So, first things first: Segovia. My home away from home. It's becoming so familiar in such a small amount of time, and I think that's a good thing. I may start to sound like a broken record, but I don't think I can stress it enough. What I have loved about this entire experience so far is that in five weeks I have truly started to feel immersed in this culture, and I'm definitely ok with living it. If you would have caught me five weeks ago on the first weekend I was here I think you would have seen a very different person. My cultural immersion has spiked in quite a short period of time, and despite the difficulties and the exhaustive process that is acculturation, I wouldn't trade this experience for the world. And I'm truly thankful for everything this experience is bringing. It really is changing my life and my perspective in extremely gratifying and humbling ways. I'm always learning more about myself, how I perceive other cultures, and ultimately I'm reminded of just how much of a blessing being an American really is. Our lives are so different, but in many ways we are very similar. And the best part is now I can start to understand those differences from very real and tangible experience. :)
One way that I continue to see these differences is through my involvement in community activities. My church experience continues to be such a blessing, because I'm always reminded that the Lord is really with me wherever I may be at in life. With life being present in Spain and not at home in Muncie, sometimes I find it difficult to connect with the Lord in ways that are much simpler in the States. But, I have also started to realize that in those moments of great weakness, the Lord's superiority in my life has rung true. I'm consistently seeing more and more of Him within even the smallest things: a simple hello and a pleasant conversation with a stranger in Spanish, a loving family atmosphere that always allows me to express what's going on in my life, and ultimately, grace from those who are always trying to understand where I'm coming from, even when I fall flat in communicating my point in another language. Things always work out, and that will never change. And God has provided an extremely caring community in this program, as well as a new friend and brother in Christ that is always around to encourage. It really is spectacular to see that kind of work in our lives.
I again got the change to continue working with a lot of students one-on-one with their language abilities. I again did not have the chance to work with Beatriz and her interview preparations, because she again had a rough schedule with training for a competition this weekend. But we are intending on meeting again this week and continue finding new things to be able to work on so she can be as prepared as possible for her interview and potential trip to the United States to learn English!
My conversation classes with Jaime and Blanca are also continuing to develop well. This experience, though only two hours a week, is really interesting, because I get to see another generation and how the interact. These two are always full of energy and eager to talk about things that, in ways, are very personal. They are good friends that live a block from each other, have the same age, and go to the same school. And when they are together they always have a lot to say about what is going on with their social lives. For me, this is a good thing and a bad thing. It's good because I'm gaining more cultural experience through their interaction and description, but it's bad in the respect that they kind of like to talk about things that may not be the most appropriate for a 23-year-old man. But even with such intriguing conversation topics, I still have a lot of opportunities to help them with their English skills. And luckily, that's the point of the time with them: to help them work on their English skills. Fun fact: many people here in Spain, when they speak English, struggle with speaking in the past tense. For example, when someone converses about a conversation that they had with someone before, most of the time they will say that this person "say" this one thing them, and that they "tell" their friends something else (instead of someone "said" this and they "told" them that). It's really interesting. Another fun fact: Spaniards struggle a lot with English pronouns. So...words like "me," "his," and "her," are very tough. They, and in this case I am speaking about Jaime and Blanca, like to use "I" instead of "me," "he" instead of "his," and "she" instead of "her." Clearly, I'm overgeneralizing, as not every person in Spain struggles with this, but more often than not it is the case. It's really interesting stuff, folks.
My experience at Qudos, the English school continues to be a blast. I think though the classes are a very simple process, through that I still am able to see a lot of interesting things to learn. As I mentioned before, one of the biggest things that I have been learning is that I need to slow down. Because I'm immersed in Spanish all the time, when I get to speak English in the context of teaching I typically go really quickly at first, forgetting that the students (like me with Spanish) need a bit slower pronunciation to understand everything. But like I mentioned before, the students have a lot of grace and a lot of curiosity. At the end of the day, it's not the end of the world to have to repeat something. It's a normal way of life. Heck, I do that all the time in English! And I love being able to use my internship as a way to get to know my students more personally. When teaching grammar and vocabulary, it's really difficult to learn a lot about your students, because you don't really take the time to get to know them (even in their own language let alone their target language). But with the approach we use in Qudos, we have the chance to really know our students and share life with them...to truly understand them in two languages. It's a curious thing, and sometimes it's very difficult to achieve, but when it does, it's amazing. That's what makes every day at my internship a blast. I'm always learning, not just about language, but also life in general.
