Are You Nervous Yet?

…the most popular question I was asked before leaving for Spain.

My automatic response: I’m nervous to pack!

For those of you who know me best, that instant reply is not surprising. I can barely pack sensibly for a weekend trip to California let alone a semester at Mizzou. How on earth was I supposed to pack sensibly for a four month stay in a FOREIGN country?

It started out looking like this:

I began to panic. Miraculously, it all fit into two suitcases perfectly! I was shocked! I was amazed! I was so proud of myself I couldn’t help beaming at my success. But then my dad reminded me I had to weigh them… Uh oh…

He took one look at my bags and laughed. “67 pounds!” he guessed. No way, absolutely not! I guesstimated they would weigh in around 46 pounds. Yeah…I was wrong. Three hours later, after a lot of wincing while letting go of beloved articles of clothing, bathroom products, accessories, and shoes…my bags totaled 50.8 and 46.9 pounds. Oh the trials and tribulations of Madison Alewel!

I finally found myself in bed at 3 am. I really don’t understand why I always seem to stay up ridiculously late before traveling. The fact I had a nightmare about packing didn’t help either. I have serious issues.

Before I knew it I was heading to the airport. As I sat in the car, my nervousness about packing gone, it suddenly hit me: I’m leaving. I’m going to spend the next four months in Barcelona. I’m going to be 9(Vegas)/7(Mizzou) hours ahead of all the people I love. They will no longer be just a phone call away…more like $1.37 a minute. Thank you AT&T. Oh. My. Gosh. Cue the waterworks.

After hugging my parents goodbye at the entrance to the D gates, I was the girl awkwardly crying while going through security. Ha…ha…It happens.

I am currently sitting in the Salt Lake City airport awaiting my plane to Paris. One traveling hour down, 17 to go!

Adios for now America. 

Besos! <3