In just a few weeks, I’ll be boarding a one-way flight to Spain with two suitcases, a backpack, and a heart full of anticipation. This isn’t just a move abroad — it’s the beginning of a new chapter rooted in food, culture, and courage. But what does it really mean to start over in your mid-30s? Why Spain? Why now? And what happens when excitement and fear live side by side?

Applying for a Spanish student visa can feel overwhelming — documents, appointments, apostilles, translations, insurance, finances. In this guide, I’ve laid out the checklist I wish I had when I started. Have you ever had to gather paperwork that felt impossible? What’s your biggest fear about applying for a visa?

Two checked bags, a carry-on, and a new chapter. Here’s my complete, rain-ready packing checklist for grad school abroad. Wwhat to bring, what to skip, and how to keep it calm and organized.

What’s one thing you packed for a long trip that you never used?

• If you had to choose: extra shoes or extra layers?

• What’s your non-negotiable comfort item for a new country?

When I chose the name Mel in Motion, it wasn’t just about moving abroad. It was about healing, curiosity, and courage. And a promise to myself to keep growing. Here’s what the name means and why it matters.

What does “motion” mean to you in your own life? Have you ever chosen a name (for a project, a journal, or a dream) that captured more than just words?

Gastronomy isn’t just cooking. It’s food in context: culture, sustainability, science, justice, and story. Here’s what it is, why it matters, and why I’m making it my life’s work.


gastronomy, what is gastronomy, food culture, food justice, gastronomy meaning, food sustainability, Basque food culture, gastronomy student

Food is one of the deepest ways I stay connected to home. As I move abroad, here are the five food-related things I wish I could pack and what they represent.

Which food screams “home” for you? What grocery store item would you miss most if you moved abroad?

What if graduate school weren’t only about a degree, but about transforming your life intentionally? This semester, I’m at the university in Spain studying gastronomy, but every course addresses something more profound: healing, justice, creativity, and care. From sensory perceptions to ethics of business, this is what I’m learning and why it’s transforming everything.

Gastronomic Science blends the art of cooking with the rigor of research. Here’s how it’s shaping our understanding of food, flavors, and human experience.

After years of working, healing, and dreaming, I’m finally moving to Spain. Here’s why I chose to take the leap…and everything I’m taking with me (and leaving behind).

After years of searching for the right path, I found a graduate program that felt made for me. Here’s why I chose the Basque Culinary Center to study Gastronomic Sciences.

What does it mean to start over? Not because you failed, but because you chose yourself? At 35, I’m building a life rooted in meaning and peace, not survival.

Planning to explore San Sebastián on foot? This hiking guide includes beginner to moderate trails near Donostia, Spain, with maps, photos, and trail links.

I haven’t taken a language class in over a decade…and now I’m trying to learn Spanish and a little Basque? Here’s how it’s going (spoiler: I’m trying my best).

This isn’t just a career change. It’s a healing process. Here’s why I chose gastronomy as my way forward. And why food is helping me build a life that finally feels like mine.

Salt doesn’t just season food, it transforms it. Here’s the science of why salt is the true backbone of flavor in every cuisine.

Fine dining doesn’t just appear on your plate. It’s the result of immense behind-the-scenes labor. Here’s a closer look at the human effort behind behind the scenes of your luxury meal.

Explore how Basque culinary heritage preserves ancestral cooking methods that connect us to land, culture, and memory.

Discover how playful cooking awakens curiosity, creativity, and embodied knowledge that no textbook can replicate.