Aspirations

So many pictures, so much ExCiTeMeNt!!!

With just over two weeks remaining until the twelve-hour flight, I sit in amazement at the fact that I am actually going! Having never traveled outside the United States (except Jamaica and the Caribbean), I employ only ideas and aspirations of the local culture and what to expect. Everyone I have spoken to has only good things to say about Spanish culture, cuisine, and customs. I anticipate Spanish culture to be very different from American, Spanish food to be extremely satisfying and appetizing, and Spanish architecture to make a statement exclusively found in this unique country. I can't wait to get away from work and embark on this exhilarating rite of passage!

20 days and counting! It feels like this trip has come about a lot faster than I would have imagined. I am really excited and waiting with much anticipation to go on this trip but I am also just a little bit nervous for some odd reason. I have never been to Europe so I am definitely looking forward to being able to see how people live there. This should be a great experience for me and everyone one else that plans to go and hopefully we will all learn a great deal about European culture and especially Spanish culture.
I can't wait to try some of the dishes that they offer in Spain considering I have heard nothing but good things about them. I am also looking forward to being able to take a siesta everday. This should be a great trip and I hope that we will have a wonderful time learning about a culture different from our own and immersing ourselves in a beautiful language.

Assignment #1

Less than one month! One month and I will board the plane that will take me on a summer semester unlike any other. I get to go live in Madrid for one month! I get to submerge myself in a culture so foreign and yet so intriguing to me.
I expect to walk to streets of downtown Madrid and just listen. I will listen to the noises of the city at work, at play, to the music that I expect will be streaming from the venues, but mostly I will listen to the people. The language is so beautiful and so intoxicating. I hope to listen intensely and absorb any and all that I can. I feel like this is not only a once-in-a-lifetime trip but it is also a wonderful learning experience.
However, it's not JUST the language I hope to take in. Its the entire culture in a whole. I want to go out at night and sample the food while sitting back and listening to a live band. I want to watch the Spaniards dance, and maybe learn a few steps myself. I want to climb to the top of a tall building and see the lights of the city twinkle at night fall.
I even want to watch the sunset. I know that the sun over seas is the same sun as here at home, but then again...it's not. It's all about your perspective at the time and I can not wait to see the Spanish sunset.
I want to say that Spain won't change who I am as a person, but how can I know that? There are times in a persons life when someone, something, or some place affects their "person". It's a time like that which I pray for. I WANT a life altering experience...and I hope that this is it.

Madrid antiguo

These are old photos of some of the sights of Madrid that you will visit as part of SPAN 3903 or 4903. I hope they help you think about the city and its heritage. Many of the sights are the same or similar as they used to be a century ago. The music is from a zarzuela, Spanish operetta.

Vistas de Madrid

Madrileños 08 #2

Madrileños,

The deadline to pay your invoiced amount for the program is May 1. Please be aware that there is a $50 late fee if your envelope is not postmarked May 1 or earlier.

April 15 is the deadline to sign up for the program. After that, the courses are offered on an availability basis only.

Please purchase your textbook(s) for the courses for which you have registered through FORSPRO before you leave for Spain. It is listed on the web page: www.foreignstudy.com under "course syllabi."

The textbook for SPAN3903, which you will take with me this summer, but there are no classes as such is: Nash, Elizabeth. Madrid: A Cultural and Literary Companion. New York: Interlink Publishing Group, 2001. For this course, you will be reading the chapters, visiting the places described in those chapters, and posting your reflections on the course blog. Purchase this book before you leave for Spain.

You will take two special topics courses with me in the fall through which you will receive the credit that you earn during the summer. This way you do not have to pay tuition to SPSU during summer.

We will need to have a MANDATORY meeting before classes end this spring. Make arrangements to attend. The best times for me for this meeting are noon Tuesday April 22 or 3pm Friday, April 25. Please indicate BY APRIL 14, 5 PM which time is best for you. I will then announce the time/day to you by email.

DO YOU HAVE YOUR PASSPORT?

Please read this information about insurance coverage offered through the University System of Georgia: http://www.culturalinsurance.com/claimforms/usg.htm

When we meet we will arrange for group financial support through the Student Government Association.

Pack light (both in terms of garment weight and number of garments--it will be hot, and what you pack you have to carry around). Bring a wash cloth, but towels aren´t necessary (except a beach towel for when you go to the dorm pool). Bring your swimsuit.

Bring as much of what you need in terms of cosmetics, personal hygiene, school supplies, etc., because the exchange rate is currently 1 Euro= $1.58, and prices are high.

Read last year´s blog: http://spsumadrid07.blogspot.com/

Read my recommendations and advice: http://madrid--consejos.blogspot.com/

Looking forward to seeing you as a group. (Looking even more forward to GOING TO MADRID!!!)

Thanks,

bnh

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Suspiros de España