I have a love-hate relationship with summertime. Cuando era niña, summer was a highly valued time because the teachers hyped it up to be so. But I’ve always loved school and working, so before I was old enough to have a summer job, I associated summer with boredom. Add that boredom to 100-degree weather with 85 percent humidity and you’ve got the ingredients for my formerly least favorite season.
But in this, mi verano final before I graduate from college, I think I have finally made reparations with summertime. I spent the past month having my American summer—making trips all over North Carolina—and now I get to have my dream summer in Spain.
I am studying communication with a concentration in media at NC State. I am also working toward minors in Spanish and international studies. This program allows me to earn six credit hours, as I will be taking a Spanish speaking class along with a Spanish culture class during my time here. Although I have mostly studied Latin American Spanish and ignored the vosotros form for the past six years, I have always wanted to visit Spain for the architecture and the history.
To make sure I never forget this experience, I will be keeping this blog—even if it means skipping siesta sometimes. The name of my blog, Camino de Felicidad, means “Path to Happiness.” I wanted to incorporate Felicidad, the name of my maternal grandmother. I remember learning in my first Spanish class that her name meant happiness. I loved that, and although I never got to meet mi abuela Felicidad, I thought this would be a nice way to honor her. I hope you’ll follow this journey of siestas, fiestas, diversión (oh, and classes) with me for the next five weeks.
Hasta pronto,
Megan
El Camino de Felicidad 