Spontaneity!

Here's another email update for you all. I missed putting the one before it up, but I will have to do that later. Please forgive any spelling errors as I didn't do that much editing before I sent it. =)


Hola todos! ¿Qué tal?

How are you all doing this week? I can't believe it's Wednesday already, can you? Today has been a bit of a stressful day for me, but I have had a really good week overall and have some fun stories to share with you all.

Last time I wrote was a little over a week ago. Since then, I have not left Sevilla at all, but I am kind of glad because I have been finding out recently that I would almost rather stay here and get to know the city and the people better. It might have something to do with the fact that traveling adds up after a while too. But I am ultimately here to integrate myself into the culture here in Spain. Traveling is fun, but it takes away from precious time here, time that is slipping away with every passing minute. The fall semester students have 6 weeks left, which is crazy and which makes me really glad that I am here for a year. 3 and a half months is not very much time at all.

Tuesday (the 3rd) wasn't super out of the ordinary, but it was a fairly productive day for me in that I didn't procrastinate on my homework, which was good. I had to do a make up class from not having class the day before, which meant that I had to miss Bible study, which was disappointing. Oh well, what can you do?

There is one thing that I really struggle with here, and that is all of the people begging on the street. There really aren't a whole lot more than any other big city in the world, but seeing as I don't normally live in a big city, I am not used to walking by them every day. They all kind of have their own "spot" too, so I pass by the same people every day, and I really don't know what to do. I occasionally give them some money, but most of the time I just walk right by, always wishing I could help but knowing that even if I gave all the money I own, there would still be people on the street, the same ones, day after day after day. Being here in Spain has really opened up my eyes to all the problems there are in this world and to my own helplessness in fixing them. I always think of Peter and John healing the crippled man at the temple gate in Acts 3. Peter told the man that he did not have money to give him, but what he did have (the power of the Holy Spirit, the name of Jesus Christ) he would give to him. And then he was healed and began praising God. It just made me realize that it will take more than giving people your pocket change or even donating a bunch of money. People need food, but even if you feed them for a day, they will be hungry again the next day. Change for the good in this world comes from God and His will and His hand. People need Jesus a whole lot more than they need food. I just pray that He would show me a way that He can use me right here right now, even though I am small, weak, and timid.

Wednesday was pretty normal too, but it was a good day. My tutoring sessions with Lucia continue to go well. I hope I am helping her enough with her English! This is the first time I have done this type of tutoring. One other interesting thing that happened that day was that I helped a woman on the street by pointing her in the right direction, as she was lost. I couldjust tell because she was peering uncertainly at a map as I walked by. I stopped and turned around to help her out and realized as I did so that it's kind of exciting that, although I don't know the city backwards and forwards, I know enough now to at least help someone find their way to the bus station. Oh, and I realized something else too - we should be incredibly thankful we know English. The odds of someone who is in Spain (but doesn't speak Spanish) being able to speak at least a bit of English is very high. I didn't realize how much of an effect it has had on the world until I came here.

Last Thursday I just stayed at school for a while. I worked on some homework and discussed winter plans with Katie. We are starting to feel the pressure of figuring out what we are going to do with ourselves for 7 free weeks (this is part of the reason I am stressed today). I know it sounds exciting to have that much free time in Europe, but on a very limited budget, it causes more stress than glee. If you all could be praying that God works it all out, I would much appreciate it!

Friday was an interesting day. We had class to make up for the other classes we missed on Monday. It wasn't so bad though. In one my classes, our professor Luis said something really funny in English. He used a wrong word in a phrase which made the phrase completely different and it totally didn't fit the context. We all (Katie, Fatima, and I) burst out laughing. I felt a bit bad afterwards though because the professors don't laugh at us, and I'm pretty sure we make even sillier mistakes every day. Luis was a good sport about it though. After class I watched a Spanish movie (Te Doy Mis Ojos) at the school. It was cool to get free popcorn and pop, but the movie was not one I would watch again. It was about domestic violence/abuse, so it was pretty intense.

On a lighter note though, my Friday night turned out to be a super fun, spontaneous experience. You all probably know that I am not known for my spontaneity, but I am learning to love it! I was invited to go celebrate a birthday (21st) for one of my friends from the program. We went out for Chinese food, which was pretty good and fairly authentic for being in Spain. We then headed out to a discoteca in my neighborhood (Triana). As I mentioned last time, I hadn't gone to a discoteca before, but I decided to give it a try to see what it was like. I just prayed for wisdom in situations and decided I was going with the right motives - to hang out with friends. Fatima ended up joining us, which was cool because it was a new adventure for both of us.

