The adventure begins

Welcome to my Spain blog! For those who are unaware, I will be living in Madrid for the 2010-11 school year and studying to earn my Masters in Spanish Linguistics from Middlebury College. I plan to use this site both as a travel journal and as a means to keep in touch with my friends and loved ones while I'm off on my year-long adventure. I will post -- hopefully frequently -- about my experiences with the culture and language of Spain. And maybe, just maybe, I'll throw in a couple other European countries as well!

Middlebury's language pledge requires that we speak, read, write, breath all in Spanish. They also recognize that we can't cut off contact with all that is near and dear to us while we're abroad. What that means for my blog is that I will probably write some in English and some in Spanish, so that I can practice my second language without alienating everyone who might want to read my updates. In the event that you can't understand a Spanish post, Google Translate is a handy device.

I'm leaving on a jet plane on September 1. Expect plenty of posts once I get there and find wifi. ¡Hasta la vista!