My last involvement takes us to the military academy of Segovia. As I mentioned last week, I have begun to teach a group of students every afternoon for an hour that are not students in the academy. They are employees to the academy, and do very different jobs. But they want to learn English so they can take a test and receive certification for their careers. Another fun fact: unlike in the United States, a lot of people actually have to learn English in order to advance in their career. It's a sign of a very well-rounded individual. In the US, though many languages are spoken, not many take an initiative to learn another language (of any kind) for the sake of advancing their career or their life in some way. Why? Because aside from being a requirement in high school, it's really not necessary to succeed there. And in some ways, it's a shame.
Anyways, this week I actually continued this "internship" process at the academy with a second part of the deal. Along with the hour-long sessions during the afternoon, I am also now traveling to the school during the morning monday through thursday for an hour to assist the various levels of English classes with the cadets (aka the students of the academy). What this part entails is simply spending an hour each day with a different class talking with them about culture. More specifically, I ask them questions to get them to communicate their point and they ask me questions to get more perspective on American culture. The reason this is so important is because English is predominately through the lens of Great Britain. So, in many ways, the cadets (as well as many other Spaniards) are out of the loop when it comes to American culture. Now, I'm not saying that it is essential that every person knows American culture. But, for them, it's good to know about. So, each day I work with a different language level and their corresponding professor, and we talk about pretty much anything. This week specifically was a very introductory session of exchange. I introduced myself, the cadets introduced themselves, and then we just kind of "shot the breeze" if you will (fun fact: that phrase doesn't exist in Spanish). What's interesting about this is that each class went in a completely different direction, which in ways shouldn't surprise me. The lower levels asked more basic questions about food and customs. The upper levels asked more about tougher things, like educational policy and economy. It is quite the spectrum. I'm interested to see where the rest of these conversations continue to go, because this is only the beginning! I still have about five more weeks with them before I finish. Both parts are so interesting, because I always get to learn more about military culture and also just about who they are. It's a fascinating experience, even though it's a hefty time commitment (almost 10 hours a week).
As always, I want to take a second to say how much I appreciate your patience with such long messages. I share everything for two reasons: to update people on all the things going with my experiences, but also I do it to remember all of the things that have happened. If I didn't write it out, I would forget about a lot of the more interesting details in my experience. So, I apologize for the length, and I hope that you continue to enjoy! Now the time has come: the experiences with photos! GET PUMPED! During the week we took two trips, one within Segovia and one outside of Segovia during the weekend. Vamos a continuar (Let's continue!)
The first trip happened in the middle of the week. To replace class, we took a group trip to the Provincial Museum of Segovia. "Provincial" signifies that the museum is about the entire province of Segovia, not just the city of Segovia itself. Another fun fact: Spain is separated into autonomies and provinces. To put it in perspective, think of the autonomies as the states in the US, and the provinces are more like the individual counties in each state. The main difference: there are substantially less autonomies and provinces than there are states and counties in the US. But, anyways, I digress. We spent a lot of time going through the various ages of Spain, from prehistoric periods (use of rock and formation of metal) to the middle ages, the baroque and modern periods, and finally the contemporary ages all the way to the 20th century. It really was quite an experience, because it really is a place that has been around for ages. The United States was formed in 1609. Spain, and more specifically Segovia, was formed as a civilization in years BC. That's quite a difference! Below are a couple of photos (I don't really know if I was supposed to take them, but they didn't say anything to me while we were traveling through).
This was at the start of the exhibit. We got to watch a few minutes of how the landscape of the area of Segovia was formed and how it's used now. From a geographer's perspective, I enjoyed it.
This is actually a part of the exhibit: a shot of the Alcazar of Segovia. We couldn't actually go out on the terrace since it was raining, but that didn't stop me from getting a pic!
This was probably one of my favorite pieces in the exhibit. This is essential a mural of sculptures of various events in the Bible that have been represented. Some of the parts include the Exodus from Egypt (center left), Pentecost (Bottom middle), and Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane (Upper left).
After traveling to the museum, we took a little more time to travel around the city and see some sights (for the first time in not-so-rainy weather!). So...we decided to stop by and view the muralla (outer wall) of the city. And let me just say, I'm glad we did it! It was quite the sight. We learned about how Spaniards used that spot as a lookout many centuries ago. It was the place that aimed at protecting the city from outside invasion. Below are a couple of photos of that as well (I told you that there were going to be a lot of pictures!)
