Mis Aventuras en España

Merry Christmas!!!

2009-12-24T20:17:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas Everyone!
Well I finally made it home, after a great weekend with Brandon! He was SO surprised and it was such a fun time. :)
I finally made it home...after a lot of traveling and spending the night in Guayaquil, because Quito was too foggy to land in...but I am home and enjoying every moment!
I hope this finds you doing well and having a great Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

and much love...

SURPRISE!

2009-12-18T08:39:00.000-08:00

SURPRISE!!!!!!!
Okay I'm sorry for not telling you all before, but I'm actually NOT in Ecuador!!! :) All my flights went well, I made it safely back to the US of A! Its a little surreal for me to be back, but all is well. But the most exciting thing is that I'm actually in COLORADO WITH BRANDON! I'm here until Monday, and then I really do fly to Ecuador for Christmas....but first I stopped in to surprise Brandon! It was so fun, we filmed it. His parents picked me up, and then he had been driving home from school at the same time. We beat them back to the house, and he walked in the door and his uncle gave him a big hug, then I just walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder!!!!! and he FREAKED OUT! It was so fun! He couldn't believe I was actually there...especially since I had seen Logan briefly in my layover in LA, so Log and I called him from LA and I told him I got in safe and sound...and blah blah blah... :)
So there you have it! The big news I've been keeping for quite awhile! :) I'll put up pictures later...but there you go for now!
Much love!

¡Colorin, Colorado, Este cuento se ha acabado!

2009-12-16T07:47:00.000-08:00

Well...in 24 hours I will be on a plane headed home...wow. time surely does fly!
The title of this post is what Spanish Tales end with...we say "happily ever after", but "Colorin, colorado este cuente se ha acabado"....is Spanish!

Exams went well...I survived. It was a lot of work but we survived...yes "we" because Hanna and I truly do everything together, I'm not sure what I'll do without her for the next two weeks. I am so blessed to have had such an incredible roommate, she's challenged me...loved me...encouraged me...we've laughed, cried together...and grown so much. The friendship between us is incredible, and truly such a blessing to me. Thank you for praying for my roommate, because God heard your prayers and blessed me with Hanna....

This morning we had our "graduation" it was super fun! We all got dressed up and we got diplomas, and then had tapas and a mingle time afterward. So fun...and really neat to see all that we've accomplished! I know my Spanish has improved, and certainly how confident I am using it, even if I make mistakes!!! So I think I accomplished my goal in being BOLD in the category of Spanish! I want to live somewhere where I can speak Spanish ALL the time! I love it, I want to teach using it...it truly is apart of me.

I'm all packed up. If feels strange leaving this house...that has become a home, and now holds a piece of my heart, because of the INCREDIBLE mama that I have! There seriously are no words to describe how much she means to Hanna and I, and how much she's become a part of our lives...God answered my prayers...above and beyond anything I could've ever dreamed about in regards to a familia here and a mama...we gave her this really cool collage today of pictures of different things we've done together, and she started crying...and we started crying. I hate to leave her. But I know we'll be back...and I'll see her again. I am so blessed to know her and have her be apart of my life....continue to pray for her, especially as the house goes back to being just her....

I'm leaving the house in about 2 1/2 hours....I'll be on a bus from here to the Madrid Airport, we get in at 3:30 am, then fly out at 7 am...I'm flying with the girls to London, and then we're on diff flights to LA, but I'm praying that I'm able to get on the same flight as them, then we have a 10 hour flight to LA....long long long day... but all fun and so worth it!
I would appreciate your prayers for smooth traveling...that we would be safe, that bags would make it and that we would be able to get some sleep....and that it would just be a great flight!!!

Thank you for all your prayers.....they have made this trip all the more worth it. Spain is keeping part of my heart for sure, and I will for sure be back! MERRY CHRISTMAS to each one of you! and much MUCH love!!!!!!!!

some of the girls in my Spanish class who I had the pleasure of meeting!

WE DID IT!

I'm so glad I get to go home with these girls!

This is Dr. H, our Cal Poly prof

and this is Beatriz, our Spanish professor, one of my favorite people!

IT SNOWED this morning!!!!!

Hanna and I packing up...it was quite a process.

SEE the SNOW?!?!?!

The Plaza Mayor at Christmas

Me and AUXI (mama) eating FISH!

Hanna and I are quite the professionals

Our Grammar class

Outdoor ICE SKATING!

7 days...

2009-12-10T12:07:00.000-08:00

Well 7 days from right now I will be somewhere over the Atlantic ocean headed straight for Los Angeles, and then from there to Ecuador.....I am so excited to be home for Christmas...to see my family, to be in a place I love, with some of the people i love the most...(some will be missing...) but I am so thankful that I get to go home....
But the point is....I have now lived in Spain for 79 days, and have 7 left...how crazy is that?!?!? It's amazing, and God has blessed my time tremendously! And I know He's not going to stop now...so I have an amazing 7 days in front of me....
I would appreciate your continued prayers though as I finish up here...
1. for all the finals I have...2 Friday (Oral Expressions-Spanish, Humanities-Cal Poly), 2 Monday (Oral Expressions-Written part, History-Cal Poly) and 2 on Tuesday (Grammar-Spanish, Culture-Spanish)...so its going to be a whole lot of studying in a little time...but so worth it! so just for diligence...
2. That I could finish strong- in relationships, as I'm tired and working on hwk stuff, that I could continue to love and pour into the people around me...for patience.
3. For good time in the Word, with God over the next week...as I reflect and wrap up, that in the busyness I would take time to be still
4. For the tear I feel in my heart...I'm so excited to be home, to move on and go back to Cal Poly...but you have to know how much I love Spain and everything here...so for the process of saying goodbye...not my favorite...
5. And always for Brandon and I...I miss him a whole lot, and now have been away from him for about 4 months...that God would continue to strengthen us, that we could figure out a time to be together....for him as he is waiting to hear from Medical Schools and the Air Force....for patience in the midst of that...and also as this is his finals week as well...so for strength for him!

Thank you so much for your prayers...they truly support me more than you'll ever know. I am so blessed to have such amazing people in my life...I am thankful for each of you....and I will try to update as much as possible here and there about what's going on.....oh I had a fabulous time with the Coles (Brandon's Parents)...they got to meet my Mama and her boyfriend (Rafa), my friends, we traveled to 2 surrounding cities, and then just for them to see where I live here was really neat....so thank you Uncle Curt and Aunt Karen for visiting!

Much love to each of you.....and I hope you are having a great day!

NORTHERN IRELAND!!!!

2009-12-08T14:38:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

Good day!!!!
I hope this finds each of you doing just well, and enjoying every moment of this Christmas season! I am loving all the Christmas spirit here! Everything is decorated, the town is lit up, the Plaza Mayor is beautifully decorated, and there is lots of hustle and bustle going on...but I love it! Christmas is such a wonderful time of year...so much to celebrate...the birth of Christ, and what Him coming to the world meant...we just had two days off of school, one of them celebrating the Immaculate Conception, must of been absolutely amazing...its a time of family and friends...i love it! and I am so excited to be home...yup, thats a reality now! I am leaving Spain in 9 days!! And headed to Ecuador! and am so excited!!!!!!! But not ready to leave this all behind yet...I love Spain, and all that has gone on here...but I'm not saying goodbye just yet...I have 6 finals...and lots of fun left...so I won't write all my favorite memories yet! :) but you can definitely be praying for my last week and a half, for the work to be done, the goodbyes to be said...the transition...all that leaving entails...
BUT....for starters I am doing MUCH better! Thank you for your prayers...I battled a little during the weekend, but am pretty much back at 100% with a little cough left...your prayers have been answered! :)
Secondly my time in Northern Ireland was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING....we got in about 3 am on Friday morning, slept for a little bit and were out and about later on! For those of you who don't know, I have a lot of family in Northern Ireland and I got to meet all of them in 2005 when my family was there...and so I went back with my 5 girlfriends, and we stayed with my cousin Martin and his wife Bronagh and their most precious 7 month old Callum...they rented a house by the beach in Portstewart, Northern Ireland for the weekend!!!! It was fabulous...cold as ever, but just fabulous! They took us all over, we drove along the coast, we hiked, we ate some great food...everything was amazing, we even had really nice weather, sunshine and all included...it rained at night, but that was okay because we were sleeping and then it was beautiful in the morning! The strange thing was that the sun sets at 4 pm, so that messed up how tired we were in the afternoons, its funny how tied we are to the sun! I got to see most of my family there...it is all on my mom's side, both her mom and dad, so that was super fun! I felt so loved and special being able to see all of them, I got to talk to my grandparents...it was amazing.
Sunday we spent the day in Belfast and got to soak in that part of it...then we were back in the Dublin airport by 1 am...spent the night there (although i couldn't sleep all night!) and flew back to Madrid, landed around 10:30, bussed back to Valladolid, and were pretty tired when we got back...but it was an absolutely fabulous trip! (i hope you enjoy the pictures!)
AND...today Brandon's parents flew into Madrid, and are here in Valladolid until Thurs morning...they are here on business, but decided to add Valladolid to their trip and come and see me!!!! I am so blessed! It is so fun to have them here and be able to show them all my life here...I miss Brandon a lot...but its fun to have them here! I am so blessed and loved.... :)

Other than that--things are good...lots of studies ahead of me...but life is good, and I LOVE SPAIN! :) thank you for your prayers and support! I look forward to hearing from you!
Enjoy the Christmas spirit, the joy, the peace...the fact that Christ was born so that He could die to save you..pretty amazing to grasp!

