Last Thoughts Before Cadiz

As a teenager who has lived his whole life in America, I see myself as sheltered from outside cultural influence. Yes the US is diverse but lacks, for me at least, the ability to become fully immersed in another culture and language. These qualities are exactly what the Abbey Road, Cadiz, Spain program offers. I am enrolled in an I.B program in south Florida. It is very rigorous and by my senior year of high school I must be proficient in Spanish, in all aspects, comprehension, written, spoken and grammar. I believe this immersion program will allow me to fully expand on what I have learned in high school and extend my language abilities. This will allow me to be speaking and hearing Spanish continuously on daily basis. I am a citizen of the future; I will be part of “what happens next” in the world. As far as the future goes, being bilingual will be extremely important. Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the world. Through the expansion of travel and communication, globalization is rapidly increased, thus diversifying the word. So to survive in the future, I feel it is necessary to be diverse, and being bilingual is a major component. To survive, and communicate one must evolve with the times. Another importance is being culturally aware. Another major component to the I.B program, for Spanish, is being aware of the cultural climate, habits, celebrations and traditions that come along with the culture.  Having the opportunity to live in Spain, I will be seeing, hearing, practicing on a daily basis. I am really looking forward to having an opportunity to travel internationally on my own. I have traveled a lot with my parents in the past, but this time I will be responsible for myself! I am also looking forward to seeing the sights of Spain. Cadiz is a beach town and I am looking forward to seeing the beautiful coast. It will be a nice transition from Florida to Cadiz because it is similar, in respect to the beach. I am bringing a penny board with me and I will be skating around town on my free time, exploring the sights and beaches. This is a pretty general statement but, I love food, and I especially love calamari. I am immensely looking forward to the tons of fresh seafood that there will be, and I will most definitely take full advantage of that.