Last June, I spilled the beans about our move to North Carolina and Bart’s acceptance to Duke’s MBA program.
I hadn’t hinted at all about it on my blog, despite the fact we’d spent more than a year talking seriously about an MBA (and the previous six tossing around the idea more casually).
But now, we have another move coming up that I haven’t been keeping secret for months and months and months, because we didn’t know about it months ago.
In fact, things were only finalized on Friday.
A few weeks ago, Bart came out of his office and said, “I couldn’t help myself. I put in an application to do an international exchange semester in the fall.”
And then, a week or so later, Bart was notified that he had a slot if he wanted it and we had our pick of about 15 different MBA programs all over the world.
After poring over the list and weighing all the pros and cons of each place, we finally decided on. . . .
Barcelona, Spain.
We’ll be there for four months this fall, September through December, while Bart attends IESE.
Ella is begging to learn Spanish with Bart (she’s kind of obsessed with the idea of other languages), and I’m already scheming how many side-trips we can take while we’re in Europe. Ani has absolutely no clue.
(All of this also means we are trying to rent out our house not only for the summer but also the fall. So if you’re looking for a temporary home in Durham. . . . ).
Stephanie says
HOORAY! How exciting!
april says
WOW, exciting! I don't think I'd ever have the cajones to do that. Good luck to you guys – I can't wait to see those updates!
Jenna Hatfield says
That's SUPER awesome! Looking forward to following you there via your blog!
Lena says
wow, that is soooo cool! Barcelona is great and really close to Germany (well, closer that North Carolina :)) If you want to take a side-trip to Germany, I'd love to give you tipps 🙂
Kelly J. says
I'm super excited for you guys! WHAT fun!
Laura says
How wonderful! Barcelona is beautiful with to a to do! What a great adventure for you all.
Laura says
Ella may be disappointed, though — Barcelona speaks a different dialect than the rest of the Spanish-speaking world. Cousins, but hard to read even if you speak "regular" Spanish.
Laura says
Huh. Since I was thinking about it, I looked it up and learned that Catalan (spoken in Barcelona) isn't even considered a dialect of Spanish (Castillian), it is it's own separate Romance language. Who knew?!
Señora H-B says
They actually speak both there – Catalan and Spanish – so it will be a double adventure for all of you!
Betsy says
Wow, you guys only make BIG changes! Congratulations, this is incredibly exciting!!
Meghan Splawn says
Wow! So exciting – I can't wait to read all about your adventures!
Jessica says
Wow, congratulations!! My sister is a missionary in Spain and currently living in Barcelona! I'm not sure for how long – her final post is in the Canary Islands and she's in language training right now.
Sherry says
Well that's exciting! I'm a little sad that the Spanish you learn will be with a terrible accent, though.
smalldog says
This is amazing! Congratulations and what a spectacular choice! Now, can we persuade your adventurous clan to take a weekend jaunt up to London?
Rachel says
Wow, that is fantastic! How exciting for all of you. And I can't wait to see posts about your European adventures!!!
Katie says
Wow! That sounds like so much fun! I have never lived outside of the county I was born in. Every once in awhile I think it would be fun to move somewhere completely new, but it's not on the horizon for us.
Andrea Smith says
Wow!! So exciting and I thought you'd never leave Round Rock!! I can't wait to see all your posts!
RA says
SO EXCITING! Awesome, awesome.
Jenae says
LOVE IT! I am so excited for you guys! Living abroad is on my list of things to do. Now that Seth's at BYU it's a real possibility… once he gets tenure taken care of! 🙂 I can't wait to keep up on your adventures.
Rachel at Maybe Matilda says
Wow, that is incredible! What a cool opportunity! We briefly toyed with the idea of going to Australia for a few years after chiropractic school (I've forgotten the details, of course) but I wimped out because it would have been a few years, not months. I've always wondered what that would have been like. I'm excited to see all your adventures 🙂
kaley says
How exciting – and such a great experience for your family! Barcelona is my favorite city in the world (besides San Francisco of course!)
Señora H-B says
I'm SO excited for you guys! I love Spain with all of my heart. I can't wait to read about your adventures there. Churros con chocolate, paella, seafood like you've never had before, oh. my. gosh. And there is so much to see and do in Spain alone! I am giddy for you!!
Mimsie says
Like all other commenters, I am thrilled for you and your family. What an adventure ahead of you!
Chelsea says
This is incredible!! What an amazing opportunity!
Stevie Storck says
How exciting!!! My husband and I are newlyweds and we are dreaming of buying a house, going back to school, starting a family and traveling abroad but aren't sure how and when we can make all of those things happen. It's so inspiring to see you and your little family doing it all! What a great experience it will be for all of you! I can't wait to read about your adventures in Spain!
Melanie says
I'm so excited for you! You have to promise to blog the heck out of those four months so that we can all live vicariously through you!
Paige Flamm says
This is so awesome! Congrats to you guys! You're going to have the time of your life. Although I am sad this means your time in NC is even shorter now!
Nicole Murray says
What a fantastic adventure! Congratulations!
