I've always been really envious of bloggers-so many of my friends have the ability to somehow beautifully portray all of the details, feelings, and events of their lives in a way that people actually enjoy reading. I would usually be pretty reluctant to even attempt something like this, but I am about to begin one of my biggest adventures so far and want to share it with the people I love!
In a few days (yikes) I will be heading to Barcelona, a city in the Catalonia region of Spain, to spend the semester studying abroad. This was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made- and I drug my feet up until the last possible second- but I am looking forward to seeing what God has in store for my time there and am overwhelmed with excitement for the opportunity to explore the world He created.
I’ll be studying at Universitat Pompeu Fabra, a business school that has a reciprocal exchange partnership with Mays. During the next 3ish months, I'm going to have the opportunity to take classes in International Business and marketing, practice some of that Spanish I'm minoring in but never actually speak, and get a certificate in international business through the business school.
I chose to do this particular program at this particular time for a few reasons- primarily, my wonderful parents urged me to go for a semester as opposed to doing a month long summer program because they believed it was an opportunity that wouldn’t come up again. A&M has also been really, really generous with scholarships and supports students going abroad for a semester. And, let’s face it, my Spanish really does suck, so I’m preparing to embarrass myself on a daily basis in hopes of getting a little bit better.
My main motivation, however, so this whole experience is that I want to pursue a career in international business and use that as a method of ministry in other parts of the world . I don't know exactly what this would look like, but I'm excited to learn more about the field and how I can use it as a platform to share God's love. I've also been pretty deeply embedded in a comfortable, southern, small Christian bubble over the past few years. As much as I love my home, it will be interesting to be immersed in something radically different, with new perspectives, cultures, ideas and people.
I don't know where I'm living yet- which may end up being a really dumb decision- but I'm excited to apartment shop once I land! The online version of this shopping didn't pan out so well- you can only tell so much about a place online (and I'm convinced a lot of those pictures I saw were photoshopped....) I plan to live with three amazing girls from A&M who are in the same program, so I won't be homelessly wandering the streets of Barcelona alone. It will be an adventure and I'll let everyone know when we finally settle in somewhere!
There's another part of this trip that's really blowing my mind- Hannah Donohue, my best friend since 7th grade, will be studying abroad in Bilbao (another Spanish city) at the same time! We've had this planned out, I kid you not, since middle school. I think our original dream looked more like a Spanish version of the Lizzie McGuire movie, where we met exotic boys and became famous (I'm still not opposed to this.....) Regardless of how that particular part works out, she's one of my favorite people in the whole world and I cannot wait to explore together. Originally we were going to be in the same city, but I'm excited that we both found programs that worked for us and I've already started planning some European adventures. Hannah rocks.
As much as I'm looking forward to
this experience, there are people in my life who are very hard to leave. My
parents and brother are some of the most loving people I know, and I'm going to
miss them like crazy. My roommates, Young Life team, church and other friends
are like family to me in College Station, and consistently reflect and point me
toward Jesus. The same can be said for my friends from Denton, who are
scattered literally all over the world right now for school. My Young Life girls
at A&M Consolidated High School fill my life with so much joy, and leaving
them for the next few months is easily the most difficult part. I've had some
pretty dramatic and kind of amusing meltdowns about that...How
blessed am I that I have so many incredible people to miss? That word starts to sound cliche after a while, but it couldn't be more true. #BLESSED.
I'm praying that over the course of the next few
months God will provide opportunities to serve, love and share with those
around me. I would love for y'all
to be praying for me as well, and am excited to see what the next few months
will hold.
I can't wait to see everyone again in April, and for my parents to come visit and travel with me at the end of March! I'll be taking lots of pictures and hopefully writing on here a good amount, so I'll keep everyone posted on how this all plays out!
Love,
Leah
Love,
Leah
