Castle on a Cloud

 What a week! 

I can't believe that we are almost halfway through our third week here!
I feel like I have finally developed a good schedule and it is nice to have some sort of idea of what to expect from day to day.
This past week has been another week of new and fun experiences, as well as a week of planning trips! 
This past week, we were so excited to finalize all the plans for our long weekend in Italy next month!! We gathered around in Pepita's living room on our laptops and booked our tickets. We are so lucky to have two amateur travel agents in our group- Hayley and Ellen. They have gone to so much trouble to look up the best prices for flights, trains, and hostels. It has been fun
to plan a trip to such an exciting place.
We also are taking our very first trip away from Alicante this weekend! On Thursday, we will take a bus to Madrid and stay until Sunday!

Last week included a lot of random fun things: having a movie night at Hayley and Ellen's apartment, going to the cutest little cafe for coffee after school, going back to the market with Brynn, looking around at a small gypsy craft fair set up in a park near our apartment, and of course, the big beautiful random saint parade that that Brynn and I got caught up in. We also had some fun nights at Brynn and Jo's apartment. I love how we always get together there to watch a movie, but

we just end up laughing or playing a game all night. We have such a fun group of people from OBU here and it has been fun to become better friends with everyone.
(Ellen's face in this picture makes me laugh every single time I look at it.)
Speaking of friends, I am so excited to be making friends with a group of Asian girls from my Cine class! On Friday, Brynn and I went out with them to get ice cream at the Valor Chocolate store here by the beach (Valor is a really famous chocolate here). We enjoyed sharing about our lives with them and asking them questions about their culture! I thought it was so hilarious that each time Brynn and I talked to each other in English the girls would squeal and say que chulo! -- "soo cool!" Its strange for people to think that English is "beautiful," as they said! Also strange to think that while we were talking to each other in English, all it sounded like to them was "blahblahblahh." Its just part of being a foreigner for a change. The other day at school, I got lost on campus and had to go to an information desk to get help. 


The lady had to call someone on the phone and the first thing she said when they picked up on the other line was "I have an estudiante extranjera here who needs help." Foreign student? Oh, that's me! 
Being the fish out of water is giving me a different perspective on everything, and a new appreciation for the exchange students back at OBU.
On Saturday, we went to a Bible study especially for international students that is at the church that we have been going to. The turn out was small. Only a girl and a guy from France showed up as well as a girl from Slovakia. Still, it was really great to meet believers from different parts of Europe. The leader of the group had us go around and tell our salvation story to the group- in Spanish- which was a little challenging but really neat as well as great practice! The next day we went back to the church for the Sunday service, and again I was so encouraged at how loving and friendly everyone was. It seems like such a healthy body and great community. After the service was over, we hung around and talked with the Slovakian girl (Martina) that we had met the day before. She speaks great English, so it was kind of nice to not have to use Spanish for a little bit. We were planning on climbing up to the castle Santa Barbara that is on a huge hill (in Arkansas it would be considered a mountain) in the city, so we invited her to come along. I am so glad that we did! She has been living here since 

November, but will return back to Slovakia in only 9 days! I am so sad that she will not be here longer, but I am glad that we got to hang out with her.
Anyways, 
The. Castle. Was. Incredible
But man was it a hike! One of the neatest things about it was the fact that you did not have to pay to enter it. It literally just sits on top of this gigantic hill and all you have to do is follow the steep trail up and just walk right in! So at 5:00, we met and 

started the hike up! As we got higher and higher, the view got more and more incredible. You could see every part of the city and next to it, the sea stretched into infinity! The castle was HUGE! It was absolutely unbelievable that we were actually walking through thousand year old corridors and archways. We finally got to the highest point of the castle at the exact same moment that the sun began to set and I could not believe my eyes. The sky was on fire. It reflected in the water of the sea, illuminated the 

whole city and made the mountains in the distance dark outlines against the golden sky! I wish I could have captured everything about how it felt to stand up there on the highest point on the castle with the sea on my left and the city on my right! It was amazing. On our way down, Martina and I sang "Castle on a Cloud" from Les Mis (I know that sounds incredibly cheesy, but in case you didn't see facebook last month, I'm a little excited about the new movie) and we talked about how cool it is that we are from different parts of the world and both love that movie!