It turns out that we only ended up being in the discoteca for about 2 whole minutes. Our group decided that there weren't enough people yet, so we headed out to a bar down the street. On the way there, Fatima and I ran into a friend of ours, Jake, from our Bible study. He and his Spanish friends were heading off to go salsa dancing, and they invited us to tag along. Fatima and I decided on the spot to change plans and go try out some salsa (although this was a first for both of us, and frankly, I am REALLY bad at dancing)! I ended up having a TON of fun and forgot about being self-conscious! We had a great time just hanging out and dancing and making some new friends! Spontaneity does pay off sometimes!

Saturday I was a bit tired (since I got home really late... or early... whichever you prefer), but it was cool because I got to meet more of my host family's family - their son, his two young sons, and his girlfriend. They were all really cool! I felt a bit awkward at times because I didn't know how much time I should spend with them. Was I invading their space, their family time? Is it rude if I leave too early? I finally just stopped worrying about it and tried to put myself out there, especially on Sunday at lunch time and after lunch, when another one of their daughters and her husband and little girl came over. I played and talked with the kids for a bit, which was a lot of fun! They were shy at first, but eventually opened up.

Sunday, as I mentioned, I spent some time with my host family in the afternoon. I went to church in the morning though. The worship was really neat because a lot of the songs this week were Spanish versions of songs we sing in church back home. The sermon was good too - the pastor talked about God guiding His people. It just reminds me how involved God really is in my and all of our lives. Later that day I finally went for another run down by the river. I ran for a while and then walked back, which was nice. I realized on that walk how much Spain is growing on me. If I pay attention to the beauty here and to all the little details around me, I realize even more what a neat place this really is. And I LOVE being able to speak Spanish! Sure, I am still by no means anywhere near perfect, but being able to communicate with the people that live here, to understand and be understood, to "bridge that gap", is incredible.

Monday was a fairly productive day again. I went for another run, this time on a bike path through Triana in an area I hadn't gone through before. It was a beautiful day and perfect temperature. Right now it is almost hot (at least really warm) during midmorning and afternoon, but at night and in the early morning it gets pretty chilly. There still hasn't been any rain since that last time it dumped water on us. I'm hoping there's some soon, because the land really needs it. The rest of my day went well overall, although my Anthropology class was a tough one because we discussed gay marriage. I was pretty alone in my opinion of the subject. I didn't speak up at first, but after some prodding I tried to voice my opinion. Let me tell you - discussing a controversial topic in ENGLISH is hard enough, but in SPANISH it's awful! The girls in my class were all very composed and nice about the discussion though. I just wish I could explain what I believe better without getting all red in the face and trembling. Oh well, it's just another learning experience.

One more story and then I will end this novel-of-an-email. Yesterday (Tuesday) was a pretty great day! School went well and everything, and I got to go to Bible study this week (it was my turn to share from the Word). That all went well overall, and it was good to see everyone again. As we all were getting ready to peace out, one of the guys from the study told us about the Sevilla futbol (soccer) game that night for only 10 EUROS!!! That is REALLY cheap here. Fatima and I decided to be spontaneous again (as the game was only 2 hours away), so we booked it home, put on red and white, and actually went to a Spanish football game!! It was pretty sweet! It was against a not-so-great team (hence the low prices), but we won 5-1, and it was an awesome, unforgettable experience!
Bullfight = check
Flamenco = check
Futbol game = check

Well, I hope you all have an amazing week! Let me know if any of you need prayer for anything at all. My life here is very blessed, and I thank God for giving me this opportunity. If you could pray for continued safety, wisdom, growth, and provision, that would be wonderful. Thanks so much for reading my lengthy emails and keeping up with my adventures! Know that you are in my thoughts often!

Besos,
Sierra

P.S. Besos is Spanish for kisses, fyi. It is quite common to end an email or a message with "besos" or "besitos". It doesn't mean anything romantic, it's just a part of the culture. It's as if you gave the other person a kiss on each cheek (common custom here). Haha. It's taken me a while to get used to the whole custom, but I'm used to it now. Anyway, there's your random fact of the day. Adios!