Much love to each of you!!!!!

Belfast by night...

The beautiful coast...

The beautiful countryside...

Me on the Carrik-A-Rede rope bridge...it is very high but so fun!

Me and Tiffany...

All the girls in Belfast...

Me and Dalia enjoying our hot chocolate at the International Festival in Belfast.

Me and Callum...so precious.

Enjoying our beach walk in Portstewart

Bronagh and I at Glenariff...hiking around.

The girls...they're all so amazing.

My grandpa's side of the family!

My grandma's side of the family...(for the most part)

My grandma's sisters...Aunt Wilma (left to right), Aunt Lavina, and Aunt Mary

Uncle Huston (grandpa's brother) and his wife Aunt Silvia

Me at Giant's Causeway!

Bronagh, Callum, Me and Martin

Me and Martin...my mom's first cousin!

icky...

2009-12-03T03:08:00.000-08:00

Good morning everyone...or afternoon or evening... :)
Well things are going really good here...2 weeks from today I will be flying out! Crazy how time goes by so fast. But its been amazing, and I still have 2 amazing weeks ahead of me! Today actually we're flying out to Northern Ireland for the weekend, because due to Spain's Constitution, and the Immaculate Conception we have Monday and Tuesday off! So we're headed to visit a lot of my mom's family in Northern Ireland! I am so beyond excited!!!!
The only bummer though is that I'm pretty sick...getting better, but these last couple of days have been no fun at all...it started out just with a cold, sore throat, no big deal...and yesterday morning when I woke up I thought I was much better, but then while sitting in class I was struck hard, with chills, achyness, feverish and diarrhea--just awful feeling. So once we were done with class I came home and laid low for the rest of the day. I was only able to sleep a little during the day, but it was nice not to have to go anywhere...I got a good nights sleep last night, but still feeling not 100% today, and the thought of traveling is not that great right now....so I would really appreciate your prayers that I would feel a lot better by the time we get on our airplane tonight...I'm still stoked about being in Northern Ireland, but I do not want to feel like this...so thank you for your prayers... :) Oh and Hanna was struck with it later last night, so we both stayed home from class this morning, doing a little better, but not great....

As far as just life here, its getting pretty busy because we get back on Monday, then have 2 finals on Friday, one Monday (0f the following week) and 2 on Tuesday, then our "graduation" on Wednesday and we fly out on Thursday! Crazy...so lots of studying and shopping ;) to be done between now and when we leave...but it'll be great.
Jesse, Tiffany, Me, Lelani, Lily

We got a chance to go look at a Castle last week, as well as eat a really typical Spanish dish--Lechazo--which is baby lamb, it was really good...
Hanna and I at the restaurant--it was an old mill over the water, so cool!

...then we got to go to a winery and tour the Bodega...It was so fun to be out of the city in the country, it was absolutely beautiful, really really cold but really fun!

Me and Tiffany on top of the Castle

Aubrea, Hanna, Tiffany and Me

I love my roomie!

It is definitely getting way colder here...this week its been anywhere from 1 degree celsius, to mostly 8ish degrees Celsisus....cold....But we've been so spoiled by the weather so I really have no complaints, because I really like the fresh feeling outside, the beauty all around us...Leaves keep falling and I just LOVE it!

At the Winery...enjoying the beautiful Sunset!

The Pueblo (town) we got to go visit

Another really cool thing is that God is seriously working in some of the girls' hearts here, they're asking great questions...they want to believe, but something is holding them back, something is keeping them from just handing their lives over 100%...so its been super exciting for me to get to talk to them...to share from my life...So I ask that you would be praying for them as well...that they would not leave here unchanged, and that God would just continue to soften their hearts and for their responses...
Lastly...just pray for safe travels this weekend...that we could have a BLAST, although I know we will...but just be praying for our time as the 6 of us girls....
Thank you so much for all your prayers and support, much love to each one of you!!!!!! :)

Thankful...

2009-11-26T14:55:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!
On this day of thanks, I hope that each one of you is have a fabulous day! That you have taken time to be thankful today for all that God has blessed you with...from great food to family and friends...but most of all for sending his son to die for you...because that is the most amazing gift of all...i am so thankful.
thankful to be here in spain, for my amazing friends, my family....for the beauty all around me...for my incredible boyfriend...for my health, for God's provision, for the ability to travel, for the great education I'm receiving, for being able to learn and speak Spanish on a daily basis...
God is good...all the time and I don't think I take enough time to be thankful...so today, and everyday I want to be thankful! :)
Also...today just a fun little story. Today was just a normal day, went to class, had lots of class... ;) but then when we came home, my Spanish Grandma and great Aunt, surprised Hanna and I by making turkey for us!!! They were so excited to give it to us, the house smelled like thanksgiving when we came home and it was just so so so sweet! So I am so blessed for a fun Spanish family who takes such good care of me!

I hope that each one of you is having a great day...and know that I am so thankful for all of your prayers, love and support!
Much love to each of you, and know that I am thankful for YOU today....

God is at work...

2009-11-22T05:57:00.000-08:00

Happy Sunday!
Why hello everyone...how are you?! I am doing just great, I have enjoyed a wonderful weekend at home in Valladolid. Yesterday morning I got to sleep in until I woke up around 10:30...it was a beautiful thing. Then I spent some time at home, read my Biblia for a little bit, and headed out for the market with my Mama here in town. IT was an absolutely beautiful day here...I am loving it more and more, all the leaves are falling off, some trees are already bear, and some are still full of such wonderfully colored leaves! :) I love walking down by the river..I"m trying to soak it up before it all changes into winter. I relaxed for the afternoon, and went and saw the new movie 2012 about the prediction that the world will end with my Mama and her Boyfriend. It was all in Spanish, and the exciting thing is that I didn't even think twice about it, it was so normal, and I loved it! I wasn't translating, I was just listening and thinking... :)!!!!! It was good...a very thought provoking movie...I do believe the world is going to end, when I haven't the slightest idea, but it was super interesting to see a picture of what it might look like, and ask myself how that impacts my day to day living...to I look around and see the lost, do I care for the souls of the people around me...a very challenging thought. So I told you I went with my Mama...Auxi, and her boyfriend Rafa...well a little background on them...they're amazing. Rafa is over a lot and so we've got to know him and its just so fun having both of them around, they are so sweet and take good good care of me and Hanna. Rafa (Rafael) is actually a doctor, and he worked on my toe a little bit (I have problems with ingrowns, gross I know, but just in case you were wondering my toe has been really swollen and infected again...and if you know what I've gone through with them before, you know how bad it really is.) anyway that's not the point of the story...but I have been praying for awhile for an opportunity to share my faith with Auxi, in fact again yesterday I was praying about it, Hanna is in Barcelona this weekend, so I was thinking about the 1-on-1 opportunity I would have with her, so I was just asking God yesterday morning for courage and the words to say, along with a cool opportunity to share my faith with her...and God is faithful, and He answers prayer...
The opportunity arose last night after the movie, it was the kind of thing where I knew it was good timing, but was nervous because Rafa was there..but God opened up the doors and we began to talk...Auxi asked me if I was going to Church in the morning, (yes) and if it were the Evangelical one, (also yes) then she asked me what was different between the Evangelicals and Catholics...wow. And thus began an amazing conversation, I wasn't sure off the top of my head but we just began talking and sharing the beliefs of each. I told them I didn't know all the answers but I could tell them what I believe and what Christ has done in my life...so then I had the amazing opportunity to share my testimony with them in Spanish! I was nervous...but its my story, and it was so exciting to share that with them...from there came a really neat, but really challenging and hard conversation for me...Rafa has very different beliefs and is very intelligent in what he knows and has studied different things, so I felt overwhelmed by his lack of faith and arguments, and all of it coming at me in Spanish...but it was good. I just listened a lot...and prayed for him. Auxi is somewhere in the middle I think...but over all it was really cool how God answered my prayer of wanting to talk to them and then just openly being able to tell them my story, about Christ and salvation...I don't know if I said the right things, or if anything will change in their lives...but I know I'm called to continue to share, to love them and to be an example of Christ here...so I would ask for you prayers for him. Both for Rafa and Auxi, that God would be working in their hearts and lives...and that God would use me. One thing I have loved about being here is the really neat conversations I've been able to have, and just being challenged to step up and be real and share Christ with the people around me...

