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. 

A Month In

So it's official-- today I've been in Spain for a month.  31 days away from my friends, my language (ish-- we all still speak English at school with each other and at home), my food customs, my job...you get the picture.
Still, I'm good!  There are some things I really miss, and there are some things I know I'll want here as soon as I get back to Texas.  Some lists, because it's a Wednesday:

Things I Miss:

• Living next door to a country that's not been warned of an imminent terrorist attack.  Honestly, I'm not worried, and would visit France in a heartbeat, but to my knowledge, Saudi Arabian intel hasn't warned Mexico that's it's going get hit pretty soon.
• Driving, and listening to music really loudly in the car.  That first drive back to College Station, with my new iPod and my new Taylor Swift CD, is going to be bliss!
• Desserts.  Even Oreos are less sweet here.  They love fruit and cheese for dessert, which sounds more like a mid-morning snack to me.  Can't wait for some brownies/7Layer Bars/cake/homemade cookie dough/Marble Slab.  I don't care that it'll be December when I get back.  Bring on the ice cream!
• Deciding what I want to eat, and when I want to eat it.  Now I have to say that the schedule of meals has not been nearly as bad as I expected.  Dinner at 9:30 would have shocked me, but it's pretty standard here, and I sneak in a few snacks here and there (which is very American of me, I must say).  And while our host mom has told us we can request things, neither of us feel comfortable with that, and so we just cross our fingers and hope dinner does not consist of a million fried and/or previously frozen items.  We love our host mom dearly, but a cooking aficionado she is not.
• Y'all, undoubtedly.  I'm super excited for some amazing hugs.  I'm so incredibly grateful that I live in the age of internet, though.  I can't imagine living here with just snail mail to substitute fellowship.

Things I Love About Spain:

• Serrano ham.  Google it.  It's like bacon, but like lunch meat, and so so good.  I am going to miss this one so much.  I am half-seriously considering smuggling a whole pork leg into my suitcase.  Someone told me that a guy tried to do it in a violin case....
• The weather.  It's like Texas but without the humidity. 
• My walk.  Granted, I know I said I miss driving, and I do.  Walking 7 miles for class is not my idea of a party.  But, since I am walking, how lucky am I that I get to walk past the Cathedral of Sevilla every single stinking day?
• Cooking with olive oil.  It took me a bit to get used to but I'm a huge fan.  I don't, however, want to consider my trigycerides.
• Being so close (relatively speaking) to a million other countries that I could theoretically visit if I had my debit card.
• Vanilla ice cream.  So much better here, and I love Blue Bell as much as the next person.
• Learning something new everyday.

It's been a great month, absolutely.  It has also been exhausting-- losing my purse, my debit card getting delayed, my computer exploding after catching a virus-- but I am so incredibly thankful for the help and support I have back in the States.  Thank you all for everything that you do.  See you soon!

At the castle in Lisbon:

And back to Portugal we are!  I'm not complaining-- I am convinced that Portugal is Spain's cooler, prettier, more accessible, incredibly polite younger sister.  This weekend was definitely a different side than what I saw in Lagos, but a blast nonetheless.  It was quite a drive out there-- about six hours, though part of that was because we were on buses and took a couple breaks.  The countryside is so much prettier than in Spain.  When we got there we walked (read: hiked) up to a castle on a hill and looked down onto the city below.  Que bonita!

Then it was off to the commercial plaza for a quick walk around.  It's right next to the river and was gorgeous.  Smelled like fish, and a not much of a commercial center, but what a view!

The next day we went to Belem, a historic neighborhood, and saw the monastery of St. Jerome and the church with the bodies of the navigator Vasco de Gama and assorted royalty.  That afternoon I went to the aquarium in Lisbon, considered the second best in the world.  It was definitely worth the metro rides, and I'm so glad I went!  After seeing some of the bizarre creatures, I'm further convinced that God has a sense of humor.

Lesson Learned

"Don't leave your bags unattended.  Keep a close eye on all your things.  Don't let your guard down."  Yes, Dr. Greenwald/numerous online sources/ISA directors, I know, I know, you've told me.  I got this.  I'm practically a Spaniard by now!

