3365 Miles: Un Año en España/A Year in Spain

Post 1: 2 days closer

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Taylor Young, Staff Writer

Taylor Young’s column will appear weekly in The Knight Crier throughout the 2015-2016 school year.

My name is Taylor Young, I’m a 16 year old teenager who goes to North Penn High School, and I’m about to have the best year of my life. In exactly 2 days, I’ll be on a flight to study abroad in a town near La Coruña, Spain for my junior year of high school.

In the beginning of my sophomore year of high school, I decided that studying abroad through the International Friendship Committee (IFC) would be the opportunity of a lifetime, so I went for it. After convincing my mom to let me apply for Madrid, Spain, I attended the orientation that explained more about the program and excitedly took an application. For me, studying abroad seemed like the perfect opportunity not only to accomplish so many personal goals, but also experience new things and grow as a person.

Before I completely decided that I would study abroad, I struggled with something. My best friend Nolan Marett was applying for the same country as me, and only one person gets selected to study in Spain through IFC. I couldn’t imagine taking an opportunity that Nolan had wanted so bad away from him if I was selected, but I wanted it just as bad as he did. When I told Nolan that I was going to apply, we both agreed that we would be happy for whoever was selected.

After completing and submitting the application, I waited to hear from the IFC about the next step of the process: the interview. The days leading up to when we would find out who was selected were some great ones. Nolan and I became closer as friends, and I’m so grateful for that. Since Nolan and I were in the same Spanish class and sat next to each other, every class period consisted of us talking about studying abroad in Spain. Throughout the wait, we talked nonstop about how it would be a dream come true if the two of us were selected.

On February 3rd, 2015 at 8:10pm I nervously, yet excitedly, sat in a chair at a table in the K-Pod conference room at North Penn High School in front of members from the International Friendship Committee (IFC). The time had come for my interview to study abroad in Madrid, Spain for my junior year of high school.

Eight days later, which seemed like an eternity, I received the best news of my life: I was chosen to study abroad. But wait, it gets even better, which is probably hard to believe. The IFC not only chose me to study abroad, but also Nolan. Since the organization only chooses one person for Spain, this was a huge deal. I was given a full scholarship to study abroad through another organization called AFS. Officials from AFS later notified me with information about my location and host family. Although I’m technically studying through AFS, IFC is treating me as one of their own exchange students, which I love and am so grateful for.

When I found out Nolan and I were both chosen to study abroad, I thought that was the best of news. I was so wrong. Brittany Van Strien, who is another one of my best friends, was chosen to study abroad in Toulouse, France for the same time period. At the moment, I was a out 16 year-old sophomore at North Penn High School, who just found out that she would be studying in Europe with not one, but two of her best friends. I thought (and still do) that life couldn’t get any better.

With just 2 days until I leave for Spain, I can’t believe how far I’ve come. It feels like just yesterday I found out that I was selected to study abroad in Europe with my best friends. I’m extremely happy that the time flew by, but I’m hoping that my year abroad is the slowest one ever. I want to enjoy every moment of my stay, truly immerse myself in the Spanish culture, and get to know my host family.

When people ask me how I feel about studying broad, saying that I’m “excited” or “extremely grateful” is an understatement. It’s extremely hard to describe my feelings about this opportunity, but I hope you follow my blog until my year abroad in Spain comes to an end so you can have an idea of how I feel.

Abrazos y besos,
Taylor Young