Alright, I am going to attempt to update everyone on what has been occurring in Spain in the last month and a half since I haven't blogged at all! :)
We started regular classes at the center. During the month of September, I was only taking an intensive language course. Now I am taking 5 classes in Spanish about the culture, literature, variations of the language, etc. They are going really well. I am a little nervous though because we have only 2 tests in each of them. If I do poorly on them, I will do poorly in the classes. Uh oh! The tests are next week, so I am going to spending this week studying all of the time!
Church is spectacular! I love the body that God has placed me with here. They are such a family. There are many of us guiris (international people) here, but they have welcomed us with open arms. I have been singing with the praise band here, which has been a delight. We had an evangelistic concert a couple of weeks ago in which the choir and the praise band sang and the hip hop dance group performed. So awesome! I just got back yesterday from our fall retreat with the youth. We went to a camp in the mountains near Malaga. It was such a great weekend of fellowship with one another as well as a weekend of huge challenges in the faith. We had a minister from Sevilla come and preach about Romans 12:2. We talked about how we are called to get out of the church essentially. It was especially convicting when he asked us to raise our hands if we had not been raised in a Christian family or raised in the church. Only 6 out of 75 raised their hands. There is something wrong with that picture. We are not called to be salt and light to our Christians friends. We are called to be salt and light to the world. He challenged us to pray long and hard for God to show us how he has gifted us to serve the lost. Then GO! :)
This week I am starting to volunteer with an organization here in which I will be spending a couple hours a week with people (mainly elderly people) in hospitals just keeping them company. I am really excited. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.
The Spanish is getting much better! This is terrible, but for about the first month and half, I barely spoke outside of class. I was too embarrassed and nervous to make mistakes. But, in the last 2 weeks, I have made friends with some Spaniards who have helped bunches. Once you get to know people, and they understand your level of Spanish it isn't nearly as hard to talk. :)
Today is a national holiday. Everyone goes to the graves of people that they knew and leaves flowers, etc. As a result, we don't have school. Therefore, I am blogging! But, right now, I need to get some major reading done for my literature class. It takes about 10 times as long to read in Spanish as it does in English! :)
I miss and love you all dearly! Keep leaving comments, I want to hear from you!
Monday, November 2, 2009
I love Paris!
After our adventures in Rome, we headed to Paris. Can I just say that I LOVE that city! I want to live there so bad, and I can't wait to learn French. :) I bought a French phrase book, and I am starting the learning as we speak...or well, write.
The first day we were in Paris, we went to the Louvre. It was HUGE. We were only there for three, and only saw about 12 famous works. They said that if you stopped and looked at every work for 2 minutes, it would take you 6 months to see everything! Most famous things we saw: the Mona Lisa and Aphrodite. The Mona Lisa is surprisingly small. It is only like 18 inches by 12 inches or something. Still pretty cool to see it in person though. (Obviously, I am not an art guru.) Aphrodite was a statue without arms. I need to do more research before I can really appreciate it!
That first night, we went on a boat cruise around Paris. It was beautiful. Everything in the city is lit up!
The next day it rained horribly. We were going to a walking tour throughout the city, but the weather just didn't cooperate. We left the tour (I felt so bad for the tour guide! I know how that feels!), and did some souvenir shopping. Then we went to see the Notre Dame. By this time, this was like our 10th Cathedral. They start to look the same. However, this one had a lot more stained glass windows, and they were extremely intricate. We left there, got some lunch, and headed to the Arc de Triumph. So cool! It is much bigger than it appears in pictures. In the afternoon, Alicia (my roommate) and I headed outside of the city on the RER in order to go to the nearest Build-A-Bear. She collects them, so she had to get one to commemorate her time in Europe. It was a fun little adventure.
That night, we went to the Eiffel Tower. I was speechless. It is really beautiful for just being a metal tower. :) It sparkles every hour, so we watched it and took some pictures, then went up to the top of the tower. It is incredibly high up. All of the biggest buildings look like teeny tiny miniature models. The tower wobbles a bit on time especially because it is extremely windy up there. Still terrific though!
