Abroad in Spain: Travel Blog » Valladolid

My reaction to the scholarship…

Chris — Sun, 04 May 2008 15:08:54 +0000

It’s been a few days since I was notified that I won a scholarship to go to Spain, and now that I’ve had time to let it “sink in,” I thought I’d write a short post to let everyone know my deepest, innermost thoughts (well, not really that deep). As you can see from the “thumbs-up” picture of me above, the first thing that comes to mind when I think about the scholarship is GOOOOOOOD GOING!!!!

Really, I’m very happy that I have this opportunity to go back to Spain. I loved the country the last time I was there (read about my first trip here) and vowed I would return, I just didn’t think I’d be able to return so soon. The truth is that it was this time last year when I returned home from my six months abroad in Valladolid and it’s kinda hard to believe that in just a few short months I’ll be going back. I really do consider myself pretty lucky to be able to return to Spain in just over a year from the last time I was there.

I’d like to take a few minutes here and explain exactly what I hope this “return trip” to Spain will do for me. As some of my readers probably know, I already have a pretty high level of proficiency in Spanish. Nonetheless, one of my biggest goals for my return trip is to hone my Spanish skills so that I sound as native as possible. Another big goal for this trip is to integrate myself more fully into the culture (the last time I was there, I went with other Americans and sometimes didn’t participate in the “Spanish” way of life as much as I wish I would have). In fact, during my last trip I was just starting to feel as if I “belonged” in the country when it was time for me to leave. I hope that this time I will integrate myself more quickly into the lifestyle because I have already been there once and know more about what to expect.

Now that I know I have a scholarship and am going to Spain for sure in September, my next steps are going to be getting the necessary visa, buying a plane ticket, looking for a place to live in Spain, and packing. Stay tuned over the summer as I write about each of those steps (and much more) as I go through them.

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

Success!!!

Chris — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:57:49 +0000

I want to start off by saying that I’m sorry that I haven’t updated this page in a while. I was student teaching (in Spanish) this semester and got quite busy designing lessons toward the end, so… I haven’t had time to get online. My student teaching is now over (I got an A+) and I should have time to write on a more regular basis now.

The second (and more important) thing that I’d like to mention in this entry is that I was recently notified that I was awarded the scholarship that I applied for to go to Spain and teach English. If you’ve been keeping up with this blog, you know that I have spent time in Spain before and applied for this scholarship to have the opportunity to go back to Spain and spend even more time practicing and honing my Spanish skills. (If you are unfamiliar with this blog, you may want to read my fist post to get yourself up to date.) Anyway, I was very excited about the scholarship, in fact I didn’t sleep last night after I found out I had won it (haha).

For those of you who are interested in knowing, the scholarship has assigned me to the Castilla y León region of Spain. I was very happy that I got that region because, during my last study abroad experience in Spain, I lived in Valladolid, a large city located more or less in the center of the Castilla y León region. So… I’m glad that I know the area in which I have been placed by the scholarship.

Also for those of you who are wondering, the scholarship that I was given was granted to me by the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (MEC). I don’t want to sound rude, but I have gotten a lot of emails from people asking me to help them get scholarships in Spain and I am really unable to help those people. Please keep in mind that I have no pull whatsoever in these matters and the only information I know about the scholarship is the information that is on the MEC website which I just linked to. Please, do not direct your questions about scholarships in Spain to me… the MEC and other organizations like the Fulbright organization are the ones in charge of those things and they can help you much more than I can.

I think that’s about all I have to say right now about my scholarship. Over the next few days, I hope to post some more about my reaction to winning the scholarship and my next steps to get the visa to go to Spain.

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

A first post…

Chris — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 01:51:37 +0000

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