Many Mountains

I sincerely apologize for neglecting my blog and leaving you all in the dark about my latest news in Spain. I don't really have an excuse other than that I've been reading, writing letters, and pinning on Pinterest- all of which I consider to be wonderful ways to pass the time. In any case, we have some catching up to do...

A few weeks ago another exchange student from the U.S. arrived in Dénia. Her name is Emma, and we immediately got along from the first moment that we met on a lunch date. Since then we've spent time together at the beach, walking through the city, hiking through mountains, and freaking out because the strong taste of olive oil almost ruined our brownie recipe. We've laughed to the point of tears over our awful spanish, and we've spoken honestly about our homesickness and personal lives to each other. They say, "Those who exchange together, stick together." and the familiar words certainly ring true in the friendship that Emma and I have so rapidly constructed.

Last Wednesday, all five of us RYE (Rotary Youth Exchange) students, in Dénia, went with two Rotarians to the city of Alicante to apply for extensions on our visa. After hours of filling out paper work and standing in line, we finally made our way into the office where officials were seated behind computers and examined our paperwork. Emma's papers were the only ones to be accepted, while the rest of us nervously listened to our Rotarians argue with the officials. None of us could keep up with the speed or volume at which these people spoke until we left the office and circumstances were explained. Our paperwork was not accepted. The woman in charge that day said, "These three- they go back to the United States!"...

We were left clueless for the next few days. On thursday, my host family brought me with them to Valencia to watch tennis at the Valencia Open 500. I was overjoyed to be out of school, but more importantly to be sitting to close to the court as David Ferrer (Ranked #5 in the world) crushed his opponent. My host parents paid for my entrance ticket, and I am further assured that there is nothing I can do to repay this family for the amount of kindness and generosity that they have shown me.

Friday meant back to school, but the short day quickly turned into the weekend. On Saturday morning I rode my bike to my little host sister's basketball game. Although this was easily a 3mile ride each way, and a very windy day, I knew I had to go. The previous night I had told Elena I would be there and I want to be the best big sister that I can be while I have this opportunity here... Now that I'm older, I also realize the kind of impact it had on me as a child when people did/didn't show up to things to support me. Something in my gut tells me that I will be at everyone of those basketball games for her this year- just waiting to see her eyes search for me in the balcony and breaking into a smile when she finds me watching...

On Saturday night Emma and I went to a youth group here in Dénia. It was not at all what we had expected though.

 All of the kids were fifteen or younger and the activity for that night was a scavenger hunt through the city. After a while of running around Emma and I left the group to find something to eat and then met back up with everyone at the church at 7:30. The catholic mass was exactly how I remembered it- every blessing, prayer, and response that was given after the priest spoke. After nearly two months of being away from church and YoungLife back at home, I was anxious to find a church here. Instead of finding myself at peace or in any form of comfort, a battle raged within me throughout the entire mass.

I was raised in a Russian Orthodox church and then attended another Catholic church for many years after I moved to Pitman. During all that time though, I was so spiritually dead, and every Sunday morning was a fight for my mother to drag me to church. Even years later, after developing such a strong relationship with Christ and growing depths in my faith, I struggled to sit through that mass on Saturday and find God in the midst. "We all worship Him." I told myself. "No matter where I am in the world, He is still the same One."

With wide eyes I took in the ornate pantings, icons, and statues that are displayed throughout the small church. Lowering my eyes onto the congregation I saw infants, elderly, and everyone in between. "How many of them don't know you, Lord?" I asked with a heavy heart. "How many of them have yet to experience a relationship with their own creator?" I wondered to myself- remembering what it was like to feel so alone- and wanting so desperately for these people to know that they weren't. Later I was told "People don't read the Bible at home. We don't even read the bible at church!" Every cell of my body wanted to explode and cry "The Bible is our manual to LIFE!! It's the stories and teachings of The One who made you!!" My anger was not at all directed towards these people- but rather at this world. Only sadness could be felt for this person who spoke about the Bible as if it were an absurdity to own such a book in their home. It had been a long day though, and my emotions were running ramped.