As it started to get dark, we made our way down the hill and decided to go get chocolate crepes at the Valor shop (its quickly becoming our favorite place). As we drowned in chocolate, we sat around the table and talked with Martina! We asked her what her family does at Christmas time, and she told us that every year, her family watches the Czech version of Cinderella! We all thought that was pretty cool, especially when she told us she wrote her own English subtitles that she added. She asked us if we wanted to watch it with her sometime, so on Wednesday, we are going to go over to her apartment to watch the Czech Cinderella! Again, I am sad she is leaving so soon!
Some other noteworthy events were: making a huge vegetable stir fry on only 3.50 euros. We bought SO MANY VEGETABLES! All fresh from a vegetable stand. And it only cost 3.50. Can't get over how cheap that is.
Yesterday, we tried to go to a free movie that the university puts on every Monday at this big bookstore, but after waiting around for 2 hours with no sign of the movie starting, we decided to go get Pakistani food instead. One plus was that one of our Japanese friends, Midori, came with us to see the movie so we got to hang with her more, as well as drink some delicious tea. The Pakistani restaurant was delicious-- and would you believe it, they spoke English! English is quickly becoming a precious (and rare) commodity to us!
Pepita continues to shower us with love and always makes us laugh! One day last week, the three of us were talking about something in English at the table. I guess we kept saying "oh my gosh" a lot, because all of the sudden, Pepita started imitating us with her thick Spanish accent- Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! It was hilarious, and now she likes to say it around us to make us laugh!

The presidential inauguration was yesterday, and it has been so interesting to be here in Europe while it was going on. I have gotten a lot of questions from international students about the traditions involved. It has been kind of fun to talk with them about it and answer their questions about my country. Also interesting how the rest of the world takes such an interest in the U.S.

School continues to go well. I am learning a lot about my identity in Christ and how it makes me different. The school is beautiful and interesting.. but it is a dark place. Still, I feel set apart here. I feel like my eyes are open, while everyone around me has their eyes shut. I really understand what it means to live in the light. Its a cool feeling. I don't feel like I have ever experienced this before, probably because I have been going to a private university and because I was so immature in my faith during high school. But I am beginning to understand a little more the refinement by fire that 1 Peter talks about. I am not saying that I have been suffering intense persecution or anything even CLOSE to that. I really haven't at all. But everyday life here is definitely not as easy as it is back at OBU in the States, and sometimes it is uncomfortable to be a believer at school here. But- I am realizing that when life is difficult, that's when you grow. And its cool. It does not make me want to live a comfortable life. I am also realizing how important it is to spend time with the Lord every day, especially when you are surrounded by non-believers.
Anyways, its been really great to experience the real world outside of the bubble (though I do still love OBU!).
Please continue to pray for me! Pray that my time with the Lord would be the most important part of my day, and pray for opportunities to share hope with my new friends!

I am continuing to love life here in Spain. Somedays I look around, unable to believe that I am actually here.

Thank you for all your love and prayers.

Adiosito!

Extra pics from the week....

                         

Dia de San Anton

Such an unexpected surprise!

This deserves its own blog post.

One thing I love here is how spontaneous everything seems!

Thursday night, Brynn and I were quietly walking back to our apartments after going out for some tapas. I was feeling tired and had made strict plans for myself for when I got home-  an hour of homework, an hour of face timing family, and then to acostarme (hit the hay) at 11:00 sharp. 
Yeah right- this is Spain.
As we approached the fork in the road where we normally part ways, we saw a huge crowd of people standing in the street. Naturally, we had to find out what was going on.
We found out that we had stumbled upon the parade for San Anton, the patron saint of animals. Apparently, Thursday was a special day to honor him here in Spain and in celebration, they had a procession that went right through Brynn's neighborhood!

It was the most amazing, spontaneous, cultural experience that I have yet to have in my two weeks here so far!