So it's official-- despite the fact that multiple people, including Spaniards, have asked me for directions, and the fact that I've more or less mastered the bus system and map of Sevilla, and the fact that I'm a million times better at navigating narrow, unmarked streets--I'm still a tourist here.  My bag was sneakily stolen out from under me yesterday.  There I was, a studious American looking over her terrorism notes and learning about St. Thomas Aquinas's theory of just war at La Plaza de España, enjoying the breeze and the people, perched on a beautiful tiled ledge, my bag a foot below me on the ground, when all of a sudden I saw a flash of a shirt out of the corner of my eye and five minutes later I looked down and my bag was gone. 

And by "bag" I mean: iPod, books, class notes, wallet with ID/money/debit card/insurance cards, sweater, liquid soap, homework, and phone.  

It was my fault for leaving my stuff unguarded (who knew just war theory could be so engrossing?), and much of it can be replaced with relatively little hassle.  Funny, I'm most upset about losing my iPod, because I had just fought a thirty-minute battle with it, and about losing the soap that I had literally bought an hour before.  The irony abounds-- I had debated taking my phone with me, but did so because I thought it would be wise; and so on and so forth.

But this gets to be another one of the seasons that the Lord is still God over.  These things are just things, and throughout the chaos yesterday the Lord showed mercy many times over.  Dad had the day off and so was available to call Visa and shut the card down, as well as handle things with the DMV.  My host mom was incredibly sweet and helpful, and her son kindly accompanied us to the police station to help translate.  So many more people offered help and sympathy, which just blows me away.  I am continually reminded of the amazing people in my life, and for that, I am so grateful.



Cádiz, Spain



The End of the World and Back

I'm not going to lie, it's a wonderful thing to be able to run off to Portugal for the weekend.  The rest of Europe must agree with me-- I've gotten to hear so many great accents in the last few days!  I'm tempted to ditch Spain and stay in Portugal for the remainder of my time in Europe.  They speak English, they're really laid-back, and it is possibly the prettiest place I've ever seen.  What's not to love?  Top four:

1. Whitewashed buildings everywhere

2. The Dona Ana beach literally one minute from our hotel

3. Cabo San Vincente (aka "The End of the World") to watch the sunset

4. Stairway to the grottoes and caves (possibly the best place on this planet)

Throughout the whole weekend, I was continually amazed by the beauty of creation, and how much the Lord loves us, just to give us such beauty for our experiential pleasure.  I was constantly reminded of the verse of these being but "the fringes"-- makes me excited to see the whole picture one day!

A Walk through Sevilla

More pictures can be found on facebook, but here are some of my favorite parts of Sevilla that I get to pass every day:

The view down my street:

Some typical shops and apartments:

The fountain at la Puerta de Jerez:

La Catedral de Sevilla:

Definitely the essence of Sevilla:

(I don't know where the birds come into play.)

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."-- James 1:17

Up for Adoption

After leaving Madrid we drove to Toledo, the old capital of Spain.  The perfect example of a medieval European city, Toledo is remarkable for its hold on its own history.  Considered the second most important city in the Catholic religion (second only to the Vatican) and at one point the planned place for the burial of Ferdinand and Isabella (until they decided to be buried in newly reconquered Granada), Toledo is rich in culture and importance.  Plus, it’s pretty stinking awesome to look at.

We made a morning of a few quick tours, seeing the church that Ferdinand and Isabella built for their planned burial, which now serves as a school, and El Greco’s masterpiece “El Entierro del Conde de Orgaz” ("The Burial of the Count of Orgaz").  We traipsed around the central square for lunch, and promptly discovered the Toledo is all uphill, regardless of which direction you take.  Next was a trip to the Hotel Beatriz outside the city walls (read: next to a highway in the middle of nothing) and a rather helpful informational meeting, our last before our arrival in Sevilla.  Peanut butter M&Ms and a PopTart for dinner (a lot of people ate in the cafeteria downstairs and said that I likely had the better meal) and an early night to bed to rest up before the 7-hour bus ride. 

There are few things in this world as momentarily frightening as wondering what your Spanish

señora thinks of you.  Luckily, Molly and I needn’t have worried.  María Carmen is a sweet, sweet lady who is kind and funny.  We are incredibly blessed, and I already love Sevilla.  It is a beautiful city, with fantastic weather and Vespa-drivers who think that they belong on the sidewalks, too.  More to come, but taste of what I walk past every day:

The Lord is good, friends.

