Pre-departure Jitters

      I woke up this morning feeling slightly nauseous. I'm not sure if it was because of the 2$ liquor pitchers at Brothers last night or if it's because I'm going to be travelling over 4,300 miles tomorrow. For those of you that don't already know, I will be spending the next month in Madrid, Spain followed by a four day solo adventure in London, England. I am so thankful for this opportunity I cannot even begin to articulate the feeling, but nonetheless I would like to thank my parents and my university (The University of Iowa) for this incredible opportunity; an opportunity to travel out of my comfort zone, to a place where the people speak a language different than my own, and embrace the culture of Spain. 

      Everyone keeps telling me that this trip is going to be life changing, but I can't help but wonder exactly why this trip is any different than any other. Of course the sheer distance and the cultural differences between America and Spain will make this trip unique in comparison with any that I have gone on before, but when I travel, where ever I am travelling to, I try to make that trip impact the way I look at life. I try to engage with the local culture, their people, and their traditions to gain a new perspective of what it is like to live in the place that I am traveling to; what it is like to live life on this world we live on. 

      Growing up in Iowa, born and raised, I have created my own perspective towards life that I think is unique compared to everyone else's. I'm not trying to suggest that my perspective is better than any others, in fact I know that in some ways it is definitely not, nor am I trying to convince you that this trip of mine won't be life changing, because I am completely sure that will be the case, but I'm trying to convince you that any opportunity to travel should be considered life changing, because otherwise what are we travelling for?

      I hope my hungover and over anxious ramblings haven't bored you, but if that is the case I apologize and I'll try to make my future posts more entertaining. To my collegiate friends, I hope you all enjoy your summer as you work, travel, or relax during this wonderful free time that will soon be erased from our lives. To everyone else, I hope your summer is filled with life changing experiences to the same extent as mine surely will. 

Thanks for reading,

       RCE