Prologue: Concerning Blogging

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."

                                                                                            - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Fly, you fools!

Tomorrow, exactly 3 months ago, I got swept off to Chile. Another country, on another continent, in another hemisphere, on the other side of the world. Like a Baggins leaving the Shire, I stepped out my front door in Herefordshire (heh... get it... Shire) with a quest, not quite knowing what was going to happen. Unlike a Baggins however, my quest wasn't (and still isn't) to burgle from a dragon, or take the One Ring and cast it back into the fiery chasm from whence it came... but to spend a year in a foreign country, attending university and improving
my Spanish language skills.

At first, that may not seem like a sensible comparison to make, but I think anyone who has spent or is spending a year abroad will agree, it's not always just a walk in the park and adventure is definitely an appropriate word to describe it.  (Also, I'm a massive fan of anything Tolkien... so I'm afraid there will be no shortage of Lord of the Rings/Hobbit references throughout this blog.)

Throughout the next few posts, I'll be writing about what's happened so far, including (hopefully) interesting information about the places I've been, the culture and the language, as well as general stories and thoughts about what I've experienced. Once I’m all caught up, I plan to post regularly - keeping this blog and anyone who reads it as up to date with my adventures as I can. Maybe, just maybe, there might also be some useful hints and tips about living abroad or traveling in general. (Disclaimer: I am very much not an expert, this will all be based on my opinion and experience, so feel free to disagree with what I say and discuss in the comments. Maybe I'll learn something too!)