Madrid in All Its Glory

Well, we left Madrid today.  I don’t have my pictures yet because I need to steal/borrow/ask politely for Molly’s camera cord (she doesn’t know this yet).  I’ve definitely enjoyed my time, and since seeing Retiro Park (El Parque Buen Retiro) I think I could live here forever.  So to sum up, since I’m such a fan of Jon Acuff and his blog (stuffchristianslike.com), I’m going to do some lists today that cover my arrival in Spain at the Madrid airport (9/20) through our last full day in Madrid (9/22).

Creature Comforts:

--Kimberly Clark apparently toilet papers the world, including the airport in Madrid

--Country music on an iPod

--Highways that look American from the sky

--Toms on group members’ feet (yes, they remind me of school)

Culture Shock:

--Bidets and hotel keys that go in a slot to make the lights work

--Shower doors that only extend halfway (pictures to come soon)

--Scariest driving ever (which says a lot, given my recent wreck)

--Hearing Spanish everywhere

--The eating/sleeping schedule

Best Thing Ever:

--Jorge the Argentinean who lives in Madrid and works for PriceWaterhouseCooper, as my seat buddy on the plane

--Fabulous hotel breakfast (fruit, breads, cereals, juices [mango, anyone?], little bocadillos jamónes [ham sandwiches made with Serrano ham, a Spanish specialty], tortilla pieces [potatoes, not bread], cheese (which need labels; I can’t figure out what kind I ate that I liked], etc.)

--Cheap tapas

--the Reina Sofia Museum of contemporary art and seeing “Guernica” by Picasso

--Running in Retiro Park (I think if I could run here every day I wouldn’t hate running so much—I even liked the statue of Satan [El Ángel Caído])

--The waiter recycles glass mineral water bottles for our water and we don’t mind, because the tap water here is great

--The most amazing tour guide leading us around the Prado Museum (think of it as Spain’s Lourve) and the Palacio Real (Royal Palace)

--The weather here is amazing!  It was about 78 yesterday with a gentle breeze.

Not cool, sir:

--Hanging out at the airport for three hours waiting for ISA (they were on time, we were early, which we knew we would be)

--Bocarones and paying for tap water

--Grown men (not ignorant frat boys!) peeing in the street at midnight.  No shame, no embarrassment, and his girlfriend (?) talking to him from the opposite side of the street

--Possible (likely) transvestite prostitutes

--Cigarette smoke everywhere (my hair soaks it up!)

--Slow service at restaurants (we finished dinner at 12:30) and a long walk home through the gay bar district and the graffiti (even on nice shops!)

It honestly feels more like I’m on vacation with a bunch of fun strangers.  It hasn’t hit most of us that we’re not going back in a few weeks.  Luckily, Madrid has been a great introduction, and I’m considering coming back simply so I can take a boat out on the lake in Retiro Park.

Here we go....

Spain is creeping up closer and closer, and will be here in less than three days.  I have undoubtedly been looking forward to this...except for all those doubts that are suddenly popping up.  Will I be missed?  Will I be able to communicate?  Will I make friends?  Will I get lost in the darkest alley imaginable and be stolen off to the recesses of Europe?  (What is possibly worrisome in itself is that that last fear is barely on my radar.)

Before all these can be tackled, however, I have to actually step onto the plane, which means I have to actually make it to the airport, which means I need to be packed and such by then, which is a problem.
My to-do list so far:

• take defensive driving
• do laundry and pack
• clean and vacuum my room
• buy a laptop battery
• return my tricked-out rental minivan
• visit a few more people....

....and so on.  So a few prayers would be helpful.

On that note, though, I am blessedly confident that the Lord can handle this to-do list and everything else that gets thrown at me this semester.  The Lord is big enough to handle language barriers, and metro schedules written in every language but mine, and loneliness, and crazy food with black olives.  The Lord who can run the world as he wants can figure out Europe for a semester, I think.

"He wraps up the waters in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their weight. He covers the face of the full moon, spreading his clouds over it. He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters for a boundary between light and darkness. The pillars of the heavens quake, aghast at his rebuke. And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him! Who then can understand the thunder of his power?"  Job 26:8-11, 14