On the way up, we got stuck like sardines while we get the upper gate open to enter the city wall.
BIRD EXPLOSION!
This is a panoramic view from the Outer Wall of Segovia. To the left, New Segovia (where I live). In the center, the Jewish cemetery. To the right, the Alcazar of Segovia.
Outer walls are also good for selfies.
And after a long week, let me just say that we were all ready for a weekend to relax! So...naturally, what better way to relax than by traveling?! So, that's just what we did. But this time, we went as a group. So, on friday morning, we packed our backs and hopped on a bus to Andalucía. And, for all of you who may not be as obsessed with geography as I am, I will now tell you where Andalucía actually is. Andalucía is the southern most part of Spain, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It has the same type of weather that is very similar to the southwest or maybe Florida in the United States. So all that to say, it's a lot warmer! And, there's a lot more sun! So...double win. The trip from Segovia to the cities we were visiting took about 7 hours there and back, and we spent time visiting two cities while we were there: Córdoba and Granada. The point of the trip? Of course, to experience culture and history, while also spending a little time sightseeing and soaking up the sun and warmer temperatures. :)
So, day one. We arrived to Córdoba. And right after arriving there we went to find our hotel. Fun fact: we stayed in Cordoba both nights we were there, but we spent most of the second day in Granada. But that's just a minor detail. After finding the hotel, we started our excursion through the city. We started with one of the greatest buildings in the city (and also, the world): the Gran Mezquita de Córdoba (the Great Mosque of Cordoba). Fun fact: it is the third largest mosque in the world, the first being Mecca, and the second largest being the Blue Mosque. It is quite the sight, and frankly, it's very difficult to explain in a small amount of space. But, let me just say, it was quite the sight. It was oozing with paradise and tranquility, and honestly, it was a lot of beauty and bling to take in. But, boy am I glad that visited it. It was so freaking cool. Another fun fact is that in the 16th century (or maybe a little bit before that) the mosque was overtaken by Christians and instead of destroying the building, they simply built a Cathedral inside of it. It's really something. And the contrast between the darker part of the mosque and the bright marble in the Cathedral, it's really something. Truly a combination of two very distinctly different cultures. And don't worry, I took some pictures too. :)
Right after we left there, we moved on to another masterpiece of architecture: the Alcazar of the Christian Kings. Fun fact: this is the castle where our good friend Chris Columbus got his first permission from Isabel to travel to search for the Indies (aka America). No big deal. But this building, like the Mezquita, was a true work of art. Apart from the majestic views of the city of Cordoba as a whole, we got the opportunity to travel through probably one of the most exquisite gardens I have ever seen. Needless to say, we spent a lot of time gawking. And taking pictures. And dancing flamenco. And eating chocolates to celebrate Día de San Valentín (Valentine's Day). It was special. And it was great weather. So, you really can't beat that. One of my favorite parts of the trip was just taking a second to stop and watch the sunset over the reflection of the fountains. It was really serene and tranquil. Oh, and another fun fact: we got to see some little bats fly around the courtyard to catch bugs for dinner. It was something. Oh yeah, more pictures!
This is the Plaza Mayor (Main Square) in Córdoba. We got to take some wacky group photos, hear the story of the statue, and of course...run through the fountains in the ground.
On our way to the Mezquita of Córdoba, we stopped for some Gelato. This is the group that didn't walk away empty-handed.
This is the front courtyard of the Gran Mezquita de Córdoba. I can't tell you how much this place screams tranquility.
Fun fact: this place is littered with arches and pillars. Actually, there's over a thousand of both! And...it's extremely easy to get lost in this building.
This is the exterior of the Castillo de los Reyes Cristianos (Castle of the Christian Kings). Fun fact: this was the place in which the Reyes Católicos gave Chris Columbus the thumbs-up to travel to find the Indias (America). This is front entrance and the flags of the country of Spain, the flag of Andalucía, and the flag of Córdoba.
This is one of the many views of Córdoba from the highest tower of the castle. So...freaking...beautiful.
As mentioned before, our friends Columbus (his back to us) and the Reyes Católicos Ferdinand (right) and Isabel (left).
The fountains of the castle. This garden was by far my favorite part of the entire excursion through the castle. Just sitting in front of the water and hearing the trickles was enough for me to feel right at home.
