Friday, September 30

            Whew! I don’t have much time to write, but I’ll do my best to sum up my day fairly quickly. This morning I talked with my Romanticism professor about the great century confusion of yesterday, and he reassured me that I had no reason to worry about the test or its results. I had to take another test given by him in my Latin American Literature class this afternoon, so I spent every spare second of the morning reviewing that material. Going into this test I knew I needed to keep a level head and focus on writing my ideas clearly, even if I don’t have time to write as much. The test format was the same as yesterday, I was grateful to get three prompts that I was very confident in answering. Instead of rushing I took my time and made a quick outline before starting, and the whole test went much better.

            We got our tests back in Romanticism, and I discovered that my professor graciously ignored everything I wrote about the 19^th century and gave me credit for the information I presented about the 17^th. The grade was not my highest preoccupation, but I was really grateful to see that he understood that it was our first test and I was overwhelmed. He did jokingly mention my over-ambition in covering two centuries in the time I should have taken to cover just one, and I was happy to know that we were on the same page and that he knew I understood the material I needed to. After reviewing the test, we went to the park across the street from our school to read a classic Sevillana legend by Béquer, one of the authors we’re studying. It turned out to be a wonderful afternoon.

            After class, I went out for ice cream with some friends and then went to the park by my apartment to work on some homework before lunch. My goal was to get all of my homework for Monday done today. I mostly succeeded and only have a one-page composition left to write sometime in the next few days. We had a really yummy lunch, and then I went back to the park to pray for a while and do some more homework. I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed with things to do: I’m participating in a prayer group, Wednesday night services, Sunday school, a service project, trying to form a relationship with my intercambio, planning weekend and daytrips, keeping up with people at home, and studying Spanish, all on top of trying to walk closely with God, and sometimes I just need to take a break and surrender it all to Him.

            Like I wrote about yesterday, I’m learning lots about trusting God and seeking His purposes, and taking some time to just be with Him is absolutely necessary sometimes. I left the park knowing that I was in God’s hands but still feeling like I had a lot to do, so I went straight home and got to work. I had studied my grammar a bit, but I still needed to review, and the biggest thing I was worried about was getting in touch with my parents about fall break plans. I was thankful to get to Skype with them and work things out, and then I spent the rest of the night catching up on things. I had lots and lots of unanswered emails and little details that I couldn’t keep putting off, so I ended up spending the rest of my day getting those little things done. It’s a relief to feel like I’m mostly caught up again, but I know that with another week will come another list of things to do, so I’ll try to keep working throughout the rest of the weekend in order to start next week off on the right foot. I’m looking forward to going to Cadiz with Corinne tomorrow and the break from reality that the trip should provide. It will be refreshing to get out of the city and hopefully go swimming for a while. This Mediterranean weather is something I could totally get used to…how many Minnesotans get to go to the beach on October first?! 

Thursday, September 29

            Today was a day full of learning. I had my first exam in my Romanticism class, so on the way to school Corinne kindly quizzed me about the material. I had it all memorized and felt really prepared to take the test. One of my professors was at a meeting this morning, so we didn’t have that class, and I was able to work on some homework and review my Romanticism material a little more throughout the day before taking it during my last hour of class.

            The tests here are set up such that we have 50 minutes to complete them. No extra time is given and the questions generally take at least 50 minutes to answer. We were given four essay prompts and were required to answer three of them for this particular test, so I started right away and wrote everything I could think of for each of the topics. I felt really rushed during the test, but I was pretty confident walking away from it.

            As soon as I got home from class, I started studying for my other literature test, which is scheduled for tomorrow. I opened up my notebook to study and a terrible realization hit me. One of the questions on my Romanticism test was about the 17^th century, and in my rush to write as much as possible I mixed up some information. I did in fact write everything we studied about the 17^th century; however, because I was so focused on covering all the details I also mixed in some information from the 19^th century. I knew exactly what I had done wrong and that my essay would be a little confusing to say the least. I was also really afraid that it would be a poor representation of what I knew. It was discouraging to know that I knew the material really well but was unable to have the time I needed to present it like I should have.

            Let’s be honest...my initial reaction to this unpleasant realization was to have a minor breakdown. I knew it wasn’t the end of the world, but it was still disappointing, and I just couldn’t force myself past it. I ended up putting away all of my school stuff, taking a deep breath and praying about it. In my little conversation with God He showed me something incredible.

            This semester is not about learning Spanish. It is not about getting A’s in my classes, and it is not about making the best friends I’ll ever have. This semester, and every period of my life, is about learning what God has for me. It’s about taking a step away from the patterns of the world, from distractions and temptations, and focusing on Him and His glorious will. He’s teaching me to seek Him and to walk humbly by His side, trusting and being a lamp for His light to shine through, and I love every minute of it. The trials and the hurts are all worth it in the end because He is faithful and He knows what He is doing. That doesn’t mean that I don’t get hurt or that I don’t fall down, but it does mean that He is my comfort and my strength. God isn’t asking me to be perfect; He’s just asking me to have faith.

