Suisse

Last weekend, I visited the land of chocolate, cheese, legos, razor scooters, expensive watches, and now some of my greatest memories. I LOVED Switzerland, but am honestly not completely sure how to describe it. I guess I can start with the fact that it’s insanely beautiful in every aspect, from the alps to the lakes to the people. 4 languages are spoken there, none of which are English or Spanish, but somehow it all worked out. I went with my roommate (and now one of my closest friends) Karlee, who is the perfect adventure partner.

We packed our weekend full of activities because we wanted to see as much as possible, so we visited Geneva, Lausanne, Montreaux, and Chateau de Chillon. My personal highlight of the trip was the Chateau, and it may have topped any view I’ve seen so far- this is a really old castle in the middle of the alps. We got to watch the sunset there overlooking the lake, and I’ll probably have that image in my mind forever. If you go to Switzerland, you have to visit this place!

 

Geneva was also awesome. We rented a boat on Lake Geneva and cruised around for a little bit, and then did some slight seeing in town. It was a very chill environment, with tons of cute little families and puppies and old people walking around. Public transportation in Geneva is completely free, but everything else was crazy expensive. These people are loaded- someone find me a job in Switzerland. I am willing to learn French, German, Italian and Romansch. Besides, this place is beautiful enough to stay forever.

 

Karlee left Monday morning, and I thought I had the whole day to adventure on my own. Feeling spontaneous, I hopped on a train to a ski resort an hour away, which the lady at the tourism office swore was open. After an interesting time trying to navigate the Swiss railway system, I made it to the little town of St. Cerque, where right around zero people spoke English. I spent about 30 minutes hiking up the side of this mountain looking for the ski resort, and it turns out it was closed because the temperatures were too high (we had insanely good weather the whole time we were there.)

 

 So I rented a sled from a random man and played around for a little while. Then eventually I found myself on my butt with my sled stuck in the snow, realized how ridiculous the whole situation was, and just sat there laughing by myself. That’s what God does with my plans, and He was probably laughing too. But in the midst of my mix-up and poor planning He gave me a beautiful and unanticipated adventure of a day, and I got to see a completely new piece of the world.  When I got to the airport a few hours later, I realized my flight had actually been for 7am and not 7pm. Lesson learned, I am still a child and am not capable of traveling alone. This is in writing- please don’t let me.

I have a few more trips planned in the next few weeks, and then my Dad comes to visit! My mom had to cancel her trip because of her health which was a bummer, and I’m sad that she’s missing out on Europe. I’m excited to explore more of it with my Dad, though, and before I know it I’ll be back in my favorite country in the world, the United States! Thanks for reading this, and I will see y’all soon!

Actividades

Howdy!

Life is good in Barcelona. Over the past few weeks, I have gotten to see to some pretty incredible places and experience more of the excitement that life has to offer here. Along with a trip to Switzerland this past weekend, we have continued to enjoy Barcelona and UPF. Here are a few updates!

A few weeks ago, I went on a daytrip with ESN to a winery, and then to the Montserrat monastery in the mountains. These may have been some of my favorite things I’ve seen in Catalonia so far, and I hadn’t even heard of them before. I have family in Portugal that own a vineyard, so that aspect was particularly cool for me, and this place was incredible. The guides literally put us on a train that took us through what seemed like miles of a wine cellar with bottles from years and years ago. I felt like I was zooming through Gringotts in Harry Potter. This was a great experience because wine is a large part of the Spanish culture, and it was interesting to learn more about how it is made. After we finished there, we took our bus up the mountains to the monastery. It was beautiful, and after seeing the monastery we hiked up the mountain to a cross at the top of the hill for another absolutely unreal view. I am getting so spoiled, and I think I’m less fazed by things now, but this really about took my breath away.  All in all, it was a memorable day with some of our best friends.

