Home Again

I apologize for my long absence.  I am back in the States, as most of you can guess, and am so glad to be back!  The last couple weeks were agonizing slow and simultaneously way too fast.  How sad it was to leave my professors, my friends, the staff at ISA, and Maria Carmen, the sweet woman I lived with!  But finally I was on a bus to Madrid, and then a plane to Palma Mallorca, and then another to Berlin.

A good friend of mine is a seminary student in Berlin, and graciously allowed me to stay with her.  She gave me a tour of the city, and was patient with my continual complaints about the weather (apparently I'm not really made for snow).  A few days later, we traveled to Siegburg, her home town, and the town where I'd been almost two years ago with my church.  Germany's public transportation doesn't seem to do well in snow, so it was pretty much the longest day ever.  But finally we made it, and it was so great to see my old host family!

The rest of my time in Germany went by quickly.  We had an amazing breakfast and lunch (clearly I studied in the wrong country), and then went to a medieval Christmas market, and my host father gave me a great tour of the Siegburg police station.  The next day my host father and I hit the road bright and early at 4, to get to the Cologne airport, about 20 minutes from the house.  After what seemed like a million hours, I made it to Texas, without any sort of delays or issues. 

How good it is to be back!  I feel like I'm the only one not suffering from reverse culture shock.  I did have to remind myself to tip at restaurants, and that room 111 is actually on the ground floor, and the not a flight of stairs up, but that's been all.  I love getting back to American food, and seeing my friends, and driving again.  I certainly learned a lot during my time abroad, but there is nothing like being home, trying to steer your cart in Target, to really make you feel like you belong.

This will likely be my last post, at least until the last adventure.  Thanks to all who kept up with me; love you!

The Italian Job and the Passage of Time

Let me first just say that I'm terribly disappointed that the Italian Job is not uploaded to youtube in its entirety.  Believe me, I've checked, and after getting back from Venice, it's exactly what I want to watch.  Italy was lovely, of course, but it didn't blow my mind.  It definitely deserves a redo-- the weather (cold, rainy, very wet) was awful and I think it made a huge impact on my enjoyment as a whole.  But I met this guy who attends a Philadelphia church plant of the Village, and I got to ride on the Grand Canal in Venice, and I saw Juliet's balcony in Verona, and I saw the Pantheon and the and the Colosseum and the Sistine Chapel in Rome.  I am excited to return sometime when it's warm!

So there's a week left till our overnight bus to Madrid.  I feel like the time has simulatneously crept and flown by.  It seems like yesterday that we were in that awful hotel in Toledo, having our meeting, or that I was getting off the bus and apprehensively meeting my host mom, or that I was sitting in the sun in La Plaza de Espana getting my purse stolen.  And yet, it also feels like years since I've driven a car, eaten a decent Oreo, lived with my roommate.  It's been a great three months, and while I'm a smidge sorry to see it end (no more runs in the park, no more walking by the Cathedral, no more chestnuts being sold on the side of the street, no more Maria Carmen), the majority of me can't wait to get back.  I've learned so much here, though.  I'm more flexible with my yogurt, for one thing, and may end up buying the store brand from now on instead of my expensive yet iconic Yoplait.  I can now tolerate apricot jam, and I've learned to make a tortilla.  I'm now the queen of navigating maps and metros.  I can now step into a foreign city and handle myself, provided of course that there are maps and signs in English (please don't drop me in Baghdad and watch me flounder).  My Spanish has definitely improved, and my accent has also gotten better.  I've learned that I'm not as brave as I thought I was-- going alone to some random country to fight international sex slavery sounds awful, and not because of the danger, but because of the loneliness-- people are home.  But through it all, through the missed flights and the stolen purses and the exploding computers and the tricky weather and the language barrier and the days where I've felt so lonely I could crawl up and cry, the Lord has been there, and he is bigger than all of it.  That's a good thing to learn, I think.

