Sevilla the town of the night

 This marks my first full week in my new home in Seville! Let me say that I am falling in love. Not with a boy but with this city. I love it every more every day! There is so much life and fun things to do I will never get bored. Classes are going really well and I am happy to say that I am picking up Spanish pretty quickly. I have Spanish class every morning which is all taught in Spanish and I get to practice with my loving host family. They have told me that I have improved greatly since the first day which is a major praise. I am still getting used to walking every where but am happy to say that I am becoming more familiar with everything and am considering myself closer to a Spaniard than a week ago.I am slowly getting used to all the looks I get as I stick out being blonde and american. Every day is a new adventure and I want to experience all the wonderful things this amazing city has to offer.
 One of the things I have picked up is running in the Parque De Maria Luisa. Central park does not even compare. Every inch is covered by green tress, flowers and historic monuments. From beautiful gardens, to the baroque architecture to the young love that is in pristine corners, this park is always a joy to run in at the end of the day. Tonight some friends and I went to an authentic Flamenco show. Before we went I had to find this Casa de La Memoria and buy tickets. I had to navigate through the city by myself but I am happy to say I did and had time for gelato before catching the metro to class. Flamenco is the dance of Spanish culture which includes many emotions and is known for its intensity. I can say that it was the most intense dancing I have EVER seen. It was a beautiful strong dance with so much passion and emotion. The male and women dancer were so intense and simply captivating. Watching it made me want to learn more about Spanish culture and proud to be temporarily living here. Afterwards our friends met up  and all hit up my new favorite local restaurant/bar which is all outside in the center of Seville by the cathedral. it is the prime spot to get some good wine, people watch and have great conversation in the open air of Spain.
Loving every minute here! Looking forward to exploring Seville more this weekend. Besos <3

"Vale!" (Okay!)

Finally all settled in my new home for the next three months in Seville, Spain! These past couple days have been very crazy with traveling, lugging around 50 pounds of clothes, a 20 pound backpack and of course my pillow. None the less I am happy to say everything is now stored in a closet and have my pillow on a comfy bed in the apartment I am are staying in. Right after I got off the plane and promptly arrived in Madrid. We than got a walking tour of Madrid, went to the Plaza Mayor, Debod Temple, A giant cathedral and walked through the gardens. It was very beautiful but Emily and I were exhausted after being up for 31 hours of traveling. The next day we traveled to Toledo which is beautiful and rich in history. It was once totally Muslim but after the Spanish Inquisition and the switch of power it was overthrown by the Catholic monarchy. We got to see the fourth largest cathedral inthe world, the Rosary Cathedral, we saw a synagogue, the famous photo done by Grecco and also got a walking tour of the city. Finally we got to Seville and met our families. 

I am living with a mother and daughter named Ada and Anna. It is great because Anna is my age and is very sweet. Our room is super nice and we have a view of the whole city. We live in Nervion which is a central and nice part of the city where the metro is only 5 minutes away and our school is only a 15 minute walk! Today we had a tour of the city and met our mission mentors with Veritas. They are very sweet and welcoming, definitely helps me feel more at home with people who are open and willing to help whenever I need it. It has been a blast getting to know everyone in the program and becoming closer friends with the people in my Veritas group. there are around 90 students in the ISA program and 7 in the Veritas group. I am so looking forward to becoming better friends with everyone! 

Now for the High Low of the experience thus far. The high is that I absolutely LOVE it here (Don't worry mom and dad I am coming back home). I love everything from the food, which is mainly a Mediterranean diet with lots of coffee, to the laid back lifestyle as the normal time for a meal is an hour. I love walking through the city and seeing all the people on the street. I love my sweet little apartment. I love all the history and color Seville has to offer. It has been such a huge blessing for far and God has been so faithful to me. Now for the low. When we first got here I cried like a baby. I was so overwhelmed with the language barrier and with the culture shock. I really do wish that I was fluent in Spanish because that would make everything better! It has been difficult at times to adjust to the differences like eating a 10 at night and being a guest in someone's house. I do miss my family, I wish I could give my mom a hug every morning and than annoy my sister with questions about which boy likes her today, I wish I could go over to my best friends house and have her make me french press coffee than laugh our butts off, I wish I could eat peanut butter (as they don't have it here). But alas I cannot and it is OKAY. I know there many changes that I will need to make and time will help me adjust here better. Sending love to everyone back home! Besos <3

