Saturday, February 28, 2009

¡Vamos a Esquiar!

READ THE PREVIOUS ENTRY FIRST

......A CONTINUACIÓN

So, last night, around 2:30, Dovis and Lukas had to leave our own personal party early because they were leaving bright and early in the morning with Dovis' brother to go skiing about 2 hours northwest of Valencia. I was telling Lukas how jealous I was when he mentioned that there was an extra spot for someone if I wanted to join. "I wish I could! I have no ski clothes here, though." Hah. Jazmín to the rescue. She began to tell me about all the ski clothes she has and that I could absolutely borrow them, no doubt about it. Unbelievable. I had been talking all semester about how badly I wanted to go skiing while I was here, but I never in a million years imagined that I would have the chance. Well, like I've said so many times before, the Lord is presenting me with incredible opportunities every day. ¡Aprovecharé cada experiencia!

After all the plans were made, I left with Lukas and Dovis. We dropped Lukas off, stopped at my house to get my stuff, then I went home with Dovis to his parents' house to spend the night so that we could save time in the morning. He lives about 20 minutes outside of the city. When we got there, I was expecting to sleep on the sofa in the living room, but sweet, sweet Dovis, like all of my sweet Spanish friends, gave me his room while he took the sofa. By the time I fell asleep, it was 3:30.

I woke up at 6:30, got dressed and ready, and went into the kitchen to find Dovis. But there was a glitch in our plan. Dovis' brother woke up this morning feeling sick and couldn't go. No more ski day for us. Dovis called Lukas and broke the news to him. We were all really disappointed. Dovis fixed me breakfast... Colacao and a pastry. Yum.

Just as I was starting to make other plans in my head for the day, Dovis and his parents, Juan and Laura, came into the kitchen. Another change of plans. We were, after all, going. Dovis' parents were going with us! They didn't want Dovis to be the driver because he'd just gotten his license - the age is much later here in Spain. By the way, his parents (his whole family for that matter) are absolutely incredible. They served me MORE breakfast, insistently, and while they prepared everything, they would not let me help but instead led me to the living room and made me lay down and rest because we hadn't gotten much sleep last night. Jazmín's phone was off, and so Dovis lent me a pair of his old bibs. Perfect.

We finally left around 8:30, went to pick up Lukas, and then hit the road. It was about a 2 hour drive to Teruel, the province where we skied. On the way, I became fast friends with Dovis' mother, Laura. 


We talked alot about our faith (they are amazing Christians) and other things. She's amazing. His father, as well. I LOVE them. They are so amiable and giving and just so great. When we finally got there, we got ourselves ready, and then went to buy our lift ticket and rent boots and skis and poles. We had a little bit of an issue renting, because I didn't have my passport with me, and for a second it looked like we weren't going to be able to ski. But finally, like every other time a glitch came, it worked out. In total, I spent 47 euros. Amazing. And Dovis' parents didn't actually ski with us - they went to the nearby pueblo to spend some time together. Sweethearts.

The slopes were awesome - It had been snowing all night, and it was still snowing while we were there. 


It was pretty cold, but still awesome. The three of us - Lukas, me, and Dovis - skied together for a while.
 

Dovis had only skied once before, and wanted to take it slow, 


so after a bit, Lukas and I went off to some of the more challenging slopes. It wasn't a huge place, so we skied the same slopes most of the day, but it was still SO much fun and absolutely worth it!!


At 4:30, we met Dovis' parents at the bottom of the mountain, returned our skis, and hit the road at 5:00. His sweet mom had prepared so much food (bocadillos, fruit, etc.) for us, and by that time, we were starving. On the way home, we thawed and ate and Laura and I talked the whole way, again.

They dropped me off at my house around 7:00. Since then, I've just been hanging out with Lindsey and Miguel (our parents are on another romantic getaway :) I also skyped my precious friend and future roomie Natalie for a full hour... it was the best!

Ugh... Can you believe that I actually went skiing today, and now I'm a 20 minute walk from the gorgeous beaches of Valenca?!? I love it!!! Tomorrow, I think I might go to the church that Dovis and his family go to, in la calle Sueca. It's about a 15 minute walk from my house, which is pretty awesome. We shall see!

Una esquiadora contenta,
Leigh

Friday, February 27, 2009

11.3 miles

The title of my blog is the mileage that I travelled today (de bici y de pie).

I woke up this morning around 11:45. I'd fallen asleep really late, and had taken a couple Tylenol PM since I didn't really have to get up for anything. I showered and got ready for the day. Around 12:45, I left here on my bike and headed to the Plaza Ayuntamiento to meet my new friends Anne and Muriel (from the concert Tuesday night) at Starbucks. They are my age, from the North and South of Germany, respectively, and are here in Spain for 9 months on a mission trip - sort of. It's through a Christian organization, and they are basically assigned to a church a little ways outside of Valencia (in a town called Cullera). There, Anne teaches guitar lessons to members of the church Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, while Muriel teaches English classes. On Mondays and Fridays, they volunteer at the Misión Urbana (where we direct all of our homeless friends). In their spare time, they also help with different Christian youth opportunities and camps and retreats in the area. Needless to say, they are AMAZING and I am so blessed to have met them! We stayed at Starbucks until about 3:15, and then I biked home.

When I returned, they'd already eaten lunch, but Matilde (as I now call Señora) left my portion in the microwave. It was vegetable soup with garbanzo beans and mixed vegetables (balanced, huh?) - delicious, still. Afterwards, I hopped on the bus and headed to the centro comercial by the metro stop Turia (where we also meet every other Saturday morning to share breakfast with our homeless friends in the park). There, part of our ISA group met to go to the Exposición de Ninot. During Fallas (the third biggest festival in the world, that is located here in Valencia and is coming up soon) every barrio makes a Ninot - made out of cardboard and paper, like paper mache (sp) - that is usually very witty or political. On the last day of Fallas, March 19, they burn all but one. The Exposición de Ninot is where the display all of the Ninots, and anyone who wants can go through and at the end, vote for their favorite small Ninot and favorite big Ninot to not be burned. Every year, a big one and a small one are 'saved' and placed in the Museo Fallera. It was amazing!!! The people work all year long on their Ninot - each one is so intricately designed and absolutely gorgeous.

When we'd finished our voting, Jessica, Macy and I walked around and (I) window shopped a little, while they actually shopped. Lent. Anyway, I eventually got tired of not being able to buy anything, so I caught the bus home. For dinner, it was just me and the folks. We had a vegetable purée and DELICIOUS pollo frito (a kind of fried chicken). Afterward, Matilde clued me in on her secret stash of delicious dulces (sweets). She introduced me to Turrón, a type of candy that is made in Alicante, just south of Valencia. It is ridiculously good, and I'm now addicted.

After supper, I hung out and skyped my mom a little bit. At around 11:30, I met up with Jessica and Macy to go out. We walked around Carmen (the barrio where everything is happening) for a while looking for a place with good vibes. It's incredible, the night life here. The streets are all FILLED with people, of all ages. It's the thing to do - people don't invite others into their homes... they all meet outside of them. Anyway, we walked around for a solid hour and a half scoping out different places. When we were about to go into what we'd decided would be a solid place, we ran into Lukas, Jacobo, and Johnny. We went with them to go meet up with Jazmín, Claudia, Cristina, Abi, y Dovis. From there, we walked around again some more. Around 2:30 we began to have a botellón in the streets when a topic of conversation arose that would change my weekend forever.....