So that was my Saturday...today I went to Church, and relaxed...worked on some homework, went on a walk...its been nice. I have more homework to do, but I just wanted to share my experiences and just ask you to continue to pray. I have a little less than 4 weeks here, until I'll be home. Crazy. So I just ask that you would pray for these last 4 weeks as you have for the ones that already passed...I'm torn about leaving here, because it is wonderful! So I'm excited to experience these last weeks and see where God is going to take me!

Much love to each one of you...enjoy the pictures!

Me in Salamanca

The girls being crazy.

The "Braidy Bunch!"

Me in the Cathedral

Girls just want to have fun...it was so cold!

Rafa hooked us up with tickets to the Spain vs. Argentina game in Madrid!

It was amazing...me and Tiffany and some guys from Valladolid behind us we met at the game!

Jesse, me, Tiffany, and Hanna! Que Viva España!

We went over to some Taiwanese girls' house for a multicultural dinner!

Such good food!

Fun to have friends where our common language is Spanish!

2009-11-19T08:34:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics! More on the way! I hope you enjoy them! I'm doing good! Great actually...I just keep realizing how blessed I am to live in Spain! It seriously had been one of my biggest dreams...EVER...and here I am experiencing it!!! Thank you for all your prayers, I cannot tell you enough how much love and support I have received being here...I am so blessed. God is good...ALL the time! :) This week has been pretty chill...more to come soon! I hope you enjoy all the pics! Much love to each one....

This is in Salamanca! It rained on and off all day and was FREEZING...but then as God promises...out came the Rainbow...so I was trying to taste it! ;)
Me and Hanna! What a blessing she is!
This is where I sat...journaling, praying and praising God!
This is where I walked to...the one I told you about when I got to sit and journal.
It is so beautiful here, with all the leaves changing colors...I get to walk down by the river, and its one of my favorite places!

These are for my mama!!! They are everywhere due to the winter season and I think of her every time I see them! :) Love you mom!

Bueno es Alabar al Señor

2009-11-13T09:59:00.000-08:00

I will sing to the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
as I rejoice in the LORD.
But may sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more.
Praise the LORD, O my soul.
Praise the LORD.

Psalm 104:33-35

I went on a walk the other day down by the main river here in Valladolid, and it was beautiful. I took my Bible and Journal with me and just sat by the river for awhile, thinking and praying...and it was amazing...it is so beautiful right now because all the trees are changing colors, and the leaves are falling...and its incredible. It's been a long time since I've lived in a place with a "true" fall, and I am loving every minute of it! But it was so great to just sit by the river, and think, pray and journal...I was reading some Psalms of Praise, and it was so refreshing...I do not take enough time to just sit and praise God...focusing on Him and all He is and has done for me...or simply just praising Him because He is God...so it was so sweet just to sit and soak in the beauty around me and the words in the Psalms...the verse above is the last part of Psalm 104, and is my prayer, so I thought I would share it with you...

This week has been good...my last test until finals was on Tuesday in my Spanish Culture class (in Spanish) and it went well! So now I'm enjoying a little breathing time before finals! :) Classes are all good...I am really really enjoying them, I love learning in Spanish, and how to improve my Spanish...My Cal Poly classes are so good as well. I love the Culture/History class, and the Witch-hunt one is super interesting! I really am spoiled with the classes that I'm taking here! :)
I register for next quarter this week...ick. Registration is one of my least favorite things because its so crazy and so hard to get into all the classes I need, so I would appreciate your prayers in that, that I would be able to get everything that I need! :)

Well I am working on pictures but they are not wanting to work right now...so we'll see! I will post them as soon as I can! Much love! :)

Winter has come!

2009-11-08T09:49:00.000-08:00

Well...no more do we have the nice summer weather! It has gotten SO cold here! I don't even know what we're going to do, because my mama tells us to just wait! Because its not even that cold yet! Ah, I like cold weather, but I haven't lived in really cold weather in a long time, so we'll see how I survive!
WELL this was a busy week, I had a grammar test that kicked my butt! and an oral expression test that wasn't so bad...one more this week, my Spanish Culture class (in Spanish) and then I get a little break from tests before finals!
This weekend was really nice, my grammar test was Friday, so when I got home I was pretty wiped out. Me, Hanna, Tiffany and Aubrea went on a long run and enjoyed being outdoors for awhile. Then we came home and ate lunch, and Hanna and I watched "The Holiday" in Spanish and fell asleep on the couch! I stayed home all Friday afternoon which was amazing and super restful! Then we went out for a little bit, Aubrea had a friend come who is studying in San Sebastian and so we picked him up and hung out for a little bit...
but THE MOST exciting thing about Friday is that it was officially Brandon and I's 10 monthiversary! :) And I'm just so excited about that! God is so good, and has blessed me with such an amazing boyfriend! I'm the luckiest girl...so happy 10 months to Brandon! :) And we would appreciate your continual prayers, as it is definitely hard to be away from him for so long...i miss him a lot! :) But God is good, and teaching us a lot, and I am really excited about where we're at, and where we're going! :)
On Saturday we went to Salamanca as a school trip, and it was awesome! It is our last school trip which is kind of crazy, but it was super fun. It is a city about 2 hours North of here with a Big University and Cathedral that we got to see. The only thing was that it was absolutely freezing! It rained and the wind was so cold, but other than that it was a really fun day.
Sunday we went to Church...we've found this little Spanish Christian Community that I really enjoy, so that was super fun...It was such an encouragement to me, because I've really been dealing with a lack of true Joy for some reason...and the first song we sang was "I'm trading my sorrows, my sickness, my pain, my shame...all for the JOY of the LORD!" God is so good...then after church we met and hung out with some Brazilians, so now we have new friends! SO exciting, because our common language is Spanish!!!
Today was a long day...I have one more test tomorrow, a culture test. So I'm off to Study, but pictures and more stories tomorrow...I actually have some pretty fun stories to share...so stay tuned!
LOTS OF LOVE!

Santander!

2009-11-03T12:51:00.000-08:00

Well...there is competition now on my list of favorite places in Spain, or I should more say that I've now added another place...and that would be Santander! This past weekend we had a holiday on Monday for the "Day of the Saints" so me and three friends, Tiffany, Aubrea and Kristen went to Santander, which is just about 4 hours north of Valladolid on the Coast!!! In the Bay of Biscay!!! It was supposed to be raining all weekend, but as you can see from the pictures it was absolutely gorgeous! Probably somewhere around the 70s or 80s...humid and amazing! I love soaking up some summer sun at the beginning of November!

It was so relaxing...after such a crazy week it was really nice to just be able to go and soak up the sun, be with the girls and enjoy a truly beautiful place! We didn't have any plans, or anywhere to be so we were just able to enjoy each other and the beauty of Santander!
We ended up going on a bike ride all along the coast that involved...the beach, a harbor, the sunset, a castle, trees, and each other...it was fabulous!

We got to go out to dinner together and just relax and laugh and have so much fun!

Some more fun pics!

And thats the journey! :)
Something really fun that I got to do today was lead Bible Study...I shared my testimony and how God has been working in my life, with an emphasis on the way that He is teaching me to Trust Him..it was super fun to share with the girls, and I am just so thankful for the ways that God has worked in me...and blessed with the life I have...pray for the girls as God continues to work in each of their lives...its super fun to see that and just love on them and encourage them!
Much love to each of you!

Pictures!!

