This is the post that I'm sure all of you have been waiting for....after being out of the US for 4 months and staying as far away as the average American as possible....you're probably thinking...what on earth does Sarah think of us now??? :P
Now that I'm back to being surrounded by them all day and everyday, of course my patience is being tested. I love this country, but the time away from its values, society and people were refreshing to me. But I have to adjust and accept [some] things once again and pick up where my life left off here.
Take a look at a few of my first observations about American culture.
First of all, let me say that when I was walking off the plane in Newark, NJ with my newly made Spanish friends who were visiting New Orleans [which is another story :P], the two men I had sat next to on the plane and I were going to take a picture before we parted. We should've taken one by the gate or before we reached the escalators cause once we got down there we were near the ropes where citizens and non citizens separate. I told my one friend what about the foto we were going to take...and he called his other friend over and we were getting things in order to take one when this stupid lady "directly traffic" near the two lines heard the word "foto." Blast Spanish and its cognates sometimes!!! She was like "Photos? This is the United States Customs there will be no photos or cameras out at this time. Please move forward and on your way." The customs area was so lame anyways but I had to respect their wishes. I was NOT a terrorist people. I did think to myself, "Welcome to America," and I think I said it under my breath too. What a warm welcome it was. haha No, it made me mad and I was already wishing I could go back to Madrid.
So unfortunately I said goodbye to my friends in Spanish and proceeded through the citizen's line--which was like empty. In fact all of customs was super empty for a Sat. afternoon. So dumb.
Well, that was my welcome that I had to share. But here are the observations you have all been waiting for:
1. I can't understand people from the South. I saw the movie, "Facing the Giants," in English at a friend's apartment in April and literally COULD NOT understand what the director's wife was saying. Granted it's not the greatest acting it in, but I could not say before that I couldn't understand movies in English before.
2. People are always, ALWAYS on their phones here...texting, emailing, surfing the net, calling people--it's so ridiculous! In Spain only the businessmen would be on theirs a lot, but most of the people would be walking, talking or meeting with friends and then spending time in person with them. America is very impersonal at times.
3.People dress sloppily and too informally at times. Oh, and apparently anything goes these days! Yuckkk.
4. Motorcyclists who don't wear helmets, jackets or boots are IDIOTS here. And after seeing everyone who rode a motor bike in Spain wear a helmet and smart clothes all the time in Spain, seeing people who aren't aware of the importance of those things and the dangers of riding a motor bike REALLY annoy me. I nearly flipped out the first time I saw people without helmets back in late May. lol
5. People get waited on and served even if they don't have a shirt on!!!! What is this??? Could it just be Southwestern Ohio or do you see those people in your neighborhood too??
6. The North is still abrupt and as inconsiderate as always. Although more people have been smiling at me in Dayton than ever before either. Must be my foreigner vibe though....
7. Americans expect people to accept them or make an exception for them because they only speak English or are American...as if they "don't" know any better.
8. Americans automatically think they deserve peoples' respect....um, it must be earned cause we have quite the mess to clean up over in Europe.
9. Ohio drivers are terrible! There is no aggressive driving in Ohio like there is in NY, FL and the European Union. (This was actually just a reminder for me as I have lived in this state most of my life.)
10. Guys will hit on you like it's going out of style if you dress like a everyday Spaniard [everything looks fashionable and matches-haha].
11. I've noticed that with the Mexicans here it's perfectly okay to ask if you have a boyfriend and if not, are you going to get one. Or even suggest that at their restaurant oh, for sure you will find one here! Whaaaat?! lol
12. Everything has to be done quickly, but not necessarily enjoyed.
13. People whine and complain about the tiniest little things; especially the second things don't go right for them.
14. It seems like only the real serious couples kiss and hold hands in public....not much chivalry here. I really miss that about Spain! Seeing PDAs here doesn't really phase me at all since I saw it all the time in Spain. I think it's sweet [within reason-haha] and necessary.
Well, that's it for now! I've spent most of this evening writing these blog posts........now I need to recover and go listen to some Spanish music! :P
Un saludo y muchos abrazos fuertes a todos!
Sarah
Monday, July 5, 2010
Saying See-you-later
Well, I meant to write this post a long while ago but I've sort of been laying low here in Ohio slowly easing myself back into American culture....cause honestly, after being in Spain so long and loving it there, I didn't want to leave!
And of course avoiding annoying Americans and hanging out with the cool Spaniards and "Spanish" Americans really made my stay pretty awesome.
But alas, I am back at home here in Ohio and I must say that when I walked into my house and brought in all my luggage I felt relieved. I wasn't going somewhere else next week or having to go through another week of school in Sevilla and didn't have to pack again. For the first time in about 4 months I was able to just set down my bags and not go anywhere......it was quite a refreshing feeling. Granted, I was super tired too because it was almost 3 in the morning for me when I returned home, but that relief was very sweet and made me glad to be home. Although my heart and body were aching to be back in Sevilla.
On the bus ride from Sevilla to Madrid the morning of May 21st, I hadn't cried that hard for a long time. I didn't let anyone see the tears streaming down my face cause I had had THE WALL up [my sunglasses on], but you could see the sadness in my body language. I was in a state of disbelief in the taxi on the way to the bus station, but when the bus was pulling out of Sevilla and onto the freeway, I couldn't hold it together. The tears came because I started thinking about all of the people I had met and would miss once I left Sevilla and Spain. As I cried, my heart cried out to God to save the wonderful and caring non-believing Spaniards I had met and to provide a way for me to come back and visit this wonderful country and city.
Though the tears have been wiped away, the memories remain and will not be wiped away.
But I want to share a really cool story about my journey back to where I started in January...the Madrid Barajas International Airport. Well, from 6pm to about 9:30pm I tool the Cercanias train to Aranjuez, since I decided with all my luggage [all though I put it in storage in the Mendez Alvaro South bus station] and all the hills in Toledo it just wouldn't be smart to go anywhere farther than 45 mins away [which was where Aranjuez and the royal palace were]. The palace was closed but the outside and the gardens and lakes were just gorgeous! And I got a feel for another small town in Spain where they only speak Spanish....and a lot of stares and little whistles since I was the only giri [American] around. Oh, well....it was a very cute and beautiful town.
So after I left there I made it back to the Madrid Atocha Train Station and walked out to Calle Atocha. I asked a lady at a small stand a little ways away if there was a McDonald's near by and she said was in front of this street [on the corner]. I only had less than hr to access the Internet in Spain one last time and I didn't know how much battery power I had. I think I had 20 something percent but that was just enough time to check just a couple things and send out an email to my family and then a msg to my friends via my group, "Send Sarah to Spain." I also had enough time to come up with a catchy status that would last me until Sunday afternoon or so. Time was really of the essence cause I had to get back to the bus station to grab my stored luggage by 11pm before they closed and I would've had to wait until 6am to get it. I left McDonald's [the last time I would be in a full and extremely loud one for awhile--yay!] around 22:40 and I was about 6 metro stops away there on Calle Atocha.
