October 22 - October 27 (well, 28)

October 22, 10:28pm

Today has been full of highs and lows.
High:  I got up the courage to ask two people that I see on a daily basis while walking each a single question about themselves/their day before continuing on my way; a question a day is the start of a friendship!
Low:  Upon reaching my internship I got ridiculously cold and tired and felt just all-around awful and was incapable of speaking/understanding Spanish.
High:  I procured cheap, delicious, sugary candy that, while a simple pleasure, lifted my spirits.

You can't really see it that well, but it's a
rainbow over the colegio that I work at!

Low:  Though I paid attention through anthro, I'm super concerned about how I'll end up doing on the midterm.
High:  I got to have a brief conversation with Gaby over Facebook.
Low:  I was basically bored to tears in my Spanish class today.  I'm not even exaggerating when I say this; I wanted so badly to be doing something else and learning that I nearly cried.
High:  Running after Spanish felt great, even though I think last week I may have gotten tendonitis or something and I have no idea how.
Low:  My host mom had told me before I could eat whatever and whenever in the house, so I had been doing a small "dinner" here, and she confronted me today saying that IES program requirements state that I can't do that and I have to go out every night or go buy groceries.  That wouldn't be a problem except that, as you Reader may or may not know, I'm not exactly that well-off financially.  Actually, to be fully honest, I'm flat-broke and have been borrowing money from my parents, who are out of work and have been for some time, as in we have to sell the house and stuff.  I've already borrowed so much that I feel quite weighed down by what I know I owe my parents, the loan company, other people... So no, I really would indeed prefer skipping dinner except for every now and again, because of all this.
High:  I feel like I'm growing in my relationship with God a ton, which I sense most clearly in that I thirst for Him now more than ever before.  It's probably because I've been depending so heavily on Him.

The book sale going on in Puerta Real.  SO MANY BOOKS!

Low:  A couple of my friends are stressing out because of the drama happening around the program.  Long story short, a fellow LFC friend was venting about how another fellow Forester was venting about how some of the non-LFC students talk bad about me and a couple other people behind our backs.  Personally, I have a clear conscience and a belief that even if you gossip about me I will still love you and treat you well, thus I don't care about what anyone may say about me.  I just feel so sorry for those students, because they don't care to know me or my friends better and try to understand my story, or anyone else's story, and because nobody will confront us in person about anything.  Poor guys.

October 24, 9:10am

My key for the song activity we did in English.

Yesterday was probably one of the craziest days of my internship because for whatever reason the kiddos just wouldn't settle, and not just during English but also when we were trying to correct our homework.  There's like between six and ten kids at any given point in time who are talking, standing up to walk around, or fighting, boys and girls.  At the same time, I'm falling more in love with these kids and starting to care for them and what they learn.  Teaching like this is for sure not my career path, especially since I wake up daily not looking forward to coming to my internship, but I may enjoy doing something similar with relevance in my future career in IR, maybe working in Monteverde and fostering language exchange programs or organizing the hosting of foreign students, especially as a tour guide.  It's funny, I don't like doing tourism myself personally as a tourist, but I love being the tour guide and teaching others.

Last night some of us went out and celebrated Kelsey's 21st birthday, which was full of laughter and a great time with good company.  Yesterday I also had the opportunity to skype my family and wish my dad a happy birthday, and I'm happy I skyped them, even though I got a little homesick.

October 25, 11:40am

Dinner at a Chinese restaurant for Kelsey's birthday.

Yesterday was basically the apex of a second hump of culture shock for me.  I just became homesick and the whole thing that happened with my host mom basically saying that I can't come home with my wet shoes anymore because I'll get sick and that I need to buy rainboots was really frustrating, and I ended up saying, "Look, I currently have no job while I'm here, and my parents have been out of work since the crisis started. I can't just waltz over to the store and drop 30 euro (like 35-40 USD).  I'm not a 'rich American'."  I think it's not just the money situation though but also that while in Costa Rica I got so accustomed to not buying what I really could do without and such, and it was a cultural aspect I adapted to readily and maintained during my month back in the U.S. as well, and to have that challenged was actually a shock for me.  I don't know.  Anyway, the day was full of little things like that, though I had a good Spanish class because talking to Antonio was awesome.  Today I just got done beginning a new lesson in English about animals and it seems like the kids really liked it.  I also encouraged them a bit to sign up for the theater class that's being offered for free, and showed them my Pirates of Penzance picture.

