27 Countries and Counting: Up Next, Spain!

After so much preparation and hard-work for an adventure that I have been always wanting to do for years, I am so thrilled to announce that I will begin my semester abroad in Spain this coming Tuesday. Man, time goes by so fast. With a lot of travel experience with family and independently, I am ready to apply my studies of political science and peace and justice studies at an international school.

I will be studying at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, mainly learning the history of Spain, its border states, and the Mediterranean. During my time abroad outside of the academic system, I will be going on excursions in and out of Spain, and going on field trips to historical landmarks around the country. I look forward to sharing my adventures about what I have discovered throughout my travels.

Here are three goals I have set for myself during my experience in Barcelona:

1. Become more fluent in Spanish

I will be taking a Spanish course at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona to further develop my Spanish speaking. During my time in Spain, I will continue practicing when I meet new people in the country.

2. Set a new record of 30 countries

I have been traveling ever since I was born. Now that Spain will be my 27^th country and there will be times I have five or four-day weekends, this will be a chance for me to set a new record of 30 countries before the end of the year.

3. Adapt my taste to different food

Anytime I travel to a new country, I always promise myself to try a new food that I will like. Some point in my life, my taste of food will change as I travel more over the years to come.

This is going to be an amazing travel experience full of memories in making friends, traveling to different countries, carrying my education globally, and sharing my customs in a different cultural heritage.

This post was contributed by David Sharif, who is studying abroad with AIFS in Barcelona, Spain.