Aventura

I just got a tattoo. I decided before I left for Spain that I would most definitely get a tattoo during my study abroad. My cousin Kathryn, who studied in Segovia five years ago, got one of her first tattoos in Spain, so why not me? So, on Monday, I walked to a tattoo parlor and laid on a table for 7 minutes and there it was, a very permanent thing of ink on my left calf.

The word is "aventura" which translates to "adventure". The word adventure has been following me since the day I got to college. Heck, it was even said in the first sentence of my first blog post. And my fortune cookie spoke to me about a great adventure and change just before I left. "Adventure is out there," says the movie Up.

Just before I got my tattoo, I thought a lot about what qualifies an adventure. When I was younger, I thought it was about doing things that people would find extraordinary; things that would cause a ruckus if I told people about it. But recently, the definition has changed for me. It has become more about changing my perspective on the world and changing who I am in it. When I got to Spain, my adventure was adjusting to life. It definitely had been done before and it isn't anything too extraordinary - something most people wouldn't consider an adventure. However, to me, it was one of the hardest adventures I've ever gone through. It was new to me - new emotions, new people, new language - and I came out as a slightly different person, with a new perspective on life in Spain.

Adventure doesn't have to adhere to any standards except your own. I had an adventure last week roaming around a part of Sevilla I hadn't yet seen. It wasn't grand, it was the funnest things I've ever done, but at the end, I had learned something new about the city I have been living in for a couple of months and I discovered that I have so much more to explore in Sevilla.

The quotation, "Adventure is out there" is very, very true. One just has to look for it. And maybe get a tattoo to remind them of it.

Peace!

Nicole

In Chefchaouen, Morocco

I rode a camel in the pouring rain.

My mother, who recently visited, and me in Granda.

During Semana Santa in Sevilla

Adventure in the Expo area of Sevilla. Who knew?