Christmas, Chanuka, cookies, cakes, carols, candy, chocolate, cleaning, choirs, castles, chicle, classes, celebration, canciones, creeping, calling....
Cannot believe all that December has brought!
To start, last thursday was such a glorious day when I got off the bus and saw my brothers standing, suitcases in hand, waiting for me to pick them up. Seeing their faces and hugging them, physically hugging them, was such a great feeling.
Since their visit I think we have done more sleeping in and eating than anything else. It's amazing that no matter how much time goes without being together, we can still act like our lazy selves...
It's really sad, the first place we went to eat at was a chinese restaurant and the second I took them to visit the Kebab King and my friends Jamel and Carmen at the tea place, turns out the brothers aren't too fond of kebabs:( nearly broke my heart! Thankfully Timo was nice enough to suggest going for tapas so my brothers and I acompanied him, April, Timo, and Dani for some yummy tapas. It was a good first experience of tapas for my bros. Other than that we didn't do much more but we did take a day trip to Malaga in which we attempted to visit a castle so we climbed forever long up a friggin mountain only to find out that as soon as we got to the tippy top they had closed the castle entrance 10 minutes before.... unhappy Foli. My sadness was turned to happiness when we got to go to the Picasso museum and look at artsy stuff, mainly picasso-y stuff. I am almost positive I left cross-eyed from staring at the paintings to long in attempts to figure out what they were.
Christmas Eve came way too quickly and I felt very unprepared. I was thankful to pass it with my roommates' family. They were a funny bunch and the food was delicious! We had a ton of food and desserts... mmmmmmmmm. Unfortunately, I had the worst asthma attack of my life and thought I was going to die:( not the happiest ending to my christmas BUT as we say here in Granada, "no pasa na'" I am good now... though the lack of oxygen to my brian culd posibly be detrimental...
well, this is just a quick update in honor of my brothers' visit. Tomorrow is their last day in Granada and we go up to Madrid together. From their we part ways and they go back to SoCal and I got to Dublin Ireland:)
As my brothers' stay comes to an end and I start dreading their departure I cannot but thank God for this time we had together.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Friday, December 2, 2011
Thanks to who?
Yay, it hasn't been too too long since I last wrote. So let's see... Recap time!
Thanksgiving came and went and my program coordinated a dinner for all of us. The unfortunate thing was that turkey was too expensive so they gave us pork, go figure. Regardless of the food it was great seeing everybody again because to be honest I have seen very little of the people in my program because I am constantly hanging out with my roomies or with people from church. Well, that night went very well but it had been a little over a week since I had been able to talk to parents and I was really feeling it especially when everyone started talking about going home to call their families. I went home under the same impression but once again when I called they were not home and I felt horrible. So of course I started bawling my eyes out and I was going to sleep when my dad called. I was so happy to see their faces but it was impossible to look normal and my aunt of course called me out and was like "I think she's crying! Are you happy?" I couldn't help but laugh when she said that. Anyway I got to talk to them after all and I felt better. The next day I had invited several friends over for a thanksgiving dinner and to keep myself from getting overly stressed I bought the turkey from a nice restaurant. Everything that night was wonderful and it served as a a nice reminder that I have a lovely family in Christ here in Granada. So much laughter and such great conversations. Well the night went off with little error( I say little because the first dessert I made was a fail so I made a different one really quick which came out great!) I went to bed that night with a smile, woke up the next morning with a horrible horrible stomach ache. When I went to talk to my roommate Maryla it turned out she was suffering too and she had thrown up. Well, all day I had been praying it had been from the fail dessert we were picking at before bed and because no one else told me anything I was relieved... However the next day I found out that EVERYONE had an array of food poisoning symptoms like diarrhea, stomach pains, vomiting, fatigue, etc. I was HUMILIATED. Thankfully, it wasn't anything I had made, after all I had only mashed potatoes and rice as sides. Needless to say I went and got my money back which wouldn't have been possible if Maryla was so awesome at dealing with things.
Aside from that sad dinner thing everything has been going well though I must be honest and say I miss my family like crazy. I miss the little things and the bigs things that go with this season. Thankfully one thing does not change and that is that Jesus is still the reason for this season and with or without my family it's a time to be thankful for the birth of the child that was to save our lives.