The Joy of the Lord is our Strength

I'll get to Paris soon enough, but this first part of this post is going to be Serious Business.  This weekend hasn't been the easiest, but it has been full of the Lord's goodness, which I know I will take over "simple" any day.  As most of you know, Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday, from the cooking to the eating to the fighting over ads (Jonathan is an ad hog) to the planning of Black Friday--it's my holiday.  And while obviously I knew I would be gone for it this year, it didn't make it any easier when Thursday rolled around and I was sitting in culture class.  But the Lord is so faithful!  My professor made my day by changing his facebook status to a children's handprint turkey and announcing that he was a turkey, and I was constantly reminded of the Lord's goodness throughout the day, and that Thanksgiving is totally irrelevant apart from the love of Christ.  And Paris, how lovely of a city-- more to come-- but so great!  And then the last few days, I've had the best conversations with people that I am so blessed by, and I've had the most incredible amount of love showered on me.  So yes, what love from what an amazing Lord.

So, Paris!  I loved it so much more than I ever expected to do.  Granted, it's easy to see why: lots of dessert, lots of free art, a river, super friendly people, Hillsong Paris (be jealous, friends).  I had some great tips from a good friend who had lived there before, and I had such an amazing time.  It was unbelievably cold (walking around in 30 degree weather all day...not a fan!) and the Eiffel Tower took years to get through, but I won't complain too much.  It was inconvenient not to know any French, though on the plus side I now know what "egg" is, and can forever avoid them on food I order.  I can't even explain it well, but for some reason the whole weekend just seemed right, including the two girls from Baylor I ended up sitting next to at church.  I am ready to come home (21 days), but am so blessed by my opportunities here.

Happy Thanksgiving

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all.

Yeah, He loves us,
Oh! how He loves us,
Oh! how He loves us,
Oh! how He loves.

We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking.
And Heaven meets earth like an unforseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don't have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way he loves us.

Leeches, Thai Teeth, and Barcelona

Hey y'all!  So excited to get back and hear everyone saying that instead of giving me the occasional weird look.  It's officially less than 30 days (29) till I touch down on US soil, and everyone here has been getting so antsy to get back.  I think it must have hit this weekend, as we watched the facebook statuses from our friends brag about going home for Thanksgiving!  But, as much as part of me just wants to bolt now, I still have 29 days and a couple trips left, so I'm hoping to do my best to enjoy it.  So, without further ado, Barcelona!  

Let me begin by saying it's possibly the coolest city in Spain.  Great architecture liberally bestowed on even the most random of buildings.  This picture above is the post office.  Can you believe that?  Our brick rectangles look so sad in comparison!  I flew in Friday night and stayed till Monday.  In that time I went to the Museum of Contemporary Art (which was a complete snooze), the market at La Boqueria twice (which was a blast), La Sagrada Familia (an unfinished church designed by Gaudi, the two pictures below), the church of Santa Maria del Mar (apparently an amazing example of churchy architecture), the Museum of the City of Barcelona (complete with Roman ruins underground), Parc Guell (Gaudi), and did a whole lot of wandering on La Rambla and throughout the Gothic Quarter.  Barcelona definitely embraces its European heritage over its Spanish one, which made for a unique city.  

Another great thing about Barcelona is the International Church of Barcelona.  English services, and the assistant pastor's parents live about five minutes from mine (plus he's an Aggie fan).  What a difference being in a body of believers makes!  I have undoubtedly had the importance of Christian community reinforced during this semester.  After church I went out for pizza with Sini from Finland and Emma from England-- "international" indeed.

The entrance to Parc Guell:

"I got people who will take teeth and leeches for me?  I'm a lucky guy."  The line from this week's Chuck had me smiling, and not just because it was Chuck.  This semester has also reminded me of how amazing the peope back home are.  I know I still have 29 days to go, but thank you all so much for always checking up on me, for putting up with awful phone calls where we can hardly hear each other, and for all the prayers.  Can't wait to see you all soon.

The Cathedral in the Middle of a Mosque, etc.