I tried to make this one a bit shorter than the last one! Hope you enjoyed the summary! Miss you guys!
The first day we were in Paris, we went to the Louvre. It was HUGE. We were only there for three, and only saw about 12 famous works. They said that if you stopped and looked at every work for 2 minutes, it would take you 6 months to see everything! Most famous things we saw: the Mona Lisa and Aphrodite. The Mona Lisa is surprisingly small. It is only like 18 inches by 12 inches or something. Still pretty cool to see it in person though. (Obviously, I am not an art guru.) Aphrodite was a statue without arms. I need to do more research before I can really appreciate it!
That first night, we went on a boat cruise around Paris. It was beautiful. Everything in the city is lit up!
The next day it rained horribly. We were going to a walking tour throughout the city, but the weather just didn't cooperate. We left the tour (I felt so bad for the tour guide! I know how that feels!), and did some souvenir shopping. Then we went to see the Notre Dame. By this time, this was like our 10th Cathedral. They start to look the same. However, this one had a lot more stained glass windows, and they were extremely intricate. We left there, got some lunch, and headed to the Arc de Triumph. So cool! It is much bigger than it appears in pictures. In the afternoon, Alicia (my roommate) and I headed outside of the city on the RER in order to go to the nearest Build-A-Bear. She collects them, so she had to get one to commemorate her time in Europe. It was a fun little adventure.
That night, we went to the Eiffel Tower. I was speechless. It is really beautiful for just being a metal tower. :) It sparkles every hour, so we watched it and took some pictures, then went up to the top of the tower. It is incredibly high up. All of the biggest buildings look like teeny tiny miniature models. The tower wobbles a bit on time especially because it is extremely windy up there. Still terrific though!
I tried to make this one a bit shorter than the last one! Hope you enjoyed the summary! Miss you guys!
When in Rome...
So, we are back-tracking a little bit here. :) At the end of September and beginning of October we had a week off of school in which 10 of us girls went to Rome and Paris. It was amazing! So amazing in fact, that I didn't really now how I could condense it all into one blog. :) But, here goes!
In Rome, the first night we were there we did a night walk around the city. We saw the Trevi fountain and the Spanish Steps (in Italy...I know) as well as some of the more famous buildings such as the Pantheon (from the outside of course). We also made a wonderful stop at the world-famous gelato shop Giolitti's. Sooooo good! I even made friends with one of their Italian waiters. haha! He gave us special seats inside, kissed me on the cheek like 4 times, and kept saying, "Ciao, Bella!" Oh, dear...it was a riot.
The second day, we went to the Colisseum in the morning. What history! Wow. I can't believe how old it is and the activities that took place there. They told us that throughout history there were "only 80" people who died, but on one of the sides of the Colisseum they erected a cross years later to commemorate the people who lost their lives. Also, fighting as a gladiator to the death was a way for slaves to be freed. If they won, they were free. I also found it interesting that the games were a sort of political propaganda for the emperor who wanted to make the citizens feel like they had power as the sort of "god" of the games. The emperor had the opportunity to give mercy to the gladiators and let them go without dying at any point in the fights. He would put his hand up in a specific gesture that would signify mercy or no mercy. However, he would purposely choose whatever the crowds did not want, then the crowd would shout, and he would change the decision. This of course made the crowd feel as though they had power over all including the emperor and the life or death of the gladiator. Interesting.
To kill some time, we headed to St. Peter in Chains Church which houses Michaelangelo's Moses (a HUGE sculpture of Moses) as well as the supposed chains of Peter when he was imprisoned and the angel came and freed him without the guards taking notice. It was so strange to be in all of these places that are from the Biblical time period. Seeing as the history of the United States is relatively young, it was hard to imagine how long ago all of this took place.
We walked across the stones to Domitian's old palace which now lies in ruins as nothing more than some pillars and half stone walls. This palace in its day was covered completely in marble and was the most beautiful site in all of Rome. Interesting fact about the marble: Domitian was so paranoid of being murdered he had the marble polished daily so that he could see the reflection of any attacker at any moment. Ironic fact: He was killed by his wife. The palace sat on the highest hill for all to admire. However, when the 'Christians' and barbarians entered and conquered Rome, they destroyed everything and took all of the marble for the Vatican City. (Not so surprisingly, the Roman citizens do not have a high opinion of the Vatican City.) Seeing this "palace" reminded me of just how utterly short our time is here, and just how true Christ's words are: "Do not store up your treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven." Domitian's life looks pretty sad from today's point of view.
