So I decided to pray...

I couldn’t sleep so I decided to pray. There have been a lot of things in preparation for this trip and during this trip that have been leading me to prayer.  There have actually been a lot of things in the past few years of my life telling me that some things need to change; but I felt as if I wasn’t ready yet. I’ve been waiting for this trip for the changes. I’ve been wanting to make myself a better person.

Someone told me last semester that while I’m in Spain, I can be whoever I want to be. I will meet people who do not know me, or my past, and I will have a clean slate to start on. While I embrace my past and understand it to have made me the person I am today, there are things I am not proud of and that I now understand people really don’t need to know.

Bishop LaValley’s words to me before I left were “Work hard, pray harder.” I was incredibly thankful for the reminder that I need to pray more; I leave God out of my life far too much and often forget to just be with Him every now and then.  So I came to Spain, knowing I needed to pray more; and I did, somewhat superficially, mainly just asking God to help me become the person He wants me to be. Even though I had been to church and was praying, at least more than usual, I knew it still wasn’t enough; I felt that my faith was pale in comparison to my house mate’s, who bowed her head in prayer before every meal and read the Bible in her free time. I thought about bringing my Bible, and then couldn’t find it. There are so many opportunities to invite God into our lives, and I often don’t take advantage of them as I should.

Then the other day I read the blog of an acquaintance of mine. She talked about actively seeking out God, instead of just waiting around for Him to do all the work. I realized that is what I had been doing. This is just the topic of one of her postings, while many of her others have also given me a lot to think about. I will be ever thankful for her words and the knowledge that I am not the only young person in this world trying to figure this whole God thing out.  

So tonight, I couldn’t sleep and decided to pray, then prayer lead to meditation, and meditation to another prayer, the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi.  Then it dawned on me “It is in giving of ourselves that we receive.” I have said, thought, and sang these words many times, and heard numerous sermons on service; but none of that had ever resonated in me as much as those words did tonight.  “It is in giving of ourselves that we receive”… What skills do I have that I can share with others? My mind immediately went to the PeaceCorps, an idea I have been flirting with for almost a year now; mainly because of the prospects of being taught a new language and living in a different culture for two years. But now it’s more than that. Although I sometimes hate how English is becoming the “world language” as more and more Americans chose to be ignorant and refuse to learn another language and use it; recently in helping a couple studying for the TOEFL exams, I realized how lucky I am to be a native speaker. I can think of no greater service than teaching; sharing knowledge with others, and helping them to create new knowledge. What should be most important in our lives is our relationship with God, but God lives in all of us, so we must improve on our relationships with each other. I have always felt that teaching languages opens up a new world of understanding and respect; but now more than ever I see it as a necessity to become a global citizen as opposed to belonging to a world divided by race, creed, and country. 

While working with PeaceCorps I would be teaching English as a foreign language and opening up new doors of understanding for people in another part of the world. I will live and learn their culture, while they learn about mine. I will give up my comfortable American life to live somewhere else, with less than what I am used to. So much we have is a luxury, and while I enjoy it, it is something else I can give, or in this case give up, in order to live a life of service to others.  This trip was supposed to be about finding me; but it’s not just about me, it’s about who God wants me to be, what He has in mind. I’m slowly figuring it out, and reaffirming some ideas from my past. There’s so much to give…

Making Friends

Sí, hablo español…

¡Ay, qué bueno! Entonces¿quéteparecenespañaysalamancasonmuypreciososno?

¿Qué…?

So with a language barrier, how do you make friends in Spain?

Options:

1.       Cling desperately to your new American friends in your program and hope that your Spanish improves just from going to class all the time.

2.       Go to a bar; hope some cute guy thinks you’re cute too and strikes up a conversation. Also hope that he’s not a pervert and doesn’t try to molest you on the dance floor.

3.       Talk to your host family, if you’re lucky they’ll actually spend time with you.

4.       Have a random guy from Brazil approach you after mass and strike up a conversation…that is if you actually go to church, which no one here really does. I suggest trying another public location; I don’t think this can happen more than once.

5.       Meet with an Intercambio (a person who hopefully speaks the language you’re trying to learn and is trying to learn your native language so you can help each other) and hope that he is not a 30 year old male using the university website as a dating service.