2009-11-01T13:31:00.001-08:00

Me and my empty bus! :)

The beauty of the drive to the north of Spain...

Me and Hanna in Bilbao by the river!

Aubrea, Tiffany, Natalie and I at the Real Valladolid vs. Mallorca Soccer Game!

Me and Nat at the game!

The girls enjoying the main park in Valladolid!

We went to the theaters!

Me, Auxi and her Aunt, with Dinner!

Me and Natalie...

Love this girl...it meant the world she came to Spain!

I hope you enjoy these! Much love!

Week 5=Crazyness!

2009-10-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

Wow, where do I even begin?! This week has flown by, but it felt like it was dragging while I was in the midst of it…a lot has happened and I will do my best to catch you up. I’ve missed writing, and I’m sorry that I haven’t written recently…so here you go, the adventures of Week 5!!!

Last weekend, Friday-Saturday (23-24) we traveled to the north of Spain to Bilbao. It is near San Sebastian, and absolutely beautiful…after a four hour bus ride we arrived in Bilbao about 9 pm, and headed to our hotel. We were all pretty tired so we stayed in and order a pizza and enjoyed some “girl time”, laughing, talking and actually a whole lot of abs work! J We awoke to the beautiful Spanish sunshine and enjoyed a leisurely stroll by the river down to the Guggenheim Museum. Which if you are not familiar with the museum, there are only 4 in the world, one in New York, and I’m not sure where the others are. It is a contemporary art museum and was really fascinating. We spent about an hour there, and then walked back to old town Bilbao and ate some really good hamburgers!! While we were down town we came across a whole wedding crowd standing outside of the church, one of the most beautiful wedding’s I’ve ever seen…it was fun to see the different Spanish styles, weddings here are A LOT more fancy than most weddings I’ve been to

I took off from Bilbao about 4 pm by myself back to Valladolid, my friends were staying for the night and then to San Sebastian the next day…but I came back because I had to go to Madrid the next day to pick up my friend!!! The funniest thing though, I got on the Bus in Bilbao and I was the ONLY one on the bus!!! So for about 2 ½ hours I had a bus to myself, played some musical chairs, slept and enjoyed the indescribable scenery, I felt like I was driving through a calendar. But it was really nice to come back and relax a little bit, I got to talk to Brandon on skype which was amazing because we don’t always get to talk that much….

Sunday—was an interesting day. I was supposed to be on a bus at 6 am to the airport in Madrid to get my friend Natalie Morgan (one of my roommates my first year at Poly) who came for the week…but day light savings happened during the night, and I got all messed up and ended up over sleeping my bus…ran to the station, there were no more, had to go to the train station and get a train ticket…but of course the computers at the station weren’t working in the moment, so I had to wait, but after all that I ended up on train headed for Madrid, I jumped on the Metro and eventually found Natalie at the airport. We spend the afternoon together in Madrid and came back later that night….on a side note, I cannot tell you enough how amazing Natalie is, I mean if the fact that she flew to Spain just to see me for a whole week isn’t enough…she’s amazing. We became great friends my freshman year through living together. She’s older than me and now lives in Ventura teaching. When I first planned on coming to Spain she told me “I’ll be there!” and I’ve heard that before, but Nat really means it, so she came on her fall break and it was amazing

So then Monday morning came and thus began the craziness! Seeing as its week 5 that means midterms…I had two big midterms on Thursday…in my Culture of Spain and Witch Hunt Class. So the it was hard because I really just wanted to be hanging out with Natalie, but I was studying a lot…she’s a trooper, she went all over Valladolid in the mornings while I was in class, then we’d meet up at my house eat, and she would hang out while we studied somewhere, then she came to class with us in the evening, and then more studying…so in the midst of so much studying we got to hang out…Wednesday night was really nice because I took a study break and Nat and I went on a long walk by the river, and were just able to talk and enjoy being together! Then we went out to dinner together…it was awesome. She was so amazing, and easy going, went with the flow the whole time and was super supportive during my crazy week which was amazing…

THURSDAY---test day. Lots of studying went on this day as well…but it all paid off because I think my exams went really well…so I am pleased about that…and I felt so good after the tests…so to celebrate the week…what better to do than go to a Real Valladolid Futbol (soccer) game?!?! Yes Natalie and I experienced together our first Spanish game, and it was amazing. Real Valladolid vs. Mallorca (from the Balearic Islands off the coast of Spain) and we won!!! I love the atmosphere at a game, so much energy and passion, I miss being able to go to more games in Ecuador…those are great memories…so now I’ve added to that with my game here! We went with a big group of students from our group…

Friday—was such a relaxing day…I felt so carefree and just sigh…happy to be done and able to hang out with Nat…I went to class in the morning and then met up with her around one to go and explore more of Valladolid. Between class and meeting up with Nat however, I got in such an amazing with one of the guys on our trip…and we talked about all kinds of things, it was super challenging and exciting to see God giving me an opportunity to talk about Him and challenge my friend to think…we talked about what we were willing to die for? How this part of our lives fits into our goals for the future? He has super interesting perspectives on life and the meaning and goals in life, so it was fun to be challenged by him and to challenge him in return…super super exciting for me…you can be praying for more conversations.

After that we made a feast lunch consisting of peanut butter (which is a novelty in Spain) and Jelly sandwiches, apples and bananas…once we were filled we hit the town. We met up with some of my friends and walked through town to the big park in town…we walked around the park…got some delicious ice cream and then Natalie and I went SHOPPING! She got some really cute boots….but most of all it was just fun to be a “tourist” (mostly I’m in class or on a trip) in Valladolid and just enjoy such a relaxing afternoon with her!

There is an international film festival in Valladolid this week so there are red carpets stretched out on the sidewalks as you walk around town. So last night, me Natalie, Tiffany, Aubrea and Kristen went and saw a French film called “The Army of Crime”, in French with Spanish/English subtitles…It was a movie about the French Resistance during World War II and the people who gave their lives for it…absolutely beautifully done. If you’ve seen “Life is Beautiful” (an Italian movie) it is a lot like that. The theatre we went to is like an Opera house, it was so beautiful…

After the movie we walked around town some more, got some dinner and chocolate and churros (a Spanish specialty) and then back home…Natalie had to be at the bus station at 3:45 am this morning, so we went to bed at 1 am for a 2 hour nap, took her to the bus station, came home by 4:30, went to bed for another 2 hours, was up by 7 because I’m on my way to Santander for the weekend…we have a holiday on Monday, so its been a short night…but here I am driving once again through beautiful country to the north coast of Spain!

This is long…but I wanted to get you all caught up and then from here on…stay caught up…thank you for your prayers and support even without knowing what I’ve been up to!

I will put up pictures later today but here you have the information! Much love to each one of you!

Swamped...

2009-10-27T16:05:00.000-07:00

Hello Family and Friends...
I am sorry for the short week...or lack of writing! This week is midterm week...
so I wanted you to know that I'm def still alive, enjoying an amazing visit with my
friend Natalie Morgan, but am just swamped and kind of overwhelmed with life right
now...2 big tests on Thursday, but I promise I will catch you up on all that is going on
in life! Thank you for your prayers, I am doing well, other than busy, and I hope you are
all doing well...
I miss you and send my love!
:)

A foggy day in Valladolid....

2009-10-22T05:35:00.000-07:00

Well good day to everyone...and HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sweet sister Sammie! :) It is such a blessing to now have 2 sisters! and I hope Sambo you are having a fabulous day...I love you and miss you!

also this week was Kaylyn's birthday...(one of my best friends from high school) so happy birthday to you to Kay! :)

Well here are a few more pictures from my time with my dad! We had so much fun together, and this is in the Plaza Mayor in Madrid....