But the good news is that they didn't close until 23:30! [either I read the sign wrong or they had changed it after I left cause I could've sworn it said 23:00 when I looked it a couple times earlier] I got my luggage okay and only had to pay the one day's rate however, I didn't realize they wouldn't treat you like a customer until you pulled out your receipt. :P
From there I decided to head up the floor with the cafeteria to get some dinner around 23:30 at night! It was quite the task maneuvering two check-in rolling bags and three carry-ons (two bags and then a purse) plus my blasted wool coat that I don't like anymore. haha
But I was able to have a tortilla de patatas bocadilla, hot tea [although Idk why I ordered it cause I was SO freaking hot with lugging all my stuff around and the heat] and a bottle of water. It was a nice last Spanish meal but it still can't compare to the most delicious tortelini mixed with Parmesan cheese and melted butter that I had had the night before in Sevilla.......ahhhhh, my mouth is watering as I write and remember. It is SO good!
WELL. Anyways, I hung out in the surprisingly busy cafeteria until midnight or so and then I summoned up all my traveling stamina again and headed down to the metro to begin the journey back.
It took me about an hr to get from the bus station to my gate in the Madrid airport [where I'd be spending the night]. Before I left the McDonalds, I sent out a msg to my group members to pray for smooth travel in the metro [since Madrid's metro and I have some issues--haha] and for me to find friends along the way to help me with my luggage. If you're reading this and you prayed for my safety and for me to find friends....THANK YOU! I got help with them almost immediately when I went down to the metro floor in the bus station. A nice Spanish girl named Lorena who is working on her Master's in Journalism here in Madrid saw me struggling to get my big suitcase through a super small metro gate [I totally did NOT see the large one for handicapped people-hahaha] and motioned for me to come over to the bigger one. She said to me in English, "Do you need help?" Which made me feel stupid so I responded in Spanish to save face. :P
She helped me up until the stop Nuevos Ministerios [which was on the gray line but from there I had to switch from there to get to the pink line to get to the airport]. The path Lorena showed me to get to the airport was SO much shorter than the one I had mapped out before I left...UGH....well, I can't go back! haha
From there I was on my own to make it the rest of the way. I thought I was supposed to go down because I was following the signs for the pink line transfer but I was going the wrong way. I had all my crap with me when I went down the escalator and as soon as I got on my big bag tumbled down in front of me and almost made me fall. People were watching. I felt embarrassed...but me da igual because I had embarrassed myself so much in this country at times that there wasn't much else I could do that I haven't already done. hehe
When I got down to the bottom and realized I had to go back up again, I ran into these two older but nice gentlemen who could clearly see that I was turned around just looking at my face. One guy said, "Guapa! Necesitas ayuda?" Pretty girl, do you need help??
Um, yeah....I have 5 bags on me and just want to get to the airport! haha They and another lady, Leonor, who just happened to be passing by and saw us helped me take three of my five bags. The two men [I don't think I got their names] helped us until we found the right entrance for the pink line and said goodbye to me...the normal Spain way with dos besos. :) Leonor and I went off to go up another escalator and talked a little bit about where she's been, where I've been and what I was doing in Spain this year. She was at her metro stop [which was also her neighborhood] so she needed to go, but she didn't leave until she made sure I was okay to make it the rest of the way to the airport. I said that I knew the way from there and said that I would be fine. I asked her where she's from and where she lives and she said that she is from Madrid and is actually from the barrio Nuevo Ministerios. She loves traveling she said but she loves her neighborhood a whole lot. And she definitely recommends a visit to Nuevo Ministerios....so I guess I will have to come back to Madrid! :)
After that, I had help from another couple in their 30s early 40s with getting my luggage onto the metro and making sure things didn't fall, get moved around or fall on me. haha
I had to pay an extra euro just to get to the airport because it's so far away from the center that they have to charge a supplement......not that they need to get any more money out of me. [I didn't pay it like I was supposed to when I came from the airport....hehe] Then after taking the acensor [elevator] this time, I made it up to the top and saw the familiar Madrid at night mural hanging above the escalators when I exited.
I had officially come full circle. I was back where I started this incredible journey. But I had a ways to go yet before I could sleep. I took several moving conveyor belts before I reached the first set of gates. It was a lot of work to get there with all the crap I had and the fact that I piled my small rolling suitcase onto to my bigger one and was balancing two bags on each shoulder and my H&M purse too. It was A LOT of work and my whole body was weary. But was I going to be able to sleep in a nice bed that night? Nope.
When I got to a screen that actually had my flight up, I had to walk to gate 158 or something like that. I was like that can't be too bad....there are probably only like 200 gates here. Boy, was I wrong! There are like 350 in the Madrid airport! And I was starting from the 300s and had to walk ALLLL the way down to one 153. Now, that was a trek!
I think that all I remember doing before I went to sleep was go to the bathroom [with all of my stuff], get my stuff situated, decide that I was going to prop my head up against my big purple suitcase, take my contacts out and then drape my winter coat over my eyes so I could sleep......cause those emergency room style lights that were everywhere NOT gonna be turned off any time soon. Ugh. I fell asleep around 1:15am I think which was around 7:15pm for you guys on Eastern time. And I think I slept about 3 and half hours. Around 4 or 5 this homeless or mentally handicapped old guy came wandering down by my gate with his walker and was babbling incoherently and VERY loudly. It scared THE crap out of me! I was like oh, great now I'm gonna get mugged [cause at first I couldn't really see or realize what kind of person was near me] so I "played dead" by not moving and hoping this guy would just go away. I watched a security guy come over and helped him where he needed to go [AWAY from me] and then I fell back to sleep. Everything hurt and I all I could think of was how much I wanted to be in my nice Serta bed at home. My neck was aching sleeping at that angle!
But once 5:30 rolled around and a few people were joining my spot to sleep themselves I decided to get up even though I felt like a train wreck. I still had to organize my suitcases [moving some stuff from my bags to the suitcases], clean out one of my bags and get rid of the food and liquids I had on me.
That took almost an hr and a half cause I was running on little sleep and my bags were pretty messy. Then I focused on getting ready, changing shirts, putting on makeup--to belie how I felt--and enjoy the last few sounds of Spanish in that airport.
Little did I know what the plane ride home held for me.......
And of course avoiding annoying Americans and hanging out with the cool Spaniards and "Spanish" Americans really made my stay pretty awesome.
But alas, I am back at home here in Ohio and I must say that when I walked into my house and brought in all my luggage I felt relieved. I wasn't going somewhere else next week or having to go through another week of school in Sevilla and didn't have to pack again. For the first time in about 4 months I was able to just set down my bags and not go anywhere......it was quite a refreshing feeling. Granted, I was super tired too because it was almost 3 in the morning for me when I returned home, but that relief was very sweet and made me glad to be home. Although my heart and body were aching to be back in Sevilla.
On the bus ride from Sevilla to Madrid the morning of May 21st, I hadn't cried that hard for a long time. I didn't let anyone see the tears streaming down my face cause I had had THE WALL up [my sunglasses on], but you could see the sadness in my body language. I was in a state of disbelief in the taxi on the way to the bus station, but when the bus was pulling out of Sevilla and onto the freeway, I couldn't hold it together. The tears came because I started thinking about all of the people I had met and would miss once I left Sevilla and Spain. As I cried, my heart cried out to God to save the wonderful and caring non-believing Spaniards I had met and to provide a way for me to come back and visit this wonderful country and city.
