Day 17

So I figured as I'm working at my internship I could take a little "courtesy hour" and update the blog from yesterday and today's photos.

Today I was just amazed this morning at the beauty of Toledo. I witnessed quite a bit on the walk up to work, like a guy who got in a car accident and they were literally cutting apart the car to get him out but somehow he seemed fine inside?

In the States there was no way I would have been able to literally touch the car that had been in the accident but in Spain the rules were a little different. A cool experience none the less but out of courtesy I didn't want to be the crazy American who takes a snapshot of someone getting cut out of a car....

So about 5 minutes later, I came to this little park right next to my work that I usually just take some time to walk through and look out over the cliff back at my house, mainly cause my work starts at nine but no one actually gets there to open the building until 9:15, definitely loving Spanish time.

Now it's very hard to see my house but there is a tall, white, squared building just a little bit right of center. My house is NEXT to that one!

I then turned around and was reminded just how much this city was a medieval city and had doors of protection. I am surprised that I have walked through this door so many times and even though I have thought about what it would have been like back in the day, I am now immune to the fact of just how old some of these things are. So here is an attempt to reflect on it!

This is one of the doors to the city and it is so small one car barely fits through it at a time. In order to walk through, you have to pray no car is coming in hot from the other side and bolt through as quick as you can!

It is just a little fun experience I have had while being in Toledo. A few close calls for my life but hey we're still here!

I hope you can enjoy today! Have a good one! Pase un buen dia!

Day 16

So as I usual I found myself running out of time to find something to take a photo of for my 16th day in a row of a photo. It didn't dawn on me until I was gathering my clean laundry that my house mom had cleaned early that day to realize what I wanted to talk about.

This just looks like a folded up piece of cloth and in reality that may be exactly what it is!

However, this amazing folded up piece of cloth is just that, amazing.

Before I left for this adventure to Spain, my girlfriends Mother gave me a couple of gifts and this one has by far been the most useful. This is a towel specifically made for back packing! It was something that I really didn't even think about before I left for Spain but it is has been a life changer.

Every trip I have taken, every hostel that I have stayed in, this has come in such great use. It usually costs money to rent towels at a hostel but thanks to this I have saved a few coins for some food wherever I have been traveling.

I am amazed at how much this little gift has helped impact my trip in such a significant way. I am truly thankful for this gift, as well as the thought of Jill's mother!

It is true that it is the little things in life, like this little towel, that make the biggest difference.

Day 13, 14, and 15

Wow,

So I have just gotten back from a weekend trip to Barcelona and I am exhausted. There were so many pictures taken and so many experiences I could not even put them all into one blog and I apologize.

If you would like to see the recap of the trip and all the I experienced, you will have to be a friend of mine on facebook!

We pretty much covered everything there was in Barcelona, from swimming in the Mediterranean to hiking to the top of Parc Guell.

It was amazing and I enjoyed every second of it. Each place I visit is my new favorite place and favorite experience on this trip!

Hopefully you enjoy the photos on facebook!

Day 12

So in a few hours I will be heading out on my first trip back traveling after 4 weekends off however today my picture is something that kind of caught my attention very quickly.

This afternoon the fundacion received a ton of mail and packages. It was crazy! So many students got some mail and I realized how special it is to receive "real" mail from someone, not just an e-mail or facebook message.

I am so thankful that my girlfriend Jill has been able to send me a few pieces of mail and it has been amazing every time I have gotten mail. Just simple little cards but they mean so much, especially when there is any amount of distance in between.

I feel this is so intentional and every loves when people are being very intentional to them.

Who could you be a little more intentional with? I guarantee it will be worth it! Send somebody some mail!

Day 11

So I was surprised when I went home last night. I walked into the house and was surrounded by an amazing smell almost like french toast and I instantly knew what it was.

My house Mom had made Torillas. It is basically french toast but they are for dessert or even with your coffee in the morning.

This dessert is so special and it is even better because my house mom saves these just for me. She hides them from the rest of the family in secret cupboards throughout the kitchen it is hilarious.

Last night, one of her friends buzzed up to our apartment and we were just about finished with dinner. My house mom pushed the button to let her in the apartment. After this my house mom hurried back to the table, told me to eat the torilla as quick as possible and she took the plate away and hid them in the kitchen so that they could be saved!

It was hilarious and I couldn't help but laugh a little bit, but I was extremely grateful to find some extra torilla's waiting out for me on the table this morning when I went to have breakfast!

Hopefully I will learn the correct way to make these amazing things so I can make them myself when I get back to the states!

Day 10

So today I was finally able to take the picture that I had been wanting to take for the past couple of days. It's actually two but here they are.

This the Fedeto. I have spent quite a bit of time here because this is the place of my internship. I work in the international department and I am researching the US markets of Wine, Olive Oil, and Cheese for my boss.

He has a few clients that are interested in placing their products into US markets so I am transferring the research into Spanish with my boss and he will then present the information to his clients.

This has been an incredible experience for me just to get to learn the Spanish way in the work place. It has been quite different. A little more relaxed at times and I have built a great relationship with many people in this place.

The typical day consists of a couple hours of work but then always time for coffee and socializing with locals and clients to improve my Spanish and to improve their English!

It is quite amazing and humbling to be able to not only be in the position of a student of Spanish but also as a teacher of English at the same time during intercambio sessions. These have been very powerful and have opened my eyes so much about the everyday lives of people here.

What amazes me even more about this place is that about two months before I came to Spain, I was very unsure of if I even wanted an internship while I was here. Considering that this place has been probably the best experience for me, I am so thankful that I decided to follow through with it.

Unfortunately, it is time to go to this class because I do have a class just about the internships and everything but hopefully you enjoy your day!

Day 9

So today I was fairly busy with class as Monday is one of the busier days of the week. As I was looking for a picture I really didn't know what to do but then I remembered what Jill and I had been talking about the other day.

This is nothing more than a computer but through this mainly, and other devices such as my phone, I have been able to maintain such a close relationship with Jill, my family and other loved ones back at home.

It started a about a week ago when Jill had heard a sermon at church and they were talking about implementing the use of technology and social networks into the use of the church and just how these technologies could be put to even better use for the Church.

Well it got Jill thinking and she sent me an e-mail about the sermon but mostly just how grateful she was that we were able to have computers and internet to just stay in contact with prayer requests and just how day to day life is going.

For me, I had never really put thought into the fact that just my computer and the use of internet on it was holding together such a strong relationship and Jill really opened my eyes to that. Not only just relationships but also school work, I use this computer as one of the main sources for my learning and education which is just crazy. If I think back to when my parents were growing up, they simply had a land line telephone to keep in touch when they were long distance.

Just makes me think of how easy I have it now.

But anyways, it was amazing to have my eyes opened in that way by Jill and also just to reflect on how lucky we are to be able to use these things in our life. It is definitely crazy but what I was more amazed at was how much I took it for granted.

What else might we be taking for granted today?