We ate a crazy little Italian restaurant that wouldn't let us share our food with one another, but we did it anyway. haha! Then we went to an elevator that goes to the top of a building which is the highest point in Rome. We took a look at the city for bit, and then headed to see the Pantheon which is the only building in its time that wasn't destroyed during the invasions. Inside is the painter Raphael's grave.
Oh dear, this blog is getting long. Sorry, I didn't think there was this much to write! Well, to sum up, the following day we went to the Vatican City and saw St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museum, but no Pope. There was a heck of a lot of marble and really expensive artwork (especially for a church to have)! :) My sentiments in leaving the Vatican City: I sometimes wonder if we aren't missing the point of the church when we are storing up our treasures on earth just as much as everyone else.
Well, this was pretty much my three day trip to Rome in a nutshell. I think I only left out a couple of details. haha. If you wanna know more, just comment! :) I will be sure to make the following blogs shorter, so people actually read them and get to the bottom to read things like what I am writing now. haha. Thanks for reading!
In Rome, the first night we were there we did a night walk around the city. We saw the Trevi fountain and the Spanish Steps (in Italy...I know) as well as some of the more famous buildings such as the Pantheon (from the outside of course). We also made a wonderful stop at the world-famous gelato shop Giolitti's. Sooooo good! I even made friends with one of their Italian waiters. haha! He gave us special seats inside, kissed me on the cheek like 4 times, and kept saying, "Ciao, Bella!" Oh, dear...it was a riot.
The second day, we went to the Colisseum in the morning. What history! Wow. I can't believe how old it is and the activities that took place there. They told us that throughout history there were "only 80" people who died, but on one of the sides of the Colisseum they erected a cross years later to commemorate the people who lost their lives. Also, fighting as a gladiator to the death was a way for slaves to be freed. If they won, they were free. I also found it interesting that the games were a sort of political propaganda for the emperor who wanted to make the citizens feel like they had power as the sort of "god" of the games. The emperor had the opportunity to give mercy to the gladiators and let them go without dying at any point in the fights. He would put his hand up in a specific gesture that would signify mercy or no mercy. However, he would purposely choose whatever the crowds did not want, then the crowd would shout, and he would change the decision. This of course made the crowd feel as though they had power over all including the emperor and the life or death of the gladiator. Interesting.
To kill some time, we headed to St. Peter in Chains Church which houses Michaelangelo's Moses (a HUGE sculpture of Moses) as well as the supposed chains of Peter when he was imprisoned and the angel came and freed him without the guards taking notice. It was so strange to be in all of these places that are from the Biblical time period. Seeing as the history of the United States is relatively young, it was hard to imagine how long ago all of this took place.
We walked across the stones to Domitian's old palace which now lies in ruins as nothing more than some pillars and half stone walls. This palace in its day was covered completely in marble and was the most beautiful site in all of Rome. Interesting fact about the marble: Domitian was so paranoid of being murdered he had the marble polished daily so that he could see the reflection of any attacker at any moment. Ironic fact: He was killed by his wife. The palace sat on the highest hill for all to admire. However, when the 'Christians' and barbarians entered and conquered Rome, they destroyed everything and took all of the marble for the Vatican City. (Not so surprisingly, the Roman citizens do not have a high opinion of the Vatican City.) Seeing this "palace" reminded me of just how utterly short our time is here, and just how true Christ's words are: "Do not store up your treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven." Domitian's life looks pretty sad from today's point of view.
We ate a crazy little Italian restaurant that wouldn't let us share our food with one another, but we did it anyway. haha! Then we went to an elevator that goes to the top of a building which is the highest point in Rome. We took a look at the city for bit, and then headed to see the Pantheon which is the only building in its time that wasn't destroyed during the invasions. Inside is the painter Raphael's grave.
