La Vida en Sevilla: Halfway there

I am over halfway through my semester abroad. I cannot begin to believe this. . . Time has flown by. Tonight over dinner my señora was telling me for the first time how sad it will be when May 10 comes and we say goodbye. It's hard to believe that moment is coming fast, but it truly is. This reality brings so many different emotions. I am extremely thankful that it has been a wonderful experience and that it seems like it will continue to be. God has truly provided in many different ways while I have been here, and it has honestly been better than I dreamed it could have been. I am also a little anxious: the questions of whether I will learn enough Spanish, grow in wisdom and maturity enough, and gain all the things I wanted to through this experience are looming. Yet, above all, I am at peace. I have had a truly incredible sense of peace throughout my whole time here. I have given this semester to the Lord and I know He has me here, and that I am still in His hands. I trust that even as it is hard to see up close, in hindsight I will be able to process the ways He is working in and through me here. "Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from Him. Truly He is my rock and salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken." -Psalm 62:1-2

The last two weeks have been the usual: awesome. The small group that my friend Jana and I are leading together began meeting, we completed learning all the steps to our "Sevillanas" dance in flamenco, we toured the Sevilla cathedral with my art class, and I took three more tests (I also got very very sick, but luckily it only lasted a day). The weekend after Amsterdam I stayed in Sevilla, which was nice and relaxing. My friend Kelsey and I went on an "adventure day" and went exploring in a different Sevilla neighborhood, along with going out to lunch and doing some studying. This weekend was back to my traveling routine, which was also wonderful. On Friday we didn't have class and instead went on an excursion with the school to Ronda. On our way, we stopped to see some Roman ruins atop a hill, which was magnificent. Then we drove into Ronda. It was absolutely breathtaking: a city on the cliffs. We ate our bocadillos (packed sandwiches) next to a Spanish guitarist overlooking the view, and then explored the city. The weather was incredible so, naturally, we treated ourselves to some 1 euro ice cream. Then one of our professors then gave us a tour of the old town, which was lovely and included the famous Ronda bridge and other awesome sights. Instead of riding back with the group to Sevilla, some friends and I left from Ronda and took a bus to the coastal city of Málaga, birthplace of two of the most important Spaniards: Pablo Picasso and Antonio Banderas :). It is a gorgeous city as well, and very classy. Friday night we explored the shopping and the sea port. Saturday morning we went to Picasso's childhood home and saw some of his art. Then we went to the Alcazaba which was the Muslim palace and fortress and had beautiful gardens and views of the city. We had planned to spend the rest of the day relaxing on the beach, but it was pretty drizzly all day, so we just went by the beach and then enjoyed some amazing Spanish hot chocolate at a cafe and chatted. For dinner we went out for calamari, a delicacy of this "sunny coast" city. It was another successful weekend and a great opportunity to get to see more of this country that I love! Now one week of classes until I go to meet my parents in Madrid! We will be traveling to Barcelona and southern France and then back to Sevilla during my Holy Week break. I am so overwhelmingly thankful for this crazy life I am leading.