Hi :) Nice to meet you!!

Do you know that feeling, when you know that you’re on the brink of something big? That you are in the midst of something you will remember for forever? Well, as I am sitting here watching the second Mamma Mia! where the main character Donna runs off to Greece to start a new adventure, I can’t help but feel excitement prickle my skin as I know that in two short months, I will have my own Mamma Mia! adventure in Spain! 

My name is Kaylah and I will be arriving in Madrid at the end September for the Teach in Spain Basics program! I am 23 years old and am from a suburb of Chicago. I graduated with degrees in Elementary Education and Spanish. Through my university, I was able to travel abroad 4 times! I spent a month in Puerto Rico, Argentina, Spain, and India. This sparked a love to learn about new cultures and a need to find spontaneity and adventure! I am very excited to be able to share all that I learn with you in future blog posts!

Other than just introducing myself, I want to talk about the excitement I have felt while getting ready to leave. To start, I have wanted to teach abroad since I was in high school! Now that this dream is a reality, it feels surreal! This surreal feeling has increased my day-dreaming ever since I was accepted into the program. I am imagining the adventures that I will have and the friendships I will create. On the other hand, there is an equal amount of excitement and feelings of being overwhelmed when thinking of the logistics of making those adventures happen. This includes booking plane tickets, obtaining my visa, stepping out of my comfort zone to try and meet roommates, and many other things. As I continue to prepare, I need to remind myself that stepping out of my comfort zone is exactly the thing that I should be doing and want to strive to do while I am in Spain. In order to do miraculous things and to go on amazing adventures, you must be willing to grow in the uncomfortability! While in Spain, a few of my goals are to grow in community with others and to live by a quote by the poet, Mary Oliver, which is “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life”. I cannot wait for you to come along with me in my later posts to see what I will do with my “one wild and precious life” while in Spain!  iHasta pronto! :)