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By evavilloslada

Hi everyone, this is my first post on this blog and I'm glad I can share this new journey with all of you.

Well, I'm going to start introducing myself so you can understand me better. My name is Eva , I'm 19 years old and I'm from a little town in Spain, but I've been studying law and politics for two years in Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.One of my hobbies is traveling, so I take every chance I get for doing so.

Although I want to visit every place I can, Unites States have always had a special place in my heart. I've always dreamed of studying in the Unites States, maybe the fact that most of the stories of the books I've read and the films I've watched unfold on the United States has something to do with it. My dream became real when my older sister's friend studied a year in Boston and told me everything about her experience, and how to achieve that. Therefore one of the first things I plan on doing is visiting every place I can before returning to Spain, and America is  much bigger than Spain so I can't imagine how many places I need to visit.

As I've said I study politics so when the opportunity came I thought, what a better place to study politics than in Washington D.C.? When I found out that I had been chosen I even cried with joy. But I think I didn't believe it until a few days left before I arrived.

I've never been in the US before, so my expectations are pretty big. What I want the most is meeting new people and making friends from different countries, also learning to speak a perfect and fluid English. When I think about this year I think about all the things I'm going to learn starting with a new culture, visiting new places and learning everything I can about how politics work here. This is not the first time I experience the university life in its fullest because when I moved to Madrid two years ago it was also a pretty big change for me, though I do think this time the change will be way bigger. I will be living in 1959 E Street Residence Hall so I hope it helps me to meet more people than I would living on my own.

I'm also eager to go through the orientation week, this kind of things don't exist in Madrid that it's not a good thing because when you arrive to a new place the thing you need the most are friends so you don't feel alone.

I've been reading this blog for a while now so I could learn everything about what other students were living. This is the main reason why I really wanted to write on this blog so other students could know what means living in Washington DC, also because this way the people I know from Spain will be able to read everything I experience and maybe next year they decide to start their own journey in the United States.

I hope that telling here this journey helps you in any way posible, and that you tell me your experiences too so I learn more things and benefit from this experience as much as I can. See you soon!!

By sarajebbar

Receiving an acceptance email from the Office for Study Abroad of GWU was the beginning of the best things that are going to happen to me during this exchange program. And I’m so glad that I’m going to share my adventures with the entire world to see. But I bet you are wondering who am I?

I’m Sara, a twenty year old Moroccan girl who is going to finally realize her childhood dream by visiting the land of freedom, the United States of America. I still remember the first time I watched an American TV-show. I was nine years old and it was a Hannah Montana episode. From those days, I realized that the first country in my bucket list is definitely the United States and I realized how much I loved English songs and I needed to learn English.

From there started my journey to learn English. Yes, starting by listening to English songs with French subtitles on YouTube. I always knew that I wanted to pursue my studies in English that’s why I enrolled Al Akhawayn University for a bachelor in Business Administration. AUI, unlike the majority of the Moroccan universities where courses are taught in French, is an American-system based university. I have chosen this university because I knew that someday I would want to live in the US (I didn’t expect that it would be that earlier though).

I’m Sara, a twenty years old girl born and raised in Morocco. I’m really hoping that you knew or at least heard about the country from where I came. Morocco is a small country in North Africa. My geography sucks but if you swim 5000km (3106mi) from Agadir, my hometown straight through the Atlantic ocean, you will end up somewhere in Miami beach. And I’ve always dreamt of getting to the other side of the ocean. If I have to describe Morocco I would definitely say that it is known by the hospitality of its people, the delicious food and the mix of the different cultures it has. Morocco is that slowly-paced country, not very developed and where people are living peacefully together. It has also a cool architecture. (Notice some Moroccan designs in the background of my picture *Advertizing*)

Now I’m going to start a new journey of my life in a totally different country. I don’t have any expectations. To be honest I just don’t like expectations. They are either too high that you end up getting depressed when they are not met or too low that they are preventing you from seeing the good side of things around you. I’m just a simple person who believes that living and embracing each moment of the present life is the best way to enjoy the life. My philosophy must sound confusing or messed up. In simple words, I’m just so grateful to go there. I just know that I want to travel and discover this beautiful country and its people.

I’m so excited to share my experiences and adventures in the big United States with you from the eyes of a simple Moroccan girl. Stay tuned.

IG: @Sarajebbar