I have been extra grateful for my roommates because we have such good and dense discussions about faith and social topics and while our opinions may be so very different, we can talk without any bitterness or resentment and I thoroughly enjoy every single conversation. Especially with Rony who despite are incredibly BIG differences in opinion we talk and talk about what is important to us and we hear each other out. My roommates are some of the most tolerant people I have met:) Such blessings.
I can say that God has been faithful. I have been able to share my faith and He is constantly providing opportunities to make His name known. To be quite honest I used to be so scared to talk about my faith but God has definitely taken that fear and while my relationship with Him grows, my confidence only grows with it.
I love my life<3**sigh**
OK!READY!?!?!
Things I have learned!!!
116. My mom does so much during x-mas that I take for granted when I'm home
117. Homes don't smell like cookies unless there is someone baking them
118. Dominoes Pizza is addicting when you are craving crappy pizza
119. People will always let you down, but God will always be faithful
120. Never take an attack negatively but take it and learn from it to prepare yourself for a much greater battle.
Thanksgiving came and went and my program coordinated a dinner for all of us. The unfortunate thing was that turkey was too expensive so they gave us pork, go figure. Regardless of the food it was great seeing everybody again because to be honest I have seen very little of the people in my program because I am constantly hanging out with my roomies or with people from church. Well, that night went very well but it had been a little over a week since I had been able to talk to parents and I was really feeling it especially when everyone started talking about going home to call their families. I went home under the same impression but once again when I called they were not home and I felt horrible. So of course I started bawling my eyes out and I was going to sleep when my dad called. I was so happy to see their faces but it was impossible to look normal and my aunt of course called me out and was like "I think she's crying! Are you happy?" I couldn't help but laugh when she said that. Anyway I got to talk to them after all and I felt better. The next day I had invited several friends over for a thanksgiving dinner and to keep myself from getting overly stressed I bought the turkey from a nice restaurant. Everything that night was wonderful and it served as a a nice reminder that I have a lovely family in Christ here in Granada. So much laughter and such great conversations. Well the night went off with little error( I say little because the first dessert I made was a fail so I made a different one really quick which came out great!) I went to bed that night with a smile, woke up the next morning with a horrible horrible stomach ache. When I went to talk to my roommate Maryla it turned out she was suffering too and she had thrown up. Well, all day I had been praying it had been from the fail dessert we were picking at before bed and because no one else told me anything I was relieved... However the next day I found out that EVERYONE had an array of food poisoning symptoms like diarrhea, stomach pains, vomiting, fatigue, etc. I was HUMILIATED. Thankfully, it wasn't anything I had made, after all I had only mashed potatoes and rice as sides. Needless to say I went and got my money back which wouldn't have been possible if Maryla was so awesome at dealing with things.
Aside from that sad dinner thing everything has been going well though I must be honest and say I miss my family like crazy. I miss the little things and the bigs things that go with this season. Thankfully one thing does not change and that is that Jesus is still the reason for this season and with or without my family it's a time to be thankful for the birth of the child that was to save our lives.
I have been extra grateful for my roommates because we have such good and dense discussions about faith and social topics and while our opinions may be so very different, we can talk without any bitterness or resentment and I thoroughly enjoy every single conversation. Especially with Rony who despite are incredibly BIG differences in opinion we talk and talk about what is important to us and we hear each other out. My roommates are some of the most tolerant people I have met:) Such blessings.
I can say that God has been faithful. I have been able to share my faith and He is constantly providing opportunities to make His name known. To be quite honest I used to be so scared to talk about my faith but God has definitely taken that fear and while my relationship with Him grows, my confidence only grows with it.
I love my life<3**sigh**
OK!READY!?!?!
Things I have learned!!!
116. My mom does so much during x-mas that I take for granted when I'm home
117. Homes don't smell like cookies unless there is someone baking them
118. Dominoes Pizza is addicting when you are craving crappy pizza
119. People will always let you down, but God will always be faithful
120. Never take an attack negatively but take it and learn from it to prepare yourself for a much greater battle.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
No, but seriously...
