My name is Bradlee
and I am a junior at OU. My major is public relations and my minor is Spanish.
Some of my favorite classes that I have taken so far throughout my college
career have been my Spanish classes. This upcoming summer I am hoping to be
able to study abroad in Barcelona, Spain and become completely fluent in
Spanish. In my opinion, learning a second language is so important because not
only do you get to further understand another culture, you also get to know
people that you would never have been able to meet before. This summer I
traveled to New York City, my favorite city in the entire world. There are so
many fun and active things to do in New York and I especially enjoy seeing
Broadway shows and eating at cool restaurants. I would love to be able to
work in New York after I graduate from college. I also had the opportunity to travel
to Beaver Creek, Colorado this summer. I have been going to Beaver Creek with
my family for about 16 years now. One of my favorite things to do during the
colder months is ski with my friends and family. In the summer, however, there
are so many different things to do. I hiked, mountain biked, white water
rafted, and zip lined. Although I love the city, I also feel at home in the mountains.
There’s just something about the smell of a fire and roasting marshmallows
under the stars. Some other hobbies that I have include drawing, listening to
music, and taking pictures. I am artistic and I enjoy things that involve creativity
and thinking outside of the box. Being able to express yourself is very
important and I like how that is accepted and preached in both Colorado and New
York.
Picture of Hanging Lake in Glenwood Springs, CO, a place I hiked to this summer. http://dastornews.com/2015/08/glenwood-springs-colorado/
Going to Barcelona sounds fantastic, Bradlee! Maybe you will even want to do a Spanish project for this class, like looking at Don Quixote or the Moorish legends of Spain or Spanish fairy tales and folktales. You can start exploring Spanish topics when you do the Week 2 Project - so many possibilities!
ReplyDeleteWith the links, it's good to make an actual clickable link instead of the http; here's a step by step for making links: Blogger Links. In your next post, you can practice that: type the link text and THEN hit the link button to paste in the http. The result will be a nice clickable link. :-)
I've been to England and France, but I've heard amazing things about Spain--especially Barcelona. One of my best friends studied abroad there a few years ago and she loved it! Her minor was also Spanish.
ReplyDeleteI adore New York City...But I also love roasting marshmallows for s'mores out by the campfire. It sounds like you got the best of both worlds this summer. There's something marvelous about the city and the mountains and I'm jealous that you got to experience both this summer! I only got the city during my summer break.
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DeleteYou and I are eerily similar! Without a doubt, I would tell you to study abroad. I studied in England for a month and it wrecked my world in the best of ways. I think if you have the chance to go, you should Go and don’t look back.
ReplyDeleteI also lived in New York City this summer for two months, working for an International Travel PR firm. I would love to know what restaurants and broadway shows you went to go see this summer (I saw the musical Waitress this summer and it was one of the best I’ve ever seen). New York City is an absolute dream and I’m stoked you got to experience it as well! I’m probably moving up there in January, so if you ever want to come visit or see some PR firms let me know!
Also, Camping is one of my all time favorite things to do and there is no better place to do it than in the mountains of Colorado. Colorado also has some of the raddest coffee shops I know of.
Ah, wow, studying in Barcelona over the summer would be amazing. Fingers crossed it works out for you! That’s a really great point about the benefits of learning a second language, and one I’ve never seen acknowledged before. New York is definitely on my to-do list, so I loved reading about the things you enjoyed there. Colorado has actually slipped past my radar for the most part, but after hearing you talk about it, I feel like I’ll need to make a point of seeing it too. Good luck this summer!
ReplyDeleteHi Bradlee! Wow I also took spanish but am definitely not near as good as you, I had to take them for my major, but enjoyed them quite a bit. Some of my favorite teachers while in college have been my Spanish teachers. I love that you enjoying traveling, while I have never been to NYC, I have been to Colorado quite often, so I know how you feel when you say you're at home there. The mountains are just so serene yet powerful and they somehow always feel at home and at one with yourself. Have fun in Barcelona this summer, that is so cool!
ReplyDeleteHi Bradlee!
ReplyDeleteThis is so crazy because my mom and step dad live in Glenwood Springs, CO and the Hanging Lake hike is by far one of my favorite hiking trails. I agree when you mention the importance of a second language. I was in Spanish for five years and then stopped taking classes so I am super rusty. I wished I stuck with it because having the ability to speak different languages broadens your knowledge and capabilities around the world. I envy you for that! I have only been to New York City once and it was awesome, but I am definitely deprived of the area so I would have to go back. I love traveling too and could most likely see myself in Colorado in the future as well. I still find it crazy that you were in my hometown hiking my favorite trail. Anyways, good luck this year and I hope you get to go to Spain soon!
