Anyways, sorry this week wasn't a blog update spectacular, but I'm sure if you tune in next week you'll be pleasantly surprised! =)
He explorado, soñado, y descubrió
Friday, January 28, 2011
la semana pasada
This past week has actually gone by a whole lot quicker than the first week! Which is odd to think about since we had "less" things to do. This week we mainly focused on our review classes and setting up service learning places. I think I'm going to go to this place called Faicem which focuses on helping mentally handicapped adults with their crafts, pilates, yoga, walking through museums, or whatever. I'm really excited! The people seem very animated and welcoming =) Besides that, this week I got to actually relax and debrief and accept that I am in Spain for the long haul. I'm still living the dream. This dream continues onto this weekend to MOROCCO!! We leave tonight after a dreadfully long Spanish placement test which determines my future basically. If I test into the first level then my classes start right after Morocco and I have class Monday thru Friday. It is most costly, offers less travel time, buuut my Spanish will be downright perfect I would assume--which would be really cool. Now if I test into Level 2, then my classes don't start until Feb 7th and I can go to LISBON, PORTUGAL! holler! Beyond traveling more (classes are only Monday thru Thursday in this program), I would also get to study the Islamic Culture in Spain, learn a little more history, and even take Arabic (the language). Through this program I could feel more worldly and cultured so its the one I'm leaning more towards. Of course though, I'm on the breaking point between Level 1 and Level 2...so yep--future is decided tonight.
Anyways, sorry this week wasn't a blog update spectacular, but I'm sure if you tune in next week you'll be pleasantly surprised! =)
Anyways, sorry this week wasn't a blog update spectacular, but I'm sure if you tune in next week you'll be pleasantly surprised! =)
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
todos son humanos
Now this blog post is going to be a little different than all of the others. Recently they’ve just been updates on what I’ve been doing and how I’ve been feeling about it all. This post is more what I’ve been thinking and questioning.
Monday night we had a presentation about our trip to Marruecos (Morocco). Let me say I AM SO EXCITED!!! We leave this Friday and have 3.5 days (return Tuesday night) to experience the entire culture. We get to go to a women’s shelter, a children’s school, a village in the mountains, a family’s house to eat and sleep, and then possibly go to the Atlantic coast and ride a camel! I have this feeling that this trip is going to be the trip of a lifetime (within a trip of a lifetime). Something is telling me that my eyes will be opened and my thoughts and actions will be different after this trip.
So during this presentation there were a lot of quotes that really grabbed my attention so I wrote them down for further pondering. They were:
- · Borders create issues
- · Imagine living in a closed off world (like if I lived in East Germany before the wall was torn down—our presenter lived in East Germany during this time so he spoke about it once or twice)
- · We’re all humans
We’re all humans. Now this one really hit me even though I know it sounds so simple and so straightforward, but try to follow me and really ponder this.
God created all of us. He created me; He created Adrian, Fernando, Lucelle, Eugenia, Carlos, Josh, Kris, Jennifer, Justine, David, Kevin, Sara, Regan, Janet, Mark, and Mary. He created the man I pass on the street, the woman walking her son to school, the homeless man, the lady selling gloves—GOD CREATED THEM ALL. God has a plan for each and every one of them. For everyone you see and everyone you don’t, God is specifically working in their lives. God uses their life and their plan in the grander scheme of things—in the grander plan to give God the glory. And each of these plans works together and is connected in some way. Each plan in working now, that was in the past, and that is in the future, is all working together. Now that throws some weird spin on time, does it not? That essentially everything is working together at the same time...anyways, every single person matters to God. God specifically loves each and every person. Jesus specifically died for each and every person. Is that not mind blowing?! Granted we’re told that even if you were the only person on earch, Jesus would still die for you. Now this is true and all but Jesus didn’t just die for you, he died for everyone-EVERYONE- not just for your friends, not just for your family, your classmates, your city, your state, your country, E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E.
But sometimes I get wrapped up in the idea that “my” God is only the God of me and of the people I meet—like that is how “my” God is defined. But once again, I’ve found I’ve put God in a box- limiting Him to only what I know as opposed to letting go of all limits, of all boundaries, of all borders.