That night, I slept over Emma's house, and in the morning her host parents took us to a trail where we hiked ten miles, in five hours, through the mountains. Emma's host mother had warned us that the temperature would be ten degrees colder on Sunday,but neither of us thought it important. That being said, we were seriously underdressed for the 40 some degree wind that chilled our bones on the top of the mountain. It hadn't occurred to Emma or I that a 10 degree CELSIUS change meant a nearly 20 degree Fahrenheit change. Our stupidity was severely punished that morning until we started moving and the sun found it's way to our chilled bodies. The hike was long and challenging at times. (side note: my camera broke again- 2nd time in one year. And it will take weeks for me to send it back to Canon for repair...) (Also, while trying to take a picture with a goat on the mountain, my hand fell onto a bush of thorns.. I still have 14 splinters in my hand that were too small to remove)

Emma snapped this shot just as the goat turned around and I retracted my left hand from the thorns. My smile was a pathetic attempt to hide the pain and I'm even more angry that the goat had to be so difficult! haha

After our long hike, we joined thirty other people at a restaurant, among beautiful vineyards, and ate ourselves full. Emma and I not only talked to each other, but kept up a good conversation with many of the people sitting around us. With the two of our minds put together, it was quite fun helping each other speak in spanish. On the ride home, we couldn't stop laughing and attempted some pathetic jokes in spanish. Discussion of different wedding traditions in Spain in the U.S. lead to our own dreams...everyone found it especially humorous that I write letters to my future husband, but what can I say? I'm a romantic.

Monday morning was another trip to Alicante where our applications for a visa extension were finally accepted. Apparently the woman that wanted to send us home on wednesday was new to the job- and clearly out of her mind if you ask me.

This blog is EXTREMELY long.. so I will post again later tonight with everything else that I wish to share. Thanks for reading!

Expectations

Everyday I seem to become more frustrated and disappointed in myself. Seeing as it's already mid-october, my spanish speaking skills seriously have not met the expectations that I had for this time in my exchange. Some of you might say that I'm being too hard on myself, but I can't help but regret all the time that I wasted not learning spanish - especially in the summer months prior to my departure.

This weekend my host family went to a wedding from friday-sunday and I stayed here in Dénia with my Rotary counselor, Paqui. She is an extremely sweet old woman and lives with her little dog in a high-rise apartment near my school.

On friday night I took a shower after dinner and was headed off to bed when Paqui suddenly seemed concerned for me. She asked if I wanted a hairdryer and when I declined her offer she further insisted that I dry my hair before going to bed because "it's bad for my health". I assured her that I've slept with wet hair, almost every night, all my life, and I wouldn't get sick. Later I also used the same reasoning to explain why I don't wear slippers around the house- and I am still in perfectly good health.

Saturday morning was quite overcast, but nonetheless, we drove to a neighboring town with a large outdoor market and walked around for a few hours. At 14:00 we returned to Denia and I met with two other exchange students to have lunch. (they use military time here) Both Eli and Jarrod are my age and have come to Spain from the U.S. so it was nice to eat lunch and let the conversation flow effortlessly in a language that we could all speak and understand.

Jarrod had a large plate of french fries while Eli and I were slightly more daring- ordering a seasoned dish of mashed potatoes with octopus for an appetizer and a dish with duck meat and mushrooms for our main meal. Some things- such as this rice dish- must be eaten by more than one person because they are cooked in large quantities- so Eli and I split that pot of deliciousness!

Today Paqui brought to me the neighboring city of Javia where we walked along the beach and walked the dog. The view of the sea and mountains seemed even more beautiful than the view from Denia and I made a mental note to return here on vacation someday.

Tomorrow starts a whole new week of school, or rather falling-asleep-complete-spanish-confusion-daydreaming-of-home-awfulness.

Well that about sums it up!

Feet in a Bookshelf

Last night I woke up around 3am with my head hanging off one side of my bed and my feet jammed in a bookshelf on the other. Maybe this was my body's way of defense as I dreamed of people driving nails into the bottom of their feet and walking away with a "clink" "clink" as if they wore tap shoes.

