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!
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