We arrived with perfect timing- everyone in the procession had just finished lining up and were waiting to begin the parade. Brynn and I looked around in awe at the beautiful women and young girls dressed up in traditional Valencian dresses. In the procession there was also a band, older women dressed in black traditional Valencian clothes, and a huge altar type thing that men carried on their shoulders. On top of the altar was a huge figurine of San Anton. An altar boy also "helped" carry the altar and led the men in some chants. He was adorable.
As Brynn and I stood around waiting with the mass of people in the street, we were startled when a huge BOOM shook the streets. We looked up and there were fireworks in the sky! We ooed and ahhed with the  

españoles 

as a display of bright beautiful fire lit the sky for a good five minutes. 

Then it began!

The procession was lead by a priest in white. As the procession began, the huge crowd of people in the street started to walk along with the people in the procession. I looked up and saw people coming out on their balconies in the apartments above our heads to watch the traditional procession. Brynn and I joined in with the crowd and followed the parade on its route around the block, cheering when everyone cheered and clapping when everyone clapped. The music of the brass instruments rose and fell and added to the thick energy in the air.  The procession made its way around the block and ended up in front of a church, where it stopped for people to throw something on the altar thing (birdseed? corn meal? dirt? I'm not sure, but everyone on the street had something in their hands that they were throwing).


Then, they took the altar into the church and EVERYONE else followed!
So into the church we went. We watched as the priest said a few words of blessing, the men chanted something, and everyone cheered and clapped! People made their way up to the altar to throw more things on it, touch and kiss it.
We walked back out of the church to find music playing and people dancing in the street!

 I took quite a bit of video on my iphone, but it is all chopped in to pieces instead of one long video. The internet has a bad connection today and it will only let me upload one video right now, so maybe tomorrow I will edit this post and add more videos. This is a video that I took right when we walked up to the parade. Everyone was lining up and getting ready to go.

This was such a cool experience. What made it so interesting was the fact that I have watched videos of processions like this in probably every Spanish class I have ever taken, but as I was walking home one night, one spontaneously erupted in front of me! As we ran around through the crowd, dodging birdseed(?) and women in huge dresses, I shouted out to Brynn, "THIS is why we studied abroad!"
To be a part of another culture.. to see these things firsthand.. to be with the people. This is what it is to really understand how different people live. Obviously, saint worship is not okay, but having this cultural experience brings forth a better understanding of their culture. And from understanding their culture comes a love for them and an appreciation for the lives of these people.

We made it a week!

  Say it with me:

Yo camino          I walk

Tu caminas        You walk

          

El/Ella camina          He/She/It walks

Nosotros caminamos          We walk

    

Vosotros caminais          You all walk

(the vosotros- yes its real, and yes, people use it. learn it.)

Ellos caminan         They walk

In short- we do a lot of walking here. We walk to the bus stop. We walk from the bus to school. We walk to class through the gigantic campus. We walk to go eat. We walk to go hang with friends. We walk to el Mercado to get groceries. Siempre caminando. And it rocks! I love it. 
It is just part of the way of life here that is so different from America (at least from where I am from). Everything is so close and easily accessible. The city is built for pedestrians. I have definitely had to get used to so much walking and also to preparing myself to be out all day. The days start out pretty cold, so I have to dress in layers and gradually peel them off as the day gets warmer and warmer. I just love being out in the city, walking and being a part of everything. Its so fun to finally have a real spanish bus pass, cell phone, and student ID. It really makes me feel like I live here now.

Here are some other small discoveries I have made about doing life here:

• This is the way people do meal times: They eat toast and orange juice for breakfast, have a huge lunch at like 1 or 2, and basically just eat fruit or a sandwich for dinner. Pepita has told us countless times that it is muuuuch healthier to do meals this way rather than the American way. Muy bien para el estomago, she says.
• People here do not eat ice cream in the winter. At. All. When we told our professor that we eat ice cream year round, she could not understand why we would want to eat something so cold in the winter. I guess it makes sense! But it means that the two times we have gone out for ice cream we have looked like complete tourists. But.. its ice cream. Sorry I'm not sorry.
• Eating on the go is RUDE. The dinner table is a sacred place and therefore is not to be disgraced by neglect. People who eat while walking, sitting in a park, on the bus, or basically anywhere besides a dinner table are considered to be either a.) Poor or b.) Bad mannered.This also means that sometimes it is rude to use the dinner table to do homework or basically anything else besides eating and socializing.
• Leggings are pants in Europe. Sorry, its just the way it is. I'm afraid no amount of twitter complaints will ever change that here!
• Everyone and their mother has a dog and they take it everywhere. And there are no pooper-scooper laws here to keep the streets clean so, cuidado!
• People here are not considered to be old until they are 70 years of age. Until then, people are "allowed" to act young. My professor went around the classroom and asked all of us how old our parents are. She said that by Spanish standards, every single one of our parents is very young! I love this, because it seems like all the adults here are all so active and carefree, like the young people.
• People here constantly refer back to the Franco dictatorship period when talking about all different subjects. I can tell that it was a time that still greatly affects their country.
• Everything smells like fish.

I've learned so much from being here for one week, no?

I can't believe that it has only been a week!

Classes were wonderful. My professors are probably some of the best teachers I have ever had. I have also continued to meet lots of really neat people.

I absolutely love my Cine class. It is a class of about 7 or 8 students- all girls- taught by this really cool hip young professor (also a girl) that I enjoy a lot. The class is all about how movies and film are used to portray social norms and problems. It involves a lot of in-class discussion, which I love because I am in the class with girls from other countries (Japan, China, South Korea, and Russia). It is so interesting to hear about how things are different in each person's country. Right now, we are doing a unit on how women are portrayed in film and what it says about society. It has been eye-opening to discuss issues having to do with women in society with these girls and realize that women in the US have always had more rights than women in many other countries.
I have also been so excited to make some friends from that class! We are hoping to all go out and get coffee one day soon, which is so exciting! I can't get over how cool it is to converse with people from all over the world, simply because I know Spanish.


This week was also exciting because our other roommate, Wendy, arrived! Wendy is a student from Belgium who lived with Pepita last semester too. She is here in Alicante studying translating. The house is now full and we are enjoying having another "sister" here to get to know, as well as another culture (Belgian) to learn about. 

And I can't forget about bowling... 
Bowling in Spain. With Pepita's french club. What an experience.
We were picked up at the apartment at 5:00 by Pepita's friend and her boyfriend (both in their seventies like Pepita) and made a 20 minute drive across the city to this huge mall with an arcade-type place and bowling alley. Once inside the mall, we stopped with Pepita at a candy kiosk where she proceeded to buy a humongous bag of candy while her friend and the boyfriend walked ahead of us to the arcade. A few minutes later, as we walked into the arcade, we found them on opposite sides of a foosball table, playing the most intense game of foosball that I have ever seen a couple in their seventies play. Pepita just waved her hand towards them and with a vale vale vale, ushered us over to the tables by the bowling alley. Minutes later, the couple came to sit with us, and with a disgruntled sigh, the boyfriend muttered  ella ganó- she won.

One by one, the rest of the members of the French club arrived, each giving us many kisses on the cheek as well as many unidentifiable words in.. french!

The games began and as Emily began to show off her very intense bowling skills, I was not surprised to find that bowling in a Spanish bowling alley seemed to have no effect on my bowling skills.. or lack thereof. Each time I walked back to my seat, the ball rolled down the gutter behind me and Pepita got madder and madder because I was not doing it right! All I could do was hold back laughter as she tried to give me pointers- Mas bajo, mas bajo!! 
All in all, it was a really fun night and it was so fun to meet Pepita's friends.

Today, we went to church! 
It took us a little bit to find it, but after some searching, a lot of caminando, and getting directions from a police officer, we finally found La Primera Iglesia Bautista de Alicante. Turns out it is right by where we live! We walked in late and managed to find a seat in the back row, as the service had already started. I sat beside the cutest little old lady who kept leaning over to me the whole time to tell me things about when she got married... Didn't really understand why, but she was sweet.
I was so encouraged to find that I could understand about 95% of what was said during the service, including the sermon! I was also excited that the sermon was so solid-- very challenging and with scripture and the gospel at the center! As we walked out of the service, we were also stopped by the pastor de jovenes "young people pastor" and got information about a bible study and activities that the church has for college students! He said that there are a lot of international students who are involved in the church too. It got me really excited, and I plan on going back!


