was a lot bigger than I thought. You said you stayed in Madrid, the capital, I was wondering what were some of the big cultural differences between Madrid and Valencia? Like, how people treat you or how you may see people spending their time differently?
Hi Anna,
Like Jake, I am also very excited to follow your blog. I have never been to Spain but hope to one day travel there and experience it for myself. Hopefully, your blog will let me know some of the exciting things about traveling in Spain as well as some of its downfalls. Anyway, I was wondering what you were experiencing right now as far as access to the world wide web. Is there wireless anywhere you go or do you barely have access at all? TOday in LEAD 203 we discussed how another blogger had to choose between hot water and wireless internet and I was just wondering if you were experiencing similar situations.
Hi Anna,
My name is Sean and like Jake and Tabitha, I am also very excited to follow your blog. While I have never been to Spain, I have been to several countries in Europe. Every time I visited another country, I always made sure to sample the countries traditional foods because I found it to be a good way of becoming closer to its heritage and history. This week, in my LEAD 203 class, we discussed the concept of connectivity and how through the creation of Netscape, people were able to get on the internet and connect with anyone in the world. I was wondering if you have found people in Spain to be technologically savvy? Do average people have wireless internet access?
Hi Anna,
Your course there seems to be a wonderful experience. I've posted your site in Tia Ines's favorites so she can take a peek. She visited Spain many years ago and I suspect some of the same museums you've already visited.
Caio,
Tio Tom
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