So I am well aware that I said I would keep up better with my blog, but I haven't been able to! I have, however, decided to go to sleep later and give a better update as to what is going on. I have been doing very well with my classes and have been learning a great deal both inside and outside of the classroom. I have started to play bass at my church here in Granada for the young adult's services and some sunday morning/evening services though I have not yet played on a sunday morning. I enjoy cooking and have failed to improve on procrastinating when it comes to laundry. I have visited Rome, which was amazing, and made a wish at the Trevi fountain(hope it comes true). I am learning more each day about myself and about what God wants from me. Being in Spain has most definitely provided several opportunities to share just how amazing God has been and about the great news. I find myself wishing not that I was home, but that my family and friends could be here with me. The life here is different. People do not live to work but work to live. Relationships are formed easily with local businesses and new tastes are acquired every week..
So lately I have really been thinking, what can I say about myself despite what others may actually think? this is what I have come up with... so taking the place of my list of things learned in general, I give you
Things I have learned about me:
I tend to get lost in thought washing dishes and sometimes laugh to myself when I recall silly memories from home like saying bye to a friend after having breakfast and then coincidentally running into him right after at a starbucks, or hilarious car rides with my best friend and ALWAYS getting lost. I don't tend to have a ton of friends but I can honestly say those I consider friends are precious to me. Sometimes I look angry when I wash dishes but it's not because I don't like doing it, it's because I am thinking of something serious, like things I regret or things I wish I could do different. In the end I always remember that I would not be where I am today where it not for all of that. I tend to over-think things all the time. Whether it be something small or large I give it too much thought and it never leads to anything good. That said, I should probably abstain from washing anymore dishes. I'm not always right, although I like to sometimes pretend I am. I tend to talk way more than I should. I cook in much too large quantities despite my countless efforts to make smalls portions. I don't know how to pick the right melons, and I am notorious for getting lost. I eat poorly and like to make meals out of junk food. I spend too much time on nonsensical things and can be difficult. I try too hard to hide that I am upset but don't hide it at all when I am annoyed. I laugh too much and can sometimes get caught in a nervous laugh attack. I have asthma, poor vision, and cannot digest lactose very well. I'm not very organized, though I can clean up when I need to. I hate that I have had to work before coming to Spain, but I love that I have had work since my senior year of high school. I love kids though I do not plan on having any soon despite the financial benefits and government aid it would provide me with thus paying my degree. I get very irritated with government though I tend to stay out of politics. I don't believe in voting for presidential candidates though I do believe in voting on propositions and such. I cannot name all the presidents, and cannot locate all 50 states in the US. I don't like people hearing me sing, though it pains me I can't sing in the shower here. I love driving, though most days I am happy to walk everywhere. I love grocery shopping and have learned to stick to a strict grocery budget here. I like having friends, though I tend to be bad at maintaining them. I tend to make non-awkward situations awkward and awkward situations 10x more awkward. I can't walk across a room with a glassful of liquid without spilling it and I know nothing about good wines. I know nothing about designer clothes, brands, and shopping and to this day find paying hundreds on a purse ridiculous. I put my relationship with God before any relationship with a guy and truly believe that God has someone for me that will love Him more than he could ever love me. Singleness is a gift and dating is a serious topic. I refuse to waste anyone's time and would rather no one waste mine. I love my flatmates and though I miss my family immensely, love living on my own. I tend to sing random words in peoples sentences subconsciously and sing random songs that are triggered by key words in conversation. I love public speaking and can do well with short term memorization. I love teaching people how to do things and I love learning a new language. estou fazendo um trabahlo muito bem:) did I mention I tend to talk too much? I tend to be in a good mood and cannot stop smiling because God is good. I am thankful for the pastors that have impacted my life and have taught me sound doctrine. I am thankful for those who have answered my millions of questions. I am outgoing when I am comfortable but can be extremely shy in public or even after class. I don't really have a favorite color and I'm not a fan of flowers.
I guess that's it for now. I wont say that I will write soon but I will say that I hope to. I miss my family, my friends, my church, and my co-workers. I miss Olivia. I miss in-n-out and chik-fil-A and in all honesty...
