October 6, 2012
September 30, 2012
I have officially been in Sevilla for one week from Thursday. Now, it’s like a week and 2 days. To be honest it has been a week of up and downs. Host Home = Awesome. I love my family. Sevilla = cool town. Can’t wait to explore it more and know all the ins and outs. Food = I’ve liked basically everything I have eaten. I haven’t even gone to an American restaurant! Spanish = my down fall. This is where everything goes wrong. My Spanish sucks and I just want to talk and to get to know my host family and locals, but I lack the knowledge to carry on those conversations that I’d like to have. Granted, I am able to talk, get around to places, and am able to find out some things about my host family, but this is so hard. We also started class this week, and it’s been rough. I am in 3 advanced Spanish classes and it’s gonna be tough to keep up and all. I should be at that level, but my listening skills are the worst. I just can’t keep make sense of anything. Others can just tell what people are saying and all. Please pray for my Spanish! It is so frustrating!!!!!!!!!! You have no idea!

I have officially been in Sevilla for one week from Thursday. Now, it’s like a week and 2 days. To be honest it has been a week of up and downs. Host Home = Awesome. I love my family. Sevilla = cool town. Can’t wait to explore it more and know all the ins and outs. Food = I’ve liked basically everything I have eaten. I haven’t even gone to an American restaurant! Spanish = my down fall. This is where everything goes wrong. My Spanish sucks and I just want to talk and to get to know my host family and locals, but I lack the knowledge to carry on those conversations that I’d like to have. Granted, I am able to talk, get around to places, and am able to find out some things about my host family, but this is so hard. We also started class this week, and it’s been rough. I am in 3 advanced Spanish classes and it’s gonna be tough to keep up and all. I should be at that level, but my listening skills are the worst. I just can’t keep make sense of anything. Others can just tell what people are saying and all. Please pray for my Spanish! It is so frustrating!!!!!!!!!! You have no idea!

September 27, 2012 • 1 note
The Language of Rain As I sit here becoming super frustrated with all my advanced Spanish classes and with learning Spanish, the pitter patter of the rain calms my soul. It is so tranquil, so soothing. Rain signifies life. It means hope to a Sevillian, because there hasn’t been rain in 4 months. They have been in such a drought and dry time for so long, but not today. Today is the day that life falls from the heavens, literally. Even though I hated walking in the cold rain to get to school today, I am reminded that rain, no matter where I am, sounds the same. It speaks the same language across the world. It is one of the musical instruments of nature and it doesn’t change. It’s the same with the other instruments of nature: like the chirping of birds, the rustling of trees in the wind, and the barking of dog. Music, especially the music in nature, can be heard and understood in any language. While some countries have different instruments, there is still music, and we all understand it. It is universal. It is known to us. How soothing is that to know? For me to not become so frustrated in living in Spain and having to learn a new language, because I will get there. There as in, soon Spanish will seem like the rain. It will become something familiar, something beautiful, and something I come to recognize and know more intimately. I have Hope. 

The Language of Rain

As I sit here becoming super frustrated with all my advanced Spanish classes and with learning Spanish, the pitter patter of the rain calms my soul. It is so tranquil, so soothing. Rain signifies life. It means hope to a Sevillian, because there hasn’t been rain in 4 months. They have been in such a drought and dry time for so long, but not today. Today is the day that life falls from the heavens, literally. Even though I hated walking in the cold rain to get to school today, I am reminded that rain, no matter where I am, sounds the same. It speaks the same language across the world. It is one of the musical instruments of nature and it doesn’t change. It’s the same with the other instruments of nature: like the chirping of birds, the rustling of trees in the wind, and the barking of dog. Music, especially the music in nature, can be heard and understood in any language. While some countries have different instruments, there is still music, and we all understand it. It is universal. It is known to us. How soothing is that to know? For me to not become so frustrated in living in Spain and having to learn a new language, because I will get there. There as in, soon Spanish will seem like the rain. It will become something familiar, something beautiful, and something I come to recognize and know more intimately. I have Hope. 