Though the tears have been wiped away, the memories remain and will not be wiped away.
But I want to share a really cool story about my journey back to where I started in January...the Madrid Barajas International Airport. Well, from 6pm to about 9:30pm I tool the Cercanias train to Aranjuez, since I decided with all my luggage [all though I put it in storage in the Mendez Alvaro South bus station] and all the hills in Toledo it just wouldn't be smart to go anywhere farther than 45 mins away [which was where Aranjuez and the royal palace were]. The palace was closed but the outside and the gardens and lakes were just gorgeous! And I got a feel for another small town in Spain where they only speak Spanish....and a lot of stares and little whistles since I was the only giri [American] around. Oh, well....it was a very cute and beautiful town.
So after I left there I made it back to the Madrid Atocha Train Station and walked out to Calle Atocha. I asked a lady at a small stand a little ways away if there was a McDonald's near by and she said was in front of this street [on the corner]. I only had less than hr to access the Internet in Spain one last time and I didn't know how much battery power I had. I think I had 20 something percent but that was just enough time to check just a couple things and send out an email to my family and then a msg to my friends via my group, "Send Sarah to Spain." I also had enough time to come up with a catchy status that would last me until Sunday afternoon or so. Time was really of the essence cause I had to get back to the bus station to grab my stored luggage by 11pm before they closed and I would've had to wait until 6am to get it. I left McDonald's [the last time I would be in a full and extremely loud one for awhile--yay!] around 22:40 and I was about 6 metro stops away there on Calle Atocha.
But the good news is that they didn't close until 23:30! [either I read the sign wrong or they had changed it after I left cause I could've sworn it said 23:00 when I looked it a couple times earlier] I got my luggage okay and only had to pay the one day's rate however, I didn't realize they wouldn't treat you like a customer until you pulled out your receipt. :P
From there I decided to head up the floor with the cafeteria to get some dinner around 23:30 at night! It was quite the task maneuvering two check-in rolling bags and three carry-ons (two bags and then a purse) plus my blasted wool coat that I don't like anymore. haha
But I was able to have a tortilla de patatas bocadilla, hot tea [although Idk why I ordered it cause I was SO freaking hot with lugging all my stuff around and the heat] and a bottle of water. It was a nice last Spanish meal but it still can't compare to the most delicious tortelini mixed with Parmesan cheese and melted butter that I had had the night before in Sevilla.......ahhhhh, my mouth is watering as I write and remember. It is SO good!
WELL. Anyways, I hung out in the surprisingly busy cafeteria until midnight or so and then I summoned up all my traveling stamina again and headed down to the metro to begin the journey back.
It took me about an hr to get from the bus station to my gate in the Madrid airport [where I'd be spending the night]. Before I left the McDonalds, I sent out a msg to my group members to pray for smooth travel in the metro [since Madrid's metro and I have some issues--haha] and for me to find friends along the way to help me with my luggage. If you're reading this and you prayed for my safety and for me to find friends....THANK YOU! I got help with them almost immediately when I went down to the metro floor in the bus station. A nice Spanish girl named Lorena who is working on her Master's in Journalism here in Madrid saw me struggling to get my big suitcase through a super small metro gate [I totally did NOT see the large one for handicapped people-hahaha] and motioned for me to come over to the bigger one. She said to me in English, "Do you need help?" Which made me feel stupid so I responded in Spanish to save face. :P
She helped me up until the stop Nuevos Ministerios [which was on the gray line but from there I had to switch from there to get to the pink line to get to the airport]. The path Lorena showed me to get to the airport was SO much shorter than the one I had mapped out before I left...UGH....well, I can't go back! haha
From there I was on my own to make it the rest of the way. I thought I was supposed to go down because I was following the signs for the pink line transfer but I was going the wrong way. I had all my crap with me when I went down the escalator and as soon as I got on my big bag tumbled down in front of me and almost made me fall. People were watching. I felt embarrassed...but me da igual because I had embarrassed myself so much in this country at times that there wasn't much else I could do that I haven't already done. hehe
When I got down to the bottom and realized I had to go back up again, I ran into these two older but nice gentlemen who could clearly see that I was turned around just looking at my face. One guy said, "Guapa! Necesitas ayuda?" Pretty girl, do you need help??
Um, yeah....I have 5 bags on me and just want to get to the airport! haha They and another lady, Leonor, who just happened to be passing by and saw us helped me take three of my five bags. The two men [I don't think I got their names] helped us until we found the right entrance for the pink line and said goodbye to me...the normal Spain way with dos besos. :) Leonor and I went off to go up another escalator and talked a little bit about where she's been, where I've been and what I was doing in Spain this year. She was at her metro stop [which was also her neighborhood] so she needed to go, but she didn't leave until she made sure I was okay to make it the rest of the way to the airport. I said that I knew the way from there and said that I would be fine. I asked her where she's from and where she lives and she said that she is from Madrid and is actually from the barrio Nuevo Ministerios. She loves traveling she said but she loves her neighborhood a whole lot. And she definitely recommends a visit to Nuevo Ministerios....so I guess I will have to come back to Madrid! :)
After that, I had help from another couple in their 30s early 40s with getting my luggage onto the metro and making sure things didn't fall, get moved around or fall on me. haha
I had to pay an extra euro just to get to the airport because it's so far away from the center that they have to charge a supplement......not that they need to get any more money out of me. [I didn't pay it like I was supposed to when I came from the airport....hehe] Then after taking the acensor [elevator] this time, I made it up to the top and saw the familiar Madrid at night mural hanging above the escalators when I exited.
I had officially come full circle. I was back where I started this incredible journey. But I had a ways to go yet before I could sleep. I took several moving conveyor belts before I reached the first set of gates. It was a lot of work to get there with all the crap I had and the fact that I piled my small rolling suitcase onto to my bigger one and was balancing two bags on each shoulder and my H&M purse too. It was A LOT of work and my whole body was weary. But was I going to be able to sleep in a nice bed that night? Nope.
When I got to a screen that actually had my flight up, I had to walk to gate 158 or something like that. I was like that can't be too bad....there are probably only like 200 gates here. Boy, was I wrong! There are like 350 in the Madrid airport! And I was starting from the 300s and had to walk ALLLL the way down to one 153. Now, that was a trek!
I think that all I remember doing before I went to sleep was go to the bathroom [with all of my stuff], get my stuff situated, decide that I was going to prop my head up against my big purple suitcase, take my contacts out and then drape my winter coat over my eyes so I could sleep......cause those emergency room style lights that were everywhere NOT gonna be turned off any time soon. Ugh. I fell asleep around 1:15am I think which was around 7:15pm for you guys on Eastern time. And I think I slept about 3 and half hours. Around 4 or 5 this homeless or mentally handicapped old guy came wandering down by my gate with his walker and was babbling incoherently and VERY loudly. It scared THE crap out of me! I was like oh, great now I'm gonna get mugged [cause at first I couldn't really see or realize what kind of person was near me] so I "played dead" by not moving and hoping this guy would just go away. I watched a security guy come over and helped him where he needed to go [AWAY from me] and then I fell back to sleep. Everything hurt and I all I could think of was how much I wanted to be in my nice Serta bed at home. My neck was aching sleeping at that angle!