            God showed me that this little mistake, which seemed catastrophic to me at first, was a perfectly premeditated part of His plan. He used it to humble my spirit and to turn my eyes to Him instead of allowing me to be swallowed up by my mountainous to-do list. It was a good perspective check and an opportunity that He provided for me to re-focus and be refilled by His assurances.

            The more I thought about the mistake on my test and God’s use of it, the more grateful I was that it happened. I know I will still have to talk to my professor and explain what happened, if for no other reason than to make sure he knows that I care about the class and know what I did wrong, but it’s not going to be the death of me. I thought at first that I would talk to someone about the format of the tests here, which seemed to be the root of the problem. If I had only had more time I wouldn’t have felt so rushed and therefore I could have organized my thoughts much better. In the end I think I’ll give it a few more tests and see how things go before trying to start a test formatting reform. Through this mistake God didn’t just teach me more about Himself and my journey with Him, I also learned once again the dangers of rushing instead of taking a minute to collect my thoughts and think things through, and I think that ultimately the format of the test had very little to do with my error.

            Coming to, thinking about, and then discussing these realizations consumed most of my evening, but I did have to make time to study for my other test coming up tomorrow, and I got to take some time to spend with my prayer group, which was nice. We’re just getting to know each other, but I really enjoy sharing with the girls in my group, and I know that God is going to teach me great things through that experience as well. After prayer group, Corinne and I went with a few other girls to buy bus tickets to Cadiz for Saturday. We're going to try it again, this time knowing where the bus station is, and hope to spend the day visiting the city and going to the beach. It should be a great time, and I'm looking forward to finally getting to take some pictures with my own camera!

            Studying kept Corinne and I up fairly late, but for some reason we both had a considerable amount of energy and were able to enjoy studying together during the wee hours of the night, and I went to bed feeling exhausted and happy to be following the world’s most incredible leader.

Wednesday, September 28

            This morning came with wonderful news…my mom is going to come meet me in Italy for fall break! I’m so excited to see her, and everything just fell into place for her to come…I pretty much can’t wait for break now. It’s going to be SO MUCH FUN!

            Other than hearing that news, it was a fairly normal day. I had all of my classes, found out that the dates of my tests are flip-flopped in my planner (which means I stayed up late last night studying for the wrong test, but don’t worry…neither test is until tomorrow!), and this evening I went to Encuentro, the Wednesday night service hosted by my school.

Most of my day was occupied with studying, although I took a break to walk through the park before Encuentro. It was good to get out by myself for a little bit. I’ve been realizing more and more how necessary it is for me to have some alone time with God as frequently as possible. It just makes all of life better to touch base with the One who just knows and understands. My time in the park today was a good reminder to me that God is in control and that I can just rest under His protection.

Encuentro was also really refreshing, as always, and it was good to have a chance to talk about the message with some people I haven’t really talked to much in a while. It seems like everyone has their own schedule and everyone’s very busy, so every opportunity we get to just touch base is welcomed.

I mentioned the late night of studies last night and the test date confusion. It really wasn’t that big of a deal…I intended to start studying for each of my tests 2 days before I had to take them, but accidentally started the wrong subject first. The good news is that I have a head start on Friday’s material and I had enough time tonight to prepare for my test tomorrow, so I’m feeling pretty good about the rest of the week. I’m super tired now, so that’s all for tonight. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Tuesday, September 27

            Tuesdays have for some reason become the hardest day of the week for me. It seems like I finally realize how much I need to do before the end of the week, usually run into some sort of problem, work on homework and other jobs, and go to bed exhausted every Tuesday. We’ll have to find some way to remedy this, won’t we?

            Today everyone started talking about next week’s excursion to Toledo, a historic city near Madrid. The trip is on a Thursday and Friday, so many people are just planning on taking a bus from Toledo to Madrid and staying there for the weekend. It sounded like fun to me, so I talked to some friends and started researching the trip. Mostly I looked for transportation and lodging, but I’m always surprised by how long travel plans can take to make. The fun of a trip seems so far away when you’re buried in planning details! Oh well…I know it will be great, and I’m happy to have the plans all nearly done now.

            I’ve been eagerly waiting for my package to arrive with my new camera in it, and I checked at the reception desk after every class today. It finally came a little later in the afternoon, and I was really happy to finally have it. Until…I was informed that Spanish customs added an unexplainable $60 tax to the delivery. So instead of tearing into the box and playing with my new camera I headed out to the nearest ATM and paid the crazy tax. When I finally got to open the box I was greeted with the lovely camera (which I love), a new watch (I broke mine on the first day of the semester), and some Reese’s minis (my absolute favorite candy). It was a pretty fun package to get aside from the bill that came with it.