We did many other random fun things during this week
as we got to know the city better. Brynn, Karissa, and I went to el Mercado in the center of the city. It was a huge indoor open meat market and open produce market. Never have I seen so much meat. Every kind of meat you can think of- from skinned squirrels to good ol fashioned hamburger patties was for sale. We bought flowers for Pepita at the market and I ate the best strawberries I have ever eaten in my life. We explored the city more, found some interesting public workout equipment down by the beach that we played around with, went out for more tapas, and took advantage of all the rebajas --sales-- going on this month. January here is like Black Friday, but ALL MONTH. Everything is 50% off or higher! Last night, we also went to the movies here in Alicante to see Les Miserables. Most of the movie is singing, which means that they can't dub it over in Spanish (since it is a soundtrack) however, the few times that they did speak in the movie were quite humorous as Hugh Jackson would switch from his tenor singing voice to a very low, heavily accented Spanish voice. 



Whelp, 1/16 of my time here is over.
I know that sounds like.. nothing, but I just can't believe that it has already been a week! I know that the time will continue to go faster and faster as we get even more settled in and used to life here. So far, it has been a wonderful adjustment, and I am loving being out of the familiar United States and trying a different way of living.
Thank you for praying for me and thank you for reading this blog!

In short, it was a primera semana muy buena. 

Eating at this restaurant that has 100 types of bocadillos-- tiny sandwiches!

Hangin out after school!

The chicos.

The best strawberry ever.

Movie time!

At the bocadillo restaurant.

#1 fans of Les Mis!

All we want is cookie dough mix!

Here is Pepita getting ready for meal times!

                              The meat market! I wish I could capture smell along with the video.

 

Viviendo en España

 We made it!

Had a big day of travel- a flight from XNA to Chicago, then to Madrid, then Alicante. It was so fun to travel with friends-- Brynn, Jo, Hayley, and me. We got along so well and we really enjoyed each other's company as we made the long journey! Everything went so smoothly- no delays or close calls or anything. We made it to the Alicante airport, got our luggage, all got separate cabs (except for Jo and Brynn who are living together) and said hasta luego! Getting that cab, agreeing on a price with the driver, giving him the address, and arriving safe and sound at Pepita's made me feel like a super cool adult.
So, the cab dropped me off at the apartment, I buzzed what I assumed was Pepita's number, and the door opened! I managed to get all my luggage in the tiny elevator, not knowing what would be on the other side of the elevator door when I opened it next and.. There she was! Pepita! Kind, loving, warm, happy Pepita! I stepped off the elevator, got a beso on each cheek and was ushered into my room that I share with Emily. Karissa had already arrived a few days before, and it was so good to see a familiar face as well! As soon as I dropped my things, Pepita asked me if tienes hambre and I replied with a big SI. Next question: Te gusta pescado? Ay ay ay.. I knew that one was coming, but not as soon as I stepped in the apartment! Of course, I answered si like a muchacha buena, because hey, this is an immersion experience right? And boom. Almost instantly a big bowl of fish soup was plopped down right in front of me, with big chunks of fish and other very foreign objects floating around in it! And you know what- I ate it! So maybe by the end of the semester, I will have acquired a taste for seafood!
So I got all settled in and spent some time talking with Pepita and her friends that were there at her apartment hanging out. Pepita is wonderful to use Spanish with, and is good about correcting my mistakes, which is very helpful.
Later, Karissa and I went out to see the Three Kings Parade. In Spain, and also latin-american countries, they celebrate the arrival of the three kings that visited Jesus. The celebration happens on the 6th of January, which was the day after I arrived. We went downtown and mingled with thousands of people as they lined the streets to see floats of Woody the cowboy, Mario, Cleopatra, Santa, and the Three Kings pass by. The three kings were Giant puppets on tall sticks held up by people walking. It was exciting to get to be a part of a big cultural experience that first night that I was there!

