Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Hasta Luego

alright. I am in Paris now, but still processing everything that has happened these past six weeks in Spain. So here goes:
God has taught me a bunch about how to respond to differences, how to enjoy being alone and appreciate beauty by myself/with God, and how God provides and is incredibly faithful to His children with even the littlest things.

First, our little Christian study abroad group was made up of six wonderful girls of different faith backgrounds. We had some Baptist, non-denominational, and catholic faiths in the mix and it was interesting to listen to the different beliefs and traditions of other faiths. I also was taking a class on Comparative Religions where I learned a ton about different religions and how they differ from Christianity. Throughout all this, I learned how to listen, be respectful, and tried to understand when it was my place to speak out about my personal beliefs in the midst of differences. Still haven't figured it all out, but I got a lot of practice with these new friends and the course which helped with everything. Also, I was in Spain, living with a Spanish family who knew no English, speaking a foreign language with locals, and all that--lots of differences all around. I embraced the Spanish culture, trying everything once such as breaded/fried squid, Pudi's flavorless dietary cheese, and other deliciousness that I would not necessarily want to chow down on again. I respected the culture, trying to speak the language as much as I can, even when the natives switch to English, I would respond in Spanish.


Second, my time in Sevilla--going abroad alone, knowing absolutely no one. I even lost my camera so I was not able to share my pictures with friends and family back home..It sounds crazy, but my mind wants to call that a waste. If I can't do something such as watching a movie, traveling to a foreign city, eating dessert, with someone, I feel that I shouldn't be doing it yet..But God taught me that I am spending all of this time here with Him. On my solo walks to and from school, I would process my time here by talking to God and appreciating all the beauty and new sights on my walk. It was such a beautiful walk even though it was lengthy. So thankful that I was able to learn this from my journey here because that mindset is unhealthy.


Third, this one is my favorite..God provided for all my needs and fulfilled all my goals, even the little silly ones. Here are some of my goals: make at least one native friend and one deeper friend from the program, hang out with local kids, safe/smooth travel--no delays or cancelled flights, Spanish improves, balancing Spanish culture/studying/communicating back home/Bible&journaling, and getting used to the sleeping/eating schedule. My flight to Spain was a little stressful but I knew that God was testing me from the very beginning. I ran to my flight to Madrid out of Chicago since my plane to Chicago was delayed over 2 hours for tornadoes...but I made it. Then, after arriving and spending a few days in Spain, I realized that meeting locals would be harder than I thought and I started to not think it was possible. But, the second to last week, I met a sweet, local woman, Maria, at English Club who introduced me to her amazing daughter, Cecilia, who is now a close friend. We hung out basically every night after we met for the last week I was there. The last week, God met my desire and I was blown away..especially since she might end up living with my family this upcoming year to learn English. Sleeping/eating schedule took a week to get used to, but was not a big barrier to experiencing the culture. I would, however, get hungry between bfast and lunch most days, but the last 2 weeks, I was sick and did not have as much as an appetite, so God provided there, as I was not struggling with the hunger gap. (God's strange way of provision, but I love it)  As far as new American friends, I got close to a few individual girls including my roommate, and we even were able to do a bible study together once a week. I love them so much and it was great to connect on a deeper, spiritual level so fast since we only knew each other for a week or so when we started the study. Communicating back home worked out and was not something stressful that preoccupied my thoughts at all. Studying, thankfully, did not really need to happen until the last week..so I did not waste time on studies outside of actual class time. And most afternoons, I had my room to myself and I sat outside on our little balcony and read the Bible/journaled..listened to the kids playing down in the courtyard. Lastly, the way God provided my happy time with kids was wildly awesome and unexpected. The time spent for service at the Christian campsite (see "ma-ri-po-sa" blog) was not time I was expecting to spend with kids at all..I thought I was going to paint (which I did also...) Then, after meeting Maria, she took me to a preschool by her apartment where I was able to spend the day hanging out with kids...an amazing experience I was not expecting. God sees the desires of His children, and He provides tenfold.



Saying goodbye to Pudi and the family was hard since I know it will be a while until I see them again. But I helped Pudi get an email address and taught her how to use the internet (!) so we can keep in touch still. My last moments with Pudi were spent on a little afternoon at the doctor and then Plaza de Espana, where we ate chocolate and had some conversation. It was a lovely afternoon and a great way to remember Sevilla and Pudi. She insisted that I not say "Adios" (goodbye) but say "hasta luego" (see you later). I love that idea and thus, I have said my "Hasta Luego" to Spain and all of it's beauty and happiness.