Over the past few days I’ve had a chance to correspond with my host mom, Marisol, via email. I already know I’ll love living with her!

Marisol has been hosting international students in her home for 15 years and students from Western for ten. Her husband died four years ago, and she has four grown children and five grandchildren, who she said are around all the time. I’m looking forward to playing with the kids – what a great opportunity to learn more Spanish!

Along with being a mom, host mom, and grandma, Marisol somehow finds time to be involved in so many other activities. Apparently she’s an amazing cook (she hosts a Thanksgiving dinner for WMU students each November!); her other interests include dancing, swimming, sewing, reading, and writing. And she has a cat.

Her email to me was so warm and friendly  – the subject said “un saludo cariñoso de Burgos para tí Mandi“(translation: a loving/caring greeting from Burgos for you, Mandi). She gave me advice on what to bring and what to leave at home. Marisol said that if any of my family decided to visit me in Spain, she welcomed them to stay at her house! This lady seems super kind and wonderful to be around – I can’t wait to meet her in person!

It’s been a little while since I’ve posted, but it’s been pretty difficult to come up with things to write about while I’m still here in the United States. However, each day brings me one day closer to the day I leave, so my anticipation is rapidly increasing! This past Friday was my last day of work for the summer, so in the next couple weeks I’ll mainly be spending time with my family and organizing things before I go. It seems like there are so many details to take care of!

I do want to share with you some good news that I received in an email on Friday: I now have my host family! My host mom’s name is Marisol, and she lives only about a 15 minute walk from the University of Burgos. Several of my friends live within walking distance of where I’ll be staying as well, which is great! I emailed Marisol earlier today, so I am very anxious and excited to hear back from her. I can’t wait to meet her, since I’ve heard that the host madres that the university assigns to international students are wonderful. I’m very curious to know whether there will be other family members living with us as well; Marisol’s name was the only one I received. Maybe I’ll have a Spanish hermano or hermana – that would be fun!

Hasta la próxima vez,

Mandi

One question that usually comes up when I’m talking to people about my trip is this: “How fluent are you in Spanish?” And honestly, I think that’s a pretty hard question to answer. I’ve been taking Spanish since seventh grade (I think that’s about eight years), so I’m definitely not a beginner. On the other hand, I’m not a native speaker, either. I guess it’s just really hard for me to tell exactly how good my Spanish is. It’s one thing to get a good grade in a Spanish class full of native speakers of English, and it’s another thing to be able to live and communicate well in another language and culture.

But am I nervous about having to communicate entirely in another language all the time? Absolutely not. Any time I’ve done any cross-cultural travel in the past (my family went to Hungary twice for mission trips, and I also went to Costa Rica for a week in high school), I have felt very comfortable adjusting and learning to communicate in a new setting. Languages come easily to me, and it wasn’t too difficult for me to pick up new words and phrases. What’s amazing to me is that this natural inclination towards languages isn’t a result of anything I’ve done – for some reason God made my brain so that languages just make sense! I don’t know how all that works, but I do know that I’m really thankful that the Lord has gifted me in this way. In general, I love learning languages, and I’d love to know several of them someday. Spanish is just the first one in this process.

So, I’m not sure exactly how fluent I am in Spanish or how you can even measure that, but I do know that I can be confident in the language skills I already have and eager to learn anything new I encounter!

Mandi

This is the city that will be my home for four months. So incredible!

In the next few weeks, I feel like there is so much to do to get ready for my trip! It’s a little overwhelming at times, actually. Countdown to takeoff: 29 days!

But in the midst of all the crazy details swimming frantically around in my mind, there are definitely good things happening, too. A few days ago I found out about some additional scholarship money I will receive from WMU’s Lee Honors College for my study abroad adventures, and that makes me 1) so thankful for the support of my university in my endeavors overseas and 2) even more excited to go. Also, last week I had a very relaxing week with my family in the Upper Peninsula on vacation.

Yesterday I took care of a ton of details in preparation to go. I set up a new bank account that I can use over there, applied for a credit card, figured out details for my apartment when I get back, and ordered some pretty sweet luggage. Today I bought a camera that will help me keep you updated with photos from the trip. Later this week I’m planning to shop for clothes and get my immunizations updated. There’s so much going on!

Oh, and addition to everything else this week, I also declared another major. I guess that’s something important that doesn’t happen every day. Now, along with my major in Spanish Secondary Education, I’ll also have a major in Mathematics Secondary Education. I’m incredibly excited about it! (Yep, I’m one of those weird people that enjoys math.) But I can put some of that excitement on hold for when I get back from study abroad.

Okay, I think that’s it for today!

Nos vemos,

Mandi