But once 5:30 rolled around and a few people were joining my spot to sleep themselves I decided to get up even though I felt like a train wreck. I still had to organize my suitcases [moving some stuff from my bags to the suitcases], clean out one of my bags and get rid of the food and liquids I had on me.
That took almost an hr and a half cause I was running on little sleep and my bags were pretty messy. Then I focused on getting ready, changing shirts, putting on makeup--to belie how I felt--and enjoy the last few sounds of Spanish in that airport.
Little did I know what the plane ride home held for me.......
Thursday, May 20, 2010
One last day
Well, this is it. This is my final day in Sevilla. I head up to Madrid tomorrow morning early to go visit Toledo (Spain's old capital) for half a day and then back to Madrid to go the airport. It feels so weird to be writing this, saying that this is my last day. I can't believe it. It feels a bit more real this morning since I helped one of my roommates move out. I wasn't home when they all moved in so I offered to help the one who was leaving, Christina, this morning cause it was the least I could do.
She was not crying at all and was upbeat about everything...she didn't even cry when she said goodbye to our senora! But it's better for everyone that you don't cry and she and Manoli were talking about how she wasn't going to cry so I think that's why.
I have SOOOOOO much to do right now but I am trying to take this all in. Last night, amidst all the crazy Sevilla fans going nuts about their win, I strolled alongside the river and took pictures and admired the couples sitting or standing by it. It was a glorious night weather-wise too which just made it wonderful. I did a lot of reflecting on my time here and on someone I wish could've experienced this all with me. It's bittersweet to say goodbye now cause with all the friends I've made here (locally) I could easily stay for awhile. But I know the time has come. I'm starting to see the city with different eyes now that I'm leaving. Sevilla has been the perfect place to live and study abroad. I couldn't have picked a better place...but now it's almost time to say goodbye.
But I feel like this is all just a see-you-later instead of goodbye. I don't know when, but I will definitely be coming back here. Spain has not seen the last of Sarah! She will return and this time with her brother, Nathan, so that they both can experience the mother country together....and have a wild, crazy and awesome time!
'Ta luego, mis amigos!!
She was not crying at all and was upbeat about everything...she didn't even cry when she said goodbye to our senora! But it's better for everyone that you don't cry and she and Manoli were talking about how she wasn't going to cry so I think that's why.
I have SOOOOOO much to do right now but I am trying to take this all in. Last night, amidst all the crazy Sevilla fans going nuts about their win, I strolled alongside the river and took pictures and admired the couples sitting or standing by it. It was a glorious night weather-wise too which just made it wonderful. I did a lot of reflecting on my time here and on someone I wish could've experienced this all with me. It's bittersweet to say goodbye now cause with all the friends I've made here (locally) I could easily stay for awhile. But I know the time has come. I'm starting to see the city with different eyes now that I'm leaving. Sevilla has been the perfect place to live and study abroad. I couldn't have picked a better place...but now it's almost time to say goodbye.
But I feel like this is all just a see-you-later instead of goodbye. I don't know when, but I will definitely be coming back here. Spain has not seen the last of Sarah! She will return and this time with her brother, Nathan, so that they both can experience the mother country together....and have a wild, crazy and awesome time!
'Ta luego, mis amigos!!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
What to expect?
I went to the last group Bible study called Cambio here in Sevilla yesterday and this girl shared a really neat verse that got me thinking. I am a bit apprehensive to come back to the US a completely different person with a lot more life experiences than I started with.
18 "Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.
Isaiah 43:18-19
I am coming back to the States with a greater appreciation of things in my life than I ever did before. I wasn't able to talk to my family as much as I usually do, eat the things I was used to eating, coming and going when I pleased or having the same Christian encouragement I usually have through friends back in Jacksonville. However, God provided a lot of those things for me...some things I didn't even know I needed (friends who were like family, opportunities to eat for free and good, healthy grocery store finds, and Spanish Christians who want to seek God as much as I do).
But at the same time I am coming back to the States with some unresolved issues. I mean I will be giving up one freedom to gain another (being in my home country with my family) but I will have to "get used to" the things about my family again that annoy me. Also, I will have to slowly get readjusted to living in America and parting with the wonderful Spanish culture I've grown accustomed to...and dealing with America's new issues. Like public healthcare.....what?!
Honestly, I am just trying to savor the last days here. I am down to one last full day in Sevilla...and I want to make it very, very memorable. I know that it will be hard to adjust back to my life back in America and its problems, but I will just take it one day at a time. God has brought me this far and He can definitely do more neat things this summer! [Which I am excited to see what He will do after Spain.]
The goodbyes all seem surreal right now cause they feel like "see-you-laters" and that's good.
I will come back here one day....I don't know when or where or with whom, but one day I will return to this beautiful country. Spain, I will miss you so much!
Hasta la proxima vez...un beso!
Sarah
P.S. A Sevilla futbol game is going on live on TV right now....my host dad just screamed goal a few mins ago. As did the rest of this part of my neighborhood (no joke)! Ohhhh, Sevilla. :)
18 "Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.
Isaiah 43:18-19
I am coming back to the States with a greater appreciation of things in my life than I ever did before. I wasn't able to talk to my family as much as I usually do, eat the things I was used to eating, coming and going when I pleased or having the same Christian encouragement I usually have through friends back in Jacksonville. However, God provided a lot of those things for me...some things I didn't even know I needed (friends who were like family, opportunities to eat for free and good, healthy grocery store finds, and Spanish Christians who want to seek God as much as I do).
But at the same time I am coming back to the States with some unresolved issues. I mean I will be giving up one freedom to gain another (being in my home country with my family) but I will have to "get used to" the things about my family again that annoy me. Also, I will have to slowly get readjusted to living in America and parting with the wonderful Spanish culture I've grown accustomed to...and dealing with America's new issues. Like public healthcare.....what?!
Honestly, I am just trying to savor the last days here. I am down to one last full day in Sevilla...and I want to make it very, very memorable. I know that it will be hard to adjust back to my life back in America and its problems, but I will just take it one day at a time. God has brought me this far and He can definitely do more neat things this summer! [Which I am excited to see what He will do after Spain.]
The goodbyes all seem surreal right now cause they feel like "see-you-laters" and that's good.
I will come back here one day....I don't know when or where or with whom, but one day I will return to this beautiful country. Spain, I will miss you so much!
Hasta la proxima vez...un beso!
Sarah
P.S. A Sevilla futbol game is going on live on TV right now....my host dad just screamed goal a few mins ago. As did the rest of this part of my neighborhood (no joke)! Ohhhh, Sevilla. :)
Saturday, May 15, 2010
But there were lessons learned...
Briefly, here are the most important things I've learned this semester:
*Don't worry about things you can't change or control...although you have to do your part in using the time and resources God gives you wisely, God has your best interests in heart and controls everything. Worry is just a waste of time.
