Abroad in Spain: Travel Blog » Blog Updates http://abroadinspain.com A look at Spanish life through an American's eyes.... Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:37:46 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Help! Vote for me… http://abroadinspain.com/2010/02/01/help-vote-for-me/ http://abroadinspain.com/2010/02/01/help-vote-for-me/#comments Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:49:02 +0000 Chris http://abroadinspain.com/?p=945 I am proud to say that my blog has been nominated as one of the Top 100 International Exchange and Experience Blogs over on the Lexiophiles site.  The voting has opened today and now it’s up to you to help me win.  If you’re a regular reader of this blog and you like the [...]]]> I am proud to say that my blog has been nominated as one of the Top 100 International Exchange and Experience Blogs over on the Lexiophiles site.  The voting has opened today and now it’s up to you to help me win.  If you’re a regular reader of this blog and you like the articles that you see here, please help me out by voting for me.

Thank you in advance for your help and support!  Stay tuned for more information in the upcoming days… and please, don’t forget to vote for the Abroad in Spain Travel Blog. 

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com

]]> http://abroadinspain.com/2010/02/01/help-vote-for-me/feed/ 6 The end to a two-month hiatus (I hope) http://abroadinspain.com/2009/11/16/the-end-to-a-two-month-hiatus-i-hope/ http://abroadinspain.com/2009/11/16/the-end-to-a-two-month-hiatus-i-hope/#comments Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:55:07 +0000 Chris http://abroadinspain.com/?p=824 After a little over two months of seeing no activity on this site, my regular readers  have probably been wondering where I’ve been at.  I’ve been here — in Spain — but I’ve been very busy.  Between teaching at the school and giving private English classes I just haven’t had a lot of time [...]]]> After a little over two months of seeing no activity on this site, my regular readers  have probably been wondering where I’ve been at.  I’ve been here — in Spain — but I’ve been very busy.  Between teaching at the school and giving private English classes I just haven’t had a lot of time to do many other things.

I believe that things are starting to calm down a bit and I’m starting to get a better handle on my hectic schedule.  That’s why (I hope) I will be able to put an end to my two-month hiatus and begin writing new entries starting today.  Keep checking back to my blog for new updates. 

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com

]]> http://abroadinspain.com/2009/11/16/the-end-to-a-two-month-hiatus-i-hope/feed/ 0 Abroad in Spain now has a WIDGET!!! http://abroadinspain.com/2009/04/10/abroad-in-spain-now-has-a-widget/ http://abroadinspain.com/2009/04/10/abroad-in-spain-now-has-a-widget/#comments Fri, 10 Apr 2009 10:45:33 +0000 Chris http://abroadinspain.com/?p=286 Are you a webmaster?  Do you like this site?  Now you can have your very own, FREE Abroad in Spain Widget to place on your own site.  You can get the code here.  The widget is customizable but the basic format will look as follows:

Well, that’s all for now! I hope you enjoy my [...]]]> Are you a webmaster?  Do you like this site?  Now you can have your very own, FREE Abroad in Spain Widget to place on your own site.  You can get the code here.  The widget is customizable but the basic format will look as follows:

Well, that’s all for now! I hope you enjoy my free widget. Thanks for visiting.

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com

]]> http://abroadinspain.com/2009/04/10/abroad-in-spain-now-has-a-widget/feed/ 0 How blogging helps me to both keep my sanity and lose it at the same time http://abroadinspain.com/2009/04/09/how-blogging-helps-me-to-both-keep-my-sanity-and-lose-it-at-the-same-time/ http://abroadinspain.com/2009/04/09/how-blogging-helps-me-to-both-keep-my-sanity-and-lose-it-at-the-same-time/#comments Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:41:25 +0000 Chris http://abroadinspain.com/?p=278 Writing a blog, for me, is pretty beneficial in terms of keeping me sane.  Especially given the fact that I’m living in Spain instead of my home country of the USA.  Why do I say this?  It’s simple, really: this blog is my “lifeline” to the English language and the USA.  It’s the way [...]]]> Writing a blog, for me, is pretty beneficial in terms of keeping me sane.  Especially given the fact that I’m living in Spain instead of my home country of the USA.  Why do I say this?  It’s simple, really: this blog is my “lifeline” to the English language and the USA.  It’s the way I keep in contact with my native language and my native culture. 

Although I love Spain and am very happy living here, I think I’d probably go a little nuts if I couldn’t express my thoughts somewhere in English and generally interact with people from my own culture from time to time.   This blog lets me do that on a large scale from within the tiny city of Burgos where the total “American” population is probably about five.  This blog also lets me meet a lot of interesting people from around the world — another pretty beneficial thing if I do say so myself. 

Of course, this blog can also make me lose my sanity at times.  Running a successful blog is almost like running a business: you have to write posts, maintain contacts, advertise, etc.  All those things take time and, between the blog, my job teaching at the school, and private English classes, there often isn’t a lot of “free time” left over and I can sometimes feel a little “wiped out.”  What’s more, for me blogging is somewhat addictive.  The more I write, the more I want to write, the more I want to write, the more I write, the more I write, the less time I have for other things.  It’s a vicious cycle. 

Would any of you other bloggers/expats out there like to say something about this?  I’m all ears… leave a comment below.

