Hello friends and family
As I embark on this 6 month journey to Madrid, Spain I will be keeping this blog as sort of an online journal. I will be posting pictures of my travels as well as random reflections on the culture, people and places of Spain. I will arrive in Madrid January 11th and my classes at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos Vicálvaro start January 15th.
I have a couple distinct goals I hope to achieve while studying abroad. First and foremost, I want to become fluent in Spanish. Although rusty ahora, I feel like my cinco anos de educacion will form a good foundation to become fluent.
Secondly, I want to become familiar with the locals there and establish contacts as Madrid is one of the biggest business centers in el mundo. This is important to me because I am traveling without mis amigos to Madrid, even though I do have friends studying in Alicante and Barcelona. I have heard it is easy to fall into the trap of only socializing with other English speakers which I feel would limit exposure to the Spanish culture.
Now to some less serious goals.
I would love to surf the south of France. After watching Tom Curren surf Hossegor and Biarritz in Endless Summer II I have always wanted to visit.
I would also love to see Spain win the World Cup. I want to become a fanatic de futbol.
I promise I will get better at formatting this blog and keep it updated. So throw a bookmark or click the follow button on this page and come with me on my journey.