Emily got in later that night, and we helped her settle in! Our house is almost complete- we are waiting for Wendy, a girl from Belgium, to arrive tomorrow.
The next day (yesterday), Em, Karissa, and I got up at around 11, and Pepita made us a breakfast of toast and orange juice. She had asked Emily what she normally ate for breakfast, and when she answered with eggs, Pepita was absolutely appalled!  She said that it is bad for the stomach to eat eggs so early in the morning, and that toast is the only way to go!


We sat around a little table in the living room with Pepita and her friend (who had randomly spent the night?) and watched David Bisbal give a concert in Nueva York. I swear, Pepita and her friend were both madly in love with him.




After breakfast, we met up with Hayley and Ellen and explored the city some! We went and ate tapas for lunch (90 cents each, muy barato!) which was such a fun experience! Tapas are like little appetizers that people eat in between meals (because they eat at such weird times here!) We got to see Hayley and Ellen's host apartment and meet their family. Then we got together with the complete group of nine OBU students! It was so fun to be reunited with everyone and just hang out in the city! I have no shame in saying that I felt (and still feel) like I was living in the Lizzie Maguire movie. All of us went to the beach to see the beginning of the sunrise, and then we just explored until we got tired!

Today was the first day of school!
School was probably the thing I was most worried about, but I have to say that it was a wonderful first day, even though it started at 6 AM! We got up at 6, met up with our group at 7, took the bus to the school and found where they had posted our schedules! I felt very blessed to have my class with Josh, Emily, and Ellen, and we all went together to find the classroom.
The way school works is that we go to two classes each month. One is a Spanish language course that is three hours long (with a break in the middle) from 8-11 and then from 11-12 I have a culture course (this month, my culture course is cine, movies). At the end of the month, I switch to new classes.
All my classes are with other international students also learning Spanish. Today, I met kids from all over the US, including New York and Michigan. I also met people from Japan, Russia, and China.
I think that the coolest part of the day was speaking Spanish with a Japanese girl, Chinese guy, and Russian girl! Even though they knew no English, and I knew none of their languages, it did not matter because our common language was SPANISH! How cool is that. I have two options of communicating now!
Learn another language, folks. Its never too late. I am telling you, part of what has made this experience so incredible so far has been simply the ability to constantly know what is going on around me because I know the language! Knowing the language opens up so many doors in so many ways.
After we got out of school at 12, we walked to a plaza and sat outside at a cafe while we ate lunch. I felt like I was living in a movie.
Now, we are hanging out at the apartment after a loooong siesta. The sleep schedule here is NUTS. Today, my professor explained to us that people (I am talking everyone- kids, adults, old people) always stay out until 2 or 3 and then get up at around 7. Getting five hours of sleep here every night is normal! But then at around 2 pm, everything closes down so everybody can take a nap in order to be rested to do it all over again! I mean, I have heard that this is cultural.. but I didn't realize that.. everyone does it!

It is beautiful here. The people are beautiful, the language is beautiful. The sea is beautiful, the buildings are so bello. Its wonderful and I am happy to be here and happy to be immersed in this incredible culture. My host mom, Pepita is lovely and wonderful. She loves on us so much and I feel so at home with her. I am so happy to be here.

Please continue to pray for me, because I know that the newness will wear off at some point!
Pray that I will be disciplined with school (doing school in such a beautiful place feels a little strange! ha!)
Pray that I will continue building relationships with new people!

Pray for the whole group too. We haven't had a time to really sit and talk about how everyone is feeling, but I can't assume that everyone is on as much of a high as I am.

Thank you so much for reading my posts and for your prayers! He is so real and so strong.

Know that I am doing so well. I feel like I have transitioned with such great ease into the culture, which is absolutely a blessing from Jesus. I feel so natural in this environment, which I think just reinforces my sense that he will use me with another culture at some point.

Dios os bendiga!

(look Mom, I'm using el vosotros!)

The view from our apartment.

Pepita's sweet perro, Perlita!