Hi again!
Okay, as I promised I would catch up on my life here, I give you all part two of my email update! We are still in March (in this email anyway), and I have more activities that I wanted to fill you all in on. The weather here has been a bit rainy the last 2 or 3 days, but other than that, it has been beautiful the last month or so. That was such a relief after having so much rain! I have gone to the park several times now with my friends to take advantage of the sun. On the 21st, several of us met up the Parque María Luisa to eat lunch together and hang out, play card games, kick a soccer ball around, etc. I was also able to have some good talks with people that week and the next too, including my dear friends Carolina, Lea, Martha, Inma, and Elizabeth. I am so grateful for each time that God gives me to spend with them. The only tough part about that week was saying goodbye to my friend Rosa, who headed off to Italy for several months. We all went dancing with her one last time, which was fun, but it was sad to say "Goodbye for now!" I hope I will get to see her again soon!
The week after that started out well, with classes going well and with another trip to the park with Carolina, Abraham, and later Sallie Anna (Carolina's roommate and a friend of mine from Bible study). We had a good time hanging out, talking, and taking a walk. I appreciate these laidback times with friends so much more than traveling. I have learned here that it is definitely the people that matter more than the places. That week I was also able to go to an English Club again (after missing it for several weeks) and to help the Spanish students practice their English. The group has grown! It was great to see them again. I had my first test that week too (in Literature), which I did really well on. Yay! On the 25th a group of us met up to go the Carbonería, a restaurant/bar that features free flamenco dancing every Thursday night. One of the girls from my class in the U. of Sevilla joined us, and we had a good time watching and listening to flamenco. It's a difficult thing to describe to someone who has never seen flamenco, and you really have to experience it to understand it completely. It has such a great rhythm to it! I'm glad that Leti, the girl from my class came with me. I have been more courageous lately in meeting the Spanish students in my classes. They are all really friendly normally, but I have found that I need to be the one to reach out to them to be able to form friendships. "If you want a friend, be a friend" still holds true.
The day after that, Friday, Jake, Carolina, and I went with our friend Inma to her mom's school so that Jake could show them country dancing. He danced with Inma on stage and later with two of the students, and Carolina and I took pictures. It was so much fun to hang out and to see how excited all the kids got! Later that evening we had Charlemos, a Bible discussion group, which is continuing to go well I think. We had some good discussions! And of course that night we all went salsa dancing again! Man am I going to miss that! I also had the chance with some friends (the next day) to hear from Martha's dad, Waylon, who is a Christian pastor, author, and speaker and has a ton of wisdom to share and who was visiting Martha for a little while here. We listened to him share some stuff from the Bible and his heart for a bit and then ate dinner together and watched an old classic, Philadelphia Story. Even though I was a bit tired that next morning (Palm Sunday), I still got up and went to my home church in Triana, which was a blessing!
The next week was Semana Santa (Holy Week). In case you don't know, Semana Santa is the most important week here in Sevilla. There are TONS of tourists that flock here to see the famous processions of Christ and the virgin Mary being carried through the streets on floats carried on the men's shoulders. It is a really big deal here, and was one of the most interesting cultural experiences I have had. I am used to the importance of Good Friday, the day that Jesus died and the even greater importance of Easter Sunday, the day that He rose again, but I have never seen that whole week celebrated in the way it is celebrated here. Almost all of the churches have a paso (procession) in which Nazareinos (penitents) walk through the streets along with the two floats, one with a scene of Christ suffering, either on the cross, before Pilate, etc. and one with the virgin Mary dressed in some of the grandest clothing I have ever seen. The Nazareinos are men and women who are dressed in clothing with hats that resemble the KKK (no joke... although the KKK stole that idea from Spain, not the other way around) and that walk through the streets as a form of penitence (they wear the hats to be anonymous). Each procession has a specific schedule they have to follow, as they all leave their churches, pass through certain streets, and end up in the Cathedral in the Center (downtown). They then go from the Cathedral back to their churches. All of this big to-do starts on Palm Sunday and ends Easter Sunday. People dress up especially on Palm Sunday and on Thursday. Oh man, what a crazy week!
My friends and I did go and see several of the "pasos", but we also spent a good deal of time in the park or just wandering around the city and hanging out. I especially spent a lot of time with Carolina, Inma, and Jake, and Inma even invited us to her house to eat lunch with her and to learn Sevillanas (the typical Sevillian dance for the April Fair they have here). She and her family are some of the nicest people ever, and it was so much fun to spend time with her! We also got to meet her uncle, who was a Nazareino, and to see the paso that goes out of her old church every year. I also tried to spend as much time as I could with Carolina, as she left the day before Easter. She is such an amazing girl! She ended up becoming one of my best friends, even though we have only known each other for a few months. I have been so encouraged in my walk with Christ just by seeing how she lives her life and by having really good talks with her. It was nice to have that last week here with her and other friends without having school because we were all able to spend a ton of time together. The four of us also spent a lot of time with Abraham, Johnny, Inga, Nela, Sallie Anna, Rosie and several others who are all friends of mine here from Spain and other countries as well. We walked all over this city that week! On Thursday night (or should I say Friday morning) it is traditional for todo el mundo (everyone) to stay out all night watching some of the most famous pasos go by. So I was literally out from 1:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., no joke. We ended up seeing 3 of the pasos, but spent quite a bit of time waiting for each one, because there were a lot of Nazareinos and they don't move that quickly. After all that, we stopped for some churros and chocolate and then went back to bed for a while! That was quite an adventure. You all might think I'm crazy, but literally almost everyone in this city was awake at hours we shouldn't have been. It wasn't just us at all!!