October 26, 4:09pm

The Civic Center of Zaidín, where I did my field research.

What an oddly busy day today is.  Here's yesterday though:  I had a pretty great internship day especially because it was one of my best English classes.  It was probably because, as I already mentioned, we learned new vocabulary and I had them copy it down.  They [the kids] are starting to talk to me more, which is great.  That evening we watched a movie in Spanish called Volver and it was all right.  I then attempted to meet up with Tito to practice for the open mic but the church was closed and it was downpouring so we played a bit outside the theater and then went home.  All my stuff was wet.  No problem though.

Neda and her cola-cao (hot chocolate basically) at the café
where we were meeting to discuss our Spanish project.

Today I went and studied with Kassie and Aurora a bit for anthro, then I went and dropped stuff off/picked stuff up for my investigation/field work for anthro and went to the Civic Center.  There, I took notes and talked to a woman about the center and Zaidín.  I came home and typed that all up and had lunch, and now I have to make tortillas, meet up with Jenny, meet up with Neda and Jessica, shower, change clothes, met up early for open mic, and yeah...a lot of stuff not necessarily in that order.  It's a crazy crazy day.

October 27, 3:21pm

Left to right: Tito, Eileen, Jenny, and me singing at the open mic.

A butterfly at the butterfly house in Parque de las Ciencias.

Last night at the open mic was fantastic.  The song I did was "Only Hope" by Switchfoot (or Mandy Moore if you've seen A Walk to Remember) with Tito, Eileen, and Jenny.  It was keyed up though, too high for my voice and I had a voice crack when singing the highest note, but anyway, my Spanish intercambio partner came with her boyfriend and like seven or eight other Spaniards in the translation department at the university and it was so cool!  I like them a lot.  And well in general we just had a great open mic night with many performances, religious and non-religious.  Then afterward me, Carli, Eileen, Jenny, Claire, and Tito got tapas with Carli's friend from Germany, Sebastian.  All in all it was a great night, though I got back late and had to get up "early" for the Parque de las Ciencias (basically museum of science and industry).  IT WAS SO COOL!  I seriously because like a little girl as soon as I walked in and was all over the place exploring and talking with the museum guides/workers and losing my group three or four times.  We saw a body exhibit, brain exhibit, puppet exhibit, butterfly garden, birds of prey, and so much more.  I want to go back so super badly now.  The guy I talked to in the butterfly house gifted me with a didactic manual on insects/butterflies because I told him about my odd fascination and how I used to want to be an entomologist.  Too cool!

October 28, 9:25am

Left to right and back to front: Travis, me, Nathan, Lorena, Albert Einstein,
Robert, Raye, and Kristen outside the Parque de las Ciencias.

After I took a nap yesterday, I put myself to work.  I had, and still have, a lot of work to do.  I want to do my Spanish homework primarily, but it's not due until Wednesday, so really what I should be doing is studying for my anthro midterm on Monday.  However, that didn't stop me from spending most of my evening doing my seminar and Spanish homework.  I just like it better, that's all.

At around 10pm, Aurora and I went with a couple other IES Granada students to welcome the IES Rabat students and take them out for tapas at La Bella y La Bestia.  I'm glad I went because I like doing that sort of tour guide type stuff a ton, but all the kids really wanted to do was drink.  I say "kids" because, well, here in Spain even though it's a drinking society, the people who get totally wasted like those guys wanted to do are usually the younger ones in high school or just beginning college.  I think American drinking culture, by prohibiting it until age 21, may have something to do with it; it becomes a sort of binge for so many people.  In any case Rorie and I took them to the shot place they wanted to go to and then we left and went home.  And it's daylight savings time clock fall-back today, so I got an extra hour of sleep, yay!  More study time!

