Ready to leave

Hey all!

I am just finishing up packing as I'm getting ready to leave tomorrow...  I can't believe my trip is coming up so quick! I'm all set and have everything I need to find my way once I get to the airport on Wednesday morning (at 10 am Madrid time).  My plan is to read the wikipedia pages on Madrid and Spain on the airplane to learn a bit more about what I'm getting myself into :)

I have a two and a half week orientation until classes begin February 1st.  I am very excited to get to know my host mom and all the other students who are going to be there with me.  I haven't spoken with my senora, but as far as I know she is a widow who works as a nurse and has a dog.  Her apartment seems to be in a pretty good location - a short walk to downtown and close to the metro that will take me right up to the university.

I sign up for my classes during orientation some time, but I plan on taking classes on spanish history and culture.  I'm really excited to take a break from classes at UW, but all of my classes will be in Spanish.  On that note, improving my Spanish is probably the part of this spring that I'm most excited for.  I'm a bit nervous about following the professors speaking in Spanish, but hopefully after a few weeks I'll get the hang of it.

That's all for now, I'll update when I'm IN MADRID!!  Love you all, Bonnie