*Nothing and I mean NOTHING will ever be perfect, go perfectly or be the way you want it to be exactly...so get over it! And accept changes in schedule, plans and expectations. If you are reading this and know me, this is a hard thing for me to let go! haha
[Side note: I'm listening to my Zune right now and the song, "Let it Go" by Tenth Avenue North just came on. Okay, God, I hear what you're saying. :]
Anyways, I was put in a home where all the other girls are virtually perfect and pleasant and never upset our host mom but I am messy, keep odd times coming and going (cause my plans often change!) and seem to spend the least time in the house. I used to think why, oh why did you put me in the diva house, God??? But now I see His logic in it (or at least I think). I now have a greater appreciation when things go right for me....it used to be I would get really, really upset and angry when things didn't work out and pity myself and complain, but now I have found a hidden blessing in all of this...and a lesson that I really needed to learn.
I just came to that revelation a few days ago and realized that it's a blessing this morning, so it's very fresh in my mind.
I also saw this quote on someone's profile a little while ago: "Things go wrong, so that we can appreciate them when they go right."
*I AM A VERY SELFISH PERSON. And just how much makes me sick when I actually thought about it. Everything this semester seems to have been about me...what places I'll go to, the friends I'll make (both Spanish and American), what I'll buy, learn, experience, what can I tell people back home...that I completely forgot about witnessing to the Spanish people here or letting my life be a witness to the people around me. I feel really ashamed of how I've acted at times this semester and how I've turned a little bit into a snob-just like the Europeans here. I make sure I look good and stylish and constantly check myself out in mirrors, windows, etc. I've never done it before, but they are pretty much everywhere (windows at least) and so it makes it easy to be vain here. I can only hope that people see something different about me and see that my friendship is genuine and that God can use that and my prayers to bring them to Him. I am doing my best to leave a mark on my Spanish friends...so that one day we can be brothers and sisters in Christ.
*BE CONTENT. Every time I tried to go on big trips internationally God threw a monkey wrench into my plans. It was NOT in His plans for me to travel extensively and extravagantly here and I found that out the hard way. Not only did I not have the money to do it, but I had a purpose to fulfill here. I am thankful for the trips I've gone on and the memories made, but I am really happy that most of my time has been spent here in Sevilla. The friendships, life experiences and hands-on practice with the language have been invaluable for me. My love for Spanish is even deeper now!
I could not ask for a better experience abroad...and it is what I came here for--to get to know the people on a personal level and be so accustomed to speaking Spanish that I forget English, and that's exactly what I've gotten! God just had to break me and my pride down to where I could finally see that and really appreciate the gift that He gave me to be here....cause it is a miracle that things worked out for me to come!
Well, this brief snapshot of what I've learned this semester turned into a usual lengthy post for me. If you had the ganas [literally, guts] to read both posts congrats!
Now I'm off to continue packing (a week ahead) and finish up a paper before I head out to dinner and salsa dancing! Helloooo no sleep tonight! :)
Un beso!
Sarah
*Don't worry about things you can't change or control...although you have to do your part in using the time and resources God gives you wisely, God has your best interests in heart and controls everything. Worry is just a waste of time.
*Nothing and I mean NOTHING will ever be perfect, go perfectly or be the way you want it to be exactly...so get over it! And accept changes in schedule, plans and expectations. If you are reading this and know me, this is a hard thing for me to let go! haha
[Side note: I'm listening to my Zune right now and the song, "Let it Go" by Tenth Avenue North just came on. Okay, God, I hear what you're saying. :]
Anyways, I was put in a home where all the other girls are virtually perfect and pleasant and never upset our host mom but I am messy, keep odd times coming and going (cause my plans often change!) and seem to spend the least time in the house. I used to think why, oh why did you put me in the diva house, God??? But now I see His logic in it (or at least I think). I now have a greater appreciation when things go right for me....it used to be I would get really, really upset and angry when things didn't work out and pity myself and complain, but now I have found a hidden blessing in all of this...and a lesson that I really needed to learn.
I just came to that revelation a few days ago and realized that it's a blessing this morning, so it's very fresh in my mind.
I also saw this quote on someone's profile a little while ago: "Things go wrong, so that we can appreciate them when they go right."
*I AM A VERY SELFISH PERSON. And just how much makes me sick when I actually thought about it. Everything this semester seems to have been about me...what places I'll go to, the friends I'll make (both Spanish and American), what I'll buy, learn, experience, what can I tell people back home...that I completely forgot about witnessing to the Spanish people here or letting my life be a witness to the people around me. I feel really ashamed of how I've acted at times this semester and how I've turned a little bit into a snob-just like the Europeans here. I make sure I look good and stylish and constantly check myself out in mirrors, windows, etc. I've never done it before, but they are pretty much everywhere (windows at least) and so it makes it easy to be vain here. I can only hope that people see something different about me and see that my friendship is genuine and that God can use that and my prayers to bring them to Him. I am doing my best to leave a mark on my Spanish friends...so that one day we can be brothers and sisters in Christ.
*BE CONTENT. Every time I tried to go on big trips internationally God threw a monkey wrench into my plans. It was NOT in His plans for me to travel extensively and extravagantly here and I found that out the hard way. Not only did I not have the money to do it, but I had a purpose to fulfill here. I am thankful for the trips I've gone on and the memories made, but I am really happy that most of my time has been spent here in Sevilla. The friendships, life experiences and hands-on practice with the language have been invaluable for me. My love for Spanish is even deeper now!
I could not ask for a better experience abroad...and it is what I came here for--to get to know the people on a personal level and be so accustomed to speaking Spanish that I forget English, and that's exactly what I've gotten! God just had to break me and my pride down to where I could finally see that and really appreciate the gift that He gave me to be here....cause it is a miracle that things worked out for me to come!
Well, this brief snapshot of what I've learned this semester turned into a usual lengthy post for me. If you had the ganas [literally, guts] to read both posts congrats!
Now I'm off to continue packing (a week ahead) and finish up a paper before I head out to dinner and salsa dancing! Helloooo no sleep tonight! :)
Un beso!
Sarah
This is ending?
So a week from day I will leave one of the most wonderful countries that I have ever known and have called home for the past four months. With final exams and papers nagging at me to finish them, I can't help but let the memories of this semester distract me. :)
Last Tuesday I went to a Bible study that's been going on this whole term but haven't been able to go to due to a class that meets at that time. However, last Tuesday it was canceled so I was able to go. It's an English-speaking Bible study full of Americans, but it was so great to see a lot of them. It's called "Cambio" and it's led by a guy named Jake who has been here the whole school year!!! Which is just awesome....and I'm a little jealous that he's spent 5 more months here than I have. haha
The theme for this week was to share what we've learned or what God has taught us this semester here in Sevilla. A lot of people had some great stories and lessons learned....some painful to learn but beneficial nonetheless. A couple people in particular learned just how faithful God is and how He provided things they were concerned about or didn't even know they wanted and God provided.
One guy in particular did a Bible study on his own the whole semester and pretty much kept it up this entire time. He set a goal to read the whole NT in one semester and has almost completed it....He started reading Acts to Revelations and then went back to read the the Gospels separately. I think he's in either Luke or Mark right now. Something that he said really struck me. He said that he didn't realize what happens with your relationship with God when you really get into the Word. It changes it so much, but in a very good way. He found that the times when he didn't read or when he was traveling were the times he felt the most distant from God...and the most conscious of sin in his life.
What a lesson to learn during your semester abroad! I must say I'm envious that he found that closeness with God this semester....but I admire this guy for his endurance and faith. I wish I could say that this semester I grew the closest to God, but I can't.