TO BE CONTINUED

Valencia Club de Fútbol

(Thursday)

So, this morning was hilarious. I woke up (on time, at 8:00, thank you) and of course, was groggy and tired. I trudged out my bedroom door and down the stairs. As I was almost to the bottom, I stopped dead in my tracks. There was a turtle the size of a textbook coming out of the bathroom at the bottom of the stairs. I couldn't make myself move, I was so completely dumbfounded. I couldn't even speak. Señora, who was in the kitchen and had noticed me, came to greet me. "Ah, has visto la tortuga," she says. Translation: Oh, you've seen the turtle. Yes, I'd seen the turtle. "¿Tienes miedo?" No, I'm not scared of it. I'm just completely and utterly taken aback by the fact that this huge turtle is walking around my house, like it's nothing at all. She then proceeds to tell me all about it, and the other two smaller ones that are still outside on the patio. Apparently, they'd just woken up, this morning, from their hibernation period. They were sleeping outside all this time, under some plants. This morning, they woke up and came on in through the cat's door. I asked if Trasto gets jealous, because they eat his food. "No, las mira y piensa '¿qué son estas piedras raras?'" (No, he just looks at them and thinks, what are these strange rocks?). The big one has a name, Burocracia, which means Bureaucracy, because in Spain, they say the Bureaucracy always moves slowly.

Anyway, after my startling revelation, I had my breakfast and got ready. Lindsey and I walked to school today. We had Composición and Literature, both of which were the same as always.

We came home and had lunch. Today it was this incredible bow tie pasta with some sort of sauce that I will learn how to make someday. We also had hamburger patties and bread. Afterwards, both of us came back upstairs and napped from about 4 o'clock to 6 o'clock.

At that point, I got up and got ready for the fútbol game tonight! I took the 89 bus to Blasco Ibáñez to meet up with everyone who was going. Then we headed over to the Mestalla for the game. It was Valencia CF contra Dinamo Kiev, the Ukrainian team, and it was definitely an exciting game. The Valencia fans were CRAZY!! My favorite players were number 11 Asier del Horno and number 21 David Silva. They both scored :) However, the final score was 2-2, and being the home team, it was a loss for us. Melanie and I walked home at 11:45. It was a really nice night!

Amando mis tortugas,
Leigh

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Ash Miércoles

My alarm did not go off this morning. Good thing Lindsey's did. We got up, got breakfast, got dressed, and got out of the house. I hate wearing coats, because even though it's cold outside, as soon as I start riding that bike, I sweat, and then it's just no fun. So this weather is not good to dress for. I don't have enough warm clothes, but I can't wear summer clothes yet because I don't want to wear a jacket. See my dilemma?

Anyway, today was the best day of class. Conversación and Composición. After class, we had a quick ISA meeting, and then I went to the ISA office to eat my lunch and do some homework. At 3:00 I had my Historia class... more word evolutions. My favorites :)

I rode my bike home from class today, at 4:45, and hung out until about 6:30. I left to go meet Megan, Lizzie, and Chiara at the Cathedral for mass. The schedule was kind of off, though, so we ended up going to the Basilica instead, and we didn't take ashes :( I was bummed about this. Afterwards, we walked around a little bit, then I left to meet up with Elizabeth and Anna. We ate dinner at this INCREDIBLE sushi place, Miss Sushi. It was by far the best sushi I've ever had in my life. Isn't that cool?

I came home around 10:00, and since then, I've been cleaning my room and chatting on FB.

For Lent, I'm giving up shopping (within reason: I can get souvenirs for people and necessities from the grocery store), taking taxis, and carbonation. I'm adding reading my bible in English AND Spanish, daily, and trying to be more consistent in my running. I'm also sacrificing minutes of sleep in the morning, so that I can devote more time to the Lord, be awake BEFORE I leave the house, and be on time to places.

Vuestra Tía Sexi,
Leigh

Franz Ferdinand Is Taking Me Out

(Tuesday)

Last night, I ended up meeting Macy and Jessica downtown and then walking to our intercambio at a bar called The Lounge. I talked to three guys, Barto, Miguel, and Clemente (who was really, really good-looking...) for what I thought was like, an hour, and turned out to be 3 1/2. It was great though, because the entire time I was talking in Spanish. I'm getting better!!! I caught a cab home, and went to sleep around 2:45

This morning is one for the books. I woke up at 8:00, showered, ate a leisurely breakfast, and got myself ready INCLUDING make-up. All in time to leave before 9:10 and get to school promptly. We rode our bikes today and I almost died when a car that should've been paying attention to their red light when I had the green bike light pulled in front of me. I had to swerve, and I dinged my bell at him with all the ire I could muster. Crazy Spanish driver.

Today was the longest day of school in the history of the world, and I don't even know why. We had Culture and Literatura. They seemed to drag on FOREVER. When it was 1:15, finally, Lindsey and I rode our bikes home. For lunch we had paella with vegetables, mushrooms, bread, and strawberries. We also had a thick olive oil sauce for the paella. I don't even have the words to tell you how good it was. We cleansed our palates with a nice cup of English tea. Mmm.

After, I came up and siesta'ed for a little while. I also worked on some homework, postcards, and studied a little. I skyped with Mary Evelyn, for the first time in over a week, and it was so good! That was definitely the longest we'd gone without talking.

Around 6:00, I got ready for the night... MTV Winter: Valencia!!! I met up with Macy, Jessica, Lukas, David, Markos, Samu, Cristina, Jazmín, and new friends: Jacobo, Johnny, Anne, Felipe, and Marubel. Then we all headed to La Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (CAC) for the concert. First was a group called Starsailor, followed by Mando Diao, and finally Franz Ferdinand. It was SUCH a fun concert! It was actually held in what is usually a long, shallow pool next to one of the huge buildings, but that had been drained for the event. There were over 60,000 people there, it smelled strongly of hash, and I'd never been surrounded by so many Spanish people in my life. But I enjoyed it, nonetheless! Thoroughly!

When the concert was over, around 12:30, I met up with Melanie and walked home. For some reason, I've been so tired today (could it be my lack of sleep ;) so I can't wait to get some quality shut-eye.

La Cansada,
Leigh

Monday, February 23, 2009

Un Día sin Nada Especial que Destacar

This morning was DEFINITELY a struggle to get up. But then again, what morning isn't? I forgot to set an alarm, so we were really rushed. But it turned out fine and we got to school, via bus. I had Conversación and Cultura this morning. I love my classes, but sometimes I get really frustrated with my classmates. I try not to, because I understand that we are all at different levels in what we know. And I've probably had the most Spanish classes out of everyone in the intermediate classes. But I feel like sometimes, my peers just don't try. Learning Spanish is not a priority for their time here. And it's hard for me, because it's at the top for me. Class can't move forward when nobody is putting forth the effort to learn. Today was just a really bad day, and our poor teachers were not happy with us. UGH.

During my lunch break I went to the ISA office, ate my lunch (señora packed me a bocadillo of cheese and chorizo), and started writing all the postcards that I need to write while I'm here. It's a daunting task.

At 3:00, those of us with Historia headed back across the street to school for class. It was a good class today - we did alot of exercises of word evolution from Latin to Castellano. It's really hard, but really fun, I think. Here's an example:

SPÉCULU > [speilu] > [espeilo] > [espeḽo] > [espeǧo] > [espežo] > [espeχo] spoken: espejo, which means mirror.

Isn't that cool?? I love it! Here's another:

DĬRĔCTU > [derectu] > [derecto] > [dereito] > [dereĉo] spoken: derecho, which means right.

Definitely my favorite class. After, I caught a bus home. Here, I've just been doing homework, making travel plans, kind of, and relaxing. For supper tonight, we had onion purée, setas (a kind of mushroom), bread, and melted cheese on turkey. For dessert, we ate flan :) YUM.

I'm about to go meet up with Jessica and Macy to go to an intercambio somewhere downtown. Hopefully it will be fun!!!

