Author Archives: Luanne Carrillo

Pre-Departure: Journey has Begun!

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PDX

Finally, the day of my study abroad is here. Today, I am here at the PDX airport waiting to fly out on my journey. I have been in touch with my host family, and they are just as excited as I am to meet. Knowing that I have someone “on the other side” waiting for me makes me feel much more confident. I already know I will love my host mom, and her 2 kids, Nadya and Arian. She has been so nice to help me get prepared. Even though it has all been through e-mail, she does an amazing job by writing in full to give me as much information as I need.

On the other hand, I have been awake sine 10am (Monday), it is now 5:44am (Tuesday). No sleep is what happens when I am just so excited and nervous for this trip! My family was so nervous for me, but being proud of what I am about to accomplish helped them bring me motivation and to not be so nervous. I received much support from my friends and family, the best part was to hear them say that they will see me again soon! Because before I know it I will be back! I am so excited, but I can sense the homesickness kicking in. Maybe it’s the loneliness at the airport, or the goodbyes I had to say to my closest friends, I just hope all goes well so that I can return with many stories. At moments I felt like it was an unrealistic dream, but now, being here, in the waiting are of my terminal, it is real!

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I imagine Oviedo, Spain to be as beautiful as everyone imagines. The culture, the beaches, the popular Sangria everyone talks about! But soon I will be looking through my own eyes, and I will share the beauty Spain truly has with all of you!

Introduction: Finally a sneak peak about me.

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Coming from a small town, being the minority, and the role model of my siblings, I became first generation on my family to pursue higher education and become the higher achiever I am today. I am currently pursuing a double degree in Community Health and Spanish, and my goal is to someday work with underrepresented families and become part of that support system everyone deserves. With a goal in mind, and with many challenges my family and I have had to face, I decided to create a goal of traveling abroad. I always had a dream of traveling to Europe, and Spain was at my most comfort level, which why I choose it for me to live and study for 3 months. Being the oldest and the first to take this journey in my family, has made me proud, because soon it will be one of my many accomplishments. I hope that through this adventure, I can learn, gain, and adapt new skills that I can soon bring back to WOU and recruit other students to also.. look at the world from a different view.