First week in Salamanca

So, my first week in Salamanca went something like this…

Monday: Placement exam; Orientation

Tuesday: Classes; Sleep

Wednesday: Wake up with a sore throat & headache; Class; Sleep

Thursday: Class; Doctor’s; Pharmacy; Class; Class; Sleep

Friday: Sleep; Coffee & Churros; Lounge around all day because I can’t sleep anymore…

       Doesn’t seem so bad right?... aside from the whole “Wake up with a sore throat & headache” then the “Doctor’s; Pharmacy”. That’s right; within my first full week in Spain I get ….tonsillitis!!!!!!!! and the opportunity to experience a doctor’s appointment in Spanish, as opposed to my usual French with Dr. Schaeffer.  Difference between the medical system in Spain and the U.S.: In Spain you don’t make an appointment, you show up and wait, and despite the full waiting rooms, I didn’t have to wait long; seeing the doctor is FREE, no co-pay, ever; and prescriptions…super  cheap compared to the U.S., and insurance doesn’t even cover them. Overall I’d say it’s pretty awesome, and my doctor complimented me on my Spanish J

       So aside from my illness, which will now finally permit me to have my tonsils removed when I get home, my week was pretty good. For classes I’m taking: El mundo arabe en el mundo hispanico (The Arab world in the Spanish world); Lengua Española (Spanish Language-I’m in the most advanced level of this grammar course); Cultura Española (Spanish Culture); and Cine española e hispanoamericano (Spanish and Latin American Cinema).  Something that makes each of these classes awesome: El mundo arabe- we’re learning the Arabic alphabet; Lengua- well grammar is boring, but this class should definitely help improve my grammar, so that’s cool; Cultura- my homework this weekend is to eat paella and try two types of wine, and then report on which one I like better; Cine- all we do is watch movies, including some awesome one’s I’ve already seen, and some I’ve been wanting to see.

      I have also registered for a French class, I take the placement exam next week and classes start the week after. The class is through another program here in Salamanca, it starts later and ends later, so I’ll miss the last 4 classes, precisely the number I’m allowed to miss before automatically failing it and losing the credit. What’s cool about this class other than I get to practice my French? SUNY Cortland is paying for it!!!

All in all, I’d say I love it here <3

Getting there...

After just over 50 hours of traveling, by car and plane, as well as wait time in the airport, I finally made it to Spain. My first glimpse of Spanish ground had snow on it, which on one hand completely disappointed me and on the other reminded me of home. A few minutes later, when we were closer to the ground and I get a better view through the clouds, I realized I was looking at a mountain range, and the rest of Spain was green and brown, much like the end of March in the North Country, once all the snow is gone but the ground is saturated, and the grass is trying to grow back.  We finally landed, and Spain didn’t seem to me much different than anywhere else I’ve been, with the exception of the ocean and the rain forest.     After arriving at my hostel via taxi, I immediately found my friend Liz, checked in and took the most needed shower of my life; only to discover that water doesn’t actually flow continuously here because of government regulations of water conservation. After about the first two 30 second sessions, not wanting to waste the water I resigned to it being freezing and got wet…then it warmed up; and despite only having water for about 30 seconds at a time, it was rather enjoyable.  My first night in Spain, I went for a walk to the Plaza Mayor, ate some tapas and had sangria at a tiny little tapas bar, and bought a towel at El Corte Ingles. There are two here within a few blocks, both multiple stories high, one with food, clothing, perfume, sports equipment, and virtually everything else, but towels, which was what I was looking for...so I went to the other one, which had everything you could possibly need for home decoration, including a wide variety of towels, and more. On the walk back, I saw a store that sold only tights (nylons, stockings, whatever you want to call them) but only them; it amazes me how they have El Corte Ingles which is infinitely better than Wal-Mart will ever be, with the exception of price, and has EVERYTHING and then there’s a store that sells ONE THING ONLY. (Yes, I know, my first bits of culture shock)  I was more jet-lagged than originally expected (considering the 50 hour long journey was entirely unexpected) so I turned in early and had a wonderful night’s sleep :)

I slept a lot, and woke up just in time to go on a walking tour of Madrid...that lasted about 4 hours. I was pretty cool, our tour guide was entertaining; it was a free tour so this guy walks around Madrid a few times a day and lives on tips. With basically one day to be here, I think the tour was a good use of my time. Here are a few pictures: Calle Gan Via, El Catedral, y el Palacio Real...

After the tour I went out for comida with friends then back to the hostel for an extended siesta. The hostel puts on different group events, including bar crawls, so I got to experience the Madrid night life; also a good use of my time here...

The next day I woke up just in time to shower, pack, and check out on time. Apparently the least expensive to get from my hostel to the airport was to take a subway to a bus station....since I couldn't even find the subway and looked like a pathetic tourist with my massive amounts of luggage and my map, I was very glad a taxi stopped to offer me a ride. I made it the airport and after walking around trying to find my group, my group leader found me. After a 2 and a half hour bus ride through the mountains, reminding me of the Adirondacks covered with snow, I arrived in SALAMANCA!!!