Another eventful time was Carnival, which is a huge deal in Spain and several other countries in Europe. It’s essentially the same thing as Mardi Gras, only everyone dresses up in costumes. In Spain, the place to celebrate is Sitges, which happens to be a 30 minute bus ride away from Barcelona. A big group of our friends went on Saturday night and it was an experience- the streets were abuzz with a very eclectic mix of all types of people, with parades running through the town to the beach (side note- the town itself is very quaint and pretty.) The only thing that put a bit of a damper on the night was my phone getting stolen… I had been warned so many times about the thievery in Spain but sort of thought I had it together and wouldn’t make the typical “tourist” mistakes. My purse was literally zipped and hidden under a giant, buttoned, almost knee length coat, and some hooligan found a way to open it. Thankfully, serious and dangerous crime isn’t as common in this city, and I can definitely survive without a phone for a little while. Moral of the story, if you need to take a phone outdoors here, make sure it’s a 5 euro prepaid one- it is very unlikely that anyone will steal one of those. Plus texting with T9 really isn’t so bad.

I finally made it to an FCB game- wow. What an experience, definitely one I will never forget. I thought A&M games were crazy, but the Barca fans are insane. There was so much energy and excitement, even though it was a complete blowout (FCB won 7-0.) I knew if I didn’t go to a game my friends would never let me live it down once I got home, and now I see why.

As for school, finals are here. How did that happen?!? I’ve been studying, but intense, crazy, all night studying here (for the one exam per class of the semester) doesn’t really seem to be a thing. People here value their sleep, and not just during the siesta. The work doesn’t seem that much easier, but I really believe it’s because they don’t cram their schedules full of a million activities. I’m literally the worst at this at home, and I want to do everything, but I’m realizing now how draining and ridiculous it is to schedule your day from 6am to midnight, then come home and study. You can’t be fully present when you live your life that way. That will be a major take away for me from the Spanish culture. As a look toward my last year of college, and the 40+ years that await me in the workforce, I want to do things purposefully. 

God is so good, and I continue to marvel at the graciousness He has displayed through every aspect of this experience. This is such a gift. I can’t wait to see everyone in a few weeks, and will keep you updated on everything else!

Thoughts

The past few months have held some of the most incredible experiences of my life, and this crazy adventure isn't even finished yet. I am seeing, smelling, tasting, touching and hearing beauty in forms that I couldn't before have even imagined existed. I know that this world is the creation of an infinite God, and I have been shown a greater glimpse into his character as I’ve seen new parts of it. But despite this knowledge, I'm amazed by how easily and frequently I've fallen into the trap of making this about me. I am thankful, and I know I'm here purely by grace. But I often lose track of the fact that I've been placed in Spain right now, and on this planet for who knows how long, for a purpose bigger than I can understand. 

Every aspect and twist and turn of our lives is meant for that- not just the highlights that we post on social media or reminisce about when we're having a dull day. God has a purpose and a presence in the pain, and the monotony, and the dark moments of our time here. When we come down from the high points of life and set back into the everyday, or the trials, He doesn't change or become less good and in control. These beautiful things surround us every moment, in tangible and intangible forms, even when we fail to recognize them as his gifts, and they are meant to lead us to a deeper adoration of Him. Even our hurting is a gift, sometimes a greater one-to remind us how utterly unable we are to control our own lives, and that this pain is temporary. That God provided the sacrifice of himself in human form as the greatest gift imaginable. One that allows us to move beyond pain and experience the fullness of his beauty for eternity.

I was just sitting here thinking about my incredible day and everything else I have planned before I go home, and I started to get kind of upset thinking about the stuff that I won't be able to do because I'm running out of time and travel funds. Then I felt a slap in the face. How ignorant am I to forget that He has already written all of the days of my life, and will put me where he wants me? How selfish am I to make this about myself, and to begin to expect or feel entitled to these experiences? I'm not even entitled to my own breath. He didn't place me here so that I could have a fun semester- that aspect is an incredible gift, but it alone has no eternal purpose. All of this is designed to bring glory to Him. 