It was just one of the few strange thoughts that has crept into the recess of my mind late at night... Most often I have dreams of returning home early and then desperately trying to find away back to Spain.

On a more cheerful note, I've been much happier these past few days. Since I've settled into a new school and made friends, some anxiety has been lifted off my shoulders. My spanish is still nothing near fluent or even proficient, but I rejoice in small victories such as recognizing new words or formulating a verb without struggling over the conjugation.

On Sunday morning I went out on my host family's boat for a few hours. As we pushed away from the shore I was mesmerized by the view of Dénia- the city perfectly nestled between the mountain of Montgó and the Mediterranean Sea. I stretched out and closed my eyes to embrace the sunlight warming my skin on that beautiful October day... Just one of those "I can't believe I'm really here and this is happening" kind of moments.

Yesterday (tuesday) I climbed the mountain of Montgó with my host mom, younger sister, and family friends. At first one thinks "this is so easy" because the relatively smooth trail has a gentle incline and its width can fit four across. However, we soon reached the real trail that required us to walk single file, climb steep inclines, and take considerate care to not fall off the side of the mountain. The loose gravel would often slide out from under your feet if a firm step was not planted to hold your weight. We took breaks for water every fifteen minutes and paced ourselves to the top.

"The top" is exactly where we thought we were when we stopped to eat lunch and take in the magnificent view of all the remained below the mountain. Our ultimate destination was to reach the cross though, which we soon found out, would required over another hour's hike. No longer in the shade and protection of the mountain side, our bodies were exposed to the direct sunlight that beat down on us at the time approached noon. Sweat poured down our skin as the climb proved to be even more challenging.

Finally, at the cross, we all sat down to rest and rehydrate while indulging in the breathtaking sight. I plucked two thorns from my shin that had somehow pierced my flesh on the hike up. I found the trickle of blood very suiting though, as I sat at the foot of the cross. We took some pictures, drank more water, and tried to prolong this time of rest before beginning the decent down the mountain.

Some 45 minutes later we began the decent. Before leaving it was announced that everyone was out of water, and the two hour hike in the afternoon heat promised us all a great deal of discomfort. My legs and feet complained at the mercy of each jagged rock they encountered. The only thing willing me to go faster though was the sandpaper in the back of my throat and thick saliva that could barely pass it. Going down the mountain required greater care and patients with the challenging terrain. I felt bad for the young boys that were with us because their legs were much shorter and I could only imagine their discomfort as I took into account my own.

Finally, at the bottom, we piled into the car and chugged down a few warm water bottles that were in the trunk.

I can't deny the amazing view from the top of that mountain. We could see every town and mountain for miles. However, I now understand why most residence of Dénia only make that hike once in their lifetime! ;)

Missin' Jersey

I wanted to make a list of some of the things that I miss most from back home. I think it's obvious that friends, family, and my dog are at the top of this list and I'll try to keep it to a minimum of 20 because otherwise I'll go one typing forever and drive myself into an awful case of homesickness.

 So here goes... I miss:

1. Going to church every Sunday
2. Feeling the church vibrate during worship
3. Getting canoli from the bakery with Leah Jayne
4. Tad waiting at my locker after class
5. Long chats about life with Señorita
6. School sports & clubs
7. cheese steaks
8. Mac N' Cheese!!!
9. Polish Water Ice
10. YoungLife & Campaigners
11. Heart-to-Heart-Coffee-Dates with Robin Shelburne
12. Leaves that change beautiful colors in the fall.
13. My Uggs!
14. Holding a normal conversation with someone & being understood
15. Actually learning something in school
16. Having toilet paper in the school bathrooms
17. Being able to drive
18. youtube videos that don't take hours to load
19. Shaytards
20. Pandora!!!! (it doesn't work in Europe)

I wish I could go on.. I am seriously learning to appreciate all that I have in the United States. However, I know that one day I will be making a list of all the things that I miss from my year in Spain. So it's time to appreciate what I have here and now :)