Well I wanted to share a little bit about what I'm learning and what has been going on lately. Well as you know I have a solid group of girls here that I have been hanging out with...I love each one of them so very much! Some are Christians...some are not, and God has been giving me a really cool chance to have some awesome conversations with different girls...and everyone of those has been challenging to me in different ways. Last Saturday night my dad took me and some girls out for dinner, we had a blast...but towards the end (or not so end as discussion started!) of our meal he asked us this question....
"If you had 15 min to talk to the world, in a language that everyone understood, what would you say and why? What is most important to you to share with the WHOLE world?"
That as you can imagine opened up the table to a lot of things...super challenging and interesting...how would you answer that question?
For me, I would talk about the way the Christ has made such a difference in my life...that in this broken world there is hope in Christ...that is the only hope, its not anything we can do or not do...only in Christ do we find freedom and eternal life...how exactly I would express that I'm not totally sure...but it was a really cool way for me to talk about it, because that's the first time, or most blatant time I've shared my faith with some of the girls...and I do get nervous, but I know its truth...and I so badly want them to be apart of my "family"...so that was an awesome conversation, it was great to hear what the girls thought, and how they would answer it, but it really just challenged me to be praying for each one of the people here...praying for opportunities to be real...but more than anything its challenging me to be in the Word more than ever, because I know nothing I can do will ever make a difference...only through Christ...so that is super exciting, challenging, scary, and awesome...and I would love your prayers for that...for boldness again and just good good time in the Word....
Through all that God is teaching me a lot about judging and loving in a way that we are called as Christians to love...without judging...and through that we had Bible study on Monday and talked about 1 John 4-God is Love...and what that looks like, that perfect love drives out fear...and just thinking about what fears keep me from loving like I'm called to...fear of rejection, of being broken, hurt....left alone....but God is so gracious with me and is just teaching me so very much!

So thats kind of where I'm at...I would love your prayers...especially for time, time in the Word, time to stay connected with people from back home because that is getting hard, and I don't mean to slack on it, I'm just so busy...time for my studies....
thank you so much for your prayers...I am so blessed to have such an amazing support system...
Much love to each one of you and I hope you are having a phenomenal day! :)

The Rain in Spain...

2009-10-20T13:06:00.000-07:00

Hello family and friends...and whatever other person might have come across this and decided to read it...

Happy day! Today it rained ALL day, it was lovely. I LOVE the cold weather, although I decided that its a love-hate relationship because I don't like bundling up because by the time that I walk to class and enter the building its super HOTT! So then you have to take off the many layers on, but then to go outside you put it all back on...and if you know me I'm not a big fan of being hot hot...just comfortable. But most of all I like the cold/rainy weather! Its supposed to get much colder too, which if thats true we'll all freeze! Because it is already cold here!

Well I had an absolutely fabulous weekend! My dad flew in on Friday afternoon and I met him in Madrid, and we hung out for awhile! We saw the Royal Palace, the Plaza Mayor, and just walked all around...we even enjoyed a Starbucks!

So fun story about this is that my dad studied Spain when he was in high school and he studied Paella (rice with seafood in it!) and he told himself that someday he would get to Spain and eat it...so here he is eating Paella in the Plaza Mayor in Madrid with me! :)

We went on a day trip to Segovia, which is an old roman city and we saw the Aqueduct which is 2000 years old! It is NOT held together by anything other than gravity! amazing huh?!

Us girls up on the top overlooking the city!

We then saw the great Cathedral in Segovia, as well as the Royal Palace. The city is beautiful and we got some great weather to be walking around and enjoying it! :)
Enjoying some me and dad time!

The Cathedral Behind us...After climbing 152 steps this is the view from the top of the castle!
More view of the city...Cal Poly Group 2009

The girls of the group!

I loved having my dad here and just for him to be able to know my life here and meet my friends was really cool...I am so thankful I got to see him....
Well I am quickly fading, but I have a lot to share with you about what I'm learning and some ways to be praying...but for now here are some fun pictures and info about life up to now!
Love to everyone and I hope you are doing well!

Has it only been 3 weeks?

2009-10-15T14:12:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!
And happy Thursday/Friday depending on when you read this. I realized I have been really bad this week about keeping you updated and blogging so I just wanted to say hello and tell you whats going on!
Probably the most exciting thing is that I am going to Madrid tomorrow to pick up my DAD!!!! from the airport! I am so excited! He is on his way back from South Africa and decided to stop on over in Spain for the weekend! I can't wait!!!!
This week has been good...the bug thats been going around finally caught up with me. I was feeling not so great on Saturday when I woke up but it wasn't bad until Monday and Tuesday, but I got good sleep..my "mama" took good care of me, she gave me meds and made me yummy soup! So I am pretty much done being sick, it never fully reached its potential so that is good!

This week has been good, busy with school and everything, but I'm so glad tomorrow
is Friday! I am just loving life here, one area in particular is through speaking Spanish. I love learning, growing and using my Spanish every day!!! I love my roommate...Hanna, is amazing. she challenges me to think, especially about my walk with God and what I'm learning and how I'm growing...God knew exactly what I needed for a roommate and he has provided so amazingly in Hanna!

Things are good...I can't believe its ONLY been 3 weeks! I feel like I've been here forever...but its all so good and fun and amazing! Thank you for your prayers...keep them coming. God is answering them...much love to each one of you and I hope you are having a FABULOUS day! :)

Hanna and I trying a little wine! (not very good though! ;)

The girls out touring Valladolid!

Me and Tiffany!

Tiffany, Aubrea, Hanna and I enjoying some time together!

Video of the Mediterranean!

2009-10-14T11:52:00.000-07:00

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Its been a long time...

2009-10-14T06:30:00.000-07:00

Me, Pat and Ian!

The girls...minus hanna!

Why hello everyone, long time no talk! :) Happy Wednesday to each one of you, and I hope that this finds you well! Wow...where do I begin, there is so much to say, but I will try to stick to the highlights and not bore you! :)

This past weekend was our first 3 day weekend so me and 5 of my good girl friends, Hanna (my roommate), Aubrea, Tiffany, Dalia and Kristen! decided to go to Nerja which is in the south of Spain, on the beach! (near Malaga)I discovered when coming to Spain that my Grandpa Payne has a first cousin living there so I contacted them and we ended up staying with them. Their names are Pat Ian and Pat McTavish! Absolutely amazing people! They rented an apartment for us girls to stay in next door to theirs, as well as a room in one of their friends house so we all had a bed to sleep in! We took the train Friday night late and arrived about 1 AM Saturday morning into Malaga. We were met their by my cousins (first time I'd ever met them!) and then drove about an hour to Nerja. Once we got there (this time about 2 AM) we had a feast...pizza, octopus, Macaroons, and a delicious Macaroon Paste (kinda like Humus) that Ian had made! So about 4 AM we crawled into bed...happy but very tired...

our view from where we stayed!

We woke up (later that morning ;) around 10 and went down to old town Nerja and walked around and enjoyed the shops and everything...at the end of our walked we ended up looking over the entire Mediterranean Sea! Absolutely BREATHTAKING!

After shopping a little more we sat down and enjoyed some good pizza for lunch then headed for the BEACH! My cousin has a friend who owns a paddle boat company so we got to take out a paddle boat for about an hour...but not just any paddle boat...it was a PINK FLAMINGO! We swam while out and just enjoyed the most beautiful day ever...I cannot describe enough to you how beautiful it was!

We enjoyed the beach for awhile then went back to meet my cousins for a grand feast for dinner! We went to this restaurant and enjoyed a Spanish style meal...no plates you just all eat off the dishes and pass everything around...we had Calamari, Fish, Pork, Prawns, Chicken...great food! Then since it was a holiday weekend in Spain (Spain Day/Columbus Day) there was a festival so we went and spent some time there, went on a roller coaster! It was awesome....we fell into bed that night again very happy but very tired....

The next day we woke up again and went out to a Flea Market that was in town...shopped for awhile and just enjoyed being outside...it was HOT! but so nice...
we came back for lunch around 3 with my cousins down on the beach...again quite a feast...fish, Calamari, Chicken, Prawns....(drooling yet?!) After our feast us girls went down and swam and played on the beach for awhile...took a bunch of pictures and just enjoyed each other and the beauty that surrounded us!

We then went and got some yummy dessert and coffee! Then came back and hung out with Ian and Pat for awhile...they are absolutely amazing people! They were so hospitable to us girls, took care of us, showed us how the locals EAT and live, and loved on us for the weekend. we left very refreshed and blessed! One of the coolest things about the weekend was that I got to hear some stories about my family (especially my Grandpa Payne as a young boy! ;) They have worked hard on the family tree and so I got to see that and where I fit in and I even got a copy of it! And just a fun fact about the Payne family, and the reason for our intelligence ;) is that we are actually related to SIR Isaac Newton!

So that was my weekend...it was amazing...fun, refreshing and just a huge blessing. A blessing to be with the girls and be challenged and loved and encouraged by them...so thats all for now. I have more stories and of course pictures...but I don't want to overwhelm you! Much love to everyone...

Primer Puente!