I want to be more able to love God and share his love with the people around me as a result of my experiences. I want my heart to hurt more for people who are hurting, and for that to motivate me to sacrifice more freely. I want to die to myself every day and spend more time thinking and praying about making Him known than for more personal comfort and happiness. My flesh continues to seek temporary, insatiable fulfillment and recognition. But that makes his grace even more real and necessary- I'm thankful to have a savior who redeems me daily, and I know that I won't stop needing that until I leave this life. I pray that my life would bring glory to Him and not to myself.

   

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” –Ephesians 3:14-19

Ireland!

I’m a little bit late on this one, but my blog wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t write about one of my favorite places I’ve seen so far, Ireland! I went last weekend with my new great friend Michelle from New Zealand, and my best old friend Hannah, who I hadn’t seen in almost a year. The trip started out with a little bit of a hiccup (I think I’ve come to grips with the fact that every single trip I’ll go on will have some sort of incident like this, because we’re in college and amateur travelers….) Anyway, Hannah ended up missing her bus to the Madrid airport and her trip got delayed a little bit. Thankfully she rescheduled her flight and was able to meet us in Dublin on Saturday night. Michelle and I flew into Dublin Friday and took a train to Galway, which is on the other side of the country but only took 2 hours to get there.

It was such a precious little college town, and we were able to go out that night and then explore a little the next morning. It was POURING on Saturday morning, but by some miracle it slowed down and we had really nice weather for the rest of the trip. This is a really, really big deal- it had been flooding throughout the UK for 7 straight weeks, and apparently nice weather is hard to come by in Ireland. We even got to see a rainbow- I think that’s one of those events that you don’t think to add to your bucket list until it actually happens. I may add “seeing a rainbow in Ireland” to mine just so I can cross it off. Unfortunately, we never found any Leprechauns or pots of gold at the end of that rainbow, but the trip was enough of a reward in and of itself.  

Anyway, Michelle and I took a bus tour on Saturday throughout the countryside and to the Cliffs of Moher- what an experience. We stopped at a family farm on the way there (in a village with seven houses) and climbed up a tiny little mountain to see a really beautiful view. The tour guide’s fiancé had her own chocolate shop inside the little country house, and the whole thing was pretty picturesque. From there, we went to the Cliffs, which I honestly cannot believe I hadn’t heard of before we planned this trip. I would go to Ireland just to see them- I felt like I was in a movie. They were HUGE, and there was a beautiful lighthouse at the top. We almost got blown away and half the time I couldn’t see anything because my hair was in my eyes, but even the wind made the experience a little more authentic.

 

 

The bus stopped at an Irish restaurant on the way back, and then we stopped at a castle before going back to Galway. Right away, we got on a train to Dublin where the highlight of the trip was waiting- HANNAH DONOHUE! My little Irish friend had some back to the homeland to trace her roots. It was so, so good to finally see her. That night, we experienced the Irish pub scene firsthand and went to the Temple Bar district- Ireland had just won a really important rugby match against Wales, so everyone was going crazy and it was so much fun. The nightlife is very different in Ireland than it is in Spain, and people were showing up the pubs to party with their parents. Definitely an interesting mix of people.

 

The next day, we explored charming little Dublin- everything was what I had imagined and more. We could walk almost everywhere because the city really isn’t that big, and we were able to see a bunch of different cathedrals, Dublin Castle (which was a little smaller than expected),Trinity College, Stephen’s Green, and some other little sights that I honestly can’t recall at this point. Michelle and I went to a service at St. Patrick’s cathedral, and it literally took my breath away at certain points. There was an all boys choir that sang, and just so much tradition and beauty in the church. That night we went out for another Irish dinner, and explored some more Irish pubs and clubs- such a fun experience and just a totally different feel than any other city I’ve visited. For our final day, we went to the Guinness Brewery and meandered around the city for a while before catching our planes home.

It was a great weekend, and I hope to have many more adventures with each of these wonderful girls in the months to come!

