It's all becoming real suddenly...

Today around noon I was making myself some Ramen for lunch when there was suddenly a loud knock on my front door. Peaking out of my window, I saw the Fed Ex truck outside my house. I rushed to the door, signed for the package, and ripped open the envelope. Inside was my passport, but it wasn't the same as it was when I surrendered it earlier this summer to the Spanish Consulate. Now it had the last thing I was waiting for to make my Spain semester official -- my Schengen Student Visa

And that's when it hit me. In 22 days, I will be landing in a country I have only ever read about. I will travel in vans across a country upon which I have never gazed, I will be moving into my new home for what will be almost the next four months. Toledo, Spain...here I come!

It began becoming real because everything I need to get to go I have gotten. I have acquired my passport, am accepted to the program, am classified as a University of Minnesota and Ripon Student, got my travel check-up, bought the plane ticket, and now have received my visa. All that's left is to pack and to actually get on the plane...and I am so excited.

Last winter when I started my application process, I thought I would be petrified of going when I reached this point, but it is quite the contrast. One thing that really puts me at ease is knowing another person who is going on the same program as me -- my friend and fellow Riponite Andrea Worden. Andrea and I have gone through the entire application process together and have helped each other at each step. We've even started planning excursions all over Spain and the rest of Europe. Knowing that I have that person I already know really gives my a sense of comfort, and I think that our preexisting friendship will really help us abroad. Especially since we have made a pact only to speak Spanish to each other and not defeat the purpose of going abroad.

The program I am attending is called the International Program in Toledo, and it is offered by the Learning Abroad Center at University of Minnesota to Ripon students. The program is great from what I have read so far, really focusing on teaching language and culture to non-native speakers as well as native speakers from other parts of the world. At the school, which is called la Fundación Ortega y Gasset, there will be a mixture of nationalities and native tongues, which just adds to the excitement for me. I've signed up for three classes at "la fund": Spanish Phonetics, Advanced Problems in Spanish Grammar, and Christian, Muslim, and Jewish Art in Toledo. I also have applied for an internship in Toledo, which I get assigned to after an on-site interview. My three choices were internships at the local library, an outreach group that teaches English, and the tourism bureau.

While in Toledo, student can choose to live in dorms at la fund or to stay with a host family. Andrea and I have both chosen homestays because it is an opportunity of a lifetime to live with another family in another culture. It is a wonderful way to get to know other Spaniards as well as a resource because the family will know the city and country so well. Also, it forces us to push our level of Spanish as far as we can and will really help us grow and improve on the language. We are recommended to bring gifts for our families, and I already have mine planned out. I have purchased them two books: Wisconsin 24/7 (a photo collection of pictures submitted by real people all over the state) as well as a picture collection of Lake Michigan Light houses (since I am from Two Rivers and spent my entire life on the shores of Lake Michigan). I will also be purchasing them a gift box of Wisconsin cheese.

Well, this entry seems to be getting long enough, so I will end it here. I'll try to post more information on Toledo before I leave, otherwise you'll get to learn all about the city as I live there!

Hasta luego!
Josh

The Countdown Begins!