28 days before departure: Spanish

I got some ooooold Spanish books from my grandmother. There are a couple I can use right now... There are also those old cassettes :'D I've got so much more but only took some for the pic...
So I have like a month to learn some Spanish now xD I'm not expecting anything much, but I hope I'll learn something. The thing is, I have so many school works to do, so I don't know when I should study Spanish...

Oh, and I also have this:



I'll need to listen to the cassettes when I go somewhere :'D

My insurance is taken care of. I only need to pay for it now. So yay! One more thing is done.
I'll prolly get the rent contract things tomorrow, so that's fine too.
Things are finally starting to work out, and the day is coming closer and closer! To be honest, I still haven't really realised that I'm leaving.
I think it's a good thing, because usually I tend to get really nervous and it might bother me with everything else I do...
And right now I really need all my efforts to do the school stuff.

33 days before departure: complicated

Time really flies.
I've been trying to make everything work, and everything just gets complicated. The travel insurance thing had some problems, so I need to wait some more to actually be able to get it done.
I've tried to ask some things by email but I don't get an answer.. Today I went to meet the person but she wasn't there...
I also haven't heard about the person who's going to rent my apartment. Though, I think she'll reply soon enough, she has had these breaks before, too.

But, I've got the contract. It's actually official that I'm working there.
Though I still haven't really realised that I am really going. I'm just living normally.. Just been really busy these days. There's so much school work and there's more every day! I don't know how I'm going to make it. But I'll try.

Aish, I still haven't done any packing. I need to empty my apartment at some point. Hm.

40 days before departure: expensive

Today I found out about travel insurances. Damn they're expensive!
Especially when I'm staying longer than 3 months...
It seems I'll have to pay about 110€.
This is going to be a work experience thing for me, and I just keep losing money :'D

I also went to buy glasses for my sister. I got a gift certificate because my sis bought two, and so I got sunglasses. :) I really need ones that I can use without contact lenses. I don't really like them.
The sunglasses I got are awesome. :D They're so funny, but looked good on me! I never thought I'd buy ones like that...
I'll take a picture once I get them (which might take 3-4 weeks..)

I should start thinking about packing...

42 days before departure: preparing

I was waiting to get the contract papers concerning my apartment's subtenant thing today. Instead I got my European Health Insurance Card... already forgot that :'D

I started saving money for "a trip abroad" when I moved here. I think this counts as one :D So I counted the coins I put away from my wallet. It was about 170€ :D
Yay~

I wish people would reply to emails sooner. I need to know some stuff about this application I need to fill to get money. Maybe I'll have to go meet the person again.. (I hate calling, so that's not going to happen)

There are lots of things I should do. I really hope I remeber to do everything..
It's not necessary for me to get vaccinations (I need new ones in November), but they surely aren't bad either.. :'D
Then I need to find a good travel insurance. I've got one for 45 days, but I'll be there for 4 months, so that definitely isn't enough.

So many things I should do, and I still have my school stuff to worry about! I really need to hurry if I want to finish them in time... There aren't that many days left anymore. D:
But it's not so easy when I'm working all the time with the preparations. It takes time and also makes me tired.

Buuut oh well, I'll try to work harder!

43 days before departure: the start

Hey,

This is my first post, but I hope it won't be the last one.
My name is Elina, friends call me Elli, and I've got my internship in Seville, Spain.
At first I had to decide whether I should write this blog in English or in Finnish. Maybe some won't read this because it's not in Finnish, but.. I do have friends who don't understand Finnish at all, so... :D

Ok. The whole thing started in January, when I had to start looking for places to work. I was feeling depressed and nothing felt like anything. I was afraid I wouldn't find a place. It would've been fine, but I also needed a summer job to be able to pay the rent. Last summer I had to pay it from my savings, which wasn't too nice.

So. I got a contacted from this agency from Spain. They asked if I was interested in an internship in Spain.
Of course I was.
And yeah, things developed, they found me a place to work. And here I am, soon travelling to Spain to work.

I've had lots of things to worry about even though I have a job in the summer. I won't get paid, so I'll have to rent my apartment. Luckily I found someone who has a summer job in my city and needs an apartment.
Everything has gone easier than I imagined. I hope it won't change!

I've got my plane tickets. So it's official. I'll be going to Spain for four months.
I tend to be too worried about things, so of course this makes me nervous and excited. Hopefully I'll have a great time, get friends, experience...

In Spain I'll be living in this Student Residence. The cheaper option is to live in a room with another person. Since I won't get payed, so that'll be the thing I'll do.
I'm a bit afraid of living in a same room with a total stranger, but I guess it'll be good for me. Hopefully that'll help me get more friends. :)

During my stay in Spain I'll try to upload lots of pics and write about the things I do. Let's hope it won't get too boring. :D

I have so many things I want to say, but somehow I can't remember them :'D So later!