Blogs from Andalusia, Spain, Europe - page 281

Yesterday was hard to be away from home because Meredith, my sister, got engaged! The news is so exciting, yet I really wish I could be in the US so I could feel more included in the upcoming months. At least I have e-mail. Today was a really great day though, so that made up for a sad day yesterday. I visited a new church called Iglesia Cristiana Evangélica Betania. This is another Plymouth Brethren church so I felt at home, sort of. The congregation was very friendly. The man behind me even whispered the hymn number when I didn’t catch the number. I even recognized two of the hymns, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty” and “Blessed Redeemer” but of course they were in Spanish. I really felt like an America though when I had ... read more

On Tuesday I had my first day of community service. I added a class to my schedule where I spend 2.5 or more hours a week serving the community. I work at Misión Urbana Evangelica. The site helps the community by giving out food and clothing. I work in “el ropero” by distributing clothes. A person stands at the door and asks for whatever item they need. I hopefully understand them and go search for something that will please them. Usually the person asks for clothes for their different family members so I have to guess on a size when someone says “grande.” I’m almost like a personal shopper! The donated clothes are far from what I would recommend though. When the doors open to the public everyone gathers in the main room to hear a ... read more

I have this whooping cough I can't shake. My host mom actually spoon fed me jarabe (cough syrup) the other morning. It was like being 8 year old again. I've had more cough drops than I can count. It must be bird flu or something. :) I went running today around Ronda because with all these carbs, full fat milk, and red meat, I'm bound to be the fattest fat that ever fatted. I ran to the edge of the city and then climbed the path down. Oh yes, it´s a blast going down but GOOD GOD going up was horrible. It's full vertical! If I do that everyday, I'm going to have buns of steel! I'm super excited because Jamie (a girl I go to school with at KSU who is now studying in Sevilla) ... read more

So, although I haven´t had the opportunity to interact with many Spaniards my age, I have managed to make friends with the other Americans in my program. I thought I´d reflect on them briefly. Leshia. Not just a friend from my program, but my "amiga mejor" none the less. We are, again, roommates, and fortunately, we´re still tight. We have two language classes together, so studying should be fun. Matt. From near DC area, attends University of Maryland. This kid was fortunate enough to attend a bilingual elementary school where half of the day was in Spanish and half in English. Although he claims to have lost some of the Spanish skills, I don´t believe him. Matt and I talk about music and read our respective Spanish books together. Parks are more fun when there are ... read more

Weekend was great. We left early Friday morning for our 6ish hours to Cordoba. There we saw the Mosque. It is absolutely breathtaking. The huger building is supported by double arches inside. What I also love about mosques is that they do not include any ridiculously expensive pieces nor put statues or symbols of people in their place of worship. I feel as if mosques, especially this one, showed to what levels architecture could be executed without spending an absurd amount of money or stealing gold from the Americas. It was simply a place of worship. You came in, sat on your mat and prayed. Later during the reconquista, the Christians took back over Spain. Granada was the last stronghold of the Muslims. So once this is taken back, they change the mosque into a church, ... read more