Journals

It's my last weekend in America before I'm off to Spain ; two days before the big leap.   No I'm not moving to Spain. No I'm not going there on business. No I'm not going with anyone. No I don't have a plan set in mind. Yes I speak Spanish. Yes I'm excited.   I hope that answers your initial thoughts.    To me this trip isn't just a much needed vacation; it's a break from life, a time to reflect on what I've been doing up til now, and a chance to think of what I want for my future. It is very much a wake up call, a sort of "quarter-life crisis" that deserves the proper attention. This trip is also very much a "Fuck you, society!" because I've put my student loan debt on hold, have stopped working full-time, and refuse to be a stereotypical post-collegiate workforce robot. So, suck it society norms! I'm off to fulfill my dreams!   What do I want to do in Spain? To put it simply: be a tourist with a Travel Geek flare. The real answer: be one step closer to living like Anthony Bourdain on No Reservations . My dream has always been to "taste the breeze of every great city" as Max Bemis said, so why not take in the notable Spanish culture, art, and cuisine? I want no string attached plans - to see and do everything I want, however I want, on my own time. Yes I'll steer off the beaten path at some points, but I also want to experience a bit of the tourist spots, so sue me! I want to befriend the locals, fall in love with a Spaniard and contemplate never returning home, I want to lay on the beaches of San Sebastian with a drink in my hand and sleep my worries away. I want to eat tapas and drink wine all night, sip on Spanish coffee and sit at a cafe I don't belong to, get lost on the streets and stumble upon some architectural wonder, take an obscene amount of photos, write in my travel journal, and tell no one about how amazing everything is until I'm back in New York.   But most importantly, I want to discover a new me. A girl who can be on her own, without depending on others, travel freely and open her mind to new things, and prove my family wrong. I want to know that I can do whatever I want without having to think about what negative consequences will happen (I'm talking about you, financial woes!). I want to stop reading travel blogs and wishing I was there - instead, I want to live those travel stories, and finally, FINALLY , be able to relate to a real conversation about traveling without just nodding along and pretending to know what's going on. I want to be able to say I am a true Travel Geek without a "but" and rake up some new footprints . I just want to have fun, be a young adult that actually travels outside the northeast US, and not be this caged suburban American girl anymore.    Are those good enough reasons to vacation in Spain? I think so.     Ask me how it went in two weeks.