I MISS STARBUCKS!!!!
So lately I have really been thinking, what can I say about myself despite what others may actually think? this is what I have come up with... so taking the place of my list of things learned in general, I give you
Things I have learned about me:
I tend to get lost in thought washing dishes and sometimes laugh to myself when I recall silly memories from home like saying bye to a friend after having breakfast and then coincidentally running into him right after at a starbucks, or hilarious car rides with my best friend and ALWAYS getting lost. I don't tend to have a ton of friends but I can honestly say those I consider friends are precious to me. Sometimes I look angry when I wash dishes but it's not because I don't like doing it, it's because I am thinking of something serious, like things I regret or things I wish I could do different. In the end I always remember that I would not be where I am today where it not for all of that. I tend to over-think things all the time. Whether it be something small or large I give it too much thought and it never leads to anything good. That said, I should probably abstain from washing anymore dishes. I'm not always right, although I like to sometimes pretend I am. I tend to talk way more than I should. I cook in much too large quantities despite my countless efforts to make smalls portions. I don't know how to pick the right melons, and I am notorious for getting lost. I eat poorly and like to make meals out of junk food. I spend too much time on nonsensical things and can be difficult. I try too hard to hide that I am upset but don't hide it at all when I am annoyed. I laugh too much and can sometimes get caught in a nervous laugh attack. I have asthma, poor vision, and cannot digest lactose very well. I'm not very organized, though I can clean up when I need to. I hate that I have had to work before coming to Spain, but I love that I have had work since my senior year of high school. I love kids though I do not plan on having any soon despite the financial benefits and government aid it would provide me with thus paying my degree. I get very irritated with government though I tend to stay out of politics. I don't believe in voting for presidential candidates though I do believe in voting on propositions and such. I cannot name all the presidents, and cannot locate all 50 states in the US. I don't like people hearing me sing, though it pains me I can't sing in the shower here. I love driving, though most days I am happy to walk everywhere. I love grocery shopping and have learned to stick to a strict grocery budget here. I like having friends, though I tend to be bad at maintaining them. I tend to make non-awkward situations awkward and awkward situations 10x more awkward. I can't walk across a room with a glassful of liquid without spilling it and I know nothing about good wines. I know nothing about designer clothes, brands, and shopping and to this day find paying hundreds on a purse ridiculous. I put my relationship with God before any relationship with a guy and truly believe that God has someone for me that will love Him more than he could ever love me. Singleness is a gift and dating is a serious topic. I refuse to waste anyone's time and would rather no one waste mine. I love my flatmates and though I miss my family immensely, love living on my own. I tend to sing random words in peoples sentences subconsciously and sing random songs that are triggered by key words in conversation. I love public speaking and can do well with short term memorization. I love teaching people how to do things and I love learning a new language. estou fazendo um trabahlo muito bem:) did I mention I tend to talk too much? I tend to be in a good mood and cannot stop smiling because God is good. I am thankful for the pastors that have impacted my life and have taught me sound doctrine. I am thankful for those who have answered my millions of questions. I am outgoing when I am comfortable but can be extremely shy in public or even after class. I don't really have a favorite color and I'm not a fan of flowers.
I guess that's it for now. I wont say that I will write soon but I will say that I hope to. I miss my family, my friends, my church, and my co-workers. I miss Olivia. I miss in-n-out and chik-fil-A and in all honesty...
I MISS STARBUCKS!!!!
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Please no tossing people over the edge...
So, I want to start this off by saying, you cannot tell me my God isn't awesome!
Leaving home was hard and one of the things that was most upsetting to leave behind was my bass. With it, my beautiful band, and the gift of praising my God with it. Well, God knew my sadness and as it turns out the bass player at my new church here in Spain is moving to Madrid for work thus leaving an opening!!! It doesn't stop there! My friend from the church was announcing this need and she pointed out that she had seen a picture of me playing bass and to talk to her after church, so I did and starting next week I start helping out for the saturday services and on friday nights I start practicing with them for sunday mornings!!! Now, tell me God isn't amazing!!!! I cannot say it enough.
