Life in Spain

It has been one month since I embarked on this great adventure. I have fallen in love with the city of Sevilla and I am immensely enjoying being overseas. I'm sorry I've been bad about keeping up with this blog. I've been really busy and there has been a lot squeezed into just a few weeks. I'll try to summarize the highlights.

I have begun to adjust to the rhythm of life in Southern Spain. A typical school days consists of walking up around 7:30, getting ready, eating my breakfast (usually chocolate cereal), and walking the 15-20 minutes to school. We walk a ton here, by the way. Not only to school and back but for just about anywhere we go in the city. I've taken a city bus a few times, but usually I go by foot. I actually enjoy this most of the time, because I get to enjoy being in the city and seeing things.

I'm in classes from 9-2:25, but I have two periods in the middle that are breaks. I'm taking Advanced Spanish Grammar, Spanish Art History, Literature, and History of Spanish Civilization. Most of my classes are pretty interesting, although challenging at times because everything is taught in Spanish. Grammar is the class that I have found to be the most practical, and I am continually learning new tidbits about the Spanish language.

My roommate, Katelin, and I walk back home for lunch, which is around 3 p.m. Yes, Spaniards have a very different eating schedule. Breakfast at the normal time, lunch between 2-3 and dinner is not until 9 or 10! I find often myself getting really hungry between meals, but I think slowly I'm adjusting to this schedule. The picture is of the traditional Spanish dish of paella, which I had one Saturday at a restaurant in Sevilla.

One great thing about living in Spain is there really is a siesta. I think the Spaniards had it right when they decided to build a time of rest in every day. Sometimes I actually sleep, sometimes work on homework, sometimes just read, but it's a nice time of day.

Evenings vary. On Mondays, I'm helping at this convent called Santa Isabel's with the children. I play with them on the patio and then help them with their homework. Tuesday nights I have a prayer group with some other girls from school, and Wednesday nights we have a worship service called Encuentro for other students. Evenings may also involve homework, chilling with friends, getting cafe con leche or churros con chocolate, etc.

On the language side of things, it is still often difficult, and sometimes I get frustrated when I can't express myself in Spanish as well as I'd like to be able to. However, I am able to understand quite a bit of written and spoken Spanish, and I'm continually improving my Spanish vocabulary. I hope the speaking and understanding continue to improve with time.

So far I've had the opportunity to travel to Córdoba and Barcelona. Córdoba was a day trip with the school and we were able to see thousand year old Muslim ruins and a mosque that was built in the eighth through tenth centuries. It was fascinating, especially considering we were studying the architecture of that mosque in my art history class at the time.

Last weekend I went to Barcelona with a group of seven other girls. I had my first experience staying in a hostel (thankfully we were at a cheap but nice one) and was able to explore the city, including a Picasso museum with original artwork and Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, known as Europe's most unconventional church, which after about a century of work is still under construction. We also went to Park Guell, also designed by Gaudi, and explored La Ramba (considered the most famous street in Spain) and local shops.

I'm so grateful to be here. I know God has brought me to this place at this point in my life for a reason, and I know that he desires to teach me things. In the first month I've been thinking a lot about trusting him when I'm out of my comfort zone and what it means to follow him when I am living across the ocean in another country. I'm exciting to see what is in store.