¡Hola amigos! My name is Samantha Yu, and I'll be studying in Granada, Spain this Fall semester with IES Abroad. Just to share a little about me, I am a third year college student at Scripps College in Claremont, California. I’ve known that I wanted to study abroad in Spain ever since I saw the impact an amazing study abroad experience had on my two older sisters. I’ve been packing this entire week, and in a few days, I’ll be on a plane and on my way!

My mother asked me what the first thing I was going to do once I landed in Germany. My answer? Kiss the ground. Did it happen? No, because I was too frantic trying to navigate where/when my flight from Munich to Berlin was going to take off and where. Stepping into the airport in Munich was hectic. I had totally forgotten that I was in Germany, and so asking people for directions was confusing. I should have invested in a Fitbit for all the steps I did within that hour.  

On Monday the 20th my host dad drove me to the University at 4 in the morning. From there a charter bus took me and 22 others to the airport where we took a propeller plane to Coca in the lowlands east of the Andes. After hitting the tarmac, we took another bus from the airport, which is about the size of a large house, to Hotel La Mission on the Rio Campo.

I’ve held off on writing this for as long as I could - I wanted to be authentic that way I guess. For the longest time, “Spain 2018” seemed nothing more than just that - some catchphrase, a mantra, that I kept repeating whenever I was asked what I’d be doing for the fall.

A little background about me: generally, I get airsick on the landing of airplanes (yes, I’ve tried chewing gum, blowing my nose, drinking water – no, it did not work), seasick in certain conditions (usually when a boat is really turbulent), and motion sick in conditions where elevation changes (i.e. winding mountain roads) or I’m not facing the direction of motion/motion doesn’t correspond with what I’m seeing (ex. 4D rides, movies, even just staring at my phone for too long and not looking up while I’m on a car).

Week 1 is finally over after 5 days of German Intensive, getting to know the city of Vienna, countless meetings and just a lot of running around. After all of that excitement, a weekend getaway was much needed! 

I started college with little to no idea of what I wanted to do, other than that I wanted to a) write and b) help someone. I’m halfway through at this point, and while I would like to think I’ve figured all of this out by now, I think the only true thread that I’ve connected is that I want to write to help people. I had a cousin who studied abroad in Barcelona when I was young. She had a miserable time, hated the food and the family she was living with, and was ready to leave days after she got there.

As my unpacked bags look back at me from across the room, I have obviously been thinking a lot about what to bring along to Madrid, but I have also been thinking about my past and all of the people and places I am leaving behind. For my first post (yay!), I want to take the time to look back on the places where I am from, along with all of those that I consider family, by blood or not.

Hey everyone!

Hello all! It’s the final countdown to Barcelona of t-3 days!!  I am more nervous than ever and sweating profusely as the day gets closer and closer. Nothing is packed yet, and I’m sitting here reflecting on this exhausting summer of just hustle and grind. I worked three jobs to make this trip happen, and I intend to live this semester to the fullest.