September 23, 2012 • 1 note

What are these locks? What do they signify? As I walk across the bridge from my neighborhood into the middle of town, I walk pass by these locks. Most of them have two names on them or two different people’s initials. Why? Two people who are in love buy a lock together, come to the bridge, write their names on the lock, lock it on the bridge and throw the key in the river never to be found again. It signifies that their love will never be unlocked or broken. Being a totally girl who fancies romance and love stories this is just another thing that warms my heart!

Now, I think this is a thing young kids in high school who are in love do. I love the concept of this whole lock and key thing. Wow, that is some serious love right or at least should be right? Because that lock you bought can not be unlocked because the key to unlock it is thrown down into the river. This is a sign of commitment, a big commitment in my mind. I think if you do something like, it should really mean something. Just like when accepting Christ into your heart and to be your personal Lord and Savior. The lock is our heart, the names are Jesus and us, and the key means we are one together, for eternity. When we throw the key into the river that is like our sins being forever forgotten. Almost like that one Ocean Deep song. (I hope you guys know it because I can’t remember it at this moment) This bond is never broken; the commitment we make is a special one. We are adopted into the family of God and we are no longer orphans. We, as the church, become the bridegroom of Christ. There is strong love that is not easily broken. When we become a Christian believer by confessing our sins, believing in Christ as God’s son and our Savior and committing our lives to God we are suppose to be making this same type of bond.

I kind of want to do this on the bridge I walk by everyday but write Jesus loves you on my lock or Jesus and my name or something like that, maybe put a verse on it as well. I just might do this, but the locks on this bridge are cut from time to time. Sad day, I know. I could just put one on there every Sunday with a different verse right?? hahah What do ya’ll think??   

September 23, 2012

New Home. New Life.

Life. As most of you know, I have never moved, never gone off for college and never lived anywhere but at home with my family. Traveling and being in different cultures isn’t new to me, butttttt living in a different place that isn’t my home is quite different. Spain is also different. So here are some differences that you will notice right off the bat (or at least I have). Spaniards eat their meals at different times. Breakfast at 9-11am, lunch at 2-3ish pm, and dinner 8pm-12am. (<—- SERIOUSLY). Isn’t that wild?!?! I had dinner at 9:30pm today. (It was very delicious and my host mom is a pretty good cook.) They don’t say excuse me or sorry when trying to pass each other. They personal space bubble is quite smaller than ours in the US so they don’t have to say sorry or opps excuse me. They just go and walk and live life. Life in Spain is slow which isn’t a bad thing necessarily, unless you are a 30 yr old still in college living at home. Don’t get me wrong now. I not saying this is wrong. It is just different from the way people live in the States. Some people take10 years to finish college here. I just have to be honest and say heck no. That is not for me. What I do like is that people take their time. They will sit and have long conversations at a cafe/bar and there is no rush to move on to the next thing. They live in the present and notice what happens in the now. I feel like they really get to know people here because of this. Lastly, life does not happen in the home like in America. Life happens outside the house. People go outside, walk for miles a day (most people don’t drive and we walked about 8 miles yesterday), hang out with friends, visit places, play soccer in the plazas, talk on the phone on a bench, and just life. Many of them don’t invite friends over, but invite friends out. It’s a different concept of life I think. Very cool nonetheless.

Now, I bet you are all wondering what adventures Cathy is having. OK, some might not care or even read this which is okay. ANYWAYYYY


Home. On Thursday, we went on a long journey from Toledo to Sevilla, our new home. We met our host families and went to our new homes for the next 3 months. I’m living in a house with a mom, who hasn’t been around much because she works in a pueblo (another little town/village/city) and her daughter, who is about 30. Elena, the sister, is so nice and considerate and her boyfriend, Juan comes to visit almost everyday. He is super talkative and speaks English which actually helps a lot with my roommate and I learning Spanish. WAITTT I don’t think I’ve talked about my room mate yet! Her name is Dara, and she is such an awesome roommate because I’ve never really had one before. I am so blessed. Please pray for the family. I found out they are Catholic, but they don’t attend Mass that often.

