Happy March everyone! 😊 I wanted to share the exciting news that I passed my recent OPI, or oral proficiency interview, in Spanish, which is a requirement for graduating from my program in International Affairs at UMaine. 🎊🥳🎉 The minimum recommended preparation for this exam is two 300-level Spanish courses, but with my transfer credits and non-traditional student status, I can graduate in 2 years with my new bachelor’s and even with taking Spanish every semester, I haven’t been able to get the recommended number of courses. 😬 One of the reasons that I wanted to study abroad in Uruguay was to have more exposure to learning and speaking Spanish, but unfortunately, even with that experience, I’ve still been very hesitant and shy in my speaking abilities. 🥸😖 If I wasn’t able to pass this exam, then I wouldn’t have been able to graduate, so it felt like my last big hurdle in obtaining my new degree. 😳After agonizing for a number of weeks and tons of studying and practice, I took it yesterday and made it into the intermediate category (which is what I need to graduate)!! I am SO relieved and excited! 😆 This is a big win for me, and since big wins don’t happen every day, I just wanted to share this happy news. ☺️

We’re halfway through the semester, less than 2 months to go! I hope everyone is enjoying these first few days of Spring, and thanks for stopping by!! 🌸🌺🌼🌿