At the end of the night, we spent some time exploring the city on our own. At first, we spent some time in the hotel while some people went out to browse and shop. So, what better way to spend the time together? Hang out in hotel rooms and chat! So, that's what my roommate for the weekend (Alec) and I did. And I'm really glad we decided to do that, because I think our relationship went to the next level. We really got to know each other a lot better, and I'm thankful for that. And I'm definitely thankful for him. Before we started the conversation, we were both having a lot on our minds that really just needed to express. And, after almost an hour, we spent time together in prayer and really connecting in a deeper way with the Lord. Needless to say, we both felt a lot more encouraged. After that, this was a chance to hang out with a good friend of mine from Ball State, Paige. Paige studied here in Spain two years ago with AHA, the same program I'm currently in right now. But, after she graduated in May she decided that because she loved Spain so much, she wanted to come back and live here! So...that's what she did. And now she is working in Córdoba as an English teacher. So, a group of us from Ball State decided to go out and have tapas and a glass of wine authentic to Cordoba. While we hung out we tried the following things: bull's tail (rabo de toro), fried eggplant with honey (berenjenas con miel), croquetas, salmorejo (basically a type of vegetable dip with lots of garlic and peppers), and fried ham. We hung out, chatted about her experience that she's had the last four months living and working in Spain, and really just reminiscing about things. It was a great night.
The morning after, after having a lovely continental breakfast, the group embarked on the second part of our Andalusian journey: Granada. So, after two hours en route by bus and staring endlessly at the mountainside views and constant greenness, we ended in one of the most beautiful places. When we got to Granada, we went straight up through the hills and stopped outside of what is considered to be the Eighth wonder of the world: the Alhambra Palace. It was a muslim palace until, once again, it was taken over by the Christian kingdom and replaced with very Christian foundations. Actually, a fun fact is that Napoleon once tried to destroy the palace, but was saved by protectors of the city. But, like all of the other Muslim empires, they were taken over and made Christian territory. Such is the history of Spain. But, despite all of that, this palace still takes the cake. Another fun fact: the Alhambra is not just a palace. It is actually a small walled community complete with a muslim barrio, another military castle, and a palace for the king that "won" against the muslims: Carlos V. All of those things were absolutely mind-blowing. The view from the military castle: wow. It was essentially all you could possible imagine: mountains, hills, blue sky, and almost all of Granada. Mind you, Granada is actually huge, so that's really saying something. I really don't know how I'm going to choose which pictures to post, but I'm going to try my best. The palace and the garden outside of it mesmerized me, and I honestly wish that I could have stayed there longer and just bask in the beauty and the tranquility. There was so much green, water, marble, and pretty. It killed me to leave. But, I'm really glad that I got to go there.
This is the center area of the Palace of Carlos V. Fun fact: the center is round, symbolizing the earth, while the outer walls form a square, symbolizing the kingdom of God and his protection over the earth.
This a picture of my friend Paige and I. After not seeing each other for almost a year, we got to reunite this weekend! She works in Andalucía and accompanied our group during the excursions this weekend. This is a photo of us in front of the highest mountains in Spain: the Sierra Madre. While it's spring-like and even during the summer, it's still snow-capped.
This is the Muslim community Albaecín. It is located in the middle of the Alhambra community and rests between the Palace and the exterior wall.
The architecture within the Alhambra is exquisite. I don't think I've ever seen this much marble in one place before. Super classy for sure.
This is a panoramic of the Jardín del Verano (Summer Garden) outside of the Alhambra Palace. The palace is in the background. Oh, and behind that is the city of Granada. I can't tell you how big this place is. It's no Madrid, but it's certainly large.
On the way to the exit of the palace gardens, we couldn't help but notice all of the greenery. So much green, so little time.