Hasta luego,
Leigh

Here's Looking At You, Kid

Casablanca, Marruecos, África
February 19, 2009 - February 22, 2009

Thursday:
Woke up at 5:00, 2 hours after I'd gone to sleep. I got ready, and caught the cab with my friend Melanie to the metro station to meet Megan, the third and last member of our travel party. We took the metro up to the Valencian airport for our 8:00 flight to Madrid. We got to Madrid, had breakfast, and waited for our flight to Casablanca. We left Madrid at 1:30, and got to Casablanca at 2:10 (Casablanca is an hour behind Madrid). After going through customs and getting out of the airport, we hailed a cab into the city. Our driver's name was Sahíd, and he was a total sweetheart. It was a 45 minute drive from Mohammed V to the city.

We got to the hotel and checked in. Our room is pretty sweet! We each have a bed, and there's a bathroom in our room!


After we were all settled in, we went to the Old Medina (open air market) to look around. Everything is so different there. The driving is absolutely NUTS. Lanes mean nothing, and they drive whenever and wherever they want. Also, the men dominate the culture. We couldn't even look at a guy for two seconds without him automatically assuming interest on our part and immediately pursuing it. Also, women aren't very present. In restaurants and bars and shops and even on the streets, you don't see very many women. It was strange. But Casablanca was a really cool city, nonetheless.

After, we walked down to Rick's Café


and then down to Mosque Hassan II - the second largest mosque in the world, the first being that in Mecca. It was definitely a sight to see, and absolutely gorgeous. I only wish that the monument, the effort, the devotion, was for the glory of the true God.


While we were at the mosque, we happened to meet a Turkish cargo ship captain named Mehmet who offered to take us out. Since we'd be hoping to go to Rick's, we willingly obliged. We sat at the bar for a while, thinking we weren't actually going to eat there, but after a bit, he insisted that we get a table. We sat on the second floor and had an absolutely divine dinner. I order a seafood pastry. Top notch. I even got to play Sam's piano! How cool is that?


After dinner, Mehmet walked us home (good thing because it turns out that we were walking through a pretty dangerous part of town), and then we went up to sleep.

Friday:
We woke up around 9:30 and went down to our complimentary breakfast. I had coffee, and then there were crêpes and toast with orange marmalade and butter. Such a European breakfast. Afterwards, we called the tour guide we'd met in the hotel lobby the day before, Bushhaaîm, and scheduled a tour for 11:00. We went upstairs, got ready, and met him in the lobby then.

He took us to more places than I could've imagined! First, he took us to the New Medina, another open air market, and bought us each a bouquet of flowers. Then, we went all around Casablanca: to the old fort, to the Anfa area (where all the expensive villas are and the queen vacations), to a museum dedicated to the old king, to the Catholic church, to a beautiful park with every kind of tree found in Morocco, to the lighthouse.... It was an incredible tour. Check out this Arabian architecture:


We also went to this amazing spice shop where we got oil massages and got to smell and try all these spices and remedies. Afterwards, we ate couscous, the Moroccan specialty (still with Butch Cassidy, as he is fondly known) at a nice restaurant in the city centre.

When we were done with the tour, we went back and rested in our hotel room. The day before we'd met an American, and we ended up running into him and his buddy again in the lobby while we were having tea. Matt, from the day before, is a recent graduate of UGA, and his friend Bronan, is as well. Bronan, however, was born and raised in a small town just outside of Dublin, Ireland. Needless to say, his accent was awesome. We hung out with them in the lobby for a few hours, and then, around 10:30, we all went out. Since, in Morocco, the only women who go out are prostitutes, we played it safe and went to the tourist friendly Rick's Café for the second night in a row. We hung out in the lounge upstairs with our new friends for another couple of hours, just talking and sometimes watching Casablanca, the movie, which is continuously playing on the big screen.

We finally headed back to our hotel. The boys had discovered the roof the night before, so we all went up there to check out the view. It was pretty awesome.


We relaxed for a while, then finally went to sleep. Another good Moroccan night.

Saturday:
We slept in, finally. We did get up in time for our complimentary breakfast though. This time I had tea, but it was the same, otherwise.

After relaxing some more in our room, we decided to head down to the beach. It was BEAUTIFUL. It had a lot of rocks, and the water was a nice aqua green.


The weather was perfect. We laid on the rocks and took in the sunshine. I was surprised to see people actually swimming and skimboarding. There were some women there, but it was mostly men. The culture for women is unlike any I've ever seen or experienced before.

Around 3:00, we went up to the McDonald's, which is apparently super classy dining in Casablanca, and got McFlurries. Just in time for our 4:00 reservation at Hammam Ziani. Hammams are the Middle Eastern variant of steam baths, and to me seemed more like the ancient Roman public baths. It was completely divine. The whole time, we were naked, which was a little strange at first, but after a little while I didn't even notice. First, the main woman took us into a steam room off of the big room with five low sinks against the walls. She gave us soap to soak in. After, she brought us back into the main room, one by one, for the scrubbing process. First the front side, then the back, she scrubbed my whole body with rough gloves to exfoliate. Everywhere. When I sat up, I looked at myself, only to see little clumps of dead skin. Kind of gross. She washed me off then sent me to the jacuzzi. After 10 minutes or so with the jets, another woman led me to the massage room. She lathered me in some oil type lotion and then massaged every inch of my body. Even my face and scalp. It was the most opulent experience of my life, I might venture to say. After that, I was off to the seaweed bath. I laid down on the table, first on my stomach, then over on my back, and the main woman, again, covered every inch of my body with a clay-like seaweed concoction that at first I thought was going to scald my skin. But after, it was exceptional. When I was caked, she rolled me up in tight plastic and I just sunk into utter relaxation. After some time went by, she rinsed me off, sent me back to the jacuzzi, then finally to the showers, where I washed my hair and body. At the end, they provided us with velvet robes and led us to the lounge, where we idled until we finally determined that it was time to get dressed and return to the real world.

When we left, we caught a cab to the hotel and could find in ourselves nothing more than the energy it took to sit in the hotel café and order dinner. We each had a panini - mine was ham and cheese melt. Very good. We went back up to our room, watched some horrible American program, and went to sleep around 10:00

Sunday:
We woke up around 8:30, ate a leisurely breakfast, then packed up. It was sad saying goodbye to all of our sweet friends at the hotel, but we had to. Butch Cassidy (our guide) had arranged for the same cab driver to pick us up and take us to the airport. We got there around 12:30, went through customs, and waited at our gate. We flew from Casablanca at 2:40 and got to Madrid around 5:25, where we took the metro to the train station. We had dinner at a little café in the train station (I had a breakfast panini) then took a train from Madrid to Valencia. We got to Valencia around 11:45, and Melanie and I took a cab back to our houses.

This weekend was amazing. I still can't get through my head that I've been to Morocco in AFRICA. It's just so unreal. The Lord is giving me so many opportunities. I've just got to figure out what to do with these experiences and what it means for me to be learning everything that I am. I will post pictures to accompany this incredibly long post later. The real world is creeping in with every tick of the clock, and I've still got to get some sleep before it's here!

Bendecida,
Leigh

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Wednesday, several days late

I didn't have internet Wednesday, then left Thursday morning for Casablanca, but here's a recap of an amazing day.

Lindsey and I woke up on time and ready to go on Wednesday. We biked to school for Conversación and Composición. Wednesday's are always the best days. After class, I went to the ISA office to hang out and eat my lunch with Ken. During my downtime, I looked up info for a possible UK trip.

At 3:00, I went to my other class, La Historia de la Lengua Española. We always learn amazing things in this class - derivations of languages fascinate me to no end. People just decide what they want their language to be, and so it is. That's how Castellano evolved from Latín vulgar.

After that class, I went back to the office because we had a 5:30 meeting, and I didn't have time to go home and come back. I was talking to Dottie in the office, and it turns out that she too was interested in a UK trip, so after our meeting (about Fallas and such) we ended up booking it right then and there. We're going to Dublin, Liverpool, and London from March 5 to March 9. It's going to be a crazy packed trip, but SO much fun. I can't wait.