This flows into how borders create issues and how would life be different if I had lived in East Germany with the wall always stopping my ambitions and closing my mind to what else is out there or what else is there to know. If I create borders for myself or for God, how will I ever grow; how will my awe of God ever grow? Borders can keep you from understanding one another; they keep in stereotypes and judgments while keeping out truth and love.
I said before that I had a feeling my life was getting too comfortable and that I needed to be uncomfortable. I’m tired of the borders I’ve put up around myself. I’m tired of the walls. Even though my view of God has grown tremendously in the last couple of years, I know God is not done showing me how much more land (literally and figuratively) I have to cover to know and love Him more.
Please pray for my trip to Morocco and for my continued journey here in Spain.
This is all truly going to be one eye opening experience.
He explorado, soñado, y descubrió
Monday, January 24, 2011
la montaña
I hiked a mountain! Cross that baby off my bucket list =)
Yesterday (real yesterday, I'm actually all caught up!) I got up and went with my host mom to climb la sierra de Huelon I believe it was called. They're the mountains to the north of Granada, not to the south which is where Las Sierra Nevadas sit. Those mountains are much bigger and much colder, so I was definitely okay with the mountain we were on since it was my first time actually hiking a mountain (now I've skied and snowmobiled them just fine, but never me hiking). Also, we ended up picking the coldest day I've been here to climb it--it was snowing too! Granted I love when it snows and it signals a good time, but still, it was quite unexpected to the 50 degree and sun shining weather I've been experiencing here.
This hike was beautiful (I feel like I have been using that word a lot lately, but its what it is!). The snow lightly laying on the ground and sprinkling the trees. The view from the top of all the trees, all the cracks, all the rivers, and all the snow was spectacular. Even the red/brown rocks I was looking at most of the time in order not to trip and make a fool of myself were pretty. I love nature and was happy to spend my Sunday morning outside glorifying God through all He had created. (I wish I had had my camera with me, but it decided today of all days to have issues)
Not only had God provided me snow to ease my nerves, I am also led to believe He provided me with a friend for the hike. While there was a total of 9 of us, one of the 9 was the daughter of one of my host mom's friends. Her name was Patri and she was 13 years old. She and I talked and walked together almost the entire time. It was great! She would talk slower or use different words so that I could understand better and then she understood my choppy (at times) Spanish so we actually held conversation (momma you should be proud, I'm moving on from questions to a couple of sentences responding. Monologues are next!) She was filled with information about the mountain, about her school, and about her likes. She was also filled with questions ranging from what the United States thought of Obama to what was my favorite animal. It was a funny and relaxing conversation. Even after the hike while we were at lunch, she and I continued to talk and then laugh a lot as we tried to do tongue twisters. It was fabulous!
Yesterday (real yesterday, I'm actually all caught up!) I got up and went with my host mom to climb la sierra de Huelon I believe it was called. They're the mountains to the north of Granada, not to the south which is where Las Sierra Nevadas sit. Those mountains are much bigger and much colder, so I was definitely okay with the mountain we were on since it was my first time actually hiking a mountain (now I've skied and snowmobiled them just fine, but never me hiking). Also, we ended up picking the coldest day I've been here to climb it--it was snowing too! Granted I love when it snows and it signals a good time, but still, it was quite unexpected to the 50 degree and sun shining weather I've been experiencing here.
This hike was beautiful (I feel like I have been using that word a lot lately, but its what it is!). The snow lightly laying on the ground and sprinkling the trees. The view from the top of all the trees, all the cracks, all the rivers, and all the snow was spectacular. Even the red/brown rocks I was looking at most of the time in order not to trip and make a fool of myself were pretty. I love nature and was happy to spend my Sunday morning outside glorifying God through all He had created. (I wish I had had my camera with me, but it decided today of all days to have issues)
Not only had God provided me snow to ease my nerves, I am also led to believe He provided me with a friend for the hike. While there was a total of 9 of us, one of the 9 was the daughter of one of my host mom's friends. Her name was Patri and she was 13 years old. She and I talked and walked together almost the entire time. It was great! She would talk slower or use different words so that I could understand better and then she understood my choppy (at times) Spanish so we actually held conversation (momma you should be proud, I'm moving on from questions to a couple of sentences responding. Monologues are next!) She was filled with information about the mountain, about her school, and about her likes. She was also filled with questions ranging from what the United States thought of Obama to what was my favorite animal. It was a funny and relaxing conversation. Even after the hike while we were at lunch, she and I continued to talk and then laugh a lot as we tried to do tongue twisters. It was fabulous!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
La Alhambra!
