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!