Exactly 3 weeks from today, I will be leaving for Salamanca, Spain!!! I can’t believe that the time is almost here for me to begin my summer abroad adventure, and I am very excited about this.

How did I get here? I remember sitting in my office in October, and Greg Barfield, my former department head at Kennesaw Mountain High School called to say hi to me. When he asked about how my classes were going, I complained that my two Spanish literature classes were very challenging, and I didn’t like them very much. He told me to look into a Spanish study abroad program for graduate students, and I was unaware that those even existed. After much searching, I found my program through Augusta State University. Seriously, they are one of the only universities that have a master’s program specifically for Spanish teachers. The best part is that they actually offer classes that Spanish teachers are interested in taking, like how to teach Spanish culture and a complete overview of Spanish grammar and problems that foreigners have with Spanish grammar (those classes might not sound too exciting for most people, but they do for me!). Since UGA only offers Master’s Spanish classes in either literature or linguistics, this is why I am so grateful that there are other programs out there that offer what I want.

Most people want to know how I can leave Andy and Sampras for the summer. Andy has an internship in Norcross, GA (a suburb of Atlanta) for the summer. I think he’s doing data analysis in the finance department for a company called Rock-Tenn. Because we live over 50 miles from Norcross and the traffic sucks, Andy’s been spending the week with our friend Kirk in Stone Mountain (only 14 miles away). Therefore, because I don’t see him during the week anyway, I don’t feel guilty about leaving him. He’s busy with his own work, plus we’ll be able to talk and email each other. Additionally, he’s coming to visit me for a week, and this will be his first time in Europe! Sampras is another story. I feel so guilty and sad about leaving my baby for six weeks. Sampras is going to spend the rest of the summer at my parents’ and in-laws’ houses in Cincinnati. I know that my family loves and adores Sammy, but he’s still MY baby, and he won’t understand why his mommy and daddy have abandoned him. (BTW, my 12 pound baby has morphed into a full-grown 77 pound big boy!)

As I stated earlier, I only have 3 weeks to get all my stuff together. I haven’t even begun to do this yet, and I probably won’t until a few days beforehand. Luckily my mom is coming down on Sunday, June 24 to help me pack and hopefully buy me the little things that I am lacking. Unfortunately, I am just allowed to take one suitcase that can only weigh 50 pounds (along with one carry-on and a purse). Perhaps this will be good so that I don’t overpack (like I did when I went to Mexico!). Also, since it’s the summer, my clothes won’t weigh as much as winter clothes.

Lastly, if you want to learn more about Salamanca (the city where I will be studying), check out some of the websites that are on my blog.

Until then, Happy June! (And Happy Birthday Jen G!)