After we finished booking everything (flights, trains, hostels, etc.) it was about 7:30. I met up with Jessica and Macy and we hung out for a bit. At 9:00, we met Markos, Samu, David, María, Cristina, Carla, Toni, and two new friends, Joanna and Alison, at the Cabañal (Valencia's other train station) to share food with the homeless. We split into two groups. Jessica, Macy and I went with María, Samu, David, and Alison to walk around the University downtown area. We met several homeless people and gave them bocadillos and Colacao, and just talked with them for a while. It was really hard. I tried not to cry but I just couldn't help it. I've never seen stuff like this first hand, and it absolutely breaks my heart. These people have nothing. They live in alleys with cardboard boxes. It's not just stuff you see in movies. It's real life for them. My eyes have just never been opened to it. The Lord has really put a burden on my heart for these people, and I'm grateful for it.

When we'd found as many people as we could, we went over to the port to hang out for a while and wait for the other group. It was around 1:00. The other day David overheard me singing, and being a musician himself, always wants to hear my sing. So to kill time, everyone decided to pressure me into singing. Usually, I love to sing, and will sing happily whenever, but this night, I was just so so embarrassed! I absolutely refused and refused, but they would not take no for an answer and persisted heavily until finally I did. I was embarrassed. But looking at it now, I just laugh. I felt like a 5 year old.

The others finally came and we talked about the night and closed with prayer for all of our homeless friends. Dobis (David Dos - the other David) took us back to Jessica and Macy's, and I got my bike and headed home.

I got home at 3:00 and packed. My wake up call was 5:00

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Cine Babel

(Tuesday)

We rode our bikes to school today. I think my tires are flat because it was rough. I'm always really sweaty by the time we get to school, which isn't a HUGE problem right now because it's still pretty cold outside and I can resume resting heart rate and body heat quickly. But I'm dreading when it gets warmer. I already sweat way too easily as it is, but in a few weeks, I'm going to be drenched everyday for class. Awesome.

Today we had Cultura and Literatura. In culture we're talking about healthcare for the elderly in Spain vs. in the US, and in literature, we're learning about La Celestina, an obra written by Fernando de Rojas and a precursor to modern theatre. It's all very intriguing.

After class, Lindsey and I biked home for lunch. We had rice and garbanzos. Tasty, as always. I am going to be so spoiled when I come back home. Afterwards, I showered and then met up with Melanie to walk down to the ISA office. She, Megan and I got together to finalize our plans for the Morocco trip that we leave for early Thursday morning. We took the metro to the train station in the centro centro to buy our tickets from Madrid home on Sunday.

For dinner, I bought McDonald's because I didn't think I was going to be eating at home - the plan was to meet up with church friends. I was mistaken, however - our reunion is not until tomorrow not. So, since I'd already eaten, Macy, Jessica and I met up around 9:30. We hung out on Calle Aragón and then went to the Cine Babel (one of two theaters that shows movies in their original version) to watch Slumdog Millionaire. It was definitely the best movie I've seen in a long, long time.

I took a cab home. It smelled weird. Now I'm definitely going to sleep, because it's almost 2:00 am and I have school in the morningtime!

Viviendo la vida,
Leigh

Monday, February 16, 2009

Ver-ver-vertigo

Another rough morning... what's new? I've come to terms with the fact that at least 5 times a week I'm going to have trouble waking myself up. As long as I get to where I'm going on time, I think I can deal. Lindsey and I finally got moving and caught a cab to school. We made it with a moment to spare.

Today we had Conversación and Cultura. Both went well. My conversation teacher gave me back my extra work and told me 'muy bien' :)

After class, I went over to the ISA office, did some homework, ate my lunch, and hung out. Andrew and Ken and I walked around the area for a little while, too. We found this awesome organic store that I'm definitely going to go back and visit... they had rice cakes!

I went back to the school at 3:00 for my Historia class, my favorite. I took a bus home, and hung out for the rest of the afternoon. I had another battle with vertigo this afternoon, and this evening too, at dinner. My poor family. I know they're worried, and they keep offering to take me to the doctor, but I know there's nothing the doctor can do. I just have to bear it! For dinner, we had vegetable purée with grilled chicken, peas, pizza, yogurt, and some more of the sweets Matilde (she told us tonight that she doesn't want us to call her Señora) brought back from her getaway with papá.

After dinner, I hung out with Miguel downstairs and had tea. It was nice to get to just talk to him one on one. Also, the tea made me feel a little better... it was Vanilla Chai. Yum.

So, here's some strangeness... An American satellite and a Russian satellite collided in space on Thursday. An English nuclear sub and a French nuclear sub collided in the Atlantic ocean. A plane crashed into a house in New York, killing 50. Weird things are happening in our world right now... which makes you think about certain political changes that have happened recently. It brings a passage of scripture to mind:
"While people are saying, 'There is peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape." - I Thessalonians 5:3

This scripture is part of Paul's discussion of the coming of the Lord. We are living in the end times my friends! When I heard about the satellites and the submarines today, I felt an overwhelming sense of urgency and purpose in my life. What am I here for if not to know the Lord and make him known?

The rest of the scripture goes like this:
"But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the nigt or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing."

Some pretty serious stuff, huh?

Pensad en esto, y que nuestras acciones se lo reflejen,
Leigh

PS. I've added new pictures to my previous FOUR posts... Check them out!!!!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Alabaré






What a beautiful day - despite the rain.

This morning was a struggle to get up. I was in a really confused state because I'd fallen asleep watching Arrested Development on my computer and it was still open lying next to me. Finally I did, however, and got ready for church. I wore my new 10 euro dress :) I hopped on the number 7 bus and headed to Calle Quart. I got there a couple minutes before 11:00 and found a seat. The service was great. We sang (in Spanish) and the sweet Pastor Eduardo preached about forgiveness: There are three main reasons why we don't forgive... pride, vengeance, and resentment. But we are called to forgive, just as we have been forgiven.

After the service (el culto) I bought a Spanish Biblia!!! Finally!!! And I also bought Lady in Waiting, in Spanish. I can't wait to practice. I went to have coffee with Markos, Lukas, Jessica, Macy, and Samu. We sat and talked for a while, and then each went home.

At home, Marta and I waited for Señora and Papá to get home before we had lunch. Our meal was garbanzo beans with chorizo and hard boiled eggs. It was incredibly delicious. Our padres brought back some sweets characteristic of the province they were in. They were, needless to say, quite appetizing.

I hung out in my room for a while, resting, uploading some CDs of Spanish music :) Markos called me around 5:00... we'd been planning on going to David's dad's church service tonight at 6:30, but apparently Markos, Lukas, David, and Samu were all outside my house waiting in the car! I went down and we headed over to Calle Floresta to go to the church.... and hour and a half early. On the way, we were listening to the Hillsong United Español CD... It was amazing! I just can't get over how incredible it is to worship, to praise, in another language. Anyway, it turns out we were going to play worship music, and since Markos knew I could play guitar from the park yesterday, I was, unknowingly, named the guitarist!! Haha.. it was so random, but so fun because we just jammed for an hour.

When the service actually began, David led the worship (so sweet) and his dad gave an amazing, and amazingly long, message. I could tell, however, the caliber of man that he is after 5 minutes of listening to him speak. He has an incredible relationship with the Lord!

After the service, we headed to Burger King to meet up with Josué and María, but I eventually realized the time and went home for supper. Tonight we had peas (guisantes) and toast and yogurt.

Since dinner I've been skyping (Lana and Jlee and Sarah B and my mom) and now I'm going to finish up my homework and go to bed!

Siempre alabando al Señor,
Leigh

*Pictures (from top to bottom): Markos and David after our jam session; Gaby, me, Jessica, Macy and Bev; the girls, again, being silly; Jessica, Macy, and Bev pushing Samu in the cart; Samu pushing Jessica in the cart

¡Ay, que fuerte!