            Lunch was fun, and we had a fun chat with Rosa again before heading back to the school to paint abanicos (the fans that Spanish women are infamous for carrying and using ALL the time). I was planning on spending like 30 minutes painting mine, but once I got started I discovered it would take much longer than I thought, and it ended up taking me about two hours in all. During part of that time I did talk with my mom on Skype about fall break, but I couldn’t believe how long I spent there!

            After fan painting, I spent the rest of the night organizing and studying my notes, working on plans for Madrid, and trying to call home without any luck. The internet at my apartment always seems to work best when I don’t want to use it. Oh well…I’ll just have to find a better internet source for phone calls or a better time to make the calls. Every day is a learning experience. Some are more fun than others, but the learning and growing are definitely my favorite parts of studying abroad.

Monday, September 26

            Today has been a day of much excitement for me. I got my grammar test back from Friday and the review of it went really well. There were a few silly mistakes, and I now understand all of the errors I made, which is good. We dove right into the material for our next test, and I was a little overwhelmed with the quick pace of class today, but I’m sure things will smooth out throughout the week…the always do.

            I had enough time to finish all of my daily work and talk with a professor about my composition for Friday before lunch, so I was really excited to have the whole afternoon to work on planning for fall break and studying. I talked with my parents about Italy for quite a while and then spent a few hours looking for flights, and my final plans are to go to first spend three days in Rome and then fly to Venice for the last three days of my time there. I was hoping to get to a few more sights, but those two cities were definitely my top priorities, so I’m really excited to get to see them, and other travel is not out of the question…this is just the skeleton of my plan.

            Things worked together really nicely, and I’m thrilled to get to see Emily in Portugal for the first few days of my break and then to spend the rest seeing Italy. I sort of let planning for my trip take up my whole afternoon, so there wasn’t much time for studying, but I guess it was worth it for me. I still have a few days before my next test, so I’m not too worried about it.

            This evening was also my first meeting with Raquel, my intercambio. We met at my school because it’s the easiest landmark for me near the center of the city and spent the evening getting to know Sevilla a little better. She took me to her favorite frozen yogurt place and we went the top of “Las Setas,” a really cool architectural structure built over the top of some Roman ruins found in the middle of the city. From there we could see most of Sevilla, and it was beautiful seeing all of the churches and landmarks lit up for the night. It was really fun getting to know her, practicing my Spanish, and getting more familiar with Sevilla.

            I got home just as Rosa was making dinner, so I sat down with Corinne for that and then got ready for bed. I’m amazed by how quickly the days fly past me, and I’m excited to see what tomorrow will hold. Until then, buenas noches J

Sunday, September 25

            What a weekend I’ve had! I can’t believe I’m three days behind on my blogging…time is just flying right through my fingers. Today I spend the morning at church and the afternoon at the apartment working on homework. I was able to write the two compositions that were already assigned for this week, so I’m feeling pretty good about the week ahead of me. The one thing I haven’t worked on as much as I would have liked is my travel plans for fall break, but I guess there’s a week full of time ahead of me to do that (along with a million other things!).

            Church was really fun this morning, and I just LOVE understanding the messages in Spanish. Today in Sunday school there were 4 American girls and about 5 students who were actually from Spain. The pastor joked that if more people didn’t start coming from the community he would start teaching the lessons in English. No one wanted that since we love the extra practice and no one else understands English, but it was funny. I kind of like having the smaller group because everyone in it is so welcoming and it makes me feel comfortable enough to participate even though my responses might not be exactly correct grammatically. The youth pastor who has been teaching Sunday school is actually from the US. He’s married to a Spanish woman and has lived here for years and years, so he’s great at Spanish, but it’s fun to have that connection with him, and if we ever don’t understand something he’s always more than willing to help us out.

            The main message was also really enjoyable today because it was about God being with us always and loving us more than we could ever understand no matter what happens. I love being encouraged with a group of fellow believers, and it’s incredible to me to be able to be part of a community like this here in Spain.

            It takes quite a while to get to and from church (it’s about a 40 min walk to the bus station and a 30 min bus ride, and we always have to wait quite a while for the bus after church), so it takes up a lot of the day, but it’s definitely worth it. When I got home from church, Corinne and I heated up the lunch Rosa left for us and ate together before Rosa got home from Mass. After lunch we had a hysterical conversation with her about the difficulties of buying gifts for people. She is absolutely fantastic, and I’m SO grateful to be living with the beautiful women God has blessed me with here.

            Like I said, the majority of my afternoon was spent doing homework, and I got most of what I wanted to do finished, so I would say that today was a very good Sunday. I’m not quite feeling ready to go back to school tomorrow, but such is the story of Sunday night no matter what country I’m in. I’m meeting my intercambio for the first time in person tomorrow, so I guess that’s something to look forward to. Hasta mañana!