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