Yesterday, we took our placement test for the Spanish classes. I was so nervous because my Spanish is completely terrible and I had to text in the advance classes in order to get the classes I needed for credit. It is so difficult to listen to what people are trying to say here. The accent is different and it all sounds like one huge long sentence. We got our results and class schedules back and I was so excited to see that I got all the classes I wanted and I tested into the advance classes. This coming up Monday will be the hard part of actually taking those 3 upper level classes. God, seriously, I need Your help on this one.

We also met our mission mentor, who has been a missionary for about 20 years. They planted a baptist church in Sevilla and are about plant another one. Her and her husband are church planters in Europe. Super cool and super awesome! I cant’ wait to see where God is going to put me here and how He is going to use me. I talked to one of my friends who was so encouraging by letting me know how God is already using me, because I was a little discouraged this week. God is so good all the time, and we will never really know exactly what He has planned for us, but I am starting to see it unfold.:)

Since, school hasn’t started yet, I have had a lot of free time to explore and to get to know people in my study abroad group. Everyone is so nice and friendly! I was so worried about that and God has already answered that pray and concern of mine. :) Today some friends and I went to Plaza de Espana. We decided to be super touristy and American, by being a little louder than normal (which was normal to us) being amazing by everything we see and taking silly pictures everywhere. OH MY GOODNESS! This place is so gorgeous! There is a mini lake, moat thing where you can row a boat around in and a giant fountain in the middle of everything. Some Spaniards will take you on a horse and carriage around as well. Then some bridges will take you across and into the palace (of course in front of the place we had to take a jumping picture, which none of them turned out super good, but it was very funny). We walked to one of the levels and it just had a super gorgeous view! You just gotta see this! Also all of us bought some fans for the bull fight we are going to see tomorrow. (or well today depending on when I post this blog) These Spaniard boys are super crazy too! So one came up to us selling post cards at any price we wanted to pay because the money went towards little kids playing soccer or something like that and then he looked at me and asked if I had a boyfriend. Stupid me said no. So then asked me if I’d like to meet with him in the garden across the street in 10 mins. OH MY! I just said I had to go and walked away with everyone else. I could explain the story better in person, but this is just the short version.

I felt like a totally Spaniard today because my friend Mirium and I went shopping at the local store because I needed some shampoo and all that good stuff. Their baskets for shopping are just too cute. They roll on the ground kinda like a suitcase! It made shopping so much easier, but you have to pay for a plastic bag. Being cheap, I did not like that.

So I just have so many adventures and stories to tell, but I wish I could tell all my stories and tell them better! 

Keep Praying and God Bless.

:) :)  

September 20, 2012

Toledo.

So far I love Toledo much more than Madrid. It was like a small town with alright let me just stop right here and give this place some justice with pictures! Beautiful city! I would love to have stayed there for 2 days instead of Madrid. Did you know that all of the Lord of the Rings weapons were made in this city?? They city is the city of weapons, swords, knives, etc. And no I did not buy a sword there, though I would have loved it.

Now, esoty lista a encontrar mi familia nueva!

Adios!

:) :)  

September 20, 2012

Ahora estoy aquí en el autobus ir a la Sevilla. Es toy muy feliz que estoy encontrando mi familia nueva para tres meses hoy. Alrighty, so I just said that I am the bus on my way to Sevilla. I am so excited to meet my new host family for 3 months. But I have some catching up to do on tell you all what has happened the past 2 days. It feels like a whole week has gone by because we have done so much.

