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?

I'm Going to Spain!

Did you know I'm studying abroad starting in January? I bet not. For five months, I will be in Seville, Spain, studying culture and the language. It's been hard for me to be excited about this idea and for the longest time, I couldn't figure out why.

I was talking with Megan the other night and feeling sorry for myself. I told her I didn't want to go to Spain anymore, how I didn't want to spend five months on the greatest adventure I would have yet. No one seemed to care I was going away for five months and I felt like they were inconsiderate of my situation - lots of amazing speakers and lots of events were happening during that period and I am going to miss out on it all. I felt like people were just rubbing it in that they were going to experience it all and I was not. Megan, after consoling me for a bit, said that I rarely talk about myself in conversation anymore and rarely anyone knows I'm going to be gone, so how can they be excited for me?

It was a revelation. I don't know if I have tried to be selfless to the point no one knows who I am or what, but Megan was right. How can people be excited for me if no one knows? And how I can be excited for other people if I'm not excited for my own experience? If I'm not excited for my own, I am only jealous of others.

It's time for me to get excited about my five month adventure and time for others to know about it.

Cathedral in Seville

Peace!

-Nicole