I can't go into too much detail right now, but I am one of those people who learned some harsh realities about myself and hard lessons here in Spain. I have greater appreciation for some things in my life now though so I need to learn these, or at least God wanted to make sure I learn them.
Last Tuesday I went to a Bible study that's been going on this whole term but haven't been able to go to due to a class that meets at that time. However, last Tuesday it was canceled so I was able to go. It's an English-speaking Bible study full of Americans, but it was so great to see a lot of them. It's called "Cambio" and it's led by a guy named Jake who has been here the whole school year!!! Which is just awesome....and I'm a little jealous that he's spent 5 more months here than I have. haha
The theme for this week was to share what we've learned or what God has taught us this semester here in Sevilla. A lot of people had some great stories and lessons learned....some painful to learn but beneficial nonetheless. A couple people in particular learned just how faithful God is and how He provided things they were concerned about or didn't even know they wanted and God provided.
One guy in particular did a Bible study on his own the whole semester and pretty much kept it up this entire time. He set a goal to read the whole NT in one semester and has almost completed it....He started reading Acts to Revelations and then went back to read the the Gospels separately. I think he's in either Luke or Mark right now. Something that he said really struck me. He said that he didn't realize what happens with your relationship with God when you really get into the Word. It changes it so much, but in a very good way. He found that the times when he didn't read or when he was traveling were the times he felt the most distant from God...and the most conscious of sin in his life.
What a lesson to learn during your semester abroad! I must say I'm envious that he found that closeness with God this semester....but I admire this guy for his endurance and faith. I wish I could say that this semester I grew the closest to God, but I can't.
I can't go into too much detail right now, but I am one of those people who learned some harsh realities about myself and hard lessons here in Spain. I have greater appreciation for some things in my life now though so I need to learn these, or at least God wanted to make sure I learn them.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
A Day in the Life of "Spanish" Sarah
I know that it's probably pointless to tell you about a normal day for me here in Spain, but you guys need to know this before I leave. I need to know this too in a way so that I can remember my daily life here too.
A normal Monday or Wednesday for me usually goes something like this:
I get up around 6:30 or 7 a.m. (that's 12:30 or 1 a.m for Americans on Eastern time) to read my Bible, pray, check messages from the day before, do homework and chat with the occasional friend I might find still online. Breakfast is usually at 9 a.m. for me on Mondays and 7:45 a.m. on Weds.--since I work at an elementary school around 9-9:30 a.m.). My señora wakes us up each morning for breakfast by knocking on our doors and saying, "Desayuno." [breakfast]!!
You will not find many (or any) señoras who do this. Although mine's pretty strict, we are so spoiled here.
In the beginning I did sleep til 8:30 or 9 a.m. and she did in fact wake me from my slumber, but now, with weeks of having lots and lots of homework, I get up earlier....and if you know me, you know that I like to get ahead and I enjoy mornings and being productive first thing, so that's why I get up early. Spanish people think I'm absolutely crazy. haha
Breakfast consists of hot tea, water, hard toast [tostada] or cookies [galletas] with Nutella or marmelade and fruit--oranges, bananas, kiwis. In the beginning, I had cookies with Nutella and then tostada with Nutella but after a few breakouts and realizing how terrible it is for you, I stopped.
If you eat the sweets the Spanish eat normally, you could easily become diabetic. That became super clear to me after I read the ingredients of the Nutella. It's basically a heart-attack in a jar!
Although I try to get dressed and ready before breakfast, I usually am getting ready for the day, putting on my make-up [yes, you read this right] and gathering all the stuff I need fore the day in my bag after I get up from the table and thank my señora for preparing breakfast [which all she does is heat up the water for tea for us, but still that's work in itself].
As I leave the house I tell her, "Hasta luego," and head out the door with my packed lunch in hand and go down the three sets of stairs t the main door of the apartment building and then cross the patio and go down three more sets of stairs til I finally get to the street. From there I turn the corner and am out in all the action for the day. There's a supermarket just around the corner from me and people are always coming out of there or taking their kids to school or walking to work. It's a busy little street at times.
If I'm not running errands or meeting someone in the mornings, I usually head straight to the metro to go to school or to the public library after leaving the house on Mondays. Wednesday mornings I walk over to the school and work on the blog I'm making for the International Relations Dept. It's not a long walk at all and after I finish there I walk just a little ways down the street and down some side streets and take the metro to school for my 1:30 p.m. Sociology class.
Usually, before class starts I'm able to eat my packed lunch (which consists of a sandwich--bocadillo--, fruit and an orange juice juicebox. The sandwiches are usually good, but the bread is kinda salty and the cheese melts and looks like mayonnaise some times. And it gets. everywhere. Ugh. haha
During Sociology I try to be active and participate in the discussion but most of the time I'm fighting off sleep cause the topics are kinda boring and we take little to no notes every day.
On both Mondays and Wednesdays I have an hour in between my Sociology class and Global Economy class (at 4 p.m). so I either surf the web on my netbook and write messages, read for my next class [which is what I am most likely doing] or just sit and soak up the sun and listen to music....or meet new Spanish people around me. :)
Between 4 and 5:20 p.m my ears rejoice at the sound of my British Econ professor's voice, but my brain gets a little mushy as I make the transition back to English and learning about the complex problems other countries are facing and economic models. I try my hardest to participate in his class, but for the life of me I just can't get my thoughts out fast enough...and they are usually too basic. But now I feel that I have learned enough about Global Economics that I am just as competent as the next person in my class to discuss topics and issues.
After class, I talk to friends and we all trek back to the metro stop [which is like 10-15 mins away from this building I'm in...Building 24--grrr]. Usually the metro is about to arrive by the time we get there or it has just left by the time we make it there and have to wait for another one. The metro ride itself takes about 20 mins and then the walk back to my house is like 15 mins from my stop at Plaza de Cuba. Sometimes I go straight home after class to check things on the internet or talk to someone, but lately I have been going to the river to sit and tan or go run other errands or do some browsing/shopping. It just depends on what I need to do that day.
I like to shower on Monday, Wed, Friday and with 4 girls sharing one bathroom it's hard to get in sometimes. On Mondays especially I shower before dinner so that the other [diva] girls can have the bathroom and use it as much as they need to.
Dinner is always at 9 p.m on the dot my time and my señora likes us to be prompt. Sometimes she will serve it earlier if we are all in the house at the same time and it's ready. I've had a few run-ins with dinnertime since no other señora keeps such a strict time schedule as mine does. It usually lasts anywhere between 30-45 mins depending upon what we talk about or what's on the news. I still don't like the fact that it's sooo late in the day, but my body has adjusted to it.
After dinner I go back to working on homework, reading my ridiculously long literature books, surfing the web, cleaning my room, preparing for the next day or Skyping with my family and the occasional friend.
My goal is to go to bed at 11:30 p.m. or earlier but I usually end up getting there around midnight or 12:30 a.m....which means I get little sleep each night. I can function alright for the most part, but I really wish I got more sleep here.
And then I basically repeat this for Tuesday and Thursday, but an abbreviated version of those days will be coming soon!
If you made it all the way to the end of this post, you must have a ton of time on your hands...or are just very curious to see how I spend my days here in Spain! Either way, thanks for reading!
