Equal Parts Nervous & Excited

Considering how slow things have been at home after all of my friends have gone back to school (either in the U.S. or abroad), I figured this Saturday night would be as good a night as any to finally start the blog I kept telling everyone I intended to start during my own semester abroad so folks can easily find out what I'm up to + is another way to stay in touch.

For four months, I'll be studying abroad in Córdoba, Spain, a city of 300,000 people (about half the size of Boston). The city & much of Andalucía, the comunidad autónoma (close to the equivilent of a U.S. state, but also sub-divided into several provinces) which Córdoba is a part of, bears many historical traces of Al-Andalus. This is the period between 711-1492 when the Iberian Peninsula was largely under Muslim rule. Córdoba was an important economic and cultural center during this epic. And as throughout Al-Andalus , there were sizeable Jewish, Christian & Muslim communities in Córdoba which interacted together, a catalyst for many cross-cultural influences.

I leave on February 2nd, which is only 11 days away! Whenever someone asks me if I'm excited, I've been responding that I'm equal parts nervous and excited. Though I've been taking Spanish since middle school, this is the first time I've traveled to a Spanish-speaking country & the first time I've actually lived abroad, instead of merely visiting. I have to admit I'm fearful of not speaking Spanish "well enough", of feeling alone in a foreign country, of a rough adjustment to Spanish life & culture- especially as someone who isn't Catholic. While so many smithies say study abroad was one of the best experiences of their life so far, I'm nervous mine will be anything but & that I'll even regret my decision.

But the things I'm excited about seem to counter these fears. It's an opportunity to immerse myself in Spanish language & culture that I've been waiting for. I've spent my semesters at Smith as a Gov/Spanish double-major studying the paintings at the Prado & the Museo Nactional de Reina Sofia in Madrid, the Gran Mezquita/Great Mosque of Córdoba, the Alhambra in Granada, the archeitecture of Gaudí in Barcelona, the synagogues of Toledo, Spain under & post-Franco, the political conflicts in Euskadi, Galicia & Catalunya. This is the opportunity to visit & experience instead of being restricted to simply reading about it all. It's also comforting to remember that almost everyone else participating in my program doesn't know a whole lot of other folks, either.

Even though I only have four months, I plan to do my share of traveling but still balance these plans with getting to know Córdoba. My top priorities are traveling to Madrid, Barcelona, Granada, Sevilla, Toledo, Cádiz, Basque Country/Euskadi (probably the city of Bilbao) & Málaga- mostly because Picasso is my favorite artist & since he was born in Málaga, a lot of his artwork can be found at several smaller museums there. If have enough time & funds, I hope to travel to some combo of Valencia/Segovia/Léon/Mérida. Luckily, my program already takes us on excursions to several of the cities I really want to visit.

I'm also planning to travel outside of Spain to Portugal, France, & hopefully Morocco. I know I can't possibly get to all of these places, especially if I intend to also treat Córdoba as not just a weekday hostel. So if anyone has any travel suggestions to help narrow things down, feel free to let me know!

I'll be updating regularly throughout the semester, including another post or two more before I officially leave. Follow my blog & read about what's sure to be four roller coaster-like months!