Oh dear, this blog is getting long. Sorry, I didn't think there was this much to write! Well, to sum up, the following day we went to the Vatican City and saw St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museum, but no Pope. There was a heck of a lot of marble and really expensive artwork (especially for a church to have)! :) My sentiments in leaving the Vatican City: I sometimes wonder if we aren't missing the point of the church when we are storing up our treasures on earth just as much as everyone else.
Well, this was pretty much my three day trip to Rome in a nutshell. I think I only left out a couple of details. haha. If you wanna know more, just comment! :) I will be sure to make the following blogs shorter, so people actually read them and get to the bottom to read things like what I am writing now. haha. Thanks for reading!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
The Beauty of the Body
"No hay nadie como tú, sólo Cristo. Moriste por mi en la cruz. Viviré para alabar..."
"There is no one like you, Christ alone. You died for me on the cross. I will live to praise you."
Church today was marvelous. The people have such a passion for Christ and for being living examples of his love in the world today. They are unbelievable welcoming to us as international students even though we are only here for four months. They constantly say that we are is the town of God, the church of God, the people of God regardless of where we are from. They have people from all over the world in this church. This is the way heaven will be! I want to stay longer than just four months! :)
We went out to lunch at a Chinese restaurant with the youth. It was terrific! We got to practice Spanish for hours upon hours! My brain hurt so badly afterwards though. It is really difficult to try to think in another language. It wears me out! :)
Things are going quite well here. God is so faithful. I spent time in prayer prior to Friday's class, just trying to refocus on what is important. That class was by far the best one yet. I started off the class by telling the teacher that I didn't understand one of the grammatical topics; she, of course, explained it, and it went spendidly from there. :)
Yesterday, we visited the Alhambra which was so beautiful. It is a Moorish castle built by the Muslims hundreds of years ago. Despite its age, it is in beautiful condition, and it unbelievably detailed with beautiful tile walls and ceilings. Check out my pictures on Facebook if you want to take a peek at this historical masterpiece. (Sounds convincing, doesn't it?) Here's one pic just to wet your appetite:
"There is no one like you, Christ alone. You died for me on the cross. I will live to praise you."
Church today was marvelous. The people have such a passion for Christ and for being living examples of his love in the world today. They are unbelievable welcoming to us as international students even though we are only here for four months. They constantly say that we are is the town of God, the church of God, the people of God regardless of where we are from. They have people from all over the world in this church. This is the way heaven will be! I want to stay longer than just four months! :)
We went out to lunch at a Chinese restaurant with the youth. It was terrific! We got to practice Spanish for hours upon hours! My brain hurt so badly afterwards though. It is really difficult to try to think in another language. It wears me out! :)
Things are going quite well here. God is so faithful. I spent time in prayer prior to Friday's class, just trying to refocus on what is important. That class was by far the best one yet. I started off the class by telling the teacher that I didn't understand one of the grammatical topics; she, of course, explained it, and it went spendidly from there. :)
Yesterday, we visited the Alhambra which was so beautiful. It is a Moorish castle built by the Muslims hundreds of years ago. Despite its age, it is in beautiful condition, and it unbelievably detailed with beautiful tile walls and ceilings. Check out my pictures on Facebook if you want to take a peek at this historical masterpiece. (Sounds convincing, doesn't it?) Here's one pic just to wet your appetite:
Thanks for the prayers! He is faithful when we believe! Love and miss you all!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Culture Shock?
Shocking, isn't it? Unfortunate as it is, I think I have experienced a little culture shock these last few days. I think it was really a culmination of things: getting laughed at when I used Spanish incorrectly, getting scolded for going out for chocolate and churros after a big dinner, not having a community of believers here, missing my family, etc. All of these events escalated to the point of tears at the lunch table yesterday.
Originally, when I got here, I knew my Spanish wasn't perfect, but I thought I could use it well enough to communicate. However, once I got here and used my Spanish in class and learned what was correct and incorrect, my perfectionist side kicked in. I hate making mistakes. (I know, I know...major issue...need to get over it...gonna make them my whole life...haha). Suddenly, after having been laughed at for saying I had my throat taken out instead of my tonsils...oops!...I realized just how much I was butchering the language, and I didn't want to use it anymore! Besides, it was much easier to use English. You don't have to think so hard!