If you ever need a "Whirlwind Weekend" for Bratislava, or possibly for Prague, I bet Nate could give you some tips.
Elaine says
What exciting news! We had two days in Barcelona en route to our Mediterranean cruise last May. It was a wonderful city. Catalan actually has a lot of French influence. One side trip we took was to Montseurat, about an hour from the city. Fabulous mountains. We also visited Sagrada Familia, a cathedral that was started in 1872 but only consecrated in 2012 and still very much under construction. Gaudi's work is fantastic. I wish we'd had time to see Park Guell. I have a feeling Ella will love its whimsy. Do you know yet where you will be this summer?
Feisty Harriet says
Oooooh!! So awesome!! My sister and bro-in-law went to the Czech Republic for an internship, and they loved so many things about it! (My niece was 2 months old when they left, and their super tight budget meant they actually ended up renting an apartment with no bathroom in it (!?!?) and sponge carpet instead of any type of sanity floor. I would definitely not recommend that type of budget….eeeww!)
xox
Kristi says
What an amazing opportunity! Blaine served his mission in Spain, we will be dying of jealousy over here!
Stefanie Hathaway says
Wow, thats huge! You'll love it, I'm sure!
S says
Soooooo excited for you! I hope you can do a lot of side trips! In 2013 we spent 10 months in Munich, Germany and took a lot of side trips (short ones and long ones) all over Europe. It's definitely different doing Europe with a kid (our baby was 6 months – 15 months while we were there) but it's also very doable. Not that you want / need any advice, but I'm glad to share! And don't worry too much about learning Spanish – of course any vocab you can pick up will go a long way with the locals, but almost everyone in every major European city speaks enough English that you can get by without speaking the local language. (But then again, you probably already knew this – didn't you do study abroad in Europe before?)
Meg {Boo Boos & Briefcases} says
How amazing that will be! Congratulations! Can't wait to follow along with your adventures on your blog!
Allison says
yay!!!!!!!!! SO excited for you!
Lauren says
Congrats! I can't wait to read about it. 🙂
Jodi says
oh WOW! How exciting! That's something I really would like to do. I mean, I know we were in China for 3 months so we kind of have, but I guess I would like to try something for a little longer. What I want to know is what other places did you get to pick from? And when can I come visit!? Ha!
Elisabeth @ Bella says
so so so so exciting!
Tamsen says
Wow! So exciting. Looking forward to reading your posts from Spain.
Vanessa says
¡Enhorabuena! Barcelona is the only city I've been to in Spain, so of course I can confidently proclaim that it's the best city in Spain (ha). I'm so excited to read about your travels!
Becca says
Woo hoo!! Fabulous news! Can't wait to hear all about all your adventures!
Lindsay says
Wow! Congrats! That sounds like quite the adventure!
megan says
Awesome, guys!
runtspickins says
Whoa congrats! And good luck with renting your house!
Runt
runtspickins@yahoo.com
http://www.runtspickins.wordpress.com
(If responding, please email or comment a blog post of mine.)
Alysa Stewart says
Wow, what an adventure! (and bonus points for the proper spelling of "poring"!)
Stephanie Lee says
WOW!!!! Such AWESOME news! I'm so excited for your overseas adventure. And your girls will be at such fun ages for it!
Emmaco says
What a great opportunity! Just wanted to comment that when we were in Spain a few years ago now we found the high speed trains amazing to get around the country and indeed Europe. Some great deals can be found if you book through national networks e.g. sometimes family weekend tickets are really cheap etc. Generally booking ahead is a good idea to save $. I found Man in Seat 61 (http://www.seat61.com) super useful in Europe.
Heather says
WOW! What fantastic news! Every time I hear of one of my friends having the chance to live abroad while their littles are young, it makes my heart sing. I know you'll have a phenomenal time, and I'll get the privilege of living vicariously through your blog and instagram posts! Good luck finding a renter.
Anne @ Modern Mrs Darcy says
Spain! How exciting. Can't WAIT to see pics and hear all about it!
ellen says
Bueno!!
Laura says
Wow that is so exciting! What an amazing adventure for your family! Spain is one place I've always wanted to go… I've heard it's just beautiful. I am dyyying to see all of your upcoming photos! Congrats!
Ashley says
Ohhhh my goodness!!!!!! How amazing!!! Wow. We need to talk!
PS…I'm catching up on your blog posts this week…That skirt, yes! That popcorn, yessss!!!
preethi says
Whattt??? This is the greatest! So exciting! And now I want to visit.
Katie says
What a fun adventure! We lived for a summer in Italy for my husband's internship and it was the hardest and greatest experience of our lives! (But we didn't have two kiddos!)
Best wishes!
Camille Millecam Whiting says
So amazing! And my best friend from HS is there with her husband and children working for the state dept. Please look up the Claytons, or you'll likely run into them at church 🙂
Laura Fernández says
Hi! I read tour blog from time to time from Spain. Great to ear such good opinions of my country. In fact it is an amazing place to live. Barcelona is a great city. I you need help let me know!
Meghan says
How fantastic! You guys will love it over there.