October 15 (well, 16) - October 21

(Note: All pictures are from October 19 in Córdoba)

October 16, 9:08am

Soldier's quarters in the ruins we visited.

Yesterday I minorly freaked out after my anthro class while walking home with Aurora because I was venting a little about how I've been feeling stressed and how I lack time, and how I considered not going to my internship because I hardly slept.  I went and was super glad I did and got to go over the math exam, but yeah.  However, after lunch I got all my work done that was due for the day as well, and decided that I would go running after Spanish.  So after a very laid-back Spanish class where we played hangman the entire second half and chatted about the short stories we read, I booked it home, put on different pants, and did a quick 15-minute run that was much needed and super refreshing.  I was energized and then came back and had a salad and did my Spanish homework and made plans with people over Facebook for the weekend while also learning Spanish via my new friend from Ecuador named Cristian who lives here.  Sometimes I think he teaches me more than I learn in my Spanish class...

Now I need to go so I can pay attention in my internship.  Hopefully if/when I teach today it all goes well!

11:24pm

Palace gates at the ruins.

Before recess today in my internship I was assigned the task of working with Segundo, the special needs kid in our class.  I was given no direction, no training, no goal; Pablo handed me a book with some words and images and basically said have fun.  So for an hour I sat and tried to get this kid to color inside the lines and color so that there isn't as much white left.  Part of it was frustrating simply because I felt like I wasn't communicating myself well.  But I was glad to have been able to help and be able to have this kid do something.  And the hug he gave me after was probably the highlight of my day.  I then taught my chatty English class and I really hope they're learning something...

Besides that and y classes, it's just been an average and normal day.  Oh, I guess except for the fact that I ran into that creeper again at a different time walking a different route.  I got out of that situation semi-quickly though because I was reading while walking and so said I was a bit busy.  Speaking of, my reading while walking did lead to me running into a low tree branch right in front of a bench full of 30-something-year-old men after my internship...that was awkward...

October 17, 10:24pm

There used to be a mosque here, facing Mecca.

At my internship today, I basically sat around and finished the book of short stories Pablo lent me, then struggled with the copier for 15 minutes because it always has issues before laughing and giving up and returning to class.  At IES afterward before anthro, I played a little guitar (I'm slowly improving) and then went to class, walked home, and had a quiet lunch before a wonderful set of hours spent productively (homework, time with God) and semi-unproductively (fostering relationships via Facebook, looking up graduate schools and plane tickets, daydreaming while looking up music and videos...).  In my Spanish class we used an hour or so to discuss what movie we're going to watch tomorrow and the other part of the class to practice different phrases and practice gossiping... I kid you not.  I don't like gossip, but this was all fake and stuff, so I guess it was okay?  Then on my way home with Kassie and Mario we almost got hit by a car flying around the corner at like 50mph while we were using the crosswalk, which I"m pretty sure has a yield-for-pedestrians sign by it.  If not for Mario and Kassie yelling and moving all of us out of the way, I'm sure the car wouldn't have stopped.  Praise God we're all still alive and in one piece!  Yay!  :)  Then I went for a run.  Now here I am.  Haha, not sure what else to say.  It's been pretty good.

The cathedral-turned-mosque-turned-cathedral.

October 18, 11:04pm

So, last night slash this morning someone tried to sexually assault one of the girls in our program as she was walking home alone from wherever, and yeah she shouldn't have been walking alone and could have ducked into a store or something, but still, it freaks me out and it's also freaking out every other girl in our program.  I know usually Granada is a safe place and I trust in my own abilities, but still...

I didn't have much time to actually teach today at my internship since the kids have a math quiz coming up and need to learn, but I did get a lot of homework done for the seminar and I also began looking ahead to next semester to make sure everything pans out all right.  It's really exciting.  Apart from all that and thinking about life after college, we spent all of Spanish class watching a movie called Amantes del Círculo Polar and even though it's a romantic flick with some suggestive content, I loved it because as an independent flick the director did a great job with the plot and all the flashbacks.  It's not your typical romance film for sure; I actually highly enjoyed it.  Now I'm trying to socialize a little with people from back home as well as here.  Tomorrow I go to Córdoba with youth group later at night, and Sunday Pablo invited me to watch his race (or participate...haven't figured that out yet).