2009-10-09T07:50:00.000-07:00

"Puente"-that is the Spanish word for Vacation! And so Monday we have
our first FIESTA, or day of school! So we are headed to the South of Spain,
in Malaga for our first official trip in Spain! I am so excited, its supposed
to be 80s and a weekend at the beach sounds great to me! So I will for sure
be putting up pictures for those and telling you all sorts of new stories!

As for now...things are going great. I wanted to just let you know I'm still
here and doing GREAT...I am loving everything about this experience! :-)
Much love to you all and thank you so much for your prayers!

9 MONTHS!

2009-10-06T15:29:00.000-07:00

happy monthiverrsary to me and Brandon! Because as of today we have officially be dating for 9 months, and I'm pretty excited about that! God is so good...I am dating such an amazing Man of God...which in turn makes him just flat out a great man! :) I'm lucky. One thing that I'll share with you that I've learned about Brandon since being here, or realized more about him since being here is his patience. Patience is a virtue that I most appreciate about God, one of the things I'm most thankful for because without it I would not be here I am today. And since being here, God has really shown me the patience that Brandon has...in everything. not just with me...but with everything...like there being a 7 hour difference between us, or the fact that there's a whole ocean between us...He remains so patient and just reminds me that God has us where He has us for a reason, part of which we have no idea...so I just wanted to share a little bit of that with you and brag a little about my man, cuz he's amazing and I'm excited about our relationship. If you know Him you know exactly what I'm talking about...and if you don't, I hope you get the chance to meet him someday, then you'll know what I'm talking about! :) So happy 9 Months Babe!

As far as school goes and life here its all good...todo bueno! I'm am so tired, staying up late as is the Spanish Custom, for example tonight we didn't leave the table until like 12:12 pm, cuz we were just talking and enjoying life...which was so fun because our "mama" had a friend over and we just talked and talked...and he was so great, they're both so good at correcting us and explaining things and I think my Spanish is improving. Also because I know some of you are praying for this, but I have been more BOLD in my Spanish, and that makes me excited because thats how I'm going to improve! So I'm doing well...Oh this weekend we have a holiday on Monday, so me and 5 other girls are going to Malaga! Which is in the South of Spain on the BEACH! WOHOO! :) we're stoked, we're actually staying with my Grandpa Payne's first cousin, who I found out existed when I decided to come to Spain! So we are all so excited about it!
But more on that later, for now...I really need some sleep...everyone is battling colds and sickness so I guess a HUGE prayer would be health, I really don't want to get sick! So just for the people who are sick and then for continued health for me! Thank you so much for all your prayers...much love!

Mi vida en Valladolid...

2009-10-05T14:26:00.000-07:00

God is GOOD...all the time....

how true that is in my life and how much more I have seen it since coming to Spain,
I just feel like God is blessing everything I do, and just shower the blessings on me...I am so undeserving, and He is still so giving. Thats the thing about God though, or one of the most amazing things, is that no matter what I do, where I'm at, how much I mess up...or already am messed up, He loves me UNCONDITIONALLY and desires to bless me and show me His love in various ways....and being here is one of the biggest ways He's shown me His love. Simply through the girls I've met so far! Each one of them have taught me something different and challenge me to think and see life in a different way. to ask tough questions, to think about life, as well as push me to be a better person. and I know already that I will be and am a better person for knowing them.

Today was super awesome. a couple of us girls decided that we wanted to get together and do a Bible Study...and today we met for the first time! BUT the coolest thing is that it had grown before we even had a first meeting! Girls heard about what we were doing and wanted to come, so we had about 8 girls there today and it was so SWEET! We talked about what's been on our hearts lately, and for a lot of girls its love...what does that look like, how does that play out in our Relationship with God and with others, with boyfriends, with each other, just unpacking that a little more, and we're all on different journey's in that, but our journey's cross as well...then we talked about the Fruits of the Spirit...Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, and Self-Control...and my friend Aubrea, has this theory that every person has a Fruit of the Spirit that corresponds with them, and a way that brings out the other fruits and connects them all together...hers for example is JOY, when she feels joyful, she feels the others pour out as well...its a way for her to Connect with God and something she feels she receives from God and can in turn share with the people around her, which is so true, because she's an incredible JOYFUL person. Then we discussed the ones which we don't do so well in or express well...
so for me...I think the fruit that I most connect with, is gentleness...I just feel like that is a way I care about others, and I really receive and see God's gentleness..I like to care for others...but on the contrary the one that I most need to work on is probably self-control and that plays out in various forms....

It was just so awesome to be able to be real with the girls and hear everyone's heart. My biggest prayer for this group is that God truly would work in and through us, with the girls that we come in contact with in our group especially...but also our group as a whole, as well as the people we meet here, our familias....we were all excited about just being here, in a place away from our normal comfort systems, most of us away from family, friends, boyfriends...but stoked about the family God has given us here and the way that we can learn away from all of that...together in a new country among a different culture...its amazing....so today was good...
thank you for your prayers...God is answering them above and beyond all expectation...
much love to each person reading this...you don't know how much you mean to me, and how important you are in this journey that I'm on...

Burgos.

2009-10-03T14:39:00.000-07:00

Hanna and I!

They say (although i'm not sure who THEY are) that Pictures are worth a thousand words, and I agree with them on this point, because describing to you the beauty of Burgos would be impossible so I'm going to try with these pictues! I hope you enjoy them.

Walking through the streets...

The Plaza Mayor

more Plaza

You can see the Cathedral in the Background.

The walkway by the river...the trees turn colors soon!

The Main Cathedral...so stunning inside and outside.

The stairs we climbed up to the Castle...
but the view was so worth it!

Me, Aubrea and Kristen...

love love LOVE these girls...

Today we went to Burgos, which is about an 1 1/2 away. Burgos is a Medieval City and just absolutely breathtakingly beautiful! I really enjoyed it. It was a beautiful day, with clear skies and bright sunshine!

I just think this is so captivating.

Yesterday...class was good, and then the afternoon was pretty relaxed. We went for a run along the river which was really nice...but was certainly a good work out. Then last night we celebrated one of the girls' birthdays with the whole group so that was really fun!

Things are going really well, school is picking up and getting crazy, but its all enjoyable and interesting things to be learning! :) I am just absolutely loving Spain. Valladolid is such an ideal place to live because its beautiful and small, friendly and inviting. I just love this place! And I know its because God is answering your prayers. I hope you are all doing well, know that your prayers are being answered! I am so blessed to be living a dream!

Much love to everyone...this is my favorite saying of the day.

"That God give us the peace that the world cannot."

First day of School!

2009-10-01T15:32:00.000-07:00

Today was officially our first day of school!
and it was great! well it didn't start out that great,
but over all in the day I cannot really complain...Basically
I got to school and found out I did pourly on the entrance exam,
which I knew because it was a lot of conjugating and grammar which
always gets confusing to me, and takes more time for me to get used to
again...but I was really discouraged at the class I was placed in and
so that was hard...but I got to talk to my professor and we figured things
out that I can go up to the next level which I think will be better for me,
but it was kinda a discouraging way to start the day. but as I thought about
it more, I realized that more than anything my pride was really wounded...
which is funny seeing as I'm not super confident in my Spanish abilities, but
I realized I am prideful in them and God showed me that by just revealing how
much it bugged me...yes I'm a work in progress...and God is so patient with me...
so today's lesson is ongoing and is that I do not need to be the best at everything,
or anything for that matter, because my knowledge of something, or someone does
not give me value...only the fact that I am a daughter of the King....only in Him
do I find my value, and that is a lesson that is ongoing for me...

This is where my language classes are!

we have 2 hours of grammar, then an 1 of Culture of Spain or Oral Work in Spanish every other day. but grammar every day. and i love it! I am taking Culture of Spain in English and Spanish, and they will slightly overlap but not completely. My other Cal Poly classes are awesome, Culture of Spain,and a History class about the Witch Hunt in Europe. Both seem very interesting and I am in them with all my friends so that is awesome...the rest of the afternoon was pretty relaxed, we went to a Cafe and enjoyed some internet time and chatting with the girls, then a late dinner (more Spanish style) at 10, and we talked with our Mama until like 12:30 pm. It was awesome. She's so hilarious. And now I'm tired...so to bed I go. But much love....and if you look down I have one more thought...

Yay for the first day of school!

