Here I go Again

Well here I go again. With my whole 1ife's belongings stuffed into four bags and two boxes (which my aunt so generously let me store in her garage) ,I once again head to Ethpana, the country of jamon, sunshine, Antonio Banderas, and......dreams! (This is really only 10% true since Spain has a lot more to offer than that.) As I sit in the San Diego airport watching the sun rise with a number of non San Diego natives, my mind cannot of course stop thinking about what lies ahead.

I still cannot believe this day has come. It was only little over a year ago that I was flying home from Spain, dreading the fact that I once again would have to live in my native country. It was only a year and a half ago that I was sitting in the airport terrified out of my mind to go and live in a foreign country by myself. So much has changed since then.

Last year I began my journey on my own, not knowing anyone, and with never having visited the country I was about to explore. Like I said I was TERRIFIED, but still had the comfort of a few things.

For instance I went on this amazing journey knowing that a good majority of my friends from the Porter Freshman dorms were doing the same. While we were all spread around the European continent we were all still connected in some universal way. We were joined by the awkwardness and random thrills of our first year of adulthood, and even though now we were separated we were still left with the comfort that we would once again come together and connect with each other about our new experiences. This time around I am alone in a different way.

This time I know the place I am going to, and have someone very close to me, whom I love living here. I know the food, I know the gel-slicked fohawks and the tiny Roman streets with impossibly visible street signs, and I...sort of ahem know the language. So what the blazes am I so worried about? I guess that it's this lack of knowing what comes after. I'm done with college and I'm going to Spain in full-geared life mode, with the option of staying for the rest of my life or returning to the promise land of uncertainties in California. I have no idea what is coming next!

Last time my goals were simple. Go to Cordoba. Stay with a Spanish senora. Eat some new food. Learn the language. Experience the Culture. Travel. Maybe some new friends .Go out to bars and clubs so I can rub it in to all of my under 21 year old friends' faces. Come home. Done. My goals this time are not so clear cut. Solidifying my Spanish skills is of course the top of my list but I have something a bit more crazy in mind. I vowed before I left Santa Cruz to forever keep dance and working out as a part of my life. So what comes next you ask? Yes, I want to rock Granada with the craziest form of dance aerobics they have ever seen, dreamed or heard of: WORLDANZ!. Are they ready? Am I ready? Who knows? Who cares? because here I come!