Hi Bradlee!
ReplyDeleteI have actually been to Barcelona and other awesome places in Spain before! It is a seriously gorgeous country with so much art and cool people. I actually go to Colorado about 10+ times a year, for the past 6 years, with my boyfriend! I plan to move there next year after graduation. New York is also fun! My best friend moved to Manhattan to work for Kenneth Cole, so it's always fun to go and visit her up there! Sounds like we have a lot in common, so I can't wait to read more of your posts!
Bradlee,
ReplyDeleteI got to study abroad in central Mexico for the first part of the summer, it was the time of my life. I've also been to some parts of Europe, but never any of the Spanish speaking countries. I hope you get to go. Thanks so much for sharing. Good luck with the rest of this class and the rest of this semester.
Andrew
Hey Bradlee,
ReplyDeleteI just happened to click on your page as part of my extra commenting, but we are COMPLETELY the same on how we look at language! I also am a Public Relations major with a Spanish minor, and I love my Spanish classes so much that I often consider if I should have majored in it and just been a Spanish teacher.. Language is so important and I'd like to become fluent as well and study abroad. Nice to meet you!
Hi Bradlee, have you been to Seattle? They do not have the all the performing arts that New York does, but it is a similar city feel, also Mt. Rainier is close by. It could be a nice compromise for you to get the best of both the city life and the mountain life.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the languages. A large part of my family is hispanic, myself included, so when I got to college and did my required language classes I chose to take Russian instead. It is a completely different culture and I was so happy that I got to experience it.
Your travels sound pretty cool. I've never been to New York but I've been to a lot of other big cities. I love how they each have a totally different personality. It sounds like a lot of people in this class have majors like public relations. I don't really know what all it's about but I hope you're having a lot of fun doing it. I'm also trying to learn spanish but it's not real easy. Irregular conjugation still trips me up! Hope you're enjoying the class so far.
ReplyDeleteHello Bradlee,
ReplyDeleteIt's been a pleasure to read about you. We actually have a lot in common. I myself am also a Public Relations major (senior) with Gaylord. There isn't a single city I've been to that compares to NY. I too have a language minor, but it is in French. When you make it to Barcelona, indulge in EVERYTHING. I went to France and although I felt like I did a lot in the month that I was there, I wish I would have stayed longer. At the beginning of week 4 is when you start to miss home, but once you actually start heading back, you'll wish you would have stayed longer. Best of luck with your abroad experience and with the remainder of the semester.
I love basically all of the places you've mentioned here! I was able to go to Barcelona a couple of summers ago and it is SO beautiful. The history in the buildings downtown all the way to the beach was so amazing to see. When I was there, I stayed in a hostel with girls from London and Australia and we were able to explore the city together. It was so cool, and an experience I'll remember forever. I hope you get the chance to study there!
ReplyDeleteIt’s nice to finally meet you Bradlee! I often say the exact same thing about learning a language. As I’m not affluent in any languages I do know a little of Spanish and French, but once you don’t use it you lose it. Sadly, I have lost most of it. Barcelona just sounds beautiful typed out, I can’t imagine how it would be to get to visit. I’m always so astounded how outdoorsy everyone is. I’m far from it, nature is NOT my friend.
ReplyDeleteBradlee,
ReplyDeleteI'm really surprised that I have gotten the opportunity to read your blog until now. I love New York City to! Which show did you see? And I completely agree with you about the mountains. I miss have mountains around.. I'm from Virginia. I think it's really cool that you want to travel aboard this summer! Well I hope you do well on all your final projects and exams!
Hi!!!!
ReplyDeleteI was just in NYC last month and I loved it as well. I was a fan of Brooklyn more than Manhattan. I felt Brooklyn had more of a younger art hipster vibe and I really liked it. Colorado is my second home... I lived in the Colored Springs last summer and was up in the mountains everyday! My minor is Spanish, I love Spanish!!! I have been to Barcelona! You will love it, the gelato is A M A Z I N G and the sangria!!! Unfortunately in Barcelona, they speak Catalan which is like a weird spanish. Good luck!!!
Hi Bradlee! I am a journalism major and I actually work in the Advising/Student Services Office in Gaylord so I am sure I have seen you around before without even knowing it. I think that is so cool that you are minoring in Spanish! I went to NYC over Spring Break with my family and absolutely loved it. Anyways, I hope you had a great semester and I wish you the best of luck in the future!
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