Additionally, my señora got really upset with me the other night because I told her that I was going for chocalate and churros after I had eaten a huge dinner. I found out that that is not the way it works in Spain. She explained to me for ten minutes or so in a raised tone and at a faster pace than usual that you eat that instead of dinner because it is so heavy. She said I should have told her I was doing that, and then I shouldn't have made dinner. Oops. I am a people pleaser, and I get really shaken up when I feel like I have disappointed someone especially authority. I wanted to cry.
Because I haven't had the Internet at my house, it has been very difficult to stay in contact with my family back home. We have been emailing somewhat, but they are short and definitely don't convey all that I want to tell them. To see lots of our other friends getting on Skype freely with their friends and family has been hard. I miss you mom and dad! :)
Again because of the Internet situation, I had a really hard time getting a hold of Cortney and Miguel, the missionaries here. However, we did randomly end up at the right church on Sunday due to its location near our house, and it was great to be a part of a community again. I really really want to get plugged in there soon. So far, they said that students are really returning until October, so it doesn't look like things will start until then. I need to be a part of a body here desperately.
All of these crazy circumstances culminated to the point of tears yesterday at lunch when my señora gave me two huge porkchops and half a plate full of green beans, and I couldn't finish eating it all. I told her I was full, and she said it was because I had gone out for chocolate and churros the night before. She said I had eaten way too much and that is why I still wasn't hungry. I proceeded to tell her that I thought it was because there was so much food on my plate. I told her that until that point I had been eating everything on plate because I thought it was rude not too. But, I said I was leaving every meal feeling sick because I had eaten so much. Of course, this was when the tears started to flow. She told me to stop crying because I look ugly when I cry (she was laughing when she said this...but, the Spaniards are blunt...haha). She said that I should have said something before that because she thought I just ate alot! :) She said she would start giving me less food. Yay! I said I was sorry, and she said it was okay because we just didn't know one another's customs. She gave me a hug, and then I went back to my room and slept. :)
Since the tears flowed yesterday, things seem to have gotten better. I still have a hard time talking in Spanish with people and in class because I don't want to make mistakes. I also still really want to get involved in our church. Please continue to pray for these things. I have been blown away in these past few weeks with how God answers prayer. We have such power when we have faith that He is able to supply our needs. Keep praying. I love and miss you all!
Originally, when I got here, I knew my Spanish wasn't perfect, but I thought I could use it well enough to communicate. However, once I got here and used my Spanish in class and learned what was correct and incorrect, my perfectionist side kicked in. I hate making mistakes. (I know, I know...major issue...need to get over it...gonna make them my whole life...haha). Suddenly, after having been laughed at for saying I had my throat taken out instead of my tonsils...oops!...I realized just how much I was butchering the language, and I didn't want to use it anymore! Besides, it was much easier to use English. You don't have to think so hard!
Additionally, my señora got really upset with me the other night because I told her that I was going for chocalate and churros after I had eaten a huge dinner. I found out that that is not the way it works in Spain. She explained to me for ten minutes or so in a raised tone and at a faster pace than usual that you eat that instead of dinner because it is so heavy. She said I should have told her I was doing that, and then I shouldn't have made dinner. Oops. I am a people pleaser, and I get really shaken up when I feel like I have disappointed someone especially authority. I wanted to cry.
Because I haven't had the Internet at my house, it has been very difficult to stay in contact with my family back home. We have been emailing somewhat, but they are short and definitely don't convey all that I want to tell them. To see lots of our other friends getting on Skype freely with their friends and family has been hard. I miss you mom and dad! :)
Again because of the Internet situation, I had a really hard time getting a hold of Cortney and Miguel, the missionaries here. However, we did randomly end up at the right church on Sunday due to its location near our house, and it was great to be a part of a community again. I really really want to get plugged in there soon. So far, they said that students are really returning until October, so it doesn't look like things will start until then. I need to be a part of a body here desperately.
