So picking up where I left off again, when I got home from Barcelona it was like 10 am and I was exhausted and unshowered. Magdalena (my host mom) was here waiting for me. She excitedly told me that we were going to her pueblo that day as she gave me breakfast. I tried to tell her that I would be okay with staying here and resting and she could just go but she would not take no for an answer. I’m sure she could never imagine leaving me here alone without nine course meals and she said she wanted me to see her pueblo (home town…looks more like a little village). So she said I could rest and shower in her house in the pueblo so “Venga!” and I changed clothes, washed my face and brushed my teeth and we were off. We met her sister, Cipri, who lives two floors below and went out to wait on the corner by the car garage. I knew we were waiting for some guy but I wasn’t really sure what was going on. Then a car drives up with a middle aged man and an older woman who apparently was his mom. He parks his car and we all get in Cipri’s old voltswagon – I am in the back between Magdalena and the mother (to this day I still don’t know their names…they probably told me but I was so out of it…). We drove for about 45 minutes or so maybe…I don’t really know because I literally could not keep my eyes open and Magdalena had me lean on her shoulder and sleep. The time I was awake was kinda funny though, I wish I had more energy to understand all the conversation. It was just funny to listen to their non-stop chatter and bickering back and forth about which highway to take and what not.

Anyway, so we finally arrived. Her pueblo is beautiful! Right out her door down the street is a beautiful view of green pastures and mountains in the distance. She has a really nice house there, and it’s extremely spacious, especially compared to her small apartment here. Sure enough, after the house tour she took me upstairs and made a bed for me to sleep. It was like queen size and it was basically the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in! I slept for four hours until she woke me up for lunch. We went out to eat where yet again I understood almost nothing but the food was good. I had some type of meat…I asked what the plate was called to try to figure it out and she said it was called “Iberian Secret” which helped a lot hehe. (I later found out it was pork.) Then we walked up a hill to a castle, which happened to be right behind her house of course. The building was closed but we still walked up the hill to see the view which really was amazing. I love all those little white houses with the green and moutains in the background. She told me she grew up there…I told her I couldn’t imagine that, it was like something out of a storybook! She found that amusing J Then I went with her to visit some neighbors, and didn’t understand most of the conversation again, but they were all really nice.

We returned here that night at the same time as her son Jose Manuel and his girlfriend, Isabel, and cousin, Pedro. They were going out for “cervezas” (beers…they do it all the time here) and invited me. I was exhausted and didn’t want beer but I said yes because it was the first time they had asked me and I didn’t want it to be the last. So I went with them to this little tapas bar on the corner right by our apartment building and we met up with Isabel’s roommate and her boyfriend. We all got drinks and they ordered tapas to share (luckily Pedro was the only one who actually got a cerveza, so I didn’t fill silly with my fanta!) Needless to say, although I understood them when they addressed me directly, most of the time I had no idea what was going on because they spoke so fast and with their accent and it was impossible… It probably didn’t help that I was going on a four hour nap and no shower. I didn’t feel like I could even say anything…I felt like I didn’t have enough vocabulary to even spit out one sentence. So overall it was kinda a discouraging night. But I talked to Mary Alice about it and she was like, you have to have lots and lots of those nights to have one good one. It was good to have someone who could relate!

I went to a church service in a church here in Triana (the neighborhood/area of Seville I live in) that was held by a study abroad program here for Christian colleges. It was really good! It was mostly in English but some of the songs were in Spanish. It was the encouragement I needed. We sang the worship song “For you are good…” (not sure if that’s the title or not) which we used to sing all the time in my youth group during high school. I hadn’t heard it in a while so I was suddenly transported back to the old sanctuary in our church and it was a precious give from Him! As much as I love it here I definitely miss things from home so it is always nice to have a taste of it here when I can J

On Friday morning I met with Mary Alice for coffee. It was wonderful! She very graciously let me vent all my frustrations to her…language problems, and just the frustration of sometimes feeling like alone here in the way I think and what I believe. God is very good though because as much as I tried to vent in an email home (which does help, mom and everyone I appreciate your responses more than you know!) but it is totally not the same as having a real live person there who can sympathize and nod her head and respond before I’ve even finished speaking. So that was really good…she said I encouraged her too because she has had the same experiences. And by the way she told me that she is working with other Christian organizations here like Campus Crusade and InterVarsity so apparently there are more protestant Christians here than I thought! You can be praying for her and what God is doing here!

This weekend I went to the island Palma de Mallorca with my roommate Becky and our friend Rebecca. It was a short trip but it’s Becky and Rebecca’s last weekend because their school is on trimesters and so I really wanted to spend it with them! And Becky’s friend from Madrid, Marta, was going to be there so I decided to go. It was really fun! Marta was there (taking courses for her job as a flight attendant) and her cousin, Sylvia, was visiting too. The first day we rented a car because things on the island are pretty spread out. So all five of us were stuffed in this little European car bumping around because the stick shift didn’t always work right. It was so fun! On Saturday we saw these amazing caves and then ate by this beautiful little cove place. We stayed in a hostel that night, which was interesting because they had decided that the best plan would be to just try to fit three of us in a room for two. So we pushed the beds together and me Becky and Rebecca all sleep on them in the opposite direction. I just woke up a few times when the crack got really under my hips which was a problem because the other two were sleeping like rocks when I tried to push the beds back together. It worked though!

The next day we walked by the water to the cathedral, which was beautiful, and then Becky and Rebecca played in the sand and collected shells (I was opposed to getting sand and water in my shoes). Then we climbed up 500 steps (Becky counted) with Sylvia (Marta had to study) to a castle. Sylvia even did it in heels! The castle wasn’t super impressive but the view was incredible! It was fun to be with Sylvia too because she didn’t speak much English so we got a lot of practice. We ate near the beach again that night for dinner. It was a really good weekend and I am glad I spent it with her!

Well, I have a lot to do this week so I am gonna run…I apologize for typos and what not because I don’t have time to read this before I post it today…although I might try to come back and put pictures in if I can. Hope everyone is well!