It's difficult to describe exactly how I feel about Semana Santa. Aesthetically it is beautiful, and all of the floats are decorated with flowers and trappings. The figures themselves are usually quite old, the music is very well done because they practice so much, and the people work all year to prepare the decorations for just one week. It is a very neat cultural experience, but behind all of that it feels quite empty to me. The majority of the population here would say they are Catholic, but the percentage of people that are actually practicing Catholics is very low. But during Semana Santa it appears as if people are very devoted all of a sudden, and they work ALL year just for this procession. Some of the costaleros, or the men that carry the floats (which is really hard work) are atheists, and would proudly tell you that. They actually PAY money to carry the floats, like it is an honor. All in all, that just doesn't make sense to me. Now this is all a generalization because there are people that don't care at all, and show that, and there are people that really do believe and practice what they believe. But putting on a show for one week and "ya está" (that's it)... I don't know, I just don't like that idea. But I think that unfortunately all of us can be like that at times - say one thing and live another.
Anyway, not to bore you all with my pensive thoughts... on Carolina's last night here a group of us went out for pizza and then went salsa dancing. It was a good night, but exhausting in the end (especially since it was the night after we had stayed out all night. I then got up early that morning to go to her place, ride with her and Jake and Martha to the airport and say our "See you later"s, which was so tough! I was pretty wiped out after that, so I took a siesta that afternoon and just stayed home. The next day (Easter Sunday!) I went to a small town outside of Sevilla with Martha, Inma, Elizabeth, and Fatima (who was visiting for a few days!! Yay!) to go to church and celebrate Jesus' Resurrection. It was a great service, and it was so nice to remember Christ's resurrection, especially after seeing so many pasos with Christ hanging on the cross. He's not dead - He is risen! He's alive!! After the service we went to a park nearby to all eat lunch together. It was definitely a family of God/community time! I felt pretty yucky at the end of it though as I had developed a cold, so I spent the rest of the day at home. That's what I get for staying out so late!!
Anyway, the week after Semana Santa I was feeling the pressure to get back to the books and put more time into studying! I have some projects that I have started reading and researching for, and I have been trying to focus on my studies more, although it is a difficult thing to do when you're abroad! I was able to meet up with Fatima a few times though and spend a bit of time chatting with her and catching up a bit. Even though we didn't have a lot of time since she was visiting for a few days and I was so busy, I know that she and I will be able to talk a lot when we get back (and on our plane ride home together!) and that she is someone that I can always talk with because we understand each other. We've both been there!
To wind up my storytelling, a week ago Friday I went to Charlemos as usual, which went well again, and then we all went outside of town to eat at a restaurant called La Choza. It was SO yummy! And at a good price too! We then went dancing again, although this time for a shorter period of time. It was a good way to end the week spending time with friends. The day afterwards I went back to that town for the Grand Opening of the church out there, and I got to talk with a really sweet Brasilian woman who married a Spanish man. They are evangelists here in Spain, and it was so neat to chat with her and hear her story! Later that day I also had the opportunity to take a few more impromptu "classes" in Sevillanas (the dance), but it is not something you learn in a day, let me tell you!
This last week I started receiving tutoring for my U. of Sevilla classes, went to classes/did homework, and had my fairly typical weekly activities. On Thursday CC-CS threw a Pre-Feria Fiesta with authentic flamenco/Sevillanas music. I brought a few of my friends to the fiesta with me, and they seemed to have a fun time! I also got to talk to a few more of the students from my program again. On Friday, we had another Pre-Feria Fiesta at Martha's place to help us prepare for the April Fair they have here, which is also famous. My host mom let me borrow these fun earrings, shawl, and flower for my hair so that I could look the part. She actually helped me put the flower in my hair and showed me how it was all supposed to look. It was so sweet of her and it was nice to have that bonding moment. I will have to put pictures on my blog of my costume! Ate the fiesta we all hung out, ate yummy Spanish food, danced Sevillanas, and played a "guess the movie" game, which was pretty entertaining! And today I just got back from watching a local play called "The Turn of the Screw" (English title) with some friends. Most of the actors were younger than I was, and they did a fabulous job! And I actually understood most of it! That made me super happy. .... So now you're all caught up! Whew! Sorry this is so long!!
I know this is strange to say, but I need to prepare all of you before I come home. It's going to be a difficult transition as I really do not want to leave. I'm going to leave a good-sized chunk of my heart here in Spain when I leave; I know that already. The thing is, when you don't know anyone in a place, it really is just another check on your checklist of "places to see before I die." But when you really meet the people and form strong friendships with them, laughing, crying, spending time together, learning from each other... it becomes like another home! I feel like my time here in Spain has really taught me that "home" is a relative term. Oregon still feels like home, but not as much as before. I know that God has put mission work on my heart, and now I feel like He has prepared me here and is still working in me to teach me how to build my home in Him, and how to be okay with living wherever He sends me.
I do not think I will be content in Oregon at first, but all in all I do hope that God helps me to be content wherever I am at (including Oregon, although I think it will be a grieving process to let go of Sevilla) and to let Him use me at home in the summer when I am working at Spicer's and next year at Linfield when I am living in the Emmaus House, being a part of Salt N' Light, studying, going to sporting events, etc. I pray that He will still help me hold on to the dear, precious friendships I have made here while still living WHERE I am at and rebuilding my older friendships in Oregon. I want to be present wherever God puts me, you know? I have very little time remaining compared to how long I have been here, but I still have enough time to continue to build friendships, bless people, study some more, and just continue my adventure!
Much love,
Sierra
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