October 20, 11:54am

The pillars inside the building are from the
original cathedral; the arches are from the
mosque.  It's meant to look like a palm tree.

Why yes, I basically did just wake up.  I was up early yesterday to go with many of the IES students to Córdoba, where we visited the ruins of a palace and then went and visited a cathedral-turned-mosque-turned-cathedral (all happening over time of course) and itw as kind of neat seeing how different aspects of the old architecture was maintained.  I took lots of pictures and Javier talked to us about the history and the reasoning behind the architecture.  Basically it was a Catholic/christian temple at first, then the Muslim conquest occurred and all except some columns and other small details were torn down and the mosque was built, then the Crusades happened and the center of the mosque was torn down to build the cathedral.  When it comes to architecture, sadly here in Spain where different conquests happened a lot was torn down and lost.

Later I went to youth group where we talked for like three hours about cultural differences among all of our heritages (Argentina, Romania, Mexico, U.S., Honduras, Spain...) and we prayed over the spiritual battle happening here in Granada. Then Tito invited me for tapas and talked to me about tons of stuff, and in total I was out until 2am so just woke up basically, haha.

October 21, 5:14pm

New cathedral-style architecture inside the mosque.

Trying to show the combination of cathedral/mosque/new-
cathedral architecture.

Yesterday after relaxing at home for a while and getting homework done, I went with Cristian and finally got myself new flats (my old ones completely got destroyed from walking and rain) and then he and I went and watched the IES-Granada soccer game against IES-Barcelona.  We won 3-2, but just barely, and part of that due to having awesome girls and Javier's son Antón who's a 12-year-old bilingual kid.  Afterward, we went to CFC and I called Tito to get him to come over and we all with other from the youth group tried recording videos with messages for the church to use.  I definitely walked around Granada holding a "free hugs" sign, haha!  I slept in Cartuja at Cristy and Tito's apartment and this morning after a french toast breakfast and lots of music, I came home and had some paella with my host mom and sister, a previous student from Germany Eva, and a family Alvaro and Veronica and their sun Hugo who are somehow related to us.  Then I finally indulged myself in photoshop and created an edit to send to Gaby.

Basically: I probably could have been more productive this weekend, but what I did do was way worth it.

October 8 - October 14

October 8, 11:50pm

"Mata a tus idolos." Kill your idols.  Saw it on my way to
the colegio and though of 1 Cor. 10:14.

Really quick.  So I went to my internship and helped grade the science quizzes for people who were absent, then sat in my anthro class where I discovered that, once again, I did the wrong reading.  After eating lunch and hurriedly putting together my presentation on ETA for Spanish class, I walked out the door and everything was going great until I turned onto the less-sunny street and this random guy on a bike starts being a major creeper and I totally couldn't shake him, then he started talking to me and I finally got rid of him when I turned onto the main road where I knew it would be wide open with lots of people.  And there were just too many random males cat-calling me today.  What do I have to do, look all meek and keep my head down in order to avoid that?!  I never respond, but I always walk chin-up facing the world unless my nose is buried in a book.  Stupid men.  Leave me alone.

Anyway, we had a heated first hour in Spanish class as we discussed perceptions, racism, and uneducated comments.  Then I came home and realized I left my sweater at IES...which will make for a cold walk tomorrow morning!  Eek.  Haha!

October 9, 11:50pm

I am lacking motivation to do my homework.  I've just been feeling really tired.  I long for more time to spend cultivating friendships and such with people here and it's frustrating that I don't even think I have the time to join choir here or play Ultimate Frisbee.

Policemen on horses.  Why not?