I'm half tempted to leave this post blank because I'm still trying to figure words for it. Most of this post will be pictures and even I can't promise you'll fully understand the majesty of this place. These are the times where I wish I had a video camera taped to my forehead and everyone could just get it streamed into their head.
This place was...
surreal
incredible
majestic
wonderful
beautiful
gorgeous
intrinsic
exquisite
fascinating
lovely
glorious
mathematical (yes, I did not stutter, mathematical--you'll see pictures at the end and then you'll understand)
I tell you, I could spend days, weeks, in this place and still be in shock. La Alhambra is a castle, palace, worship place, and garden all in one. The castle was where the military stayed and obviously guarded the palace where the kings and royalty of the Islam leaders stayed. Just in case the beauty of the garden wasn't glorifying enough, there were places of worship also.
Here is the picture of the entry way. It is shaped like a keyhole signalling the entrance into paradise. Above this doorway is a small picture of a hand, representing the 5 pillars of Islam. The thumb, representing the Shahada, the 1st and most important pillar, actually points to Mecca.
The castle area had the best overlook of the entire city. I could see for miles! I could see where the city transformed; I could see the Sierra Nevadas; I could see my house! (okay so not really but you get the idea).
 |
| while that maze thing looks like its for midgets, its actually the outline of the houses inside the castle |
Onto the area between the castle and the palace...I don't know really what to call it, but it was sweet too! Here is what seems like a theater that Mandy, Greg, and I did a CUI picture =)
Next the Palace! I don't think anyone could have prepared me for the beauty within these walls. It was so grand and so detail oriented. Every single wall was 1/3 tile and 2/3s sculpted rock. The tile was always something geometry oriented (see, mathematical!) and the rock had Arabic sayings and then intricate patterns all across. Crazy intense.
Now comes my favorite part of the palace. The ceilings! Each ceiling was more sculpted than the next. They had more detail than the walls if you think that's possible! I could stare into them for hours. They are just so surreal and dreamlike, its incredible.
 |
| at the top and around the center, there are 7 stars. completeness =) |
Lastly, were the gardens. I only have one picture because we had to sprint through it in order to get to the bus in time, but even through this one picture, you can get a glimpse of the beauty.
I know I will be here again. I'm without a doubt because it was just so much to take in for a 2.5 hour period. It was overwhelming but in stupendous way. I want to hugely stress that if you ever make it to Spain, La Alhambra is a must. Here's the wikipedia site that gives you more of the historic background.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra
Fascinating.
He explorado, soñado, y descubrió
la historia de Granada
This city is beyond belief sometimes. Two of my orientation classes have been walking tours through important and historic parts of the city. The city is basically built on top of each other because when a new group came in, they tore down the old history and built their life on top of those ruins. It started with the indigenous people, then the romans, then the moors, then the catholics, and finally the modern el corte ingles and mcdonalds. Its fascinating and crazy because you can see glimpses of all of Granada's history!
On Tuesday we walked through a good chunk of the center. The main part of this tour was focused on the Cathedral of Granada. This cathedral is so stotic. First off, it is weird that the city is not built with it necessarily in the center anymore. The city has grown so much that you have to take alleys to get to the cathedral and it almost looks out of place between all of the stores. This is how it is with every cathedral I've seen so far. Its clothing store, pastry place, mercado, el corte ingles, cathedral, clothing store, bread place, phone place, etc. It should look out of place, but I've gotten used to it and its a cool reminder of the history that is in this city. Back to the Cathedral of Granada, the architecture and artwork in and of itself is beautiful. There was so much thought and time put into these wonderful masterpieces. There are sculptures of the gospel writers, one of Peter, one of Paul, one of the Virgin Mary, the four named angels in the Catholic Bible, and the fallen angel! This cathedral is the only cathedral in the world to have the fallen angel (the Devil) sculpted into a cathedral. Its so eerie looking, almost looks more like a gargoyle than an exquisite piece of art. It is a place that still has a feeling of holiness and tranquility (even though there are gypsies and metal bands there are night). I would love to go back on my own in order to marvel more and to ponder what life was like when the cathedral was first built.
