Twenty-one!

Well it's my 21st birthday... in Spain! Kinda cool, even though I'm already legal in Spain so it's not even that big of a deal (which I'm actually okay with)!

Here's 21 good things that happened today!

01. Next to my bed when I awoke was an adorable pink birthday package from my wonderful roommate Hannah and our friend Stephanie from across the street... inside I found cookies, M&M's, AND gummi bears! They know me so well after so little time!

02. This morning, I ate a huge breakfast (in comparison to most of my breakfasts here). I love breakfast, it's my favorite meal I think. I had cereal AND toast with peanut butter! Score.

03. I got to teach English to some pretty cute 4-year-olds for an hour. They learned how to say "I'm cold" and "I'm hot" and we sang "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" which was a toughie, but they got a few words here and there!

04. When I returned home from teaching los niños, I ate the entire package of M&M's from my birthday bag. And it wasn't a small package, exactly. I seriously have a problem, I can't stop eating chocolate if it's in front of me. I'm okay with it though. Especially today.

05. My feet got soaking wet in the rain, but I got to use my yellow umbrella, which I'm never mad about. Cause it's yellow.

06. I woke up to a couple birthday texts from my good friend Bryce in the USA, and continued to receive texts throughout the day from people I really love and appreciate! I know it's just some texts, but it makes me feel special and loved, and who doesn't love feeling that way?

07. I got the best birthday email update (which included pictures) from Keit, who I dearly miss. I ALSO got birthday emails from my Ugandan friend Akello Julie and from my friend Elana! They remembered!

08. I didn't have to write my sociology paper cause the due date was moved from Wednesday to Monday!

09. My grandma sent me a card and it arrived exactly on my birthday! Talk about good timing.

10. My sister Katie sent me a list of 21 great memories that she and I have. Best list I've ever heard of, and it made me miss her extra much!

11. I took a hot shower! Joy in the small things...

12. Drank super strong coffee (that's how they do it in Spain) and ate two of the most delicious cookies of my life (PRINCIPES DOUBLE CHOC, courtesy of Hannah & Steph). Sugarrrr.

13. Heard that my beautiful kids in Africa are doing well and loving life. Joy.

14. Went to my one class of the day (Spanish Phonetics), made a new friend, and was told that our only homework for Thursday is to practice our Spanish pronunciation. DONE and DONE!

15. Relaxed for quite a long time (aka the Spanish SIESTA) this afternoon. And was the least productive I've ever been probably. It was nice.

16. My host parents, Mercedes and Pepe, gave me a box of Ferrerros Chocolates! Om nom nom. Also they sang and clapped for me. Also Mercedes kissed me on the cheek like 8 times. It was sweet.

17. My sister Liza made me a video and sang to me! Which made me feel so loved, and also made me miss her so much!

18. Had flan for dessert, which is something that both Hannah and I HATE, but we choked it down while laughing about it, so it made it all okay...

19. Went out after dinner to a place called the Carboneria, and saw some decent Flamenco with some great new friends! We all split a pitcher of Tinto de Verano, which is a pretty popular drink here in Southern Spain. It's kind of like sangria. Quite delicious!

20. Dressed up for going out... including heels. I'm moving into the grown-up world now!

21. Got to climb into a warm bed... and now I get to sleep. :]

I'm blessed. I'm happy I'm alive!

Just Being.

Being in Spain is so much different than being in Uganda. I guess that’s obvious. Even if you haven’t been to either country, or either continent for that matter, you could probably at least tell me that they’re going to be quite different. But I’ll highlight a few major things.

Food. After eating rice and beans twice a day everyday for four months, the variety of flavors, textures, and colors that Spain’s food has to offer is like heaven! I’ve only gone out for Spain’s infamous tapas a couple times, but the olives, goat cheese, roasted eggplant, rolled spinach, potato tortillas, and chicken tapas are so fun and so tasty. My host mom makes all sorts of soups, ranging from noodles and shrimp soup to potato soup to chicken and rice soup to lentil soup… and everything in between. We’re bombarded with BREAD at every meal, and although it’s not whole wheat, it’s good. I think because I didn’t eat a lot of fruit in Uganda, I’m a little obsessed with it now… every day I’ve eaten a pear, an orange, a banana, and an apple… and sometimes more than one of some of them. :] My host mom gives us pudding after dinner each night, but unfortunately we depleted her fridge’s supply of chocolate, so we’re on to vanilla now. The only thing I don’t really like about the food here is that many things are deep-fried. Along with our soup at each meal, we get fried fish sticks, or fried seafood tortillas, or fried crab something, or fried potatoes. Yes, it all tastes good for the most part, but I’m not used to all the oil! (Well that’s kind of a lie… a lot was fried in Uganda too, and there was lots of oil in everything we ate. So I guess maybe I am used to it).

Language. News flash: Spaniards don’t speak English! I knew this, but it’s one thing to KNOW it and another thing to LIVE it. I have no problem getting myself around, asking for directions, or ordering off menus. My biggest problem is understanding the sevillanos! They speak fast and with a different accent than I’ve been taught—they often leave the “s” (or other random letters) off of the end of words, and when an “s” is in the middle of a word, it’s pronounced like “th.” So basically they all have a lisp. I’m understanding a bit more each day, but it’s definitely taking some getting used to.

Faith. Being in Uganda, I was surrounded daily by people asking for prayer, by kids worshipping their Creator beautifully and intensely, by a very obvious and very tangible presence of God, and by a tight group of believers who were an encouragement to me all the time. Being in Spain, it’s quite the opposite. It seems there is a church or a cathedral on every corner in Seville, but I don’t need a building… I need a body of believers who love glorifying the Lord. For a while, I felt so alone in my faith and missed the constant fellowship I had in Uganda. I still miss it, but I have met some believers here and even found a cute little church full of joy and real faith. Last Sunday was my first Sunday in the church, and as I was sitting down, a lady in a white sweater passed me. Around her neck was a string of Ugandan beads! I tapped her shoulder and told her (in Spanish!) that I loved her necklace. She told me they were from Uganda and I told her, “I know! I lived there from August through December!” She got really excited and told me that she’s speaking about Uganda in church in a few weeks. How crazy that connections like these are made in a completely new country?!

Service. Living in Uganda, I was able to be a servant much of the time. Here in Spain, I feel so spoiled. My host mom cooks for me, makes my bed for me (even when I make it myself, she still re-does it), packs a lunch for me, washes my clothes for me, and rarely will accept help with housework! I so miss being able to serve and help other people. Good news though- I signed up to volunteer with a classroom of four year olds on Tuesday mornings! I’ll be teaching English to them (which basically will mean just coming up with games or something)! I really can’t wait. It starts tomorrow, and I have NO idea how to get there or how I’m getting to my university afterwards, but it’s going to be a great adventure!

There’s so much more to share. I’ve been on a couple of day trips already, and I’m excited to share those with you! I will post some photos quite soon. Traveling is so easy, but I’ve quickly learned that it’s not as cheap as I expected. I mean, I guess it’s cheap compared to traveling from the states to Europe, but it’s all going to add up quickly if I go to EVERY place I want to go (Malaga, Lisbon, Cadiz, Toulouse, Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich, Geneva, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Milan, Florence, Venice, Rome, Naples, Fez, Marrakech)… What do I choose!?! I have to start narrowing down! I’ll keep you updated on that as well. :]

Thanks for reading, friends. I really like it here, but I’m very excited to return to Minneapolis and Milwaukee in July/August! I can’t believe I’m already halfway done with my “crazy” year abroad. I also can’t even begin to imagine all the stories that are yet to happen… so keep reading!