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Prep for a family adventure

Next spring we will be on sabbatical in Barcelona, Spain. Matt has been eligible for sabbatical for a few years now and I have finally earned one as well. It comes at a good time because Matt has been profoundly disappointed with the trajectory of a major project at work and he needs some time away to refresh and reconnoiter. That is, I guess, just what sabbatical is for. It's a good time for me too as our gigantic NSF grant is coming to and end and we are in the process of transitioning to being supported by the university. The truth is, I'm feeling kind of burnt out myself and a break will be nice. We submitted vague and easy-to-accomplish sabbatical plans, so another truth is that we don't plan to work all that much while we're away. We will make good on our promises, but we will also do a lot of exploring and traveling during our semester away. It will be a family adventure!

Everyone wants to know if we are planning to enroll the boys in a Spanish school. The answer is no!  We decided that dealing with the Spanish school system is more hassle than we want to take on, and we have homeschool experience (and a registered homeschool), so that is our better bet.

Here is what I am looking forward to:

  • living in a city with no car
  • being able to walk to all sorts of museums, bookstores, restaurants, coffee shops, parks, etc.
  • traveling by train or air to other places in Europe
  • not getting up at 5:45 for school
  • not dealing with "real" school at all
  • lots of family time
Here is what I am kind of worried about:
  • how we will structure our days with no set school or work schedules
  • the boys fighting more than usual due to stress and close quarters
  • none of us speaking the language
  • spending more of our savings than is wise
Here's what we have to figure out before we go:
  • visas 
  • booking an apartment (we are making progress here)
  • plane tickets (just a question of $$, I guess)
  • what we need to pack and how to pack it
  • lots of other things that I'm not thinking of at the moment
I'm relieved to see that what I'm looking forward to outnumbers what I'm worried about. I am excited about the trip, but I am also apprehensive. Natively, I'm no adventurer. I traveled very little as a kid and grew up respecting the dangers of the unknown. I generally have to force myself out of my comfort zone. Living in a foreign country where I don't speak the language is about as far out of my comfort zone as anything I've faced. But I won't be alone, which makes it much less scary. I can't wait to soak up that Mediterranean sun! 

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