Wednesday, August 31

The never-ending day(s) of travel to Sevilla are finally drawing to a close as I sit here on my Senora’s (host mom’s) couch. I left my house at 4:45 am Tuesday morning, when John drove me to the airport, and it is now 3:14 pm on Wednesday Minnesota time. Between three flights and a couple of incredibly long lay-overs, it feels as though I haven’t stopped moving since 4:00 yesterday morning. However, I shouldn’t be complaining. I somehow managed to sleep for about 6 of the 7.5 hours it took us to get from Chicago to Madrid, and I slept on the flight to Chicago and from Madrid to Sevilla.

It was fun and a little overwhelming to meet everyone at the airport, and I’ve been grateful for the company during travel and the positive outlooks that everyone has brought to the last couple of days. As soon as we landed in Sevilla, we found our checked bags and made our way to a bus, which dropped groups of us off at various stops where our host moms picked us up. My roommate, Corinne, and I were met by a lovely excited woman of about 65 who showed us to her apartment and gave us a quick tour of the cozy home before giving us some time to unpack.

We’re both struggling to find places to put everything, but with a few more hangers, which we plan to buy this week, and a couple of other adjustments, I’m confident we will settle in comfortably. We were thrilled to find a decent free internet connection accessible from our apartment, and we spent a little while contacting our families and catching up on things. After I tried Skyping my mom, I went out to the living room to watch some TV and chat with my host mom. She was watching a Spanish series set in the early 1900s, which I was happy to watch with her, considering my recent affinity to that era. We got to talk a little bit about her family, students she has hosted in the past, and my family, which was really fun.

A while later, our Senora showed Corinne and I where our school is, and we spent some time there using a better internet connection with the other students. We walked home with another student, Danielle, who lives near us, and it was fun to get to know the neighborhood a little bit. Sevilla has a very calm feel to it, and none of our host moms were concerned about our safety walking to and from the school, which is a nice change of pace after San Jose.

We ate dinner when we got back, and then I took a shower in the smallest shower I have ever seen in my life. I think it might be smaller than the showers on cruise ships, and its outer boundary is a flimsy curtain that lets all the water out if you’re not careful. Like all living arrangements, my new home will take some getting used to, but I already feel pretty comfortable here, and walking through the city today I was filled with anticipation and excitement for the upcoming semester. God’s peace has been with me throughout my entire journey here, and I can hardly wait to see what He has in store for me in Sevilla!

Monday, August 29

Hello world!
I'm slowly and slightly reluctantly making my way back to the blogging world. Its been a whirlwind of a summer, and I can hardly believe that I am about to embark on another semester abroad. Before I dive into my next semester abroad, I think it might be fun to write a quick snapshot of my summer. I'll try picking up right where I left off in my last post. I made it home from Latin America at the end of April and found myself right in the middle of my nice comfortable life. The only difference was all of the growth I experienced while away and my new awareness of the world around me. It has been a struggle to get back into the swing of things and get used to the patterns of life here again, and mostly I feel like I just threw myself back into life full speed ahead.
I spent most of my summer nannying for the wonderful family I have worked with for three years now, and I had a blast going to beaches, pools, and parks with the three little girls I watched. I also took a few summer classes, which were not quite as fun, but it feels good to have them out of the way. Between work and class, I spent lots of time with my friends and family, and I started going to Zumba classes at the gym in town, which I absolutely loved! It seems like the summer flew by, with family gatherings and weekend trips thrown in here and there, and now my final project of the summer is upon me…packing everything I will need for four months of life into two little suitcases.
While I might be "slightly reluctant" to be getting back to blogging (because its hard to imagine writing every day again after having taken some time away from it), I am looking forward to my upcoming semester in Spain. It will be difficult, but in different ways than Costa Rica was, and I'm looking forward to the new challenges and the eminent growth that will come out of them. One of the biggest challenges, which was a huge part of my experience in Costa Rica, is simply being away from home by myself for so long. Sure, there will be other students there with me, and I'm looking forward to building up those relationships, but it is difficult to go away from all of the incredible people I know and love here.
My next post will likely be written from Seville, Spain, my home base for the next few months. In Seville I will take classes like Spanish Literature and The Three Cultures of Spain. My course load will be at least 16 credits, and if I am able to add on a 2 credit service learning class, hopefully I will finish the semester with 18 more credits under my belt. I'm so excited to use Spanish again every day and to experience everything God has in store for me on this journey. As always, your thoughts and prayers mean the world to me, and I can't wait to share this adventure with you!