On the plus side of today though, I think teaching went relatively well in my English class even though I had a minor freakout when Pablo asked me to teach math while he did some other stuff.  At first I epic-failed while correcting homework because I couldn't maintain their attention, but later Pablo came back and I observed and then got a second chance and redeemed myself somewhat, haha.  He invited me to go out with him and some of our coworkers and/or his friends sometime in the future, which I thought was odd but apparently is very common here according to my seminar professor.  And what I'm super excited about is the opportunity to sing and lead worship on Sunday at the English service for CFC!  And I mentioned it casually to Jeff and he wants me to write an article about it and have pictures taken for the IES news that gets sent out!  What a cool opportunity to share a little of what I believe!

October 11, 8:50am

My cappuchino at the cafetería!

Yesterday I had an interesting time at my internship loving all the cute things the kids were doing (Danny, Alex...).  I was really tired all day though for whatever reason and basically checked out in my anthro class.  Beforehand though Aurora and I had a great time trying to play guitar together and I printed all the songs I get to sing for the English service on Sunday.  I am so excited for this opportunity and just pray that I would not be doing this for myself but for God and it would have nothing to do with me.  The band will consist of me, Jenny, Tito, David, and Simón, so a great group.  :)  We're all practicing slash just having a great time tonight which I'm super excited for.

In Spanish yesterday Antonio took us all to a cafetería for some coffee and to play telephone.  It was good that we got out because most of us were just completely checked out and exhausted.  It's going to be a pretty crazy weekend with random stuff to do but I'm trusting God's hand in all of this and that it will all be incredibly awesome and beautiful in His sight.

October 12, 5:13pm

The Río Genil from a different perspective.

I know this is late.  Anyway yesterday at internship I learned that I need to make sure I understand all of what is said and not just a part and guess the rest, and if I don't know, to then ask.  Pablo had asked me something and I stood around like an idiot before realizing he was basically explaining what he was going to do.

Anyway, Jenny is back and I'm so happy!  We had lots of time together yesterday, which I loved, after Spanish class while jamming with Tito and Simón at CFC.  That was such an incredibly awesome night of community.  I am really started to feel like this group here is my church family away from church family (I'm thinking of CCM in Monteverde mostly).

Investigating our neighborhood a little bit.

Today Carli, Mario, and I did our investigation in Zaidín together and got to do an interview of sorts with a lady we ran into named María and asked a quick question to.  She took us all around and was so nice with us.  We learned that Zaidín has a "priveliged" part and a "barrio" part but that by "barrio" it's not "worse", just closer and more neighborly.  Tonight we have for la reunión de jóvenes a walk around lesser-walked routes of Granada!

October 13, 11:45pm

La Alhambra around 7pm at night.

Me and Tito cooking in the kitchen.

The walk with all the girls plus Simón and Ángel yesterday at the reunión de jóvenes was awesome.  There was so much beauty to be seen, and we went to some places that I plan on returning to like Carmen de los Martires and a lookout point for La Alhambra.  It was super fun, and then afterward we went to a tetería for tea, crepes, and schwarma, and I had a crep de chocolate con nata.  Afterward, Jenny and I went to Tito and Cristy's apartment for real dinner and a movie called "In Time" and we stayed awake and chatted until around 3:30am.  We all got up around 11am and by 11:30 had a breakfast of gallo pinto, torta de huevos, tortillas, and avena to drink, and it was like being in Latin America and I was sooo happy.  I miss eating like that so much.  Afterward we hung around and listened to music before going to the supermarket to get groceries for their week and we spent like a couple hours in there.  Then Jenny and I left and I've been trying to work on homework in between trying to catch up with my family but I've been feeling a severe lack of motivation.  Maybe tomorrow in siesta I'll feel like working...haha.

October 14, 11:31pm

Left to right: Simón, Ene, me, Jenny, Tito, and David at CFC.

After a wonderful morning leading worship with Jenny, Tito, David, and Simón for the English service (and reherasal where I struggled singing the whole song "How Great is Our God" in English instead of Spanish and Daniela had to remind me) I half-shot my voice but met so many awesome internationals and it was just incredibly blessed.  I didn't spend too much time at home before I quickly ran away to church again for the evening and met even more people (and was told by a 15-year-old name Cristian that I look/speak like I'm from Portugal.  Epic fail, but I suppose it's better than being called American).