SO we've been talking a lot about love lately...us girls...basically it comes down to wondering what is the true definition of love? I know (saber)-head knowledge, and have experienced GOD IS LOVE, I know that, and experience His love daily...especially here...but what does it mean to know (conocer) that love...to see it daily played out in me, to love the people around me. We are going to start studying love, and see what the Bible has to say about it and how we can unpack such a simply complex little word. so I thought I would ask your thoughts...I know many of you who read this have experience with love, God as Love, being in love for a lifetime, brotherly love, have lost in love, or gained much in love...have been through hard things in the name of love, have seen true love lived out in your own life in or the lives of others...but over all have more wisdom and experience with the topic and so as I wonder and attempt to unpack it a little more I thought I would ask for your thoughts...ideas about where to turn in the Bible...so if you have a moment, I would love your thoughts...email me! nepayne@calpoly.edu
thank you for your prayers and your love, because i truly do feel loved every day....

Valladolid

2009-09-30T14:07:00.000-07:00

So here I am sitting in my room listening to some great music with my roommate,
we have so many things in common...from the same music tastes to struggling with some
of the same things, and learning and growing in similar areas! We are having so much fun together...she's great!

OUR MAMA!

Today was officially our first day in Valladolid...we woke up and enjoyed some coffee and cereal for breakfast...funny story, here in Spain they put their coffee-milk-and cereal in one bowl. So our "mama" poured us some coffee then handed us the cereal and we went to the table. We sat their for awhile then went back to ask her for milk and a bowl cuz we didn't know what to do, and she laughed and explained how they do it hear. There are just so many learning experiences here I LOVE IT!

Kristen, Me, Tiffany, Aubrea, Hanna!

So this morning we went and took a Spanish placement exam, which kicked me in the butt, to be honest. We'll see where I get placed...then we took a "survival" tour around Valladolid to get our bearings...and then our Mama picked us up from the main Plaza and we went back home and ate! My friends, whom I blogged about yesterday, Aubrea and Tiffany live around the block, and our "mamas" our friends and so we feel 5 again, because our 'mama' picked us all up, and they'll talk on the phone arranging times for us to get together...its fun..

the place where our Cal Poly Classes will be taught!

after lunch Hanna and I took a SIESTA!!!! the best invention, and something I will get used to very quickly! :) After our nap, we went and met Tiffany and Aubrea on the corner and we walked to the cutest little cafe and sat for a couple hours...laughing, talking, enjoying coffee, using the internet...and STUDYING of course! ;)

our cafe!

the view from our cafe!

Tomorrow is officially our first day of class!!!! Spanish from 9:30-1:30...then break for lunch, then our Cal Poly Classes from 4:00-8:00! Thursdays are our longest days...but I'm excited/nervous for tomorrow!

Ah...I just love this place. Valladolid, is a quite little city. Very comfortable and friendly, safe to walk around in and just so adorable! Many people spend their time outside enjoying the beautiful weather, the parks, taking strolls...its just so precious...alright. to bed i shall go! much love!

Blessed!!!

2009-09-29T15:40:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, my heart is so full with the love of Christ and the
way that He is loving me. I am so blessed. That's the flat out TRUTH
of the matter...God is GOOD...ALL the time!

Today I got up and went on a run with my roommate Hanna in the main
park in Madrid, and it was...to be honest, much harder than I thought!
But it was so good to be out running and challenging myself. Then we came
back and got ready, ate breakfast and checked out of the hotel! Now here comes the
interesting part...so imagine, 45 students...carrying all their luggage for
3 months...and keep in mind that the majority of the students are girls...now
we have 1 bus to get us and our luggage to Valladolid...you do the math!

so here the suitcases packed into the back of the bus, so much luggage! we were delayed for awhile trying to fit it all and figure it out...

so here is the solution, another van that our professors had to go and rent and drive behind the bus with a whole bunch of the luggage!

But after being delayed and about 2 1/2 hours on the bus we made it to Valladolid! And we pulled up to our stop and all of our "mamas" were waiting for us! We all got so excited and nervous all at the same time! So here begins the rest of our adventure! Our names were called and we stepped up to meet our Mama! :-) She is a single lady, 37 and so much fun...She's energetic, bubbly, full of life, hilarious...and I'm so excited about living here for a couple months! We are living in this cute little apartment in prime location in town! It is a block and a half from our closest friends on the trip...plus our "Mamas" are friends! We can walk to school, to downtown, to the river, to go shopping, to restaurants...and anywhere else we need to go the bus comes right by her house!

Hanna unpacking!

Our cute little room!

Fitting our stuff in the little closet! Yes we did it! With a spill over of jackets into another one, but yes you should be impressed!

and the door closes! ;)

our living/dinning room!

This afternoon we just took time to unpack and get settled, enjoyed talking with
our Mama, oh her name is Auxi!! She's so sweet and just a whole bunch of fun!
Then we had dinner, which was amazing, she also likes to cook! She is pretty to
easy to understand with her Spanish and I already feel like I'm learning so much.
I'm still a little nervous about class starting, but all is good and I'm ready to be
challenged and to learn! Auxi is very patient and wants us to learn all that we can.
It is a lot of fun, but funny because I always have to be thinking...which sounds funny, but in English you can zone and still follow something, but when speaking
Spanish I have to think more!

But by far the best part of my day, was tonight...when four of us girls...Me, Hanna (my roommate) Tiffany and Aubrea (who are roommates and live a block away!) went and got coffee...and this is the reason I feel so loved and full of Christ's love tonight. They bless my heart...we sat just talking for like 2 hours just about life, and what it means to love (we all have boyfriends and are at different stages) which is awesome because we're learning from each other! We prayed together...and we're going to study together and hold each other accountable. I have learned so much from each of them already and see Christ so evidently in them, and I am blessed to have such friends where there is an instant connection!

Well once again its late, but I wanted to share my heart as it is full and just so enjoying everything...keep praying, they are being answered!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for lifting me up, I feel your prayers and God
is answering them in HUGE ways in my life!

Last Day!

2009-09-28T16:13:00.000-07:00

Well hello everyone, it is about 1:15 am here, and
I am pretty wiped out! It has been a really fun couple
of days, but some of the most amazing...just getting a chance
to explore Madrid and see so many different things! I love
it! But now our real adventure begins, because tomorrow
we are headed to Valladolid and leaving Madrid behind!
We leave here at about 11 am and will get to Valladolid around
1ish. We are all so excited because we get to meet our host families
and finally unpack and settle down. I'm excited to move in and feel
like I'm not just on a whirlwind trip but actually here to settle and
study and get to know everything here.

Today was a fun day, we were free until 4pm, so we slept in a little
bit, grabbed some breakfast and set out on the tedious task of finding
a pay-as-you-go phone..after a whole lot of talking and figuring out,
and organizing a group of people to make a decision we were successful!!
Then we went back to the park we were in the other day and read for awhile,
yest I know, we actually studied. I wiped the dust off my books and am working
on clearing the cobwebs from my brain, but school starts on Wednesday and we
have a lot of reading to do!
We then met up with the group at 4pm and went to see the Atocha Railway Station,
there is an old fashion one and then the actual working side where the speed train
goes through, as well as the normal train.

The Outside of the Train Station

After a short visit there we walked over to the Reina Sofia Museum (Queen Sofia)...
this is an art museum for Contemporary/Modern Art. It is a beautiful museum, built
in what used to be a big hospital here in Madrid. Some of the artists
featured are Salvador Dali and Picasso. We got to see Picasso's Guernica.

Guernica-Picasso

I am not a huge art person, but it was really interesting to walk through
the museum and see everything...

Our guide! He was awesome...knows so much about everything it seems...

The Museum Corridors...(ambs I thought of you the whole time...just imagining what it would look like as a hospital).

There was as huge courtyard at the center of the Museum..they used to make hospitals so that everywhere you could have access to the outdoors, but not outside, but to an inside courtyard where there was space to take a stroll and enjoy the fresh air. It was so beautiful!

Things are going well here. I am really enjoying everything, the people,
speaking Spanish, the country...Tomorrow is a big day and I'm excited and just
so curious to see what life will be like in Valladolid and what my "family"
will be like and to just learn more about the culture in Spain.
You can definitely be praying for me as I enter into Valladolid, and starting school...and just getting into the swing of life... :)
well I am falling asleep as I write this, so I'm going to bed...
but much love to each one of you...and buenas noches!

Day 3-4

2009-09-27T11:40:00.001-07:00

Wow...what a full couple of days, but so very very fun!
Yesterday we went to the Prado Museum, which is a very famous
Art Museum. The building it was in was incredible! So many paintings,
some of the artists featured were El Greco, Francisco Goya, and
Velazquez.