 

Barca Updates

So much has happened over the last few weeks that the dates and times of everything I’ve done are all starting to run together... all I know is that throughout this time I have been filled with so much joy, and am still amazed by the daily adventures here. This kind of joy isn’t just a feeling of contentment, even though the Barcelona life can be pretty blissful most of the time. It’s a deeper kind of joy that I know only comes from the grace of God, and it is welling up inside of me as I continue to see the creativity, detail, power and extravagant love that He displays through his creation. We live in such a beautiful world, and seeing more of it is molding my perception of the one who made it. It’s also forcing me to come to grips with my own inadequacy and the fact that I don’t deserve any of this, it’s all a gift. Just a few thoughts, but here is a quick overview of what I’ve been up to over the past few weeks:

   

 

-School (the reason I’m here, even though I sometimes forget that): Classes have actually been picking up a bit, and I’ve had a lot of papers and presentations. I also have to start studying for my only exams of the semester that basically determine my grade, thank goodness these classes are pass/fail! My classes are all in English but a majority of the students who take them are Spanish… I have SO much respect for them for wanting to improve their English because most of the time they aren’t that fluent, which obviously makes the class ten times harder. Before I left, a lot of people talked about how lazy the Spanish are with respect to school, but that hasn’t been my impression at all. I think I’m the lazy one this semester, and I don’t mind at all. YOLISO (you only live in Spain once :)

-The Beach: This may be my favorite part of this city. I was skeptical about it at first because it’s still winter and I can’t exactly play in the waves, but I have loved just being able to sit on the beach and read, or be with friends, or watch the sunset. I’ve also been taking a Beach Fit class in the mornings at 7 with my good friend Michelle. The only motivation I have for getting up is the unreal view of the sunrise, but let’s face it, today I overslept… nothing has changed. Bottom line, the beach is amazing.

  

   

                 Sunrise and sunset in Barcelona!

-Friends: We have met the BEST PEOPLE here- I love our new international friends and am learning so much through them. These people are always excited to explore and hang out and since most of us are Erasmus/exchange students we are all equally in awe of this place. I’ve also met some really wonderful Spanish friends, and they’ve been really patient with my broken sentences and questionable grammar. They’re all trying to improve their English at the same time, so they get it and I feel a lot less awkward. My conversation partner Anna is the sweetest girl around, and I love hanging out with her. My Spanish friends Marta and Clara have also taken me out with their friends, and I really love chillin with the locals. I’m so glad I have more time with all of these people, but I know it will be a tough goodbye. Additionally, I absolutely LOVE the girls I live with from A&M and we have become so close over the past few months. Each of them means so much to me and makes life here more fun. 

   

 

                                                

-Community: I joined a bible study a few weeks ago and it has been like a breath of fresh air. I have really, really missed having one here, and finding this church was a gift. I have a new appreciation for how important that type of support is, and I am looking forward to spending the rest of this semester with this group. Since  I’ve been here,  it has been more difficult than I expected to find the opportunities and boldness to verbalize my faith with the people I meet, and I think I’ve gotten kind of stuck in that- in a place where being a Christian is so rare, it’s hard to know when or how to talk about what I believe. The dynamic here is different than the one in Texas; at home, I meet a lot of “cultural Christians” who show up to church and try to do a lot of good things but often lack any actual relationship with God. That has its own difficulties because most of those people are worn out with religion, or have really distorted perceptions of who Jesus was and what he did. People here aren’t expected to fit a certain religious mold and in that sense the gospel could be fresher to them, but I think a majority of them want nothing to do with anything "religious" at all. Anyway, my prayer is that I will have more opportunities to share with people through these new relationships and that God's love would be magnified, so they would see it as more than religion. Mainly, I’ve come to a deeper realization that I have absolutely no power to change anyone and that only He can (which still doesn’t give me an excuse to be complacent and quiet, but is incredibly humbling.)

