Bienvenidos a Ronda!

So I open up my email this morning when I get to work to find an email from the Program Director in Ronda, Joaquin. I knew Joaquin decently well when I was in class there, and he wanted to tell me that my application has been accepted and that he is excited to have me back. Yay for that! Hopefully all the paperwork will arrive by mail soon enough for me to apply for my student visa.

Visas must be applied for in person at the nearest Spanish Consulate (Chicago), so I guess I have a couple trips to make in the coming months. I might be able to find a law firm to legally represent me at the Consulate, saving me a trip, but not sure the cost would be worth it. A short trip to Chicago really isn't that expensive, and there is a lot of cool stuff to see there. If any of you know someone that goes to Chicago regularly and would be willing to drop my packet off and pick it up and mail it to me, that would randomly be sweet.

I really can't wait to go back to Spain. I wonder how things will be different for me this time. There were definitely two stages to my last experience there, and I imagine this trip will give me a whole new viewpoint. For one, I won't have any pre-existing bonds with other students in English. You see, one of my observations last time was that you interact with people in whatever language you initially use when you meet them. My fellow KU students, from the last trip, and I started in English in the airport in Atlanta, and it was really hard to move past that. My roommate, Mattias (from Switzerland), and I started in Spanish, and had an easy time maintaining that, even though he spoke excellent English. This time I am hoping to meet everyone in Spanish, and force myself to use only Spanish for at least the first month, in the interest of avoiding the convenience of English. I was perfectly happy with my Spanish progress on my last trip, but there is always room for improvement!

Anyway, I should get down to the business of setting up my laptop for telecommuting. Just couldn't wait to share the good news! Hasta luego!