I want to see it all. My aunt says I’ve caught the traveling bug – the same bug that has taken her on cruises in Alaska, exploring Australia, wandering through Europe and working at a ranch in Montana with one of her closest friends.

I spent last summer living out of a suitcase. I campaigned for Stephanie Herseth, a candidate for the House of Representatives, for two weeks in South Dakota, spent a week in Boston at the College Democrats Convention, a week in Champaign, a week in Washington State camping, hiking up mountains and exploring Seattle with my family and two days in Windsor, Canada with my best friends.

This time my bags are unpacked, but I’m thousands of miles away from everyone I love. Being a girl who loves going home to my family and friends may make this semester abroad in Barcelona, Spain, a challenge. Yet the idea of experiencing Spanish culture and possibly traveling around Europe is so appealing.

The family and friends I’m going to miss are the same people who gave me the encouragement I needed to decide to go abroad. Armed with generous amounts of money from my family and very thoughtful gifts from my friends, I left for Spain on January 2.

So far, the digital camera, plug converter, super warm sweatpants, travel bag and books “Spain for Dummies” and “Top Ten Barcelona” have proven invaluable. Those sweatpants, my Illini sweatshirt and the three blankets pulled over my head nightly are the only things that protect me from the 45-degree Spanish night air. The gas in my apartment building is turned off at 10 p.m. nightly. European people seem much more concerned about the environment than their counterparts in the United States. My roommate Miriam – my partner in crime in tackling all there is to do in Barcelona – and I are slowly learning to adjust.

Along with Spanish people’s concern for the environment, I’ve also learned that they are very friendly and willing to help two very lost American girls navigate the metro system and find their way to universities, our program headquarters, cell phone shops and clubs. I’ve also learned that our senora, Maria, not only cooks very good meals but also makes sure we have chocolate or cookies every day. Maria bought my roommate and I necklaces and candy for the Day of Three Saints on Jan. 6.

She knows only a few words of English and insists that we will be fluent by the time we leave in May. We laugh along with her to episodes of “Friends” in Spanish. It helps that it is customary for people to live with their parents until they’re 30-years-old in Spain, as her 23-year-old son knows English fairly well and helps us when we need it.

What I find most ironic about Spain is that locals dance to American music in bars and clubs while Spanish music is heard mostly in notoriously tourist areas. Also, Spanish people greet each other with kisses on both cheeks and Spanish men are much more bold than Americans when approaching women on the street.

My first week has taught me that I adore Spanish people and their culture. My Spanish has also improved a lot already. The phrase I have best perfected is: “Tengo una pregunta. Donde esta la calle…” followed by the name of the particular street I simply can’t find on my own. In the past week I’ve seen the sun set over the mountains, strolled along the Mediterranean Sea and watched a man dressed in drag whip out his fake nipple. The man was a mere taste of the craziness that defines “Las Ramblas” – the most famous street in Barcelona.

I have a feeling the next four months will be some of the most amazing nights of my life. Yet I still feel the traveling bug pulling at me. I yearn to explore the islands of Greece, take in the glamour of Paris (my roommate insists we get our hair cut there – as mullets are all the rage in Barcelona and we’re a little nervous to get a haircut here), spend a few days in Amsterdam and see the historical beauty of Rome with my own two eyes.

I pinched pennies last semester and I still cringe at the terrible exchange rate I get when I trade in my dollars for euros, but until my funds run out, you – as Daily Illini readers – will be able to read about my adventures. Hasta luego.