Moving on to Thursday, we traveled to and through the Albayzin! The Albayzin was the place where people first started living because it was on top of the hill. As the civilizations grew, the further down the hill they lived. Therefore at the top of the hill is some of the oldest history. This is seen in the streets, houses, and cathedrals. The picture below is a Catholic church that was built on top of one of the oldest Mosques in Granada. It is unfortunate sometimes that the Catholics were so set on destroying the Islam communities because a lot of the history was lost. (Thankfully there is still La Alhambra which I'll learn more about on Saturday).
History bit: Before the Catholics kings overtook Granada, they and the Moors (Islamic leaders) fought constantly. In the Moorish areas, if it was found out that you were Christian you were killed, as the same goes for if you were in the Catholic area and were found to be Moorish you were also killed. We were told one way of knowing if one was Moorish in a Catholic area was to serve pig when you had visitors. If they ate the pig, they were Catholic but if they did not they were Moorish. I'm certain the Moors had their ways of knowing besides realizing when someone was not following the 5 rules of the Islamic religion.
We climbed and climbed....and climbed and climbed....and oh! we still climbed until we finally made it to the top. And my was it worth it! From the Albayzin you could see the center, the river, and the all beautiful La Alhambra. The sight was completely breath taking and word robbing. I was speechless. I wanted to sit and look across the entire area and just be engulfed into the entire view. I could spend hours there. Once again, the timed tour didn't give me the option, but I know I will be back so that I can marvel, I can journal, I can pray and see God through this sight. I've taken a picture, but I promise you just as my words don't give it justice, neither does this picture fully explain everything I saw.
On Tuesday we walked through a good chunk of the center. The main part of this tour was focused on the Cathedral of Granada. This cathedral is so stotic. First off, it is weird that the city is not built with it necessarily in the center anymore. The city has grown so much that you have to take alleys to get to the cathedral and it almost looks out of place between all of the stores. This is how it is with every cathedral I've seen so far. Its clothing store, pastry place, mercado, el corte ingles, cathedral, clothing store, bread place, phone place, etc. It should look out of place, but I've gotten used to it and its a cool reminder of the history that is in this city. Back to the Cathedral of Granada, the architecture and artwork in and of itself is beautiful. There was so much thought and time put into these wonderful masterpieces. There are sculptures of the gospel writers, one of Peter, one of Paul, one of the Virgin Mary, the four named angels in the Catholic Bible, and the fallen angel! This cathedral is the only cathedral in the world to have the fallen angel (the Devil) sculpted into a cathedral. Its so eerie looking, almost looks more like a gargoyle than an exquisite piece of art. It is a place that still has a feeling of holiness and tranquility (even though there are gypsies and metal bands there are night). I would love to go back on my own in order to marvel more and to ponder what life was like when the cathedral was first built.
Moving on to Thursday, we traveled to and through the Albayzin! The Albayzin was the place where people first started living because it was on top of the hill. As the civilizations grew, the further down the hill they lived. Therefore at the top of the hill is some of the oldest history. This is seen in the streets, houses, and cathedrals. The picture below is a Catholic church that was built on top of one of the oldest Mosques in Granada. It is unfortunate sometimes that the Catholics were so set on destroying the Islam communities because a lot of the history was lost. (Thankfully there is still La Alhambra which I'll learn more about on Saturday).
History bit: Before the Catholics kings overtook Granada, they and the Moors (Islamic leaders) fought constantly. In the Moorish areas, if it was found out that you were Christian you were killed, as the same goes for if you were in the Catholic area and were found to be Moorish you were also killed. We were told one way of knowing if one was Moorish in a Catholic area was to serve pig when you had visitors. If they ate the pig, they were Catholic but if they did not they were Moorish. I'm certain the Moors had their ways of knowing besides realizing when someone was not following the 5 rules of the Islamic religion.
