So this past weekend i had a pretty good trip to Segovia, Spain. It's located just to the northwest of Madrid and it was a very beautiful city. It seemed very different from Toledo but at the same time you still knew you were in Spain.
With just this short day trip to Segovia, the weekend brought a lot of time to reflect on the trip so far and just on life in general. The question always comes up, where do you want to be in 5 years. I'm a huge dreamer so people could ask me ten different times and I'd give them a different answer each time. I think while I was reading a fellow bloggers post I got my answer. One of my best friends from high school has a girlfriend who is teaching in Georgia. Not the state, the country. She was traveling and met a fellow American and asked him what he was doing and where he was going. The guy said he didn't know but he had plans to be in India by sometime next month. She then asked what he was going to do when he got there and he said something along the lines of, "I'm not sure yet, I'll find out once I get there." Cha ching!
Not to steal her story or anything but I just found it very comforting and it was as if God was just like, here's your answer man! The reality is, I don't have an answer of where exactly I want to be in 5 years but as I read in that blog, I guess I'll find out once I get there. Obviously I would like to have some sort of income that I could support myself and possibly a wife but we'll just find out when we get there!
That is one thing that I have learned here is just taking advantage of every day and just learning how to live for this day. With so many experiences that I could possibly have here every day, I try not to waste time worrying about what's going on tomorrow or the next. Not to say I don't get excited for upcoming trips, but you know what I mean.
I feel lately, there has just been a little storm of this going on because picking out classes to set up the last two semesters of my college and then thinking oh man, what about after that.....well I guess I'll just worry about it when I get there. As for now, with only 30 days or so left here, my time will be better served really trying to dive in even more into this culture and the people here and just live life one day at a time!
Hopefully that's not too cliche but just some of thoughts from this weekend. They pretty much all happened on a walk that I took just through a park in my house. It was probably one of the most relaxing times I've had since I've been here because it was an incredibly beautiful day and just to have silence and reflect was incredible.
So, I am very excited for these next 30 days to come. The one thing I am experiencing for the first time in my life is the LACK of anticipation for Christmas here in Spain. I think they got it somewhat right when they decided not to spend half their income on Christmas unlike some of us in the US. Not to judge but it was very humbling when I was asking my house mom about Christmas and asked if she was going to get the kids anything and she said no because of the crisis. Also, that it was not a big deal, kids usually got one or two things for Christmas and it was just a celebration with the family and that's about it. Very humbling.
Regardless, it's a great learning experience for me, but definitely an aspect I miss of my own culture!
Time for class but I'll post on here sooner rather than later!
Monday, November 19, 2012
Thursday, November 15, 2012
It was beautiful and expensive...
Alright, so I'm not exactly sure where to begin this one. This past weekend was one of the most beautiful places/experiences I have had and been to in my life. I cannot physically describe it and there was not a photo that could capture the true beauty of Geneva, Switzerland and Chamonix, France.
The only way I can try and explain it is just by doing a quick little run through and summary of the trip.
So here it is,
As the alarm went off at 4:03 am, I rolled right out of bed and went to eat breakfast. Of course my house mom was right there to greet me and prepare breakfast for me.....and I'm not entirely sure why because the night before I had told her that I was leaving very early, had said my goodbyes for the weekend, and had even told her not to worry about me in the morning because I did not want her have to get out of bed at 4 am just to heat a glass of milk for me....well either my Spanish wasn't correct or she just has an incredible heart and wanted to get up and do it anyway regardless of what I said because she told me she "just happened to be up".
So after adventuring the airport and getting on the flight we eventually landed in Switzerland. It was amazing and we ventured around downtown Geneva and got the cheapest meal we could find which was 10 euro. Not bad for Switzerland! Terrible for the fact I ate every meal in the Canaries for 2 euro or less....
The most amazing part of the trip was Saturday, taking the bus into Chamonix, France....
