Estamos en Espana! First Impressions of Things I Would Like to Do For the Month.

la mia amiga come se dice "lovely"

I’ve busted out. I’ve taken the plunge. Jumped the bridge. Is that even a phrase? However you want to say it (though busted out is a personal fave), I’ve made my way to Spain for the month of August. Now on my fourth day, it might be starting to sink in. Enough, at least, for me to consider the things I would like to focus on while I’m here.

— Try to learn some freaking Spanish. It’s horrendous how much you can forget.
— Try not to speak in Italian. Or some weird hybrid non-language of Italian and Spanish.
— Talk and feel like a fool.
— Carry a journal with me of notes and observations and lists of things I need for travels and here at the casa in Madrid.
— Write lists in Spanish. But write longer observations in English, because let’s not get ridiculous.

— Remember that this is real.
— Remember that I am here for twenty more days. Walk around slowly, get lost, sit in a park or a cafe for several hours and pretend that I really live here.
— Take photos of things up close.

— Travel outside of Madrid alone. (Perhaps nearer to the end of the trip after I’ve learned some of that Spanish.)
— Definitely see more playas.
— Take notes about the food! Cook Spanish-inspired things. Eat and drink and be merry.

This is definitely an on-going list, and I’m sure there are many more things I will add to it as I’ve been here longer. I still have no idea what to expect, and I am grateful for that. One of the main things this is about is exploring and living as things come to you. And understanding that living as things come to you does not mean living with everything that comes to you; it is understanding the difference between what is valuable to engage in and what isn’t.