Mucha cariña,
Sarah
A normal Monday or Wednesday for me usually goes something like this:
I get up around 6:30 or 7 a.m. (that's 12:30 or 1 a.m for Americans on Eastern time) to read my Bible, pray, check messages from the day before, do homework and chat with the occasional friend I might find still online. Breakfast is usually at 9 a.m. for me on Mondays and 7:45 a.m. on Weds.--since I work at an elementary school around 9-9:30 a.m.). My señora wakes us up each morning for breakfast by knocking on our doors and saying, "Desayuno." [breakfast]!!
You will not find many (or any) señoras who do this. Although mine's pretty strict, we are so spoiled here.
In the beginning I did sleep til 8:30 or 9 a.m. and she did in fact wake me from my slumber, but now, with weeks of having lots and lots of homework, I get up earlier....and if you know me, you know that I like to get ahead and I enjoy mornings and being productive first thing, so that's why I get up early. Spanish people think I'm absolutely crazy. haha
Breakfast consists of hot tea, water, hard toast [tostada] or cookies [galletas] with Nutella or marmelade and fruit--oranges, bananas, kiwis. In the beginning, I had cookies with Nutella and then tostada with Nutella but after a few breakouts and realizing how terrible it is for you, I stopped.
If you eat the sweets the Spanish eat normally, you could easily become diabetic. That became super clear to me after I read the ingredients of the Nutella. It's basically a heart-attack in a jar!
Although I try to get dressed and ready before breakfast, I usually am getting ready for the day, putting on my make-up [yes, you read this right] and gathering all the stuff I need fore the day in my bag after I get up from the table and thank my señora for preparing breakfast [which all she does is heat up the water for tea for us, but still that's work in itself].
As I leave the house I tell her, "Hasta luego," and head out the door with my packed lunch in hand and go down the three sets of stairs t the main door of the apartment building and then cross the patio and go down three more sets of stairs til I finally get to the street. From there I turn the corner and am out in all the action for the day. There's a supermarket just around the corner from me and people are always coming out of there or taking their kids to school or walking to work. It's a busy little street at times.
If I'm not running errands or meeting someone in the mornings, I usually head straight to the metro to go to school or to the public library after leaving the house on Mondays. Wednesday mornings I walk over to the school and work on the blog I'm making for the International Relations Dept. It's not a long walk at all and after I finish there I walk just a little ways down the street and down some side streets and take the metro to school for my 1:30 p.m. Sociology class.
Usually, before class starts I'm able to eat my packed lunch (which consists of a sandwich--bocadillo--, fruit and an orange juice juicebox. The sandwiches are usually good, but the bread is kinda salty and the cheese melts and looks like mayonnaise some times. And it gets. everywhere. Ugh. haha
During Sociology I try to be active and participate in the discussion but most of the time I'm fighting off sleep cause the topics are kinda boring and we take little to no notes every day.
On both Mondays and Wednesdays I have an hour in between my Sociology class and Global Economy class (at 4 p.m). so I either surf the web on my netbook and write messages, read for my next class [which is what I am most likely doing] or just sit and soak up the sun and listen to music....or meet new Spanish people around me. :)
Between 4 and 5:20 p.m my ears rejoice at the sound of my British Econ professor's voice, but my brain gets a little mushy as I make the transition back to English and learning about the complex problems other countries are facing and economic models. I try my hardest to participate in his class, but for the life of me I just can't get my thoughts out fast enough...and they are usually too basic. But now I feel that I have learned enough about Global Economics that I am just as competent as the next person in my class to discuss topics and issues.
After class, I talk to friends and we all trek back to the metro stop [which is like 10-15 mins away from this building I'm in...Building 24--grrr]. Usually the metro is about to arrive by the time we get there or it has just left by the time we make it there and have to wait for another one. The metro ride itself takes about 20 mins and then the walk back to my house is like 15 mins from my stop at Plaza de Cuba. Sometimes I go straight home after class to check things on the internet or talk to someone, but lately I have been going to the river to sit and tan or go run other errands or do some browsing/shopping. It just depends on what I need to do that day.
I like to shower on Monday, Wed, Friday and with 4 girls sharing one bathroom it's hard to get in sometimes. On Mondays especially I shower before dinner so that the other [diva] girls can have the bathroom and use it as much as they need to.
Dinner is always at 9 p.m on the dot my time and my señora likes us to be prompt. Sometimes she will serve it earlier if we are all in the house at the same time and it's ready. I've had a few run-ins with dinnertime since no other señora keeps such a strict time schedule as mine does. It usually lasts anywhere between 30-45 mins depending upon what we talk about or what's on the news. I still don't like the fact that it's sooo late in the day, but my body has adjusted to it.
After dinner I go back to working on homework, reading my ridiculously long literature books, surfing the web, cleaning my room, preparing for the next day or Skyping with my family and the occasional friend.
My goal is to go to bed at 11:30 p.m. or earlier but I usually end up getting there around midnight or 12:30 a.m....which means I get little sleep each night. I can function alright for the most part, but I really wish I got more sleep here.
And then I basically repeat this for Tuesday and Thursday, but an abbreviated version of those days will be coming soon!
If you made it all the way to the end of this post, you must have a ton of time on your hands...or are just very curious to see how I spend my days here in Spain! Either way, thanks for reading!
Mucha cariña,
Sarah
Monday, April 26, 2010
Taking back the joy
4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Some things have happened in the past few days that have really made me question the experience I have had this semester abroad. While I can't go into detail what those things are, I will say this: I have discovered my purpose for being here in Spain.
It's not to go to as many countries or cities as I can, spend as much money as I can or see how many stupid things I can do while drunk. My purpose here has been to get to know the PEOPLE of Sevilla...and let me tell you, it has been invaluable. Money cannot buy some of the experiences I have had here with people...and not just regular Americans, but Spaniards! They are the most generous and fun-loving people I have ever met. And without certain friends in my life here, my experience would just be one big selfish and extravagant semester abroad. I don't mean to sound like I'm condemning anyone for traveling as much as possible with the money they've earned to spend here in Europe cause that is awesome to do....it's just that is not how my semester is being spent.
And honestly, while I can't help but feel a little disappointed, I am content. I have felt, especially in the last few days, that the devil is trying to steal the joy that I have to be here and the joy I've found in friendships. It's not fair cause I have worked hard to get here so I am praying fiercely every day that God will provide me with his armor to fight off the devil and his wicked schemes...and it all starts with reading His Word.
My semester abroad will not be measured in how many countries I've been to, souvenirs I've bought, or how many drinks I've tried, but rather by how many Spanish friends I have made, how many times I laughed til I cried and how much love I have shown. :)
What an experience this has been. I can only hope that through all the mistakes I've made and hiccups in this trip that God's love and grace can still be seen through me and can bring people to Him.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Africa for the weekend
Here's a special entry that I wrote during my Morocco trip: (from 4-10-10)
Bienvenidos a Africa!
Well, I'm officially in Africa...a whole nother continent for me! After an unpleasant and long fairy ride, spending the night in a 4-star hotel and lots of delicious Moroccan food, I am now on my way to Tangier, Morocco where we will be riding camels and doing some more shopping!