<3<3<3
Aside from that, this week has been much better. I was finally able to get my classes worked out and while the times are not the best, I am thankful they are all classes I need and I don't have to work so I am NOT complaining. I know I am going to work harder now considering I purposely switched out of the guaranteed A class. Oh well:)
On saturday I went on an excursion to Ronda and it was interesting. See, this is one of the things I absolutely love about Spain; there is so much history in every city and so many things are preserved in their original place rather than museums. In this place, there is the 2nd oldest bull fighting colosseum in Spain!!! Also, there is a bridge over a rather high cliff. As it turns out during the Spanish Civil war people who were(or seemed to be) fascist sympathizers were tossed off the cliff. Sad days. But visiting was nice and I actually have pictures!!! WOOOOO!!! So look at the pix and I will conclude with my lessons learned:)
Leaving home was hard and one of the things that was most upsetting to leave behind was my bass. With it, my beautiful band, and the gift of praising my God with it. Well, God knew my sadness and as it turns out the bass player at my new church here in Spain is moving to Madrid for work thus leaving an opening!!! It doesn't stop there! My friend from the church was announcing this need and she pointed out that she had seen a picture of me playing bass and to talk to her after church, so I did and starting next week I start helping out for the saturday services and on friday nights I start practicing with them for sunday mornings!!! Now, tell me God isn't amazing!!!! I cannot say it enough.
<3<3<3
Aside from that, this week has been much better. I was finally able to get my classes worked out and while the times are not the best, I am thankful they are all classes I need and I don't have to work so I am NOT complaining. I know I am going to work harder now considering I purposely switched out of the guaranteed A class. Oh well:)
On saturday I went on an excursion to Ronda and it was interesting. See, this is one of the things I absolutely love about Spain; there is so much history in every city and so many things are preserved in their original place rather than museums. In this place, there is the 2nd oldest bull fighting colosseum in Spain!!! Also, there is a bridge over a rather high cliff. As it turns out during the Spanish Civil war people who were(or seemed to be) fascist sympathizers were tossed off the cliff. Sad days. But visiting was nice and I actually have pictures!!! WOOOOO!!! So look at the pix and I will conclude with my lessons learned:)
 |
| this is where they used to dump people off during the spanish civil war! |
 |
| long fall if you get tossed... |
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| a rather lovely view |
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| my columbian sister |
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| oh yeah! |
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| plaza de toros |
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| second oldest in Spain!!! |
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| a lovely vet |
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| La chela y el Daniel |
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| Chela and her "papi" Jordan |
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| Mari-carmen the best tour guide ever, aka my lit prof. |
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| This is where they keep the bulls |
 |
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| Daniel being Daniel... and Maricarmen being... ya |
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| I look at this picture and I instantly hear her laugh in my head... |
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| drinking fountain |
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| Natalie<3 |
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| BUTT |
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| LOOOOOOOOK!!!! |
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| They told me my placard would soon be replacing this lady's |
As Promised...
Things I have learned
101. European kids have a greater sense of style... or at least their parents do
102. Middle names are a second chance for people with ridiculously stupid first names
103. In Spain you can change your name legally at age 16 without a problem
104. People's cell phones only seem to work when they need something from you in any country
105. Clothes dryers really aren't necessary if you do your laundry with time
106. Some friends make it really easy to not have enemies
107. Life is full of open doors, closed doors, and opening doors... so, be on your guard to not get hit in the face, in the bum, and most importantly, to not ram into the closed.
108. We all hate being left out, but we quickly forget the feeling and do the same thing with the same story... sad days
109. Tomatoes are better in Espain
110. Kittens are nice, until they claw you leg
111. Jalapeños and avocado can make almost anything taste mexican, thus making it taste better
112. Dogs are a trillion times better than cats
113. A great way to save yourself in a game of mafia where someone is using your change in breathing pattern as a way to accuse you of being the killer is to shout out, "I'm an asthmatic you jerk!" almost always they will shrivel into a ball and apologize non-stop for the next half hour:)... PS I was the killer muahaha... PPS They killed me anyway so i died
114. my blood is Salvadoran, but my stomach is mexican...
115. I have the best family in the world
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