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com

]]> http://abroadinspain.com/2009/04/09/how-blogging-helps-me-to-both-keep-my-sanity-and-lose-it-at-the-same-time/feed/ 4 Abroad in Spain version 2.0 released! http://abroadinspain.com/2009/04/06/abroad-in-spain-version-20-released/ http://abroadinspain.com/2009/04/06/abroad-in-spain-version-20-released/#comments Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:33:31 +0000 Chris http://abroadinspain.com/?p=251 Well, if you’re a regular visitor to Abroad in Spain, you’ll notice that I have completely re-designed the site and also done several upgrades to my hosting package so that things work a little  bit better.  You’ll also notice that now that this new site upgrade is complete, I will be updating my site [...]]]> Well, if you’re a regular visitor to Abroad in Spain, you’ll notice that I have completely re-designed the site and also done several upgrades to my hosting package so that things work a little  bit better.  You’ll also notice that now that this new site upgrade is complete, I will be updating my site much more often with new posts, pictures, etc.  You see, it was a bit difficult at first for me to update my site because I had just moved to Spain and was busy getting “settled in” here; however, now I’m “up and running” and ready to blog much more often.  Stay tuned for new posts and other new features here on the site.

Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com

]]> http://abroadinspain.com/2009/04/06/abroad-in-spain-version-20-released/feed/ 3 What do I want this blog to be? http://abroadinspain.com/2007/11/13/what-do-i-want-this-blog-to-be/ http://abroadinspain.com/2007/11/13/what-do-i-want-this-blog-to-be/#comments Tue, 13 Nov 2007 13:15:35 +0000 Chris http://abroadinspain.com/?p=19 Well, before I go any further with this blog, I’d like to write a small post to set out my objectives so that I, and my readers, both know exactly what I hope to accomplish with this webpage. This post is going to serve that purpose.

First, one of the main reasons that I [...]]]> Well, before I go any further with this blog, I’d like to write a small post to set out my objectives so that I, and my readers, both know exactly what I hope to accomplish with this webpage. This post is going to serve that purpose.

First, one of the main reasons that I am creating this blog is to document what I hope will become an unforgettable experience for me. During my last trip to Spain (a study abroad trip that lasted six months) I started to keep a journal of my daily experiences and thoughts but I didn’t keep up with the journal as I wished I had. Not keeping that journal up to date is one of my biggest regrets – a regret that I don’t want to have again. Thus, since I don’t want my next experience in Spain to go undocumented, I have decided to create this blog largely so that I would have something “tangible” (well, as tangible as a webpage can be) to look back at and reflect upon.

Of course, I am hoping that this blog will become more than merely a documentation of what I’m doing to get back to Spain. It is my hope that this blog will also be useful to other Americans like me who are thinking of traveling abroad and are looking for support and advice. Hopefully my experiences, mistakes, and successes will help someone else in planning their own life abroad.

Hasta la próxima,
–Chris
http://www.abroadinspain.com

]]> http://abroadinspain.com/2007/11/13/what-do-i-want-this-blog-to-be/feed/ 0 A first post… http://abroadinspain.com/2007/11/06/a-first-post/ http://abroadinspain.com/2007/11/06/a-first-post/#comments Wed, 07 Nov 2007 01:51:37 +0000 Chris http://abroadinspain.com/?p=12 Well, let me start off by saying welcome and thanks for visiting my blog. This is my first blog so I’m not really sure how it’s supposed to go… but, I’ll give it a try.

Let me tell you a little bit about myself. My name is Chris and I’m 22 years old. I’m a [...]]]> Well, let me start off by saying welcome and thanks for visiting my blog. This is my first blog so I’m not really sure how it’s supposed to go… but, I’ll give it a try.

Let me tell you a little bit about myself. My name is Chris and I’m 22 years old. I’m a college senior who is studying Spanish Education. In other words, I want to become a Spanish teacher. In May of 2008 I’m going to graduate from my university and enter the real world. The only thing is that I’m not sure yet if I’ll be entering the real world in the USA or in Spain. 

You see, I’ve studied Spanish since I was about 13 years old and have always been fascinated with Spain. I made a short trip there about three years ago and vowed to return for more time, which is exactly what I did last year when I studied abroad in Valladolid. Valladolid, for those of you who don’t know, is located in Castilla y León, a more or less “central” part of the country. Anyway, I spent six months living in Spain, studying at La Universidad de Valladolid, and completing an internship with La Cruz Roja Española. I really loved my time abroad and really enjoyed the country and, when I left Spain after my six months of study, I knew that I wanted to live there for a more substantial amount of time after graduating from college.

So now I’m several months away from my college graduation and I’m trying to hash a plot to get back to Spain for something at least a little more “permanent” than a semester abroad. To you, this may sound crazy, but the truth is that I don’t think it will be as hard as it sounds (at least I hope not). In fact, soon I’ll be getting an application ready for a scholarship that would allow me to go to Spain for a year to teach English (with the possibility of staying there for a second year) so… I hope that comes together. In any case, I’ve created this blog so that you can track the progress I’m making on my “Spain Dream” throughout the year. I don’t know, maybe you think I’m crazy, maybe I am crazy, but I’ve wanted to live in Spain ever since my first trip there and now I may finally have a chance to make that dream a reality; we’ll have to see what happens….

Anyway, I have to get going for now. I hope you enjoy my poor attempt at a blog and I promise I’ll try to post at least once a week as I plan my future in Spain. Please, feel free to leave your comments here or to use the contact link above to send me an email. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Hasta la próxima,
–Chris
http://www.abroadinspain.com

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