Another really, really cool thing I’ve gotten to be a part of here is a homeless ministry. I actually do this through the Erasmus Student Network at UPF and these people aren’t necessarily Christian, but we volunteer through a church. On Thursdays, we take food to people around the city and have conversations with them. There’s also have a beautiful service before we leave every week, in one of the oldest churches in the city. I really love the approach this church takes because these people are just as hungry relationally and spiritually as they are physically. It was like a dagger in my heart meeting them and realizing that every day I pass dozens of homeless people without even looking them in the eye. What a helpless feeling that has to be - to not only have tangible, desperate needs but to feel completely cast out and isolated. It definitely changed my perspective and hurt my heart, and my compassion has grown for these people. I’m really excited to keep volunteering with this group- not really to feel better about myself or less guilty about how much unnecessary stuff I have (because I don’t, and I still do have way too much) but because it’s exciting to be a part of something bigger and to have a venue through which to serve and love people, even if it’s in a small way. 

  

Other notable activities- I’ve been cooking a lot more than usual, partly because it’s healthier and mainly because my parents have given me a budget… it’s about time I learn how to function on my own. Anyway, I took a French cooking class one time with ESN and loved it. Another time, some friends and I signed up for a Spanish cooking class but it ended up being full when we showed up. Instead, we went to La Boqueria and bought ingredients to make our own Spanish dinner. If you ever go to Barcelona, you have to visit this market- it has more colors and flavors and smells (good and bad) than you can imagine, and it’s gigantic. Anyway, if you want to try paella, tapas or sangria I’m your girl, thanks to the help of Jamie Oliver’s online recipes. We’ve done a little more exploring around Barcelona and went to the Bunkers with our friend Rocio a few weeks ago. This has the most beautiful view of the city ever- you can see everything. This weekend, I took a train to Tarragona for the day with some friends. Tarragona is a little town and there aren’t a ton of touristy sites there, but it has a really nice beach, roman ruins and a lot of charm. It was nice to see a more quaint side of Spain but I was happy to be back in Barcelona! I also went to Ireland last weekend- I’ll save that for a different blog.

 

La Boqueria

 

 Our Spanish dinner

 

The Bunkers

 

  Roman ruins in Tarragona

Thank y’all so much for reading this- If you can’t tell, I am having the time of my life here and this is honestly one of the greatest experiences I have ever had. If I’m being honest, in the beginning I was really struggling with the idea of leaving so soon and didn’t think I would have enough time here. I still am in no hurry to leave, but my excitement has been growing more and more to be home in the good ol’ land of the free and the home of the brave. I appreciate so many aspects of my life in Texas more now, and cannot wait to see my family, my friends, and be back in Young Life!  I hope that seeing radically different things here will also allow me to see where I’m from with new eyes, and that God will keep using this experience to shape who I am, wherever I am. 

Paris and Life Lately

Hola Amigos!

Right now, I’m sitting by the beach on a beautiful day in Barcelona. Life is so good. I still can’t get over how blessed I am to be here, and I’m so excited to soak up more of the city and the rest of Europe.  I haven’t blogged for a little over a week, so I’m going to do a recap of what I’ve been up to. Last weekend, my roommates and I made our first trip and met our new friend Michelle in Paris. Let me preface this story by saying that the next time I feel like being spontaneous, I’ll probably think through the details a little more. We had a few mishaps, but it was more than worth it and definitely an adventure. So we’re sitting in our apartment at 10pm on Thursday night thinking through our weekend plans (we didn’t have any) and suddenly it occurred to us that this was the last week before our Friday seminars start. I’ll hold myself personally responsible for everything that went wrong because I was the one who proposed the silly idea of leaving the country in 11 hours- because we’re in Europe and should do crazy things, right? Anyway, the four of us book our tickets, and packed, and woke up early to catch our flight. Mishap number one- we misread the boarding time for our flight and ran frantically through the airport, liquids and shoes in hand, to catch the plane.