This trip has been great so far. Everyone except a couple from Argentina and an American boy is a girl so that has made it so much easier to make friends. I think everyone one of these girls who is studying here goes to the Univ. of Sevilla [or so I thought] so I may not see them again, but that's okay. It was definitely a good choice for me to go on this trip with We Love Spain. Everything is included, planned and fun. The Moroccan people are so nice too--the tour guide, Mohammad and all the shop-keepers. I was very surprised by just how friendly they are for some reason. I definitely thought that some of them would be unbearably pushy, but they aren't. Ideally they want you to buy things from them, but they are not offended if you just want to look. That was just what I experienced in the first marketplace that we visited...the more open ones may have pushier people.
However, as we made our way to the restaurant where we had lunch, these two guys followed us all of the way there. They were rather annoying, but a couple girls got some good deals off them. The food we had at the restaurant was top-notch. A spice-filled soup with bread was the first course; rice with tuna, cucumbers, tomatoes and onions, carrots and potato salad were 2nd and the main course was couscous with beef and steamed vegetables on top. For dessert, we had these hard cookie/muffin things with sesame seeds on top and tea that reminded me of the apple tea that Nathan had at the Pasha Grill. It was so good! It all had no salt, too!
I can't believe that bland things now make me happy. haha [to an extent, of course] Well, that's all I can write for now. We just made it to Tangier and are going to ride the camels! After that, we'll be going to the place where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean and then the Caves of Hercules--whatever those might be. And at the end of the day, we will be at our 2nd hotel (which I've heard is not that great---but the people who told me that were wrong!). I really need to charge my camera, but I'm just going to have to make do...and hopefully learn from now on to charge it each day (before and after) when I go on trips like this. As far as I know, I may not be back here again. I'm definitely going to remember Morocco, but people at home want to see some sweet pics (and so do I) so I have to get some. We'll see what Tangier holds though.
Ciao for now!
Sarah
Bienvenidos a Africa!
Well, I'm officially in Africa...a whole nother continent for me! After an unpleasant and long fairy ride, spending the night in a 4-star hotel and lots of delicious Moroccan food, I am now on my way to Tangier, Morocco where we will be riding camels and doing some more shopping!
This trip has been great so far. Everyone except a couple from Argentina and an American boy is a girl so that has made it so much easier to make friends. I think everyone one of these girls who is studying here goes to the Univ. of Sevilla [or so I thought] so I may not see them again, but that's okay. It was definitely a good choice for me to go on this trip with We Love Spain. Everything is included, planned and fun. The Moroccan people are so nice too--the tour guide, Mohammad and all the shop-keepers. I was very surprised by just how friendly they are for some reason. I definitely thought that some of them would be unbearably pushy, but they aren't. Ideally they want you to buy things from them, but they are not offended if you just want to look. That was just what I experienced in the first marketplace that we visited...the more open ones may have pushier people.
However, as we made our way to the restaurant where we had lunch, these two guys followed us all of the way there. They were rather annoying, but a couple girls got some good deals off them. The food we had at the restaurant was top-notch. A spice-filled soup with bread was the first course; rice with tuna, cucumbers, tomatoes and onions, carrots and potato salad were 2nd and the main course was couscous with beef and steamed vegetables on top. For dessert, we had these hard cookie/muffin things with sesame seeds on top and tea that reminded me of the apple tea that Nathan had at the Pasha Grill. It was so good! It all had no salt, too!
I can't believe that bland things now make me happy. haha [to an extent, of course] Well, that's all I can write for now. We just made it to Tangier and are going to ride the camels! After that, we'll be going to the place where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean and then the Caves of Hercules--whatever those might be. And at the end of the day, we will be at our 2nd hotel (which I've heard is not that great---but the people who told me that were wrong!). I really need to charge my camera, but I'm just going to have to make do...and hopefully learn from now on to charge it each day (before and after) when I go on trips like this. As far as I know, I may not be back here again. I'm definitely going to remember Morocco, but people at home want to see some sweet pics (and so do I) so I have to get some. We'll see what Tangier holds though.
Ciao for now!
Sarah
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Tienes suerte si....
You're extremely lucky if you are reading this and can do any (or all) of the following things:
*Get out of your bed, get dressed and WALK to your classes
*Have a bowl of cereal with milk in it!
*Can print things from your own room/house instead of having to go a store or the school copy center!!!
*Pay for things in dollars and not have to take money out of ATMs
*Not have to watch the exchange rate for the Euro constantly
*See your family on the weekends or call them up from your own cell phone
*Have the OPTION of putting salt on or in your food
*Breathe air that's free and clear of smoke!!
*Have access to a kitchen and can bake or cook things for yourself whenever you want
*Making money every week instead of just spending but not earning any
I'm not home sick or anything but I have been comparing life in Spain vs. America lately cause I've had a few bad days off and on. Today was actually one of those frustrating days cause there is just so much to do and not enough time!
But I'm lucky, too cause in Spain I am able to:
*Hear Spanish and lots of other different languages in the streets all the time
*Try new and exciting foods almost every week and not have to spend money
*Meet people from all over the world
*Go to different countries on the weekends and on vacations
*Go to a Spanish church and praise God in another language
*See sunsets and sunrises that blow my mind almost every day
*Slowly become more fluent in a language that I love
*Learn things I never thought I'd be learning
*Fly to other countries for super cheap
*Have memories that money cannot buy but time will make even sweeter (you know, the little things :)
*Attempt to be as sophisticated and stylish as a European
*Learn how to party like the Spaniards
*Bring all of this knowledge, style and information back to the United States of America!
I'll be doing some updates soon, but I just wanted to write what has been on my mind for a little bit. So in the next posts....you will be reading about what my daily routine is like, Cadiz and MOROCCO!
*Get out of your bed, get dressed and WALK to your classes
*Have a bowl of cereal with milk in it!
*Can print things from your own room/house instead of having to go a store or the school copy center!!!
*Pay for things in dollars and not have to take money out of ATMs
*Not have to watch the exchange rate for the Euro constantly
*See your family on the weekends or call them up from your own cell phone
*Have the OPTION of putting salt on or in your food
*Breathe air that's free and clear of smoke!!
*Have access to a kitchen and can bake or cook things for yourself whenever you want
*Making money every week instead of just spending but not earning any
I'm not home sick or anything but I have been comparing life in Spain vs. America lately cause I've had a few bad days off and on. Today was actually one of those frustrating days cause there is just so much to do and not enough time!
But I'm lucky, too cause in Spain I am able to:
*Hear Spanish and lots of other different languages in the streets all the time
*Try new and exciting foods almost every week and not have to spend money
*Meet people from all over the world
*Go to different countries on the weekends and on vacations
*Go to a Spanish church and praise God in another language
*See sunsets and sunrises that blow my mind almost every day
*Slowly become more fluent in a language that I love
*Learn things I never thought I'd be learning
*Fly to other countries for super cheap
*Have memories that money cannot buy but time will make even sweeter (you know, the little things :)
*Attempt to be as sophisticated and stylish as a European
*Learn how to party like the Spaniards
*Bring all of this knowledge, style and information back to the United States of America!
I'll be doing some updates soon, but I just wanted to write what has been on my mind for a little bit. So in the next posts....you will be reading about what my daily routine is like, Cadiz and MOROCCO!
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