So, overall:  I feel like I got very little work done this week, all I want to do is my internship with the colegio and/or actually do something for a change with my supervisor for AINDESOS because I've been trying and my schedule is just too full even without adding in church.  I just want to do ministry all day all the time.  Seriously, can I just drop my anthro class and cut my Spanish hours in half?  Okay, I'm tired.  Bed.  Yes, I think that's probably a smart idea.  God grant me some rest soon.

September 30 (well, Oct. 1) - October 7 (well, 8)

October 1, 8:50am

I completely forgot to journal yesterday.  I slept practically all day for very little reason: I went to bed the previous evening around 11pm, woke up at 9am, went back to sleep (siesta) after eating at 2pm, woke up at 5:30pm to go to church, then fell asleep at 11:30pm and had to wake up at 7am to get to my internship today.  It was a nice day out, too, clear and sunny and warm, but it was freezing inside the house.  I was so cold this morning, too, but by the looks of it it'll warm up tremendously later on.

The carnival!

Yesterday was a huge festival in Granada for the Virgen de las Angustias.  I elected not to participate in any event or go to the central gathering, but I saw one of the side fairs on my way to church full of small makeshift stores and rides for kids and food stands (they had like 10 different flavors of cotton candy!).  What was awesome about after the church service was getting to spend like a full half-hour greeting and meeting people, and I also talked with David and Simón and they would like me to come in early to mix the sound for them while they play and rehearse with the rest of the worship team!  What a huge blessing!  Today I also have dates with Ariel and Tito to chat about whatever they want.

10:30am

So I didn't have to go in to my internship today.  Pablo forgot to tell me on Friday and couldn't contact me over the weekend to say that the kids were going to the Sierra Nevada until 5pm!  I'd totally have gone with all of them if not for the fact that I have class at 12:30pm and I also didn't ask my host mom to make me a picnic lunch.  I saw the itinerary and curriculum though and I love why the kids are going: to grow an appreciation for nature and also to provide a location for the teachers to talk to the kids about how wonderfully and fearfully and beautifully made they are!  And reading that last page with the prayer on it was especially joy-inciting, about how we bear God's image and even with all the wrongs we commit and the junk we harbor in ourselves, even as God wishes we would be like before the Fall, Jesus sees us and wants us just as we are!

So now I have two hours to spend just chilling out and not really doing a whole lot besides relaxing and maybe being creative and/or reading.  I highly look forward to getting to have heart-to-hearts with people later today and getting to know their stories and getting to pray with them as this week begins.

October 2, 8:45am

Delicious horchata with Ariel.

I should just write all my journal entries the day after seeing as that seems to be the pattern due to me getting out of Spanish late and then sometimes staying out.  Anyway, yesterday was great because those two free hours I was gifted before my anthro class God used to put me and Jenny in the same room and mutually encourage each other simply by being there.  It made me realize even more how important people are!  Then later after lunch I got horchata (finally!) with Ariel and we just chatted about his experiences here and living in Honduras and the visa process there as well as the finch project, which is actually really intriguing because I never stopped to think that those little buggers migrate every winter to Central America and back again and they're so small!  We took some pictures then with his camera and I said goodbye (for now) since he's leaving to go home soon, having finished his thesis work.  Hopefully one day we run into each other again, maybe in Honduras, haha, or Chicago.

Me and Tito at Plaza del Carmen (picture actually from October 7).

Then after a Spanish class that for whatever reason was difficult to sit through, Tito and I got churros con chocolate and talked and shared a lot which was fantastic because unlike a lot of my guy friends here (which isn't saying much because I don't have that many here) he did most of the talking and I got to listen.  The topics ranged from music to relationships to struggles in staying on the path God would have us walk to studying abroad and the financial aspect and then back to music.  I am truly grateful and so extremely thankful and blessed to be able to call him my brother-in-Christ!  Honestly I think our friendship is a huge blessing to both of us because the shortage of strong male Christ-followers around our age in the Church here really does affect the rest of the body of people there, and so while no, there of course are topics we can't and shouldn't touch, there's things that due to a trusting friendship and foundation with the same beliefs we can share readily and know we're being prayed for.  It's like yesterday walking home with Carli before lunch where I got to share with her and encourage her as she encouraged me.  There's just that added depth in a relationship that one has with certain people.  I really truly do feel blessed.