We climbed and climbed....and climbed and climbed....and oh! we still climbed until we finally made it to the top. And my was it worth it! From the Albayzin you could see the center, the river, and the all beautiful La Alhambra. The sight was completely breath taking and word robbing. I was speechless. I wanted to sit and look across the entire area and just be engulfed into the entire view. I could spend hours there. Once again, the timed tour didn't give me the option, but I know I will be back so that I can marvel, I can journal, I can pray and see God through this sight. I've taken a picture, but I promise you just as my words don't give it justice, neither does this picture fully explain everything I saw.
He explorado, soñado, y descubrió
conocer gente nueva
Oh my goodness! I feel like I could just hostel jump everywhere. I already feel so cultured after one day! In my hostel besides Renee and I, there were two girls from India who studied in Sweden and another girl from Mexico. Then the next day for breakfast we ate with two men from Israel, one man from Argentina, and another man from Germany. How cool is that! I can only hope that my next hostel stays are just as good. There was this really neat saying in the hostel too that I really enjoyed. I'm anxious to see how this will work in my life.
After Renee and I left the hostel, we went to the Hotel Melia to see everyone else in our program. There are over 50 students here through the Central program--its crazy! I was able to meet one or two new people and then I caught up with a lot of the Central folks. This first meeting at the Hotel Melia was more about meeting our host families and learning about Granada than about others in the program-that will come later.
My host family--awesome. I am so blessed! When I first saw them, I just wanted to say Thank you God for they looked so nice. I have a mom named Eugenia who works at a hospital, a dad named Fernando who I'm still trying to figure out what he does, an older sister named Lucelle who is 26 and is pretty closed off to her room, and a little brother named Adrian who is 7 years old! This boy is precious. And he is all 7. We were suggested to take it easy today in that we spend time with the family an spend time alone so that we don't get overwhelmed. I think I got a total of 15 minutes to myself until he came into my room (I have my own room!) asking Que haces? What are you doing? He's still too cute and new to me for me to say no, so I went off with him.
To finish up this day, my host father took me to see the center that is filled with commercial stores and historic cathedrals. It sounds weird but I promise its beautiful to see. The city is so lively and so ancient! I love it. It's hard to explain what all I saw and learned because I was just trying to take in all that I could. Hopefully as I get to know the city better, I'll be able to better explain it.
After Renee and I left the hostel, we went to the Hotel Melia to see everyone else in our program. There are over 50 students here through the Central program--its crazy! I was able to meet one or two new people and then I caught up with a lot of the Central folks. This first meeting at the Hotel Melia was more about meeting our host families and learning about Granada than about others in the program-that will come later.
My host family--awesome. I am so blessed! When I first saw them, I just wanted to say Thank you God for they looked so nice. I have a mom named Eugenia who works at a hospital, a dad named Fernando who I'm still trying to figure out what he does, an older sister named Lucelle who is 26 and is pretty closed off to her room, and a little brother named Adrian who is 7 years old! This boy is precious. And he is all 7. We were suggested to take it easy today in that we spend time with the family an spend time alone so that we don't get overwhelmed. I think I got a total of 15 minutes to myself until he came into my room (I have my own room!) asking Que haces? What are you doing? He's still too cute and new to me for me to say no, so I went off with him.
To finish up this day, my host father took me to see the center that is filled with commercial stores and historic cathedrals. It sounds weird but I promise its beautiful to see. The city is so lively and so ancient! I love it. It's hard to explain what all I saw and learned because I was just trying to take in all that I could. Hopefully as I get to know the city better, I'll be able to better explain it.
He explorado, soñado, y descubrió
el viaje a Granada
Renee and I left the states Friday the 14th from the Chicago airport. I was really lucky in that all of my stuff fit in my suitcase, my backpack, and my purse--none of it going over the weight or size limit (granted after arriving I've realized I've forgotten some stuff but oh well they have supermercados and el corte ingles--which has everything else you could possibly need). Once the stresses of making sure everything was good to go were gone, it was time to say bye to my parents and Josh. Once Renee and I arrived to the security line, there was this nice woman that started talking to me, distracting me from the fact that I was leaving my friends and family for over 4 months. Security, finding our gate, eating Starbucks (probably for the last time in the next 4 months- gah!), boarding our flights, and even our flying time all went perfectly. We had to wait a little extra time on our flight from Washington D.C. to Madrid, but we were on the ground so there was nothing to fret about.
