Sunday, August 31, 2008

just kidding...still in the states

i lied; i'm still here. i don't know what my schedule will be like the first few days (we have a mysterious three-day orientation immediately upon arrival- this could be intense, or could mean a whole lot of nothing. only time will tell), so i just wanted to write quickly pre-departure.

i'm headed to barcelona via frankfurt, germany- one of the many instances of flight itineraries making absolutely no geographic sense (if you are confused, just look at a map of europe. you'll figure it out). however, in a rare moment of ease in air travel, this flight departs out of none other than philadelphia international. if i never had to visit JFK again, i would have zero regrets.

this past weekend (thurs-sunday morning) was spent at tufts, getting some insights into off-campus living (decision: it is sweet), and mostly just seeing all of the various people moving back in. it was great seeing everyone and i had a lot of fun, but now it's on to Spain!

p.s. who am i kidding? i really just want to meet this guy: http://img.skysports.com/08/06/800x600/Casillas_987861.jpg

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

the chicago cubs will not beat every team in the league

even though they did beat atlanta 10-2 today. sorry, john darnielle.

back to the intention of this post- sooo, i started a blog. i am well aware that this makes me a tool, but i figure it will be less obnoxious than constant three-page long e-mail updates to a whole bunch of family, friends, and acquaintances, 99.999% of them who don't care whatsoever. This way, you can just click the lovely link sent via e-mail or available on my facebook or profile or what have you, and read to your heart's content.

now that I just spent (wasted?) a paragraph defending my right to "keep" a blog- here we go. this cyberspace creation will chronicle my time abroad on the CIEE program in Barcelona, Spain. I am leaving from Philadelphia on September 1st (in a mere 2.5 weeks!) and returning on...well, that's to be determined. don't get nervous, i'll be back eventually. while in Barcelona, i'll be taking classes in Spanish language- basic language classes, and classes with particular emphasis on speaking and writing, Spanish politics, and Spanish culture- either literature or cinema. In other words, I'm tucking the economics part of my life away for a semester, but it's probably a strong and necessary choice. what better place to take my IR requirements like history, culture, and language than in a country that is not the United States, really? i'll be writing here about my classes, the culture, and all the travels I am doing- hopefully to a bunch of places in Spain as well as my soon-to-be European neighbors.

to briefly recap- i spent the summer in D.C. interning and generally having a grand old time. i got back to philadelphia two days ago, and am going to be here until i leave for spain. the next time i write will be from across the Atlantic- que bien!