 

Once we landed, we didn’t have anywhere booked to stay, so we got the address of Michelle’s hostel and used the Google translate app (which I definitely recommend- you can talk into it and it automatically translates for you) to try to converse with the cab driver. I know about 3 words in French and I was in Paris for a month a few summers ago….hopefully I’ll come back in April with a little more Spanish than that.  So we get to the hostel, which was actually really nice, and spent the next few days exploring all of the sights in the city- the Eiffel Tower, Sacre Core, the Louvre, Champs Elisse, the Arc de Triumph, and all of the typical stuff. We also spent a lot of time wandering the streets and the Latin Quarter, which I absolutely love to do- there are so many interesting people and buildings and sights and foods and it just shows you the heart of the city. Thank goodness Michelle was more prepared than we were, because she had everything mapped out and we were able to see so much. She left Sunday morning, and we had planned to come back that night… until mishap number 2 happened.

 
 

This is honestly really embarrassing but it’s too funny not to share. So we got everything packed and go to the airport 2 hours early (attempting to learn from our previous failures.) We were feeling really good about the weekend but honestly were ready to go back and start our classes that we were FINALLY enrolled in after 2 weeks, and to see our new friends. So I gave my ticket to the lady at the gate, and it wouldn’t scan- and then she told me the ticket was for the next night. Little known fact-the Spanish calendar starts on a Monday instead of a Sunday, as it does in pretty much everywhere besides the US. In our frantic spontaneous booking on Thursday, we didn’t even select the correct return date.  Ritika was the only one who had actually booked the right flight, so she left and Sarah, Karlee and I sat defeated in the airport trying to  figure out how we can avoid going broke in the next 24 hours (since changing our flight was going to be super expensive.) It actually turned out to be the greatest mistake ever, because we got tickets to Disneyworld the next day for 20 Euros and spent an extra day in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I was literally giddy the whole time we were there- I love Disney y’all. God is so gracious  to give us that extra day in the midst of our incompetence- it was another unexpected adventure and such a huge gift. Now half of our school knows about our little predicament, which is just contributing more to the ditzy American stereotype. Oops. Anyway, it was a wonderful start to our travels and I’ve gotten the spur-of-the-moment vacation thing out of my system so this next trip will include some more planning.

 

As for life in Barcelona, it’s been pretty peachy. I’m not used to having this much time, or freedom, or the opportunity to explore such beautiful sights any day of the week.  My classes have been pretty easy so far, and I’m actually enjoying most of them. I also got into a Spanish class that I love, even though it’s way over my head, and I think that’s going to help me quite a bit with conversation. I feel like I’ve finally gotten into a routine for school, so I’m starting to venture out to more places and have a bucket list I’m working on. It’s been so nice to have more time to be still and listen to Jesus, and just be with Him. I’m realizing how often I get caught up in an endless cycle of “doing” at home- I can get so blinded trying to accomplish and serve and meet all of these standards I create for myself that the ultimate joy and purpose of a relationship with Him can be overshadowed in the midst of it all. I am being reminded continuously of his presence and fullness and abundant goodness, which is just as real here as it is in any other area of the world.

The need for him in this city, though, is so evident and my heart hurts a lot of the time watching people seek joy in empty things. I went to a retreat with the Erasmus Student Network this weekend, and I absolutely loved getting to spend time with the other exchange students and get to know everyone (and it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL there.) They are incredible people, and so friendly and sweet. It was just extremely wild, and not at all what I’m used to.  At the same time, being in environments like that is bringing me to a deeper understanding of his grace, and how sharply that grace contrasts with my own flesh. I am reminded of what He has rescued and continues to rescue my heart from, and how that isn’t in any way contingent upon what we do or don’t do. It’s dependent on the fact that He is more powerful than any sin, and ALL of us desperately, equally need Him- that’s such a simple truth, but it’s been resonating more fully in my heart lately.  I don’t want the message I convey to people I meet to be to straighten up their lives, which is what a majority of them have heard. I just want them to know the abundant joy that comes from personally knowing the creator of the world, and for their lives to be an outflow of the love that comes from that relationship. I’ve also been really, really missing/looking for community here and just heard back today from a bible study group that starts next week- I’m so excited and thankful for that! Anyway, those are some things that I’ve been thinking and praying about lately.  