Oh and after a major fail on trying to coordinate a get-together with my first Spanish intercambio partner, Jeff sent me a second and I get to meet her on Sunday!  I'm really excited for that!  I hope she's nice and forgiving of my errors, haha.

October 3, 8:45am

Yesterday went better with teaching English.  Though getting and keeping my kids' attention is still like pulling teeth, by having Pablo as a model to see how he gets them quiet (normally by saying he has an agenda and doesn't care about keeping them overtime or during recess in order to complete it) and also by having him actually grant me the authority to castigar ("punish" but more or less with, again, keeping kids in for recess) and such, though I feel like I don't deserve it, it was easier than yesterday to get the kids to listen for a short while.

British guy learning how to ride a segwey (picture actually
from October 5).

In my Spanish class after an intense grammar section we got to play Mafia the rest of the time, which was fun.  Antonio is so fantastic and I'm grateful he lets us decide things like that.  After class I went with Jessica to get schwarma and had a fantastic time conversing with her.  We also found out our waitress's name, Afaf (which she was probably shocked to have us ask, haha), and then on our way back ran into Allie and her intercambio partner Ana.

Jenny flew home between today and yesterday because her grandpa is extremely ill; please if you pray keep her in your prayers and if you don't pray send positive thoughts.  I love her so much and hope she is able to return soon.

October 4, 8:50am

Yesterday after my internship and an anthro class where I realized I still don't really have a partner for the final project (oh well), I returned home to eat lunch and attempt to create a small presentation for my English class today.  I enjoyed lunch because even though eating fish here is a completely different experience than at home (heads...whole fish...skin...tails...you know), I also got to laugh a ton with Emi (grad student who is also staying with us) and my host mom and host sister.

Then later, leaving perfectly on time to get to my Spanish class, I decided on a whim to take the shorter and less-sunny route to class.  I ended up getting stopped by a Spaniard who was working for one of those NPOs that tries to raise money to send to Syria and he talked to me for like 10 minutes (with me mostly listening and expressing interest because, well as an IR student I like discussing such things) before asking my name and realizing that I'm definitely not Spanish with a name like Ashley.  It was super funny but then kicked off five minutes of contact info exchange because he's a U of Granada student in need of an intercambio and I am always willing to talk to anyone and everyone, especially to improve my Spanish and learn more about the world.  He's a politics major with several friends in the department so who knows?  I feel like this could be the start of spiritual conversations that may happen soon!

Me on the balcony of my Spanish classroom.

So I arrived late to Spanish because of all that, but it was so worth it.  I walked in as Abina was playing her violin for the rest of us.  After an entertaining class period then with several Mean Girls references (because it was October 3rd) I went to the bible study at CFC and had a good time just soaking it all in and praying over the crazy awesome things I think are happening and have happened and the even-crazier things that are soon to happen.

Today is going to be kind of crazy because not only do I have my internship all day until siesta and Spanish later on, I also have to go buy my Spanish text at some point today and get materials for tomorrow's reunión de jóvenes and things of that nature.  With everything closed during siesta, that's not always easy to do.  But I believe it'll be all fine.

One thing I wish is that I had more time during the day.  If I did, I'd actually be on the U of Granada campus a lot more often to study instead of in my house, and that would probably lead to more friendships.  Either way though I'm doing what I can and just trying to follow what God askks of me and trying to humble myself as I do.

October 5, 1:45pm

Me and Kassie (picture actually from October 6).