So our 2nd day in Madrid: My roommate and I went down to breakfast in the hotel and got all ready to go on a museum and a walking tour of Madrid. We went to museuo del prado and saw paintings from the 16th-18th centuries. Goya (the statue picture), one of the artists, really stretched the boundaries by painting a picture of a naked woman who wasn’t a god or angelic creature which was unheard of during that time period. When he died, they found that he painted on the walls of his house, but they were very dark paintings, literally. He painted a picture of Jupiter eating his son, people being horrified and dying and just stuff like that. Crazy stuff right?!? He was seriously being tormented by something or another. Who knows… We saw paintings from the Italians. There was a really cool one of the disciples and Jesus right before the Lord’s supper and depending on where you stood, you saw a different perspective of the painting. It’s hard to explain, you just gotta check it out! El greko’s paintings were in there and others. BUT what I noticed the most about the paintings were the religious ones, the ones of Jesus, and the ones they’d put in churches. They just didn’t seem to do justice to what I think should have been. Granted it is art and a painter can paint whatever he wants to and convey. Seeing these really gave me some insight to how the Spaniards though and lived. There was one painting where these people were letting Jesus down from the cross after he died and Mary was in the picture bowing down, crying over the Savior. There were 7 other people in the picture (I think) and I just couldn’t tell who they were suppose to be. :/ Jesus only had the crown of thorns on him and one pierced wound from that last stab after he died. Everyone was wearing 16th century European clothes too. The people back then liked to incorporate parts of Jesus life and put new stuff into. It’s very interesting that they would have that in a church. It seemed to me like the Spaniards and the Catholic really like to incorporate Christian beliefs and rituals into their own way of life. I hope that makes sense. Like they made their own Christianity, because that what the pictures conveyed to me. All the pictures of Jesus had the pierced wound and crown but not much else. OHHHHHHHHH this one painting was a tri fold. On the first panel it was a picture of Adam and Eve living harmoniously with God. The middle showed the world with a lot more people, but living sensually and doing evil deeds. The last panel showed a dark world representing hell and everyone was being tortured, killed and suffering according to certain sins. For example for gluttony a monster was eating people, for music and dancing there was a metronome torturing people and stuff like that. SO interesting right???

After the tour Angela, Warren and I walked to the Royal Palace and went inside and looked around. This thing was HUGE! I thought we’d never make it out. There were so many rooms chlordane with gold, elaborate paintings on the ceilings, and fancy furniture. They even had a room called the yellow room that was specifically for people that had yellow skin! Weird right?? haah JK JK They did have a yellow room but that wasn’t the purpose of it! :P We ran into some Manchester fans pregaming at Plaza Mayor. They were crazy! Yelling and singing at the top of their lungs. Angela and I had a very awkward encounter. If you remember to ask me when I get back, I have a video and I can tell you about it. lol

Then we walked around Madrid and noticed the roman influence because in the round about there were statues of Greek gods. Madrid reminded me of a normal city in America, like Atlanta or New York, but with more culture and history involved, Also it was much safer to walk around, because everyone walks in Spain.

That night we walked to the park near our hotel and found the man made lake. The park seemed so lively and large. People were rollerblading everywhere, running around, kayaking, feeding the ducks, paddleling in the paddle boats, chilling and enjoying life. People really take it slow here and enjoy their time. They aren’t in a rush or try to rush you. I did notice also people in love, love love and aren’t afraid to show it. VERY different than the US. That night was the night of the big Real Madrid vs. Manchester City futbol game. We weren’t able to get tickets to the game but we went to a cafe bar to watch it. Spain won in the last 30 seconds. Very cool! The bartender was so happy that Spain won. I think Spain partied the whole night long celebrating. Where as I just went to sleep.

September 19, 2012

So this is day one in Spain! The flights were a little scary, but made it here in one piece. The airport in New York is very confusing, but I made it through! (The TSA people are very helpful.)  There were a few hiccups such as one of my carry-ons had to be checked in and it got left in NY, but i’ll get it back soon. Also my bags weigh too much, as in 18 lbs too much. I will def learn how to pack better after this experience! 