Thank you so much for reading this friends- I miss you all a lot. I also found out that iMessage is free, so if you have an iPhone and feel like sending me a text I’d love to hear from you! 

Hola!

Hola friends! I haven’t been so great at keeping up with this blog… from now on, I’m going to try to post every week. Barcelona is SO wonderful and I’I've been busy trying to get to know more of the city- this has to be one of the most beautiful places in the world, and nothing I see fails to amaze me.  I know that these three months are going to fly by so quickly, and I’m going to soak up as much of it as possible.

We started school last week, and the people have been incredibly friendly and sweet. There’s an Erasmus Student Network (Erasmus is the European exchange program) that organizes a ton of events for exchange students, and we've met people from literally all over the world- England, Ireland, Germany, The Netherlands, Mexico, China, Thailand, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Austria, Belgium, Italy, France, Australia, New Zealand… you name it, and all of them speak at least two languages. Talk about motivation to learn some Spanish.

                      

                                                               

I love it and have really enjoyed talking to different people about what life is like where they’re from. This is the first time I've stood in rooms full of 100+ people from so many different places, and that has been one of the coolest aspects of this experience so far. We met some more Erasmus friends who live in our building last night when we heard a siren going off and found them trapped in the elevator- apparently you can’t fit more than 3 people in that thing. Oops. The four of us from A&M also signed up for a mentor program, and mine is the sweetest girl ever- her name is Patri, and I love her. Also, there’s a girl here named Marta who did her exchange at A&M last year, and she’s incredible and has helped us so much.

                     

                                                  

In the first few days ESN took us to a disco, and had an international dinner where students brought foods from their countries. They held it in the middle of the business school, and there was a sangria drinking contest…needless to say, this place is very different from A&M. It’s definitely a cultural experience, and I know I’ll have a lot of stories! We've had other events, like a karaoke night last night and a few other dinners and tours of the city. I've also done a little more exploring - we live across from a really beautiful park that I run in now, and I visited Parc Guell where the artist Gaudi did a lot of his work. It was impressive. In the first week we were here, we also visited La Sagrada Familia, a famous Spanish cathedral, and Montjuic, which overlooks the whole city- easily two of the most stunning places in Barcelona. 

                  

            

                       

           

                                                               

Our orientation for school was on the 7th, and classes started the 8th.  That being said, I still don’t know what I’m officially taking. It’s been a little bit frustrating because most of us didn't get the classes we requested (I got two out of four of mine, but they’re scheduled at the same time.) The add/drop session last night didn't work, so for now I’m just going to the classes I want and apparently they’ll add me to them sometime in the next month. The administration seems really disorganized about managing stuff like this, but they have several hundred exchange students to deal with so it’s sort of understandable. I’m trying to take an international marketing class, a commercial management/advertising class, an operations management class and a consumer behavior class- so far they've been really interesting because everything is taught from a European perspective. The material also focuses pretty heavily on international business, which is great because that’s what I’m interested in. I signed up for a Spanish class as well, so we’ll see how that goes!

Another aspect of this semester that I know will be difficult is not being constantly around the community that I have in Texas. I found two English speaking churches but got lost trying to go to both of them (my sense of direction is literally the worst) so I’m going to try again next week.  Just being in this beautiful place, though, makes me see God and life in new ways, and I am absolutely in awe looking at what he has created- not only visually, but in people and cultures and languages and flavors and so much more, coming from all over the world. He is so evident here even though the country is predominantly secular, and I hope he uses me to share his love with the people I meet.  I know that in certain aspects my view of Jesus has been influenced by my own culture, and being in another part of the world is reminding me that he transcends any of these elements and his power extends to every corner of the earth.  I am so, so thankful that He has given me the opportunity to experience all of these things and am full of joy right now. Thanks for reading about my adventures this week, and I’ll keep everyone posted!