All of these crazy circumstances culminated to the point of tears yesterday at lunch when my señora gave me two huge porkchops and half a plate full of green beans, and I couldn't finish eating it all. I told her I was full, and she said it was because I had gone out for chocolate and churros the night before. She said I had eaten way too much and that is why I still wasn't hungry. I proceeded to tell her that I thought it was because there was so much food on my plate. I told her that until that point I had been eating everything on plate because I thought it was rude not too. But, I said I was leaving every meal feeling sick because I had eaten so much. Of course, this was when the tears started to flow. She told me to stop crying because I look ugly when I cry (she was laughing when she said this...but, the Spaniards are blunt...haha). She said that I should have said something before that because she thought I just ate alot! :) She said she would start giving me less food. Yay! I said I was sorry, and she said it was okay because we just didn't know one another's customs. She gave me a hug, and then I went back to my room and slept. :)
Since the tears flowed yesterday, things seem to have gotten better. I still have a hard time talking in Spanish with people and in class because I don't want to make mistakes. I also still really want to get involved in our church. Please continue to pray for these things. I have been blown away in these past few weeks with how God answers prayer. We have such power when we have faith that He is able to supply our needs. Keep praying. I love and miss you all!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Everyday Life
First of all, I apologize for those of you who have been trying to follow what I am doing here in Spain through my blog. I don't have the Internet in my house. I have to pay to use the wi-fi at cafes which makes blogging somewhat difficult because it takes so much time. Anyway, I think I found a place with free wi-fi now, so hopefully it will be much easier!
Life in Spain is delightful. I was actually having a somewhat difficult time at first though. Most of my trips to other countries have been somehow tied to missions; however, this trip is obviously quite different. I told many of you that I had gotten in contact with some missionaries over here who said that they could hook me up with their church. Well, because of conflicts with schedules and general difficulty with using different modes of communication (i.e. not the Internet), I could not get a hold of them for the first week that I was here. I was really really missing my family and community back home. I felt very disconnected and spiritually like I was waning here. Luckily, two of the girls in my group live on a street where there is a church, so on Saturday we decided to just go there Sunday morning since we hadn't heard from the missionaries. So, we went. Lo and behold, it was the missionaries' church! Hooray! It was amazing! I have never been so filled with joy to be in the presence of other believers all worshiping Jehovah Jireh, the God Who Provides. :) We met the missionaries afterward, and they introduced us to Jota who is in charge of the youth activities. He told us he would get our emails and keep us informed about what is going on. He also said that they have about 140 students involved. They have services Saturday nights and Sunday morning and they eat meals together every week after both. Hallelujah! That is what I call communion. :) What a tremendous blessing this Sunday was for us. Before, I was feeling like these four months were
going to be long, but now I am sad that I am leaving in December! God is faithful. :)
General everyday life is great as well. We started classes last week. We are only in the intensive language course right now. This will last through the last week of September. It hasn't been to bad thus far. There are some things that are different grammatically here. They use the preterite perfect a heck of a lot more than we are used to in Latin American Spanish. They actually use it more than the indefinite preterite. That is taking some adjustment, but I'll figure it out at some point. I have actually been surprised with how much Spanish I have been able to understand. I still have a hard time producing language quickly though. I get caught up on the verb conjugations. :) Anyway, after this language intensive course, we have a week off during which we are going to Italy and France! So excited! We just booked our 5 flights yesterday, and it totalled under $180!!! Ridiculous! I can't wait...clearly. Anyway, I will be taking 5 Spanish classes after we get back from our trip. It shouldn't be too bad.
Home life is super fun. Our señora is so sweet and is such a wonderful cook! :) We do eat ALOT. But, I have tried to run at least a few times a week. We also walk miles a day to and from school, so hopefully it won't be too terrible. :) The Spanish schedule is the college student's dream. Spaniards don't wake up until 9, 10, or 11. They eat maybe some bread for breakfast, but have lunch around 2:30 (on the early side). They then take a siesta for about 2 hours partially because they are so stinkin' full and partially because it is so stinkin' hot! It is over or close to it 100 almost every day. It doesn't feel too bad; you just sweat alot. haha. Then they have dinner around 8:30 (again, on the early side), and perhaps they go out afterward. It's really a beautiful thing. Although I do feel like they days slip by, but all I did was eat and sleep. I need to figure out how to fix that! :)
Well, classes are going to start soon, so I have to get going. Thanks for reading and thinking of me while I am away. I really miss you all so much!