It was hands down the most beautiful town that I have ever been to in my life. It was absolutely amazing. We went hiking for around 4 to 5 hours, we weren't really sure cause we weren't too concerned with the time! We stopped and had a little picnic of granola bars and croissants and nutella from our hotel and some fresh water straight from the stream on the mountain!
That's me having a little drink from the stream after lunch!
We then marched right down to have some crepes at a French cafe because when in France, crepes has to be on the menu.
I ordered some type of crepe I wasn't sure of because it was in French and French was a little harder to understand than Spanish. Turns out it was a crepe with honey, I was very satisfied.
After our brief cafe break, we then took a gondola ride up to the top to go attempt to climb some cliffs and hang out in the first snow we had all seen of the year!
Here is a picture of the trip up!
And finally, this one is for Jill's mom Karen! This was during my hike and I thought it was fairly outdoorsy haha, I hope you enjoy it Karen!
None the less it was the most amazing trip I have taken yet.
We did stumble upon the Red Light District of Switzerland which is a fascinating story but we will save that one for in person!
I hope you are all enjoying Fall back in the US because I have decided there is not exactly Fall here in Spain, one day the temperature just becomes not as warm and the leaves just all fall off the trees and it's Winter.....
Very interesting, none the less, hope all is well at home!
The only way I can try and explain it is just by doing a quick little run through and summary of the trip.
So here it is,
As the alarm went off at 4:03 am, I rolled right out of bed and went to eat breakfast. Of course my house mom was right there to greet me and prepare breakfast for me.....and I'm not entirely sure why because the night before I had told her that I was leaving very early, had said my goodbyes for the weekend, and had even told her not to worry about me in the morning because I did not want her have to get out of bed at 4 am just to heat a glass of milk for me....well either my Spanish wasn't correct or she just has an incredible heart and wanted to get up and do it anyway regardless of what I said because she told me she "just happened to be up".
So after adventuring the airport and getting on the flight we eventually landed in Switzerland. It was amazing and we ventured around downtown Geneva and got the cheapest meal we could find which was 10 euro. Not bad for Switzerland! Terrible for the fact I ate every meal in the Canaries for 2 euro or less....
The most amazing part of the trip was Saturday, taking the bus into Chamonix, France....
It was hands down the most beautiful town that I have ever been to in my life. It was absolutely amazing. We went hiking for around 4 to 5 hours, we weren't really sure cause we weren't too concerned with the time! We stopped and had a little picnic of granola bars and croissants and nutella from our hotel and some fresh water straight from the stream on the mountain!
We then marched right down to have some crepes at a French cafe because when in France, crepes has to be on the menu.
After our brief cafe break, we then took a gondola ride up to the top to go attempt to climb some cliffs and hang out in the first snow we had all seen of the year!
Here is a picture of the trip up!
We did stumble upon the Red Light District of Switzerland which is a fascinating story but we will save that one for in person!
I hope you are all enjoying Fall back in the US because I have decided there is not exactly Fall here in Spain, one day the temperature just becomes not as warm and the leaves just all fall off the trees and it's Winter.....
Very interesting, none the less, hope all is well at home!
Saturday, November 3, 2012
A little break in the storm...
So I am on a quick little weekend break from traveling the past two weeks and it is almost hard to adjust to the silence and slow pace of just hanging out and getting some work done for school.
It has been pretty amazing having the opportunity to see lots of Spain for the past 8 weeks and now will be my first venture outside of this country. I am very excited to see the Alps in Switzerland and in France as we will be knocking out two countries in one weekend!
I just booked another trip to Portugal as well this past week with one of my friends that I was fortunate enough to meet while I was working at a Young Life camp two summers ago! Hopefully everything runs right on time with that trip or else I may be stuck in Spain for Christmas....no worries though.
As I reflect on my time here so far, I just can't help but be thankful for the technology I have to be able to communicate with people back at home and just the ability to obtain any news information literally within 30 seconds. This is something I definitely took for granted before my trip and this trip has really opened my eyes to how much I use this incredible technology like the internet or wireless internet without even thinking about it.