I really can't remember all that well what I did yesterday because it's all so much.  I know when I taught English yesterday it went much better because I used a PowerPoint and the kids were interested in the cultural part of the class.  In Spanish class we watched El Lobo the whole time, which I saw my freshman year of college at Northwestern but it was nice to see it again because it's full of action and drama.  After that, I just went home and chilled out.  I made cajeta de coco for the reunión de jóvenes tonight and hopefully it's solidified some by now, haha.  This morning I met up with my supervisor Manolo for AINDESOS and the two other volunteers to talk about our roles and the work we have set out for us as well as all I have to do this weekend to prepare.  I'm a little worried because my schedule is already packed as it is and I feel like I'm taking on a ton of work now, but Manolo described my role to me when it comes to presenting to the kids in the colegios about stereotypes in English and Spanish.  It seems so cool!  Now I'm sitting here near someone playing guitar with an incredible voice and really don't want to leave yet, haha.  He seems cool and plays music I like.

October 6, 8:45am

Cristy, me, Sarah, and Alison at CFC.

Yesterday, while extremely exhausting, was incredibly awesome.  After talking with Juan Carlos (who was playing the guitar) and learning that he makes more money as a street performer than working a full-time job in the bar as a performer, I went home for lunch and attempted to do homework before going and having amazing one-on-one time with Aurora where we got coffee and then went to la reunión de jóvenes and we talked for sooo long!  It was incredibly filling and I loved every moment of it.  She encourages me so much and is such a great model of a woman after God's own heart.

Scenery at Los Cahorros.

At the youth group we all ate food and chatted for a while before playing lots of games and taking tons of pictures.  It was super fun and while I was exhausted by the time I left with Tito and Cristy, it was worth it.  Those two are super fun as well.  They're like my siblings from Honduras, basically, haha.

Now I'm with a huge group about to go to Los Cahorros and odds are we're about to add more people like David and Angel to the group.  There are two Spanish girls with us, Paloma and Gema, who seem really cool and I want to get to know them better.  Guide my conversations, Lord!

October 7, 1:40pm

Left to right and top to bottom: Gema, Michael, Salomon, Analí, Tara, Mario, Jonathan,
Stephanie, Eileen, Adrí, me, Paloma, David, and Margaret at Los Cahorros.

After meeting up at Los Cahorros yesterday with Angel and David, we did a four/five hour hike and took lots of pictures and enjoyed the view and the nature and the quietness.  I was afraid, with all of us being a bigger group and with some people who don't hike a lot, that afterward there would be complaints.  But it seems like it all turned out super well.  I then, after getting home, worked super hard to try to finish my homework before meeting up with my group for Spanish to discuss our final project, coming back to do more work and talk on Facebook with Gaby, and then leaving to hang out with Aurora, Kassie, and some other girls and get tapas.  We all dressed up nice and enjoyed our time out.

Me and Angela out for breakfast this morning.

Then today I woke up and tried to do some basic observations of my street in Zaidín for anthro before I met up with my intercambio partner Angela, and thanks to God she is a super incredibly cool girl that I think I'm going to get along quite well with!  We have very similar tastes and interests and she seems very much down-to-earth.  Now, we're doing lunch soon probably, but I need to take a power nap or something because I think I have been exhausting myself without intending to do so.  Church later tonight!

October 8, 8:40am

Me and Cristy at Plaza del Carmen.

Doing sound to serve in the church service yesterday was a little nerve-wracking at first because it was a different board and the way the speakers are set up is unique and I didn't really know what sort of mix the band and the pastors like nor how loud is too loud, but by the end I felt good about all of it and was able to equalize mostly everything.  It made me realize in a very stark way how serving in tech is not the same as being a participant in the service, because listening to the sound causes one to be distracted from worshiping God in that way even though serving and helping create a place and atmosphere is still a form of worship.

Skyping Gaby!  He was also watching the game.

Afterward, Angela, Tito, Cristy, and I got pizza for dinner and then laughed (well, at least Cristy did and I did hysterically to the point of tears) how the trash flap for the main area connects to the trash bin in the girls' bathroom and there was a guy in there cleaning near the bin when we went to open the flap haha!  After, Tito, Cristy, and I sat around Plaza del Carmen and just talked and took pictures and acted silly.  Then after I got back to my room I skyped Gaby and had an incredibly wondeful hour-long conversation with him, just laughing over things (like me saying "vale") and chatting like we never left and sharing the moment together.