(Saturday)

After going to sleep at 4:00, I woke up at 8:00 and got ready to meet my friends at the park to hang out with our homeless friends. I rode my bike to meet up with them, and it turned out to be a longer distance (45 minutes on bike) than I expected. But although I was technically late, on Spanish time, I was right on time. When you plan to be somewhere here, these people don't consider it being late until an hour or so has passed since the designated meeting time. It's remarkable.

Today, we had a smaller crowd. It was just me, Markos, Cristina, Jazmín, Jessica, Macy, Abbi, and Fran (Abbi, Jazmín, y Cristina's dad). Buna was there, as was Edu (2 friends from last time). There was also a new guy, Williams, from Ghana, who is actually a Christian. He spoke English pretty well, better than Spanish, so it was cool getting to talk to him. We brought a guitar, and seeing as I was the only one who could remotely play, I was in charge of the music. We also had a djembe, so me and Buna jammed out to some Bob Marley :) We also played worship songs, Hillsong stuff, specifically. It was awesome. We stayed there until around 11:45.

Afterwards, I biked home. Lindsey ended up going to the beach for the night, so I was by myself with Miguel and Marta. Our parents when on a romantic getaway to a little pueblo not too far from here. They are just so cute. I ended up falling asleep, accidentally, and wasted what was a gorgeous afternoon.

When I woke up, I got ready and took a cab down to the metro station on Aragón (unfortunately, the closest one to me). There, I met Jessica, Macy, Cristina, Jazmín, Claudia, and Lukas. We all hopped on the metro and headed to another evangelical Baptist church for Visión. Visión is a once monthly gathering of youth from all the local churches (youth here is anywhere from 15 to 30).

When we got there, we were immediately greeted by people we knew. It was so cool! It felt like back home... being able to walk into a place and know people and have a connection on a spiritual and eternal level. We sat with Carla, Toni, and Samu. The service started out with praise and worship. The first couple of songs I didn't recognize, but then they started singing Hillsong: Hosanna, None But Jesus, Lord Most High... it was incredible. It's such an incomparable feeling to praise the Lord in another language.

They also did a skit - the one that uses Lifehouse's song "Everything". It was, as always, very moving for me. After they showed a video (and David was in it) that asked you to imagine all of these things, and then in the end it said, "No lo imagines... Hazlo real." (Don't imagine it, make it real).

Pastor Eduardo (from our church) gave the message. The theme this month was Enamórale - be enamored of Him. Pastor talked about how God's love for us is manifest in the sacrifice of his son, and how our love for the Lord should manifest itself in the sacrifice of our will. He gave five steps on how to let our love of Christ become our actions for Christ: 1. Acuérdate, 2. Espabílate, 3. Trabaja, 4. Comparte, and 5. Persevera. It was amazing.

Afterwards, we all had bocadillos and cokes and hung out for two hours in the church, just visiting and talking. We talked with Pastor Eduardo, the sweet thing, for a bit, and then precious Carla introduced us to almost everyone in the place! It's so much fun meeting new people!!!

When we left there, a huge group of us (me, Macy, Jessica, Markos, Cristina, Jazmín, Claudia, Lukas, David, Gaby, Dobis, Carla, Toni, Samu, Esteban, Sara, Ivan, Elias, and a couple other guys whose names I can't remember) went to the huge centro to hang out. We stopped at a little gaming place and played foosball. The best news of the night is that I FINALLY found a vending machine that sold skittles - so I bought 5 packs :) They don't quite taste the same, but that's okay. It's more the principle of me having the candy that's important. We left there and headed to a place close to our Calle Quart church. We danced for a couple hours, which was fun because they were just so many of us. After that, I came home and now I'm going to sleep!!!

De la cansada,
Leigh

*Pictures (from top to bottom): Buna and Mericoboma (homeless friends from the park); Carla, me, Jessica, Macy, and Samu at Visión; the sign at the church; Toni killing Dobis; Gaby, David, and Samu being silly on the escalator, with Jazmín, Claudia, and Esteban in the background

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Tourism at its finest











(Friday)

Woke up this morning around 11:45. It is SO nice to sleep in sometimes. Lindsey and I made coffee and hung out, finally getting ready for the day. We at lunch around 2:00. We had eggs sunny side up with (pretty much) french fries and chicken. It was incredible!!

Around 2:25, I took a banana and hit the road. I met up with Andrew and Melanie, and we walked downtown to meet Ken. We walked around for a while, then headed to the train station. Melanie and Ken bought train tickets while Andrew and I shopped in the Plaza de los Torros.

Afterwards, we headed back towards the cathedral side of downtown. On the way, we got gelato :) I had stracciatella (again) and avellana (hazelnut). So good. We then climbed Las Torres de Serrano, which act as boundaries to the old city. It was amazing!

Around 6:30, we headed to the museum of Roman ruins. We had our own personal tour guide 
show us Roman and Muslim artifacts and ruins that had been excavated over the years... the earliest being from 200 years BEFORE CHRIST! It was awesome. We saw Roman baths and the place where Saint Vincent died and human bones. WOW.

At about 8:00 I headed home. It was just me, because Lindsey went to a concert tonight. I hung out with Señora a while. I told her I liked her necklace, and she proceeded to show meevery piece of jewelry she owns. It was actually cool, because she's been alot of places and has jewelry from them - like Cairo and Rome.

For dinner, it was me, Señora, papá, and Miguel. We had potato purée, alcachofa (artichoke), and calamares a la Romana (fried calamari rings) and some delicious lemon bread dessert. Afterwards, I came up to my room and hung out a little bit. I watched the newest Office episode and skyped my family. Around midnight I caught a cab downtown to meet up with Macy and Jessica. We went to this awesome bar called El Caribe and danced for a while. It was super fun. By the way, I've come to the conclusion that Spain has the most gorgeous residents.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to hang out with the homeless again. I'm super excited.

Hasta luego,
Leigh

*Pictures (from top to bottom): The first flight of stairs, a second flight of stairs, a beautiful gothic archway, me at the top, soccer fields and part of the Valencian skyline, a pretty peephole, me on some stairs, a gorgeous Valencian city block, a nice building downtown, the museum of the ancient Roman ruins

Friday, February 13, 2009

Botellón ;)



(Thursday)

This morning, Lindsey and I were feeling a little lazy. We got up in time for school, to get ready, but we absolutely did not want to ride our bikes. So we took the bus. Today we had Composición and Literatura. Both went very well.

We decided to walk home because of the perfect weather. On the way, we stopped in a store and I bought a fabulous orange dress for 10 EURO! And also a ring and a scarf for 3 euro. These amazing rebajas (sales) last until the end of February, and I'm hoping that they'll just decide to keep them forever :)

When we got home, Señora, papá, and Miguel and just sat down to eat lunch. We had arroz negro (black rice) with sepia (a type of fish) and muscles. It was incredible. I've never had black rice before, and it's definitely become one of my new favorites. We also had yogurt for dessert.

After lunch, I came up to the room to plan my future. Last night before the intercambio, a guy from our ISA group, Petyon, was telling me about this program called 'Somos Hermanos' that is intended for students just out of college and getting ready to go to medical school. It's a 6 month program in Guatemala that allows students to do medical work in rural areas and learn Spanish while living with a family. It sounded absolutely amazing to me, and so I've decided to graduate a semester early from college and go do it! I'm really excited, so, like I said, I spent all afternoon planning out the rest of my college career :) It's going to be amazing.

I showered around 7:00, and then at 9:00 we had dinner. It was asparagus and ham, with little pieces of toast with cream cheese and salmon, and also a quiche-like tortilla. It was incredible. I mean, seriously, Señora becomes a better cook with every meal we have.

