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.