During this flight in the middle of the night was when it all started to sink in more. I'm seriously not going to be with my friends and family for over 4 months. 4 freaking months! That's big! It's crazy! It's...going to be okay. I have no need to be nervous or scared. Even the months, weeks, and nights leading up to leaving, I never felt like I was doing something wrong. I never felt like I was jumping into something I wasn't ready for or something I was forcing myself into. I had always felt like it was time--I've gotten too comfortable in my life and so now it’s time to move on and be uncomfortable; it was time to take big leaps and grow. This was really confirming because I had always been afraid that I was doing this under my own accord and that God wasn't in my decision making, but after praying for confirmation that this was okay and that this yearning was from God, I began to relax and embrace more fully. I knew it was going to be a little rough, but I knew I was ready for this experience.
We arrived in Madrid, walked what felt like ten miles carrying 70 pounds worth of stuff to the Metro in the airport in order to get to the bus station. We arrived at the bus station just in enough time to catch the 1030 bus to Granada. While there we ran into 8 Central students which was a good sight to sore eyes and then say we'd see them in Granada.
I don’t remember much of the bus ride because I was exhausted already from traveling and then we were traveling 3:30am- 8:30am Iowa time. Therefore, I would wake up every hour, take in the scenery, and then fall back asleep. We did have a pit stop in this random town where I had a great experience with a vending machine. It was lunch time for the passengers so they all went to order. Since I was still half awake and not fully in Spanish mode, I didn’t trust myself ordering. I decided the vending machine looked harmless enough so I put my money in and picked one of the snacks that looked filling and Spanish. I will never know how those snacks tasted because it got stuck between the row and the glass. I didn’t think it appropriate to smack the machine so I admitted defeat to those snacks and tried for different cookie type snack. In midst of typing in the new number, I didn’t see it appear on the screen so I typed the first number again. The vending machine still remembered my first number, so I ended up pushing the numbers for gum. This gum tasted terrible! It tasted like strawberries dipped in tar. So my hunger was not quenched, I thirsted for water to get the taste out of my mouth, and my wallet now held 3 less euros. It was a great first experience.
Once we FINALLY arrived to Granada, we ate real food! There was even a nice man that was in line when I was that helped me order and told me some things in English so I was glad I didn’t have another vending machine experience. After Renee and I ate, we took a taxi to our hostel. Our hostel was called “That’s funky!” It was a really great hostel because the woman at the front desk spoke English, it had internet so I could let people know I had arrived safely, and the place looked nothing like I had seen in the scary movies!
After we had settled in, rested, and showered (best part of the day!), we found the meeting place for Sunday and talked to a couple other Central people. Afterwards, we found a nice Tapas bar to eat and drink a little. Finally, it was time for bed, and I was out almost instantly.
He explorado, soñado, y descubrió
Saturday, January 22, 2011
la razon
Wow.
I'm in Granada.
I'm in Spain.
I've finally made it.
Sometimes I have to remind myself of these things because it is so surreal. For those of you who don't know, I have been dreaming of going to Spain since my sophomore year of high school when I first saw the beauty of Barcelona hidden in a poster in the back of the classroom. Ever since then through all of my Spanish classes, through my summer in Chile, through looking at colleges, I have wanted to come to Spain. I can't say I thought I'd actually be studying and spending 4 months here, but hey go big or go home.
I plan on doing exactly what the title of this blog is—I plan to explore, dream, and discover. I want to explore so many places in Granada, in Spain, in Europe, and even in Africa! I have dreamt to come here and now I want to continue dreaming on what more there could be for me while I am here. I want to discover more about God, more about myself, and more about the world I live in.
I plan on doing exactly what the title of this blog is—I plan to explore, dream, and discover. I want to explore so many places in Granada, in Spain, in Europe, and even in Africa! I have dreamt to come here and now I want to continue dreaming on what more there could be for me while I am here. I want to discover more about God, more about myself, and more about the world I live in.
So this blog will be about my experiences here, my travels, my studies, my friends, my pictures, and my random thoughts. I hope you'll all have fun reading!
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)