After dinner, I hung out for a little, skyped with Jacob, and then took a cab downtown to meet some folks. We (Me, Jessica, Macy, Peyton, Kyle, Morgan, Ronnie, Bev, Marta Kat, Lindsey, Deanna, Caroline, Ben, and Miguel) hung out at a little bar called La Piedra for a while. Around 1:00, some of us (me, Macy, Jessica, Peyton, Kyle, Bev, Morgan, Ronnie, Ben, and Marta) headed to what is known as the Botellón. I would liken it to tailgating back home. It's basically hundreds of people in the street, some with music playing out of their cars, just hanging out, talking, and yes, drinking. It was a really cool environment. Everything is so much more laid back here. I took a taxi home around 3:00, and I started talking to the cab driver. He was very nice and engaging. We talked about the United States for a little bit, Obama, Valencia, the differences between the two countries. It was neat.

Each day I fall more and more in love with Valencia. And with being a part of a different culture. I like being away from the United States. I think that's one of the reasons that the program in Guatemala is so inviting to me. Now that I've experienced something else, my friend Emily McClain is right: You can never go home. Home is not the same for me, now that my eyes have been opened to what else other places in the world have to offer. ¡Yay, España!

Enamorada de Valencia,
Leigh

*Pictures (from top to bottom): the Botellón and some crazy people with a robot; Jessica, me, Macy (the birthday girl), and Bev at the Botellón.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Intercambio Time

This morning was a little rough. But I made it. I got my coffee, got myself ready, and Lindsey and I headed to school... and got there on time! Wednesdays are the best days of class - all of my favorite teachers :) We had Conversación, Composición, and in the afternoon, my advanced class, Historia de la Lengua Española. For our lunch break, Dottie and I got smoothies from my now regular place, Zumo Del¡s, and then she and I plus Ken, Melanie, Addie and Anna B sat in the park across from our school and had a picnic. It was a GORGEOUS day (like always) so it was really nice to just pass the time outside.

After my afternoon class was out, around 4:45, I headed to the ISA office. We had a meeting at 5:30. Since it's been almost a month now, our amazing directors want to see how everything is going - our families, our classes, Valencia in general. They also told us about some of the activities we're doing in the upcoming weeks, including a Valencian fútbol game and awesome Fallas stuff, that I'm going to miss because I'll be at the wedding.....

After the meeting, Megan, Melanie and I stayed behind and planned our trip. TO CASABLANCA, MOROCCO!!!!!!!!!! That's right... we're headed to Africa next weekend. We're leaving Thursday morning, and spending Thursday afternoon, all day Friday, all day Saturday, and until the afternoon on Sunday in Casablanca. How incredible is that?! I can't wait. And when we were booking our trip, Manuel (director) was looking at our flights and our hotel and approved - so we'll be safe :)

After that, I went to dinner at an awesome Kebap place (Sofra) with Megan, Melanie, Ken, Andrew, Ben, Peyton, Quinn, and Dottie. When we'd finished, we headed to el Diablito (a bar) for our intercambio. An intercambio is a exchange, between Spanish students who want to learn English and English students who want to learn Spanish. It was really fun! I made friends with Emiliano and Neus. Emiliano is a sweet guy who has studied in Sweden and speaks pretty good English. He was really excited about having American friends, and was already planning times for us to hang out again. Neus is a really awesome girl, who's a marine biologist and currently works at the oceanográfico that we visited a couple weeks ago. We have a lot in common, which was really cool. We exchanged numbers, and she's going to try and get me to come sing in her boyfriend's band, because he's been looking for a female voice!! I hope it works out!!!

After the intercambio, Megan, Emiliano and I went back to Sofra to hang out for a little bit, because we were going to go salsa dancing. But I started to get a little vertigo and decided to come home instead.

I feel like the Lord is doing crazy things in my life right now. He's providing me with opportunities I'd never even dreamt of having, ever. Like feeding the homeless with Spanish friends, singing in a band with the natives, going to Morocco. And ultimately, I have had so many opportunities to talk about my faith. And although it's discouraging a lot to not see any outward change because of those conversations, I know that the Word of the Lord does not return void, and I truly believe that the Lord is doing something big here. Be praying for these people, my friends. I love them with all of my heart, and my greatest single desire right now is that they would know the hope of Christ! My heart is breaking for them. I hope yours will, too.

Agradecida para vuestros rezos,
Leigh

Entrevistas

(Tuesday)

I woke up this morning, showered, and got ready for school. Lindsey and I left around 9:10 and made it to class..... EARLY. We had Cultura and Literatura today. I was feeling a little bit vertigo-ish during class, which wasn't much fun.

Afterwards, we biked home for lunch. We had spaghetti with chicken and an apple-raisin sauce. It was quite tasty. After lunch, I came up to my room and hung out for a bit. I tried to figure out some more of the logistics of the April trip, and also some other here and there trips before then.

Around 7:00, I went to the local grocery store to get a few items, and then came home and hung out with Señora and papá until about 9:00. I also interviewed them (finally). They're both 58 and have been married since October 30, 1977. Señora's full name is Matilde Villoldo Úceda, and papá's full name is César Abarca Landete. Señora never went to college, but papá went to the School of Technical and Industrial Engineering. Papá has one younger sister, and Señora is the second youngest of 6. Neither of them are working now, but Señora used to be kind of like a secretary, and papá was an engineer. It has always been Señora's dream to go hang-gliding, and papá's secret wish is to learn how to play an instrument. They both would like to travel during retirement. Her favorite childhood memory is traveling through Spain with her family, and his is being named Valedictorian of his class in school. I love my Spanish parents!!!!

For dinner, we had potatoes and broccoli with olive oil, ham with melted cheese on top, and torrijas (french toast). SO DELICIOUS! Marta joined us, too, which was definitely a treat.

After that, I went downtown to a little bar with Melanie and Ken. We hung out til about 12:00, then came home. Since then, I've talked to Mary Evelyn and my fam. I just love skype!

Hablaremos más adelante,
Leigh


Monday, February 9, 2009

School, Sweet School

After not nearly enough time asleep, Lindsey and I woke up this morning. On time. We got ready for school, got a mag and juice to go, and hit the road. We got to class right as it was beginning. Today, we had Conversación and Cultura. Inbetween, like always, we got coffee. I also got a Bueno from the vending machine :)

When class was over, I headed to the ISA office to sign up for the Valencian fútbol game, then to the tobacco shop to buy postcards and another bonobus, and then I went to my favorite little café, Zumo Del¡s. I got El "abre los ojos" - a smoothie - and went up to the loft to eat the bocadillo my señora packed me and do my homework. It was nice to be alone.

At 2:40 I headed back to school for my 3:00 class. I love this class, but today was not so good. I had a hard time taking notes because my vertigo was bothering me again, and I had to look up at the board and down at my notes over and over. Ugh.

I rode my bike home and came up to my room. I tried to take it easy. I planned a little bit of my April trip out, and watched some Arrested Development.

At around 8:30, we had dinner: pea purée with potato tortillas. My señora was so worried about me and my vertigo. She was telling me all these things I should do, and she even made me some fresh juice. Such a sweetheart.

Since dinner, I've been working some more on the itinerary. I also talked to Emily and Lana on Skype.

Please pray for me, that my vertigo would go away! I'm not sure why it's been so bad recently. It's definitely no fun at all.

Hasta luego,
Leigh

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Viaje a Barcelona: Parte 2








So last night, after I posted, I ended up hanging out for a while in Melanie's room with her, her friend Anna (from ISA Barcelona), Ken, Andrew, Dottie, and Madeline. At around 11:30, Madeline, Dottie, Ken and I went to grab bocadillos before going out. We met up with Melanie and then took a metro to a different district to meet up with Anna.

When we got there, we found a neat little bar, 
two levels, that had low couches and tables and dim lights and cushions and just an incredible ambience. We got something to drink and hung out for a little bit. Around 1:30 we headed to Mojito, our destination for the night. It was this really awesome dance club, and it was PACKED! But it was so fun. I was sweating after about 5 minutes of being inside. But I did end up dancing with a few Spanish dudes, which was awesome.