I first must apologize for my absence.  Much thanks to Kenny Long, my computer finally works again, and everything is about back to normal.  The last few weeks have passed in a blur of buying flights, taking midterms, and cheering for the Aggies from across the ocean.  (So proud of our boys!  Whoop!)  It is crazy to think that I have barely over a month here!  I'm still not sure where the last three weeks went.  I'll be ready to be back, though, I'm sure of it.  George Moore said, "A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it."  I'm inclined to agree. 

This weekend went by in the usual quick fashion that most of our excursions exhibit.  Friday morning we took a bus to Cordoba to see the Mezquita.  I was so incredibly excited to see this cathedral, because I studied it in an architectural history class a few semesters ago.  I walked into the cathedral, and the pictures we saw then immediately came to mind, and it amazed me that I was suddenly under those polychrome voussoirs that I had studied!  The cathedral was originally a Christian church, built in the 600s by the Visigoths.  Then when the Moors came to Spain, Emir Abd al-Rahman began building a mosque on top of the church.  In 1236, Cordoba was reconquered by Fernando III, and finally, when Carlos I (Charles V of Germany) came to power, a Roman Catholic cathedral was built on top of it.  The Muslim patio is still intact, and much of the architecture is still visible.  The rest of the city was relatively unimpressive, and I'm glad that we left that afternoon.

After a bus trip to Granda, we checked into our (gorgeous) hotel and grabbed dinner before our flamenco show.  We actually had Burger King, which tasted exactly the same, only significantly more expensive-- about ten dollars for a combo meal!  But welcome to Europe, right?  After dinner, we hiked (and hiked and hiked) up to a nieghborhood that overlooked the entire city, including the Alhambra palace, built by the Moors in the 1300s.  It was such a breathtaking view!  Then it was off to the flamenco show, an informal hour-long presentation with two groups.  It was a lot of fun, and definitely worth the climb, despite the cold.  The next morning we went to the Alhambra, and toured the palace and the gardens.  It was absolutely gorgeous, and I'm so glad things like this are well preserved!     
The next few weeks will go by even faster, I'm sure.  I'm going to Barcelona this weekend, Paris the next, then Italy for 8 days.  The next weekend I'll be studying for finals, and then it's an overnight bus ride to Madrid for my flight to Berlin!  Christmas will be here before we know it and I will barely beat it to America.  I hope you are all doing well, and can't wait to see you soon!

The Times in Between

I finally have my debit card, yay.  I booked my flight to Italy for December, and now am trying to fill in the weekends in between.  It's scary to see I only have three left!  I have a feeling that November is going to fly by, and I don't know how I feel about that.  On one hand I can't wait to belong in my own life again, but at the same time, I'm in Europe, for heaven's sake.

Last Friday we went to a little town called Ronda.  Two hours away, it's a quaint place of about 40,000 residents.  One of the last to be reconquered by the Christians in 1485 (Granada was the last, in 1492), the city is a neat combination of Roman, Spanish, and Moorish designs.  One of the most striking features is the bridge, and the gorge that it spans (Google it for pictures; I can't post them yet).  I hiked a bit down into it, was almost attacked by a mule, and met some lovely Dutch people.  We were certainly ready to go when we did-- it's really not more than a day trip, but it was adorable.

This weekend is one of a more local variety.  Yesterday the Cathedral, the Alcazar (palace/administration building built in 913 by the Moors), the General Indian Archives (as in Indies, not either people group), and today, finally, Italica, the first Roman city built in Spain.  It was great to finally see the Cathedral and the Alcazar, since I pass them so often.  The view from the top of the Giralda was well worth the trip up the ramps to the top (we're debating whether ramps are better or worse than stairs), and the many, many peacock-populated gardens at the Alcazar were beautiful.  The Archives are all in Spanish, and we didn't feel like putting in the effort to translate them, but it's still a neat building, built hundreds of years ago. 

Molly is in Morocco this weekend, and I think, after the supermarket trip with my host mom where I heard Smash Mouth's "Walking on the Sun", that I'm okay I'm here instead.