Bittersweet goodbyes

Today was then first round of goodbyes, and it sucked. I had to say goodbye to my sweet and beautiful roommate Anissa. I swear that girl is an angel. She is so strong and has a positive attitude despite her surroundings. It was crazy thinking that I won't get to see her till next year! I was happy I got to catch up with some friends and loved every minute of it.  Driving away from Vanguard, a bit of my heart was definitely torn. While I am so excited to study in Spain, I also will be missing the beautiful souls at VU. The community there, the comfort of my friends and the simple things such as an OC sunset. Its strange leaving the comfort of home to venture into uncharted waters. Than I said "see you later" to my childhood best friend Maggie. We are hoping to meet up in her study abroad country of Italy later this year. I am so thankful for her friendship and can't wait to hear about all of her adventures.
This last week home is already setting in. While I am anxious for Spain, I know I still have lots to do in preperation for next Monday! Adios 💝

Last day of English Camp

What a crazy, exhausting but joyful week. Denia and I had a great group of students that were a pleasure to teach. Everyday we had class together and learned English during the morning. There were three boys and three girls and three Czech friends.  We played games, had great conversastions and tons of fun. Then we would play sports or make crafts during the afternoon with the whole camp. We would all have dinner together then it was night program which consisted of games, loud singing, craziness and sharing God's word.  Following that we had our discussion groups and talked. It was an awesome time to come together and talk about life, faith and the students lives.

There are so many things I could say about this week. I saw God present everyday and in every situation.  I experienced extreme joy and some  chaos. Some sadness and times of silliness. But God taught me to rely on Him and pray pray pray. I could go on about the incredible things He did this week. I made long lasting friendships from the amazing girls in my room, the students in my class and the beautiful people on the Czech team. This has shown me what it is like to live like Christ 24/7 and to press forward in love. It was life changing trip that I will forever cherish.

Slavá Bohü.

Hotel Malenovice

These past two days have been incredible. On Wednesday, we went on a beautiful hike to a waterfall. It is so green and lush here. I can see why they call the Czech Republic the heart of Europe because of all the life through nature. I am blown away by Gods wonderful creation of rain, grass, trees, flowers ect. We then hiked to a spring water well and drank from the spout and refilled our water bottles. It was the best water I have ever tasted. Then time spent here has been so powerful. To come together as a body of believers and worship God together. There has been some really sweet fellowship in this place.  The food here is fantastic, breakfast is my favorite meal with bread cheese and kava! (Coffee) Yesterday we finished up our training and prepared to head out! We prayed over every team and took communion together. We have a couple of our Czech team the with us along with a girl from the Ukraine who will be at camp with us as well. I had some sweet time to talk with them. They have such beautiful hearts that love the Lord. It is great to come from totally different worlds yet cross our cultures and realize we are the same creation who lives to serve our Creator. Today we board the train for Val Mez and will go to our hotel where camp will be held this next week.
Please pray for health, strength and protection for our team. We will have long days from 7am to 1130pm. I know God has great things planned! Ahoy!

We are here!

Wow! What a long day. It started at 5 am where our team got our first plane to Chigago, then to Heathrow, then to Prauge, then we took a 6 hour bus ride to Malenovice. All in all, a 21 hour trip. There is a point in traveling where you are past the point of " being tired" and reach a whole other level of exhaustion. But then you catch the next plane, train or automobile and perk right back up! The joy of traveling while young. Even though it was an long day, there were still sweet sweet conversations of our loving father Jesus Christ. I am beyond blessed to be in the company of such amazing people. We also got a chance to befriend a flight attendant and talk with him about his travels around then world while telling him about our mission trip. When we seek opportunities, God will open doors to hearts. We connected with the other teams and are in our team training for three days at this GORGEOUS hotel. The green is vibrant, the view is vast and the air is crisp. The scenery is so breathtaking I could just cry. I know our journey has just begun yet already feel God's presence here in this beautiful country.