Life in Spain is delightful. I was actually having a somewhat difficult time at first though. Most of my trips to other countries have been somehow tied to missions; however, this trip is obviously quite different. I told many of you that I had gotten in contact with some missionaries over here who said that they could hook me up with their church. Well, because of conflicts with schedules and general difficulty with using different modes of communication (i.e. not the Internet), I could not get a hold of them for the first week that I was here. I was really really missing my family and community back home. I felt very disconnected and spiritually like I was waning here. Luckily, two of the girls in my group live on a street where there is a church, so on Saturday we decided to just go there Sunday morning since we hadn't heard from the missionaries. So, we went. Lo and behold, it was the missionaries' church! Hooray! It was amazing! I have never been so filled with joy to be in the presence of other believers all worshiping Jehovah Jireh, the God Who Provides. :) We met the missionaries afterward, and they introduced us to Jota who is in charge of the youth activities. He told us he would get our emails and keep us informed about what is going on. He also said that they have about 140 students involved. They have services Saturday nights and Sunday morning and they eat meals together every week after both. Hallelujah! That is what I call communion. :) What a tremendous blessing this Sunday was for us. Before, I was feeling like these four months were
going to be long, but now I am sad that I am leaving in December! God is faithful. :)
General everyday life is great as well. We started classes last week. We are only in the intensive language course right now. This will last through the last week of September. It hasn't been to bad thus far. There are some things that are different grammatically here. They use the preterite perfect a heck of a lot more than we are used to in Latin American Spanish. They actually use it more than the indefinite preterite. That is taking some adjustment, but I'll figure it out at some point. I have actually been surprised with how much Spanish I have been able to understand. I still have a hard time producing language quickly though. I get caught up on the verb conjugations. :) Anyway, after this language intensive course, we have a week off during which we are going to Italy and France! So excited! We just booked our 5 flights yesterday, and it totalled under $180!!! Ridiculous! I can't wait...clearly. Anyway, I will be taking 5 Spanish classes after we get back from our trip. It shouldn't be too bad.
Home life is super fun. Our señora is so sweet and is such a wonderful cook! :) We do eat ALOT. But, I have tried to run at least a few times a week. We also walk miles a day to and from school, so hopefully it won't be too terrible. :) The Spanish schedule is the college student's dream. Spaniards don't wake up until 9, 10, or 11. They eat maybe some bread for breakfast, but have lunch around 2:30 (on the early side). They then take a siesta for about 2 hours partially because they are so stinkin' full and partially because it is so stinkin' hot! It is over or close to it 100 almost every day. It doesn't feel too bad; you just sweat alot. haha. Then they have dinner around 8:30 (again, on the early side), and perhaps they go out afterward. It's really a beautiful thing. Although I do feel like they days slip by, but all I did was eat and sleep. I need to figure out how to fix that! :)
Well, classes are going to start soon, so I have to get going. Thanks for reading and thinking of me while I am away. I really miss you all so much!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Un Día Perfecto
Today was a perfect day. This morning we caught the bus by our house to head to the bus station. From there we bought our tickets for Salobreña. After about an hour long bus ride, we arrived. Oh, where, did you ask? Oh, just the Mediterranean! Indescribable! I spent my day basking in the rays of the beautiful Mediterranean sun and swimming in its crystal clear waters. Our señora packed us some bocadillos and fruit for lunch. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend my first Saturday here. There were a few cultural differences (like the fact that many of the women were topless!), but it was certainly not enough to inhibit our wonderful day at the beach. Terrific. As we sat on the beach, we thought about how guilty we felt that our friends were back home doing homework. No good. L I also sat on the beach thinking about just how much of God’s creation I have never even seen. Today was just one small check on the list of the millions of places he has handcrafted. Brilliant. Today was a perfect day.
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