Two years later...

I remember 2 years ago sitting at the Philly airport waiting for my plane to take me to Spain.  This would be my first time so far away from home, but I was ready for it. And scared for it. Sitting alone in the waiting room, I listened to the conversations around me. Some people were on their phone for business, some people looked just as scared as I did (or maybe they were just bored). But in particular, there was this one loud family sitting right next to me. Although they most definitely were not speaking English.  I listened in, trying to figure out what they were saying. After all, I was going to Spain and going to be surrounded by this foreign language for months, why not start now? However, my nerves rose to a whole new level when I had a close to impossible time figuring out what they were saying. I was starting to freak out. Maybe I wasn't ready for this. Maybe I couldn't make my way through Spain for 4 months. After I got ahold of my nerves though, I realized that they were speaking Italian, which made me feel a whole lot better. I could understand a word here and there, but I wasn't expected to understand a whole other foreign language that I had never learned. And so that adventure commenced. On the flight I sat next to a Spaniard who had done his studies in Chicago and was on his way home. He encouraged me to practice my Spanish and was so helpful with just getting my confidence up. "Okay, I can actually do this." I thought. That was what I needed, the encouragement and confidence to take this huge step into the unknown.

That was two years ago.

The title of this blog is an excerpt from my favorite spanish poem by Mother Teresa, La Vida Es.  As I begin this new adventure, there are things that I could be terrified about. "Will I be able to understand people?" "Will I be able to connect with others even with the language barrier?" "Will I miss home too much?" and the most pressing concern at the moment, "Will I be able to pack everything within the 50lb limit?" There are plenty more concerns about the future, too many to put words to. But it's worth it. I'm about to start this great new chapter in my life. I will change, I will grow, I will learn; all because of this wonderful adventurous risk.