Aubrea, Tiffany and I waiting to go into the Museum...with our best impersonations of El Greco!

The Museum was very interesting, fascinating to see art work from all
different eras, artists, using all different styles.

Then we had the afternoon off, so a bunch of us walked over to the main
park in town, a lot like Central Park, and walked around enjoying the
beautiful day. We took a lot of pictures and just goofed around...There is a
lake in the park, a Crystal Palace, along with many fountains and good
places to take a stroll.

Hanna, Me and Kristen in the park with the lake in the background.

The girls...

Today was an early start. We drove out to the Valle de los Caidos (Valley
of the Fallen). This is an incredible work of Franco, who took over Spain
at one point in history. He had this Basilica built into a mountain, along
with a monastery. Today he is buried there and it is absolutely amazing to see.
The reason it is called Valle de los Caidos, is because many people died while he
was ruling Spain, especially in the process of building this huge monument for himself.
Later on the bodies of the people that died were brought to the monument and buried
and so now it is also a memorial to those people...it is a very controversial place, and very fascinating to see.

This is the largest cross in the world, and you can see the entrance but everything else is literally in the mountain!

Just to give you some perspective on how BIG this place is!

The girls with the beautiful background!

After that we headed to El Escorial...which I think has been my favorite so far.
This is a GIGANTIC (and that doesn't come close to describing how huge it is!) building, that contains a Basilica, a now high school, the Old Palace of King Phillip II, the burial for all the Royals, a Library, a Monestary, and many different art pieces. We toured for a long time, learning all about the place, seeing where King Phillip II lived and walked...I was so fascinated by everything..I love all the Spanish History I am learning, and can't wait for my class to start that will unpack it even more. There is such a depth to it that amazes me! Everything was so immense and huge...beyond anything I've seen before.

The view from the palace window!

The entrance, just a small part of this spectacular compound!

It started raining as we were driving back to Madrid...which I just love storms and the rain, especially when I can watch it...and on the bus my roommate and I, Hanna, got to talk and it was so cool just hearing her heart, and how we are learning many of the same things...you know when you talk to someone and something just strikes a cord in you, thats how it was talking to her...I am so blessed....

BOLD!

2009-09-25T15:48:00.000-07:00

Good morning...good day, or good evening...
it all depends on where you're at when you read this!
but all the same Hello!
This was the start of my day, a beautiful view of Madrid behind
me with the sun rising!
Today was a very VERY full day! We went to Toledo,
which about an hour outside of Madrid, and is absolutely
breathtakingly BEAUTIFUL!

This is a view of the whole city.
Basically Toledo is the Catholic Capitol of Spain. It has a river that runs
around it, so it is basically a fortress, with a double wall around the city.
There is a main Cathedral in the City which we saw, along with many other
churches and a mix of synagogues. All equaling a beautiful city!
The weather was amazing today...bright and sunny! HOT!

This is a group of the girls in front of the Cathedral.

Us walking in an Ally!

The main Cathedral in Toledo! Crazy beautiful inside, with lots of bishops buried inside...it is actually still in use today as a Cathedral!

Me, Tiffany and Aubrea jumping in front of the entrance to Toledo.

This is my roommate Hanna and I, with Toledo in the Background.

Everything was so so pretty! We stopped for lunch at this little restaurant,
and for lunch I had Ensalada Mixta, then a chicken leg with some fries, and
some sort of pudding for dessert! Yummy! Yummy!
Here are a couple of pictures of the beauty of the little streets, cobble stone everywhere, typical little ally ways and everything is made of brick!

So there reason that the title is BOLD...is because that is my word and my prayer for this quarter...that I am BOLD, in everything I do. In Christ, in speaking Spanish, in getting to know people, in being me, in everything I do I want to be BOLD!

Another day...much love to you all, thank you for your prayers and I am signing off for the night...tomorrow's another early day!

DAY 1!

2009-09-24T16:35:00.000-07:00

Buenas Noches!

Well today was a busy day, but a good one!
Its 1:40 here so i really should be asleep,
but I just wanted you to know that we all met
up tonight and the group is awesome!
I can already tell that God as provided some
solid girls for me to be with this semester, and
its been really sweet, hearing about each others lives
and families, and really getting to know one another!
I'm so stoked for all that we have in store!

Much love to everyone, thank you for your prayers!

Buenos Dias!

2009-09-24T03:32:00.000-07:00

Well I woke this morning in Madrid…I still can’t comprehend that, still a little surreal, but so fun. I slept okay last night, as Spain is 9 hours ahead of California, but I’m doing pretty well. I had a yummy breakfast of pan y café (bread and coffee) along with some fruit and eggs…then I came back to my room and spent some time in the Word, sitting with my feet out on the balcony.

I am headed to walk around a little bit this morning, I am pretty close to the Plaza Mayor, so I’m going to head out and see what I find. I have to be back in the hotel by 6:00 pm, when the program officially starts!!!

Tonight, we have orientation, then a bus tour of Madrid, and dinner at 10 pm, as is the Spanish way. We are going to spend the week in Madrid site seeing and traveling to some of the surrounding areas. If you care to look up any of the places we will be visiting, some of them are: Toledo, El Prado, Museo del Prado, El Valle de los Caidos, El Escorial, El Palacio y Monasterio de San Lorenzo del Escorial, El Museo Reina Sofia…and then we head to Valladolid on Tuesday the 29, where I will be living for the rest of the time.

Valladolid is about 45 min by speed train, north-west of Madrid. I will be living with a host family there along with one other girl from Cal Poly, who I sort of know. I will be attending the Universidad de Valladolid, for my Spanish courses: Advanced Composition and Conversation in Spanish. I will also be taking two Cal Poly courses, one is The Culture of Spain, with a lab class where we go all around looking at different cultural parts of Spain; and then a history class “The Witch-Hunt in Europe.” I am excited about all my classes, a little nervous about the Spanish ones, so you can definitely be praying for those. I take a placement test just to double check on the 1^st of Oct. The other classes (taught in English by Cal Poly professors) I am very excited about. The Culture one, just to learn more about Spain and what makes it tick. The witch-hunt one because I think it will be very interesting-there is a lot of writing in the class, but mostly opinion papers-with topics such as what is evil? Where does it come from? How is it solved? What is Justice? Does it exist? I am excited to be challenged to define such things, and be able to bring in my Christian perspective and talk in class and be challenged to think in a whole new way.

There is a brief overview of the program…if you have any questions let me know, and I’ll answer whatever I know. Some prayer requests for me….

*especially for tonight, as I meet people and begin, that I would connect with other people in the group, and have a blast…

*for my walk with God, that I would find time daily to come to Him and be still

*that my Spanish would grow immensely! That I would just immerse myself in the culture, language and people here

*for my relationships with people that are far away, that I could connect with them, and stay connected here…

*that I could really represent Christ in my group and all that I do….

Sorry this is long, I will try to keep it shorter, but I wanted to kind of give you an overview of everything….Much love to each of you, I am thinking about you and praying for you as well!

My address in SPAIN is:

Natalie Payne

Centro de Idiomas, FG, UVa

Ciudad Universitaria Miguel Delibes

c/ Cementerio, s.n.

47011 Valladolid

SPAIN

Landed in Madrid!

2009-09-23T10:58:00.000-07:00

The Real Madrid Stadium

The View From my room

More view...

the car that picked me up!

Flying into Madrid...

Hello everyone, and welcome to my blog!
I'm hoping this is an easier way to keep you updated
on my Spain travels and adventures, as well as post pictures!

well after about 13 hours on a plane I am finally in Madrid!
It is so so so so so SURREAL to be here! but so fun. My first
flight was direct from Los Angeles to London, and went well.
A little bit of turbulence, but not bad! Then I had about 2
hours in London until I boarded my plane to Madrid.
Now I am in Madrid! The airport is very nice, and thanks to
a great friend of mine, there was a car waiting to pick me up!
We navigated from one end of the city, where the airport is,
to the center, and heart throb of the city where my Hotel is.
I am all checked in and sitting in my room. I have a small balcony
that looks out across the city.

The city is beautiful, just from what I've seen so far. We passed
the Real Madrid Stadium, which is something to behold by itself...
I am so excited that I'm here, I would appreciate your continued prayers and
will keep you updated!

Much Love to Everyone!