The night concluded with a bit of time in the city center of Granada. Before we returned to Cordoba for the night, we had the opportunity to spend a little bit of time (and money of course) in the city center. So, after splitting off into our usual groups, we started to browse. And wow...I can't tell you how much I love the cities here in Spain. It's mind-blowing just how much goes on in the bigger cities. So many shops...so many things to look at...so many things to buy. I'm thankful I made it out with only paying for two postcards and a writing of name in Arabic on parchment. Otherwise, after this weekend in total, I probably would have bankrupt. That's self-control, kids. But after browsing for an hour, we caught our bus back to Cordoba for the night, traveled for two hours, I worked on a paper, and boom. We were back. After returning, we grabbed some dinner at a local pizza place (right across the street from our hotel) and spent a lot of time at the hotel. It was raining that night, so going out and exploring the city was kind of nixed. So what did we decide to do instead? Why, we decided to laugh endlessly at our ridiculous amounts of slap-happiness and fatigue. Fun fact: we spent hours walking, listening to stories, and taking pictures. So...we were all kind of wiped. But the goofy youtube videos and ridiculous conversations were so much more worth it. I'm so glad that I have been able to connect with such amazing and lively people. It really is a spectacle, and I love that we all get to share this experience together.
This is the front of the Cathedral in Granada. Two things: It's huge! And...for the first time, we didn't go in. But honestly, we wouldn't have had enough time to scale it before we left the city.
While traveling around the city during our free time we came across this couple on the street. At first, we were all kind of like...ehhhhhhh, but then we found out that they were selling something really cool: our names in Arabic on parchment paper. And it was only a euro! So...naturally, we all bought one.
For dinner we went to a local pizza place not too far from our hotel. It was called "Cien Pizzitas." Why? Because they have 100 different styles of pizzas, but in miniature form, like the one above. This was dessert, and I decided to pose with my "inner fat child" pose. Oreo with white and dark chocolate. Yum.
This was the end of our night. After dinner, we all decided to stay in and hang. We spent about five hours together, and the longer we went the more we laughed. About everything. Even if it wasn't funny. That's the best.
I'm almost done, promise! Today, before we left the beautiful sun, we took one last pass through the historic center of Cordoba. On the agenda was visiting the Roman bridge (the first connection in Cordoba across the Guadalquivir River) and the Jewish quarter of the city. Along the way, we got to visit a ton of statues with very intriguing stories: a greek philosopher, a muslim king, and a Christian representative to the city. It was informative, pretty to see, and good exercise. I loved every second of just being around and involved in the city. Before we left the city, we got to stop by a couple of shops to browse and buy if we wanted. So, naturally, I grabbed a couple of postcards for my collection and also a magnet that says "aquí vive un maestro" ("A teacher lives here"). Very fitting, I know. :) Ok, the moment you have been waiting for, pictures!
This is the Roman Bridge of Córdoba. Fun fact: it was the first structure built to cross the Guadalquivir River. the rest of the historic center of the city is in the back.
The Muslims believed water brought about the best form of purity of the soul. So...naturally, there's a lot of water around. Which I didn't mind at all. :)
This is the entrance to the Jewish quarter of Córdoba.
On the way back to Segovia, we stopped for lunch in a local café in Castilla la Mancha, another autonomy in Spain. This was one of the local dishes: Migas Manchegas. Essentially, it is like stuffing, with an egg on top.
The sunset: a beautiful end what was very much a beautiful weekend.
Alright, I'm finally at the end! Again, props to you for keeping up with all of my venting of memories. It's really appreciated. As customary, I will end with a little bit of what's been up in my life lately. As I mentioned in previous posts, one of the things I have been really struggling with a lot lately has been my time management, and trying to consistently seek time with the Lord, and to just rest in his presence. And, in many ways, I have been having troubles doing that because of all the commitments I have had. If you are into this, I would just really like to ask that I can continue to see my priorities in the right order that they need to be in. Because sometimes (well, actually, most of the time) not having our priorities straight can really take away from the more important things in life. And, in all honesty, that's where the greatest anxiety can stem from.
Ultimately, what I have been hearing a lot lately is that I can't weigh heavily on my own desires for my life, but that sometimes it's just better to look for what the Lord is doing in my life, especially in the things that go against what I had originally planned. And in this case, the most important thing in my life is pursuing the Lord and His calling for my life. All I can do every day is live in love, live in hope, and live in pursuit of his ever-constant presence. Ultimately, if I can do that more and more, then maybe, just maybe, my life might be a bit more in tune with that ever-constantly developing story that God is writing. :)
I leave you now for another week, but before I do, I would like to share the verse that has really been brought up a lot this week. It has been a good reminder to me that in all things in my life, God has immeasurably more in store for this life. I just have to look for him in all of it, and thank him for it.
"Now to him who can do IMMEASURABLY MORE than we could ever ask or imagine, through the great power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen!" -Ephesians 3:20-21
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