We left around 4:30 and took a cab back to the hotel, and I went to sleep around 5:15.

This morning, we woke up at 9:30 and got packed and ready. We made it to complementary breakfast, too! Which was okay. I had a croissant and some juice and then made a bocadillo to take with me for lunch.

We left the hotel at 11:00 and headed to the Picasso museum downtown. It was awesome! The museum is actually 5 old "castles" together, converted into different salas based on the period of his life. Our tour guide was one of the directors of ISA Barcelona, and she was fabulous. We were there until about 1:30, after which we had free time until 4:00 to eat and do whatever.

Jessica and I wanted to sample some local cuisine, so we went to a tapas restaurant and ordered muscles, patata tortilla, and butifarra (specialty of Barcelona). It was all very delicious. It was great, too, because it gave Jessica and I a chance to really talk one-on-one. We talked about our faith alot, which was a breath of fresh air, for sure. The Lord has definitely blessed me with fellowship like I never would've expected.

After la comida, we met up with Macy and got some gelato. I got a special where they put four flavors into one cup. I ordered: tiramisu, bonbon, conguitos, and stracciatella. It was maybe the most delicious thing I've ever tasted in my life.

At 4:00, we met at the huge Cristóbal Colón statue by the port and loaded the bus to head back home! We stopped around 6:45 to get a little snack, and we arrived in Valencia around 9:15. It's pretty cold outside, so Lindsey and I got a cab back to our house.

I'm so, so tired and hopefully will be asleep soon! Hope everyone is doing well!!!

Todo mi amor,
Leigh

*Pictures (from top to bottom): A panorama of Barcelona from Montjüic, me and Macy with the cool statue, Kumon in Barcelona!, Saint Mary of the Sea cathedral, a Spanish alleyway, the Christopher Columbus monument, me riding on Aslan

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Viaje a Barcelona: Parte 1

So I do have internet!!!

Friday morning, Lindsey and I woke up at 6:00 (SUCCESSFULLY!) and got ready to head out. Our sweet papá took us to the stadium where we were meeting the group. We hopped on the bus at 8:00 and headed to B-pueblo (Barcelona).

We stopped about two hours in at a little cafeteria and got some snacks, and then went the rest of the way to Barcelona. We arrived around 1:00, and picked up our tour guide. We had a panoramic tour of the city, and stopped at the top of one of the mountains to take pictures. Barcelona is BIG and GORGEOUS! We also stopped at a little park where Gaudí, a famous Spanish architect, lived. It was pretty cool. After that, we came to the hotel and rested. Lindsey and I ended up sleeping for four hours! Of course.

After our siesta, I went down to Anna's room and hung out with her and Elizabeth. Her roommate had bought some croissants for dinner, so she shared with me. Around 11:00, Ivan (my friend from church who is also in Barcelona this weekend) came with a couple of his friends to the hotel. We (Ivan, me, Anna, Elizabeth, Byron, and Jimmy) went to a bar to have some cokes, and then went to a discoteca - Nueva Época. It was SOOO fun!! Ivan and I danced most of the time. He's such a great dancer. He taught me Salsa and Merengue (sp?) and a bunch of other dances that I don't know the name of. I absolutely had a blast. Also, he told me that for an American, I dance very well! Hah!

We (the girls) came home around 3:00. The guys walked us home and then went BACK to the discoteca! Haha - they stayed out til like, 6:00. Typical of Spain. Anyway, I went to sleep after that.

This morning, we were supposed to get a wake up call at 9:30. For some reason, Lindsey and I didn't get one. I'd set an alarm on my American phone, but it'd been roaming all day and ended up dying in the middle of the night. So we didn't wake up until 10:45 and missed the walking tour. Unfortunately. But we got ready and found a cute little coffee shop and had breakfast. We then took our own walking tour to the downtown area. There were a ton of cool shops and places down there. I bought a shirt, and was going to buy some art, but the woman had already packed up by the time I returned :(

We headed back to the hotel around 3:00, and Ivan and Byron came to meet me. They are both originally from Ecuador, so we went to this delicious restaurant to have real ecuadorian food. It was awesome. We hung around until 6:00, then Ivan walked me back. We stayed in the hotel lobby talking until 7:30. He told me about coming to Spain and how hard it was to leave his town. How half of his heart is here, while the other part is there. We also talked about the Lord alot, which was so awesome. He's such a neat person!

Now I'm just hanging out in the hotel room, resting for a while. I'm going out tonight, either to go salsa dancing with some ISA friends or to meet back up with Ivan, Byron and Jimmy to dance some more. Either way, it's going to be another amazing night out on the town!

I'll post tomorrow about the final leg of our excursion, and I'll probably add pictures to both posts.

Hasta,
Leigh

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Mall Madness

This morning, Lindsey and I woke up at 9:05! But luckily we had our bikes and raced to school to get there on time :)

We had Composición and Literatura, with a break inbetween. We always get coffee or something in the cafeteria downstairs between classes.

After school, we came home for lunch. Cesar and Miguel were both there, so we had a full table. We had salad, delicious tuna macaroni, bread, fruit, and the same flan like dessert from yesterday, natillas.

When we'd finished eating, we went upstairs. Both of us slept for about 3 hours. When we woke up, we decided to go shopping! There's a mall, El Saler, about a 5 minute bike ride from our house. I got a jacket from Zara, two skirts from MaNGo, and two dresses from Natural. I LOVE THESE SPANISH REBAJAS (sales)!!

When we came home, our Señora was just finishing up preparing dinner. We had a 'salad' of jam, carrots, and corn, peas with onions, and DELICIOUS fish. We finished up the last of the natillas.

Since dinner, I've been skyping - Natalie and Mary Evelyn. And packing, because tomorrow morning we leave for Barcelona!!!!! I'm really excited, but it also means that I won't post again until Sunday. But it will be super long, with lots of pictures :) Also, Ivan (a church friend) told me today that he's going to be in Barcelona this weekend, too, so hopefully I'll get to meet up with him at some point.

Casi en Barcelona!
Leigh

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Class? Canceled.

This morning was another successful one in getting to school - on time! I took a magdalena and zumo to go and caught the bus. We had Conversación and Composición and a break inbetween.

After class, I caught the bus back home (Lindsey rode her bike) because my 3:00 was canceled! The Spanish buses have a tendency to stop whenever they want and change routes whenever the want. This morning, the bus driver said he wouldn't carry anyone any further, so we had to get off and make a connection. This afternoon, instead of going down Peris y Valero, he went down some random obscure avenue two streets over. Anyway, I got off without knowing quite where I was, but it turned out to be fate. I walked by a shoe store and found some great brown boots for 20 euro!

I came home, and we were sitting down to eat. We had bean soup, sausage, bread, and pumpkin cake. After, Lindsey and I came up to the room. Lindsey slept, and I watched Arrested Development.

Eventually, we had supper, which was also incredible. We had a vegetable mix, called menestra, with grilled chicken and a postre of soft flan and cookies. It may have been my almost favorite meal, second only to paella. Our modest señora always says she's not a good cook, but we know the truth.

Since dinner, I've been on the computer, doing nothing. I'm about to throw this computer out the window because I'm sick of it! Haha - not really. I'm just tired of being too tired to do anything in the afternoons :)

Besos y abrazos y más,
Leigh

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Pastel Paradise

(I have posted pictures to some of my older blogs: "Pajama Party" and "Grand Adventures". Check them out, below!)

On time to school!!!!! I woke up around 8:15, showered and got ready, had zumo (juice) and a magdalena to go, and hit the road for school! I actually caught the bus, because Pedro (my bike) is still broken.