The craziest thing by far though, is how fast the time has gone by here. It almost feels like life is on fast forward when you are traveling and it just amazes me. In between running around cities to try and see everything it has to offer or even the 6 hour plane delay that I had this past weekend. The time goes by much faster. This is always good and bad considering I miss so many people back home but I also want to experience as much as I possibly can while I am here!
None the less, for one we're still alive here and enjoying every second of it! I am learning so much more about the Spanish culture just through experiences in my home, my classes, and from traveling.
Here is one thing that has been extremely hard so far though.
At the beginning of my time here, my house mom would pretty much do everything for me. She would just tell me that I need to study or need to rest or whatever it was. At first I thought, oh she's just being nice and wanting to welcome me into her home and it will wear off....
Well here we are 8 weeks later and it's still the same. It is very hard for me to communicate to her that I live on my own in the US and that I am capable of turning on a microwave or putting a piece of toast in the toaster....
This is hilarious at times but other times I just want to be like, seriously, I can do this. Just relax!
It seems kind of an oxymoron because some people would say how the heck could you be complaining about being served all the time.
I think the truth is though, my American upbringing and the constant preaching of being independent and being able to do everything by yourself. The "rugged individualism" if you will is facing this culture that says when you're a student the only job you have is to study and make sure you do well in school. You do not worry about ANYTHING else.
It is quite incredible how the clash of cultures just within myself has played out. None the less it has been extremely interesting to learn hands on about this part of the culture and I can't complain to much that someone is making meals for me!
For now, it's about lunch time then back to "studying". This week will be filled with the anticipation of getting back to traveling! I hope everyone may enjoy, I'm praying for all of you back home!
It has been pretty amazing having the opportunity to see lots of Spain for the past 8 weeks and now will be my first venture outside of this country. I am very excited to see the Alps in Switzerland and in France as we will be knocking out two countries in one weekend!
I just booked another trip to Portugal as well this past week with one of my friends that I was fortunate enough to meet while I was working at a Young Life camp two summers ago! Hopefully everything runs right on time with that trip or else I may be stuck in Spain for Christmas....no worries though.
As I reflect on my time here so far, I just can't help but be thankful for the technology I have to be able to communicate with people back at home and just the ability to obtain any news information literally within 30 seconds. This is something I definitely took for granted before my trip and this trip has really opened my eyes to how much I use this incredible technology like the internet or wireless internet without even thinking about it.
The craziest thing by far though, is how fast the time has gone by here. It almost feels like life is on fast forward when you are traveling and it just amazes me. In between running around cities to try and see everything it has to offer or even the 6 hour plane delay that I had this past weekend. The time goes by much faster. This is always good and bad considering I miss so many people back home but I also want to experience as much as I possibly can while I am here!
None the less, for one we're still alive here and enjoying every second of it! I am learning so much more about the Spanish culture just through experiences in my home, my classes, and from traveling.
Here is one thing that has been extremely hard so far though.
At the beginning of my time here, my house mom would pretty much do everything for me. She would just tell me that I need to study or need to rest or whatever it was. At first I thought, oh she's just being nice and wanting to welcome me into her home and it will wear off....
Well here we are 8 weeks later and it's still the same. It is very hard for me to communicate to her that I live on my own in the US and that I am capable of turning on a microwave or putting a piece of toast in the toaster....
This is hilarious at times but other times I just want to be like, seriously, I can do this. Just relax!
It seems kind of an oxymoron because some people would say how the heck could you be complaining about being served all the time.
I think the truth is though, my American upbringing and the constant preaching of being independent and being able to do everything by yourself. The "rugged individualism" if you will is facing this culture that says when you're a student the only job you have is to study and make sure you do well in school. You do not worry about ANYTHING else.
It is quite incredible how the clash of cultures just within myself has played out. None the less it has been extremely interesting to learn hands on about this part of the culture and I can't complain to much that someone is making meals for me!
For now, it's about lunch time then back to "studying". This week will be filled with the anticipation of getting back to traveling! I hope everyone may enjoy, I'm praying for all of you back home!
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