On my flight to Spain I met a very next Mexican man who spoke with me for a bit. He was very considerate and nice. We chatted for a bit (IN SPANISH—BIG DEAL) and I found out him and his wife live in Spain. His wife is from the US and him Mexico BUT they live in Spain and they are about to have a child in December who will be born in Spain, possibly named Amalla (sp). Isn’t that crazy?! I think so! 

When I got here, I met part of the group and everyone is very nice and friendly. We are all kind of in the same boat of being in a new country with people we do not know. After we got settled in we went to this sandwich shop (I CAN”T BELIEVE I FORGOT THE NAME OF IT!) and ordered some sandwiches for ONLY 1 euro each. The big disappointment: they were the size of a dill pickle. I am not even joking. I guess only a picture could tell you that! NO wonder everyone is so tiny here! :P haha Nonetheless, it tasted very delicious! My first Spanish meal in Spain. Did I forget to mention that I ordered IN SPANISH, yet when he asked me for my name, I totally blanked… Yeah I know go ahead and laugh at me now! The waiter already did! :P 

New Goal: Brush up on my Spanish (because I FREAKIN suck!)

September 14, 2012

Am I Really Going to Spain?

Well in 2 days I will be leaving for the beautiful country of Spain and live there for the next 3 months. I honestly can not believe God has lead me to go here.  I am very excited for this opportunity, and yet terrified. Literally. I have never lived anywhere but home, and I’ve never moved. I have traveled to other countries in the world, but never livedin another country. God is so crazy! He has some mighty big plans for me for the next 3 months because the past few months have been pretty crazy! God works in such mysterious and amazing ways! 

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For now here is a small bucket list for my trip! If anyone has any good ideas of what I should do there feel free to comment, fb me or let me know! 

-Learn to cook a traditional Spanish dish
-Scrapbook a photo album for the host home family
-Watch a futbol game
-Go to a bullfight
-Get a haircut in Spain
-Learn to flamenco dance
-Ride a roller coaster in Isla Magica
-Eat churros
-Play in a fountain
-Find 2 parts of the old Roman aqueduct 
-Go to a cave concert
-Ride a camel

 Keep praying for the Spaniards and for me! 

God Bless You All! 
:) :)  

February 21, 2012 • 1 note

Day 7: That Should Be Me

Isaiah 53

While I was reading Isaiah 53, I was thinking that we should have been on that cross, not Jesus. He was righteous, blameless and perfect. But like it says in verse 5, “He was pierced for our transgressions.” Even in verse 7-9 it predicts Jesus’ behavior while he was being slaughtered. He was silent and accepted His death. Jesus didn’t whine or walk away. He took is like a true redeemer, lover and Savior. This made me think of how many times do I whine when God is punishing me or well disciplining me (as it says in Hebrews). After reading this prediction of Christ’s death, it just made me so grateful and thankful for my Savior. I wish I could explain it better. 

“He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.”

Isaiah 53:5

Also because God has given me such an interest in the human body check this out. Did you know there are 5 different types of wounds?  On that one day of Jesus’s crucifixion, Jesus experienced all of them. 

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1. Lacerated Wound: produced by a tearing instrument (Matt 27:26- cat of nine tails) 
2.Penetrating Wound: produced by a sharpened insturment (Matt 27:29-crown of thorns)
3.Contused Wound: produced by blunt instrument causing severe bruising (Matt 27:30-beaten on face by rods)
4. Incised Wound: cut produced by a sharp edge (John 19:34-spear)
5. Perforating Wound: pierced (John 20:24-29- spikes/nails hammered into Him)

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Jesus went through all of that pain, for a group of people who are ungrateful and who take advantage of His death.  At least I do and I am so sorry Jesus for forgetting the great magnitude of what you have done for me! You have saved me from God’s wrath and helped bridge the gap between God and I. I am now able to spend eternity in Heaven with my Father and to have a personal relationship with Him, all thanks to Your sacrifice. :)