This morning, we had Cultura and Literatura. In our literature class, we read Romances - I loved them! I usually don't like poetry because I'm not good at understanding this, but either these were super easy or I'm actually getting better, because it was super fun.

After classes, I walked home with Anna (Lindsey caught the bus) because the day was so gorgeous. For lunch, we had salad, potatoes in tomato sauce with onions, and bread. I had a mandarin too. Afterwards, Lindsey and I came up for a little siesta. I watched Roman Holiday AND the latest Gossip Girl episode. At 6:00, we went downstairs to be educated on the making of calabaza pastel!!!! It's SO good, and I'm making it once a week when I get home :)

I was supposed to meet up with Markos & Co. to share food with the homeless again, but I started to get a little bit of vertigo, so I thought it best to take it easy and stay in. For dinner, we had pea soup with tostóns (croutons), egg tortillas with some of that chicken paste inside, bread, and the pumpkin cake. It definitely hit the spot.

Since dinner, I've been skyping - My mom, my dad, Sarah, and Mary Evelyn. How amazing the internet is!

Hasta un día más divertido,
Leigh

Monday, February 2, 2009

The Rain IS in Spain

This morning, I woke up around 8:20. I went downstairs for breakfast and coffee, only to find out that my bike was in fact still broken. This threw me off, because I'd allotted myself just enough time to get ready and go assuming that I'd be riding my bike. So I sped to get dressed and hurried out the door to catch a bus instead. I was late to class - of course. But only by 10 minutes or so.

Today we had Coversación at 9:30, and then for our 11:45 Cultura y Civilización class, we met downtown to visit some famous monuments. We learned alot about Valencia's cathedral and the ancient Roman part of the city. It was awesome.

Since I had a class at 3:00 and Lindsey had one at 5:00, we decided not to try and go home for lunch. Señora packed me a bocadillo, so we went to a cute little smoothie place and had our lunch. After, I headed to Historia de la Lengua Española - my favorite class.

I caught the bus home because it was raining. This is the third day in a row that it has rained - a record in Valencia! 310 days of sunshine, and 3 days back t0 back with lluvia. The people are incredulous.

When I got home, I had some coffee with Señora then came upstairs to rest. I had a little bout of vertigo that has, unfortunately, lasted the whole evening.

Marta and her friend Mirian joined us for supper around 9:00. We had croquetas (fried chicken paste), mushrooms with ham and cheese, and a soup of garlic and eggs. It was good, but I couldn't keep much down because of how dizzy I was! I think a good night sleep will cure me in no time.

Since dinner, I've skyped my mom and done a little reading for my culture class. Now I'm going to try and sleep this vertigo off :)!

Hasta mañana,
Leigh

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Pajama Party








This blog is from Saturday AND Sunday :)

Saturday I woke up very early so I could meet everyone at the park to feed the homeless. This project was started by a sweet man named Fran (a local pastor) and his two daughters, Cristina (20) and Jasmín (17). I left here around 8:20 on my bike, and five minutes down the road my brakes snapped off! It was awful! I walked my bike back and called Markos to tell him what happened. He of course insisted that they would wait on me to get out there. I caught a bus and finally found my way around 9:30. Macy and Jessica showed up around 10:00. We walked down into the río antigüo (old river - now the big park) and met up with the rest of the group. They were with a group of homeless men from Africa who spoke mostly french. We'd brought breakfast and hung out and talked with the guys for about an hour. Buna, my favorite, was this sweet, sweet man who had the most precious smile. He didn't know much  English or Spanish, but his smile would warm the heart of even the coldest scrooge. We gave each of the men a card for an urban mission in the downtown area that provides food and showers and skills workshops for the homeless.

After we left the park, Markos, Jessica, Macy, Josué, María, Esteban, Vicente, Cristina, Jasmín, and myself went to get coffee at a little place in the nearby shopping center. We talked for awhile, and when we were done, we prayed for the men we'd just spent time with, and also for two of Cristina's friends who don't know the Lord who she'd invited to come.

As we were leaving, it began to rain, so Markos, Esteban, Jessica, Macy and me went inside the mall. Jessica and I bought some Spanish cd's comparable to the NOW cd's in the states :) Markos eventually took us home. For lunch, we had potatoes and cauliflower, with bread and fruit. Delicious as always.

I was tired, so I took a bit of a siesta at around 4:30. I slept til 6:00, woke up and packed my stuff, then caught the number 7 bus to church. I met Jessica, Macy, and Samu (Samuel) there. We went upstairs for the young adult service. We played team pingpong for a while, then Pastor Eduardo got up to speak. At the beginning, Jessica, Macy and I had introduced ourselves and told where we were from (Houston, Texas and Alabama). When Pastor got up, he said he has a friend in Houston and that he's seen the movie Sweet Home Alabama. I loved him from that point on - it was just so precious that he was instantly trying to be relatable and make us feel more welcome. He then gave a sweet message on I Timothy 4:12. After, they elected 3 people to form the youth committee: David (our friend), Raquel, and Isabel (Ivan's wife).

When the meeting was over, we all headed out to Picanya, a little suburb of Valencia, to Carla's house for David's birthday party. Those in attendance: David, Carla, Toni, Esteban, Markos, Lukas, Samu, David #2 (aka Dobis - a new friend), Cristina, Gabi (David's little sister), and Sara (another new friend). We played Singsong (karaoke game, like guitar hero, for PS2) for a long time, and hung out. We finally had dinner around 11:30 - Paella, fried chicken, salad, chorizo, bread, nuts - a real feast! It was absolutely incredible. Carla is an amazing cook. We each went around the table and toasted sweet David, the new 22-yr-old. After dinner, we hung out a little bit, and then there was dessert - whiskey pie and vanilla/caramel pie. I didn't have any because my stomach was hurting, but by the looks of it, it as great, as well.

After dinner, we sat around talking for a while. I eventually went to lay down because of my stomach, and Markos brought me an infusion to help the pain. Macy and Jessica joined me a little bit later, and we went to sleep.

At 9:30 this morning, Samu came to wake us up. We went to have breakfast (magdalenas and coffee, like always) and then we got ready. We left Carla's around 10:45 and headed to catch the metro. We finally got to church around 11:30. Pastor Eduardo had just started. I caught alot of the sermon, but definitely not all. He talked about how sometimes we have a vision of God in our heads that isn't the real God - that we create a fabrication of him that isn't true. That God is God and his character never changes. He went on to talk about ways in which we can serve the Lord, but that most importantly, more important than our deeds, that He must be the center of everything that we do and that the church does. If God is in the center of everything, all else will follow. He is a sweet man.

After the service, we chatted with Ivan for a bit, then headed home. Señora was making a cool twist on paella using pasta instead of rice. She showed me a little of what to do. Cesar (the oldest brother) and his girlfriend joined us for lunch to day, so we were seven people. We had the paella-like dish, chips and dip, bread, and dessert - kiwis on oranges and also fig pudding - which was superb.

After lunch, I came up to the room and took a 5 HOUR SIESTA from 3:30 to 8:30. Lindsey had already left for the soccer game when I woke up. I went down and helped Señora with dinner, then we ate - papá, mama, Miguel and me. We had peas and bacon, bread, mussels, and fruit.

I came back up to my room, and since then I've been skyping (Lee, Sarah, and my mom) and cleaning my room and doing homework.

This weekend was so great. I feel so, so blessed to have found friends to fellowship with while I'm here - friends I know I'll keep for the rest of my life. Precious people who invite you into their home after knowing you for an afternoon and who bring you medicine and infusions when you're feeling sick. The Lord is so good, so faithful. And he never changes!

En los brazos de Jesús,
Leigh

*Pictures (from top to bottom): All of us at the dinner table, Me with Gaby and David, Markos and David singing karaoke, Esteban and Lukas singing karaoke, Carla and María with David's birthday cakes,  David blowing out his candles, The boys - Markos, Esteban, and David - being goofy with balloons