Nuevas Amigas

Last night was a good one. I finally made some friends here. Just in time considering I leave tomorrow for the beach and will only be back in Madrid for one more day in August. I hate how that worked out.

But last night was fun. We went out for pizza and ended up just sitting there for three hours talking. Which then led to getting Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Pretty good night all around.

Oh and did I mention that we spoke only in Spanish? Yeah. Don't know how I managed to pick it up so quickly, but I can understand almost everything. Can I speak a lot of Spanish? No. But following conversations and being able to input a little is wonderful. Much better than just sitting there silently like an idiot.

The only problem with learning Spanish is that my mind doesn't know when to shut it off. I find myself thinking in Spanish which is extremely frustrating when I'm trying to go to sleep.

And now I'm having to remind myself that when I watch a video of American children, I'm actually able to understand what they're saying. Allie sent me a video of the kids she babysits. I watched it once and didn't even realize that they were speaking English. I was just tuning them out because I didn't want to think about what they were saying. That's crazy. I'm going nuts.

Second Weekend in Madrid

I spent my first weekend as a tourist in Madrid alone. This weekend, however, was much more fun!

A girl I grew up with in church is here on a study abroad program. It was so nice to be able to walk around the city with someone I know. We had so much fun doing touristy things together. Plus it was great to catch up and reminisce about old times.

Found some chocolate cake!

We definitely went to KFC for dinner. We split nine chicken fingers, three fries, and a liter of Pepsi. And we were still hungry.

On Saturday we went to the Romanticism Museum. It was interesting but I'm glad it was free. I probably wouldn't recommend it as a must-see.

I think one of my favorite things about Europe is being able to look up and see beautiful buildings in the most random places. We were on a street filled with construction and trash. But these buildings are just looking as pretty as ever.

Peace and Silence

These are my favorite moments.

The moments when I can sit in the quiet.

When I can prepare myself for what's ahead.

I've begun to love this routine of waking up early.

To eat breakfast. To spend some time in the Word. To enjoy the silence.

There's no better way to start my day.

Madrid Week One

So Madrid is hot. Pretty much like Georgia. Only there is a lot more walking and a lot less (read: no) air conditioning.

Those past seven weeks of traveling have finally caught up with me! I slept a lot this week and watched a lot of movies on my time off. It was great.

But yesterday I finally went out!

It's interesting exploring a city alone. I'm so used to having my partner in crime with me...heyyyyy Rach! It was very quiet walking down the streets without having someone to talk to. But it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be!

I didn't take many pictures because 1) I wanted to just enjoy being outside, 2) it was a pain to carry it around my neck, and 3) I kind of felt like a loser taking pictures by myself. I pretty much felt like this woman:

via

Other than sweating off every ounce of water in my body, I had a pretty good time.

Horrible picture with lots of shadows...but it's the Naval Museum! So cool.

And the best part of my day?? Taste of America. Where I paid 22 euros for solid gold.

Purpose

One of the hardest parts about living abroad and being in so many places is the lack of Christian fellowship. I haven't been to any worship services in seven weeks. Praise the Lord for the internet where I can watch sermons online and communicate with my friends and family back home.

I am blessed to have much godly counsel in my close circle. I have been so encouraged this last week by so many people. Some of them don't even know my current situation, which makes their advice mean all the more.

One sweet lady, who has been in my life since I was born, told me this:

"Enjoy every place and every experience, knowing that God will use all of it in your future."

That really hit me. Despite how hard some days might be, God has a plan in all of it!

He has called me to be here in this specific time with these specific people for a reason. It is not by mistake that I am here. His plan is bigger than mine and He can see beyond these days, even when I cannot.

I just finished watching a sermon by Beth Moore called God's Purpose for Your Life.

She said something that really made me think:

"Life is hard. Why not make hard matter?"

I'm going to face difficulty in my life. That's a given. It's what I chose to do with it that matters. I can wish this time away, or I can be present and relevant.

As hard as it is at times, I choose to be relevant. I don't want this time to be wasted.

Living abroad is not all fun and glamorous. Living alone abroad is definitely not all fun and glamorous.

But the Lord has me here with a specific purpose in mind.

Thank you to all of you who have prayed for me and encouraged me. You know who you are! Your words mean more than I can say.

This experience has already taught me so much. I've had a lot of time to think and really spend time in the Word. I know at the end of this that I will be a completely different person.

Hopefully I can look back and say it mattered!

Last Day in Thoiry...First Day in Madrid

¡Hola de Madrid!

My plane left at 6:55 this morning and landed at 8:55. Holy early morning.

My last day in France was spent at a festival to honor Voltaire. The town Ferney Voltaire, where he lived, is just a 15 minute drive from Thoiry. It is actually where I'll be taking French classes when I go back in August.

Every year they have this festival with lots of food and entertainment. Honestly, it wasn't that great. It was cold and rainy so I didn't take my camera for good pictures. But I did have some delicious soup and a yummy almond tart. And I got to see some dancing. Five couples got on the stage and danced in the traditional clothes and wooden clogs. Pretty interesting.

{Here is a horrible picture from my iPod. Enjoy.}

We got back to the house at 10:30 pm...just in time for dinner. #italianlife 

We ate until 11:30 and then they finally let me go to sleep. 

I got to bed at 2 after I finished packing and cleaning up the apartment. I had a nice three hour nap before I had to be up at 5 to go to the airport. Needless to say, I was exhausted this morning.

Thank you, Swiss, for the free chocolate.

Fortunately, the family here in Spain sent me straight to bed where I slept until 3 this afternoon. 

Glorious sleep!

I had a traditional Spanish lunch of hamburgers and french fries. Then we went on a bike ride around the area where they live. I found the mall (woohoo!) and a gorgeous park. I'm excited to explore some more in the coming weeks.

The family is going out of town next weekend so I'll be by myself from Friday afternoon until Sunday. I'm really looking forward to some quiet time to myself. These past seven weeks have been a whirlwind and I still haven't really had time to process everything. So next weekend will be good!

I am loving Madrid already. The weather is very similar to Georgia so it feels like home. It's really refreshing to feel hot outside. I was sick of wearing jackets and pants!

My family in America is driving to the beach today. While I'm so happy to be in Europe, I'm kind of sad I am not there with them. This is the first time -ever- that I've missed a beach trip with my family.

I'm missing them a lot today when I think of all the fun they're about to have.

But it's okay. Because I'm in Spain! I can't really complain.