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I'm originally from Milwaukee, WI, USA, and a Human Resources Management/Spanish double major with a Mass Communications/Global Studies double minor at Winona State University in Winona, MN.
In my 21 years, I've done a fair amount of traveling within the United States, and have hit up a couple foreign (but touristy) locations such as Niagara Falls in Canada, Nassau in the Bahamas, and a small Mexican town just across the Rio Grande from McAllen, TX. However, before this year, I never had the opportunity to travel abroad or spend quality time immersed in a foreign culture. It's a dream I've always had, and has finally been fulfilled! And believe me, it was everything I thought it would be and more . . . much more.
As one might expect, there were some hard times when I just wanted to escape anything remotely related to Spanish, but they were few and far between, and provided good learning opportunities. Overall, my experience in Europe was incredible. Best of all, my Spanish-speaking skills have definitely improved--I'm bilingual (well, trilingual if you count Spanglish, which I'm pretty fluent in as well)!!
I would definitely recommend this type of experience to anyone even remotely interested in learning about another culture and experiencing a completely different (or perhaps strangely similar--it's possible to have both, as I've discovered) way of life.
And if you're going to embark on that kind of a journey, why not have an adventure or two? Between my five months in Spain, five days in Greece, a day trip to Morocco, an afternoon in Gibraltar (English-owned land at the south of Spain), and a widespread excursion through France, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy, I definitely have my fair share of adventure-ridden stories to tell! I'm eager to share these with whoever's interested, and have compiled a collection of stories and photos which you can peruse at your leisure by following the links provided.
And just because I'm safely situated back on U.S. soil for the moment, don't make the mistake of thinking I'm done! That travel bug bit, and it bit me HARD! I'm already looking for my next opportunity to hit the road (and my upcoming four-hour drive back to Winona to start summer classes doesn't count), and I'm sure I'm not the only one. I know there are a bunch of you out there with your own travel tales to tell. Be sure to let me know, and if you've got something to share over the Internet, send me the link, and I'll post it so everyone can see and be inspired.
In the mean time, I hope you enjoy my tales! Please feel free to post a message, or better yet, email me and give me your feedback. If you have any questions or comments and/or suggestions, or just want to send me a brief hello or update me on your own life happenings (I especially love those emails--keep me up to date!), please write! I hope you're all doing well, and look forward to hearing from you!
¡Saludos a todos!
---Jess
6-Jul-04