Antes De Venir!

Well well... only one week and six days before I'll be lugging hundreds of pounds of stuff overseas to my new temporary home.  This is probably the most exciting thing I've done in all of the 19 years I've lived.  Today my grandma got me a book on Spain, so that'll give me something to do for the next 2 weeks (although I've got plenty of things to get done as it is). Also, I got my course approval form in the mail, so it looks like all five of my classes are good to go! Here's what I'll be taking abroad:

• VaST: Nanotechnology and Society (It's a Lafayette required course, taught by Lafayette Professor Ferri, who will be traveling to Madrid with us. VaST stands for "Values and Science Technology.")
  
  
• Engineering Science: Dynamics (This counts as a Mechanical Engineering course at Lafayette)
  
  
• Physics: Introduction to Astronomy (Really no good reason for taking it other than pure interest in the subject matter.  It doesn't count toward anything so if it doesn't end up being worthwhile, I might drop it.)
  
  
• Art History: 19th Century Art Survey (I've never taken Art History so this might be a challenge for me, but I'm sure it will be interesting! It will also count as an upper-level humanities course at Lafayette.)
  
  
• Engineering Science: Mechanics of Solids (This is equivalent to the Lafayette Engineering course "Strengths of Materials.")

The best part of my schedule is... EVERY class is on Tuesday/Thursday.  That means I have a four-day weekend... EVERY weekend.  Be jealous.  I'll most likely reserve Wednesday as my designated homework day, just to free up the weekends.  I'm so excited. You have no idea.

My host family is the Albert family, with husband and wife, Maria Rosa and Perfecto.  They seem like a lovely couple from the description.  Maria Rosa used to give classes at a private catering school, so I can guarantee you I'll be eating well during my stay.  They have four children and seven grandchildren.  Even though I'll be away from my adorable li'l nephew for a few months, hopefully the grandkids can keep me from missing him too much.  The pictures of the house look incredible too!  Take a look:

Bedroom

Living Room

Hall

Kitchen

Living Room

Also, I got very lucky with my rooming situation! My roomate is a friend from Lafayette, Anna.  We each have our own room and (possibly) our own bathroom.  This was just a  coincidence to have her as my roommate, but I'm so glad it turned out this way! She actually lived on my floor this past semester, and she'll be living on my floor again in two weeks :)

That's enough updating for now! I'll probably hold off on the updates until I get to Madrid.  Have a wonderful new year!

Love,

Hallie

Welcome!

The time is quickly approaching for me to leave on a plane heading for Spain... only three weeks from tomorrow!  I deemed it an appropriate time to set up a blog to chronicle my journeys that await me... even if I am still at Lafayette (three days... get me outta here!).  Spain seems to be the only thing on my mind nowadays, so it couldn't hurt to get a head start.  I plan on using this site to give any exciting updates on my travels or experiences while abroad.  Hopefully there will be plenty of things to talk about! If anyone would like to be on the e-mail list, just leave a comment with your e-mail address.  You will receive an e-mail update every time I post a new entry.  And don't worry Mom and Dad, I've already got you guys taken care of :)   If not, I hope you'll visit the site a few times anyway! I don't want all this laborious writing to go to waste. I don't write for leisure, you know.

Spread the word!!

Peace & Love,
Hallie

P.S.
Here's where I will be studying:
Saint Louis University, Madrid Campus