On Purpose

 Sometimes it's the little things that show me God's great glory. This morning, after my run, my roommate, Gleida, woke up and asked if I had eaten breakfast yet. I told her I hadn't and she said "Okay, tell me when you do and I'll join you". Then, she went back to sleep under the covers. Just the fact that she wanted to join me for breakfast warmed my heart. I loved it. 

 This is the second time that Maggie and I found something awesome on accident, just by exploring and walking aimlessly throughout Toledo! This morning, Maggie asked if I wanted to explore, so we went after breakfast. We discovered an art gallery displaying tons of expositions. They were so amazing! We lost count of how many times we said, "Whoa!". The artwork kept going and going. There were so many floors with so many rooms filled with art! 

 I love this one because you can tell that the girl is reading Don Quixote. You can see what she is imagining in the background from the words in the story, taking her to another world.

 This is a painting of a reflection of a metro sign in Madrid. 

 We walked by the University of Castilla-La Mancha. It is only one of the buildings. The architecture of this one is really neat!

 We look through a few stores close to the foundation. There is a store called Natura that I discovered and I love it! It reminds me of Francesca's or Anthropologie. I bought a soft and cute sweater that was only 15 euros. 

 We also randomly walked into a book store. It has four floors, each with a different genre of books! It's called Hoja Blanca. This is one of the places I found when I was researching places in Toledo over the summer. It was cool to finally check it out! 

 After lunch, doing laundry, homework, and taking a nap, I went to a bible study at the Presbyterian Church. 

 Wow, I love sunsets! Look at the sky. So beautiful. 

 The bible study wasn't what I was expecting. It seemed to me that it was more like another sermon. It was hard for me to pay attention since it wasn't interactive and it was at the end of the day. 

 But, we sang hymns that everyone seemed to know and that was really sweet and cool. The hymns that we sing are so interesting to me. The fact that everyone knows the melodies without any background music is super cool. They have all been singing them for years and continue to do so. I love the lyrics of many of them too. One hymn we sang said, "I want to learn more of Jesus, to know more of his grace, more of the love that he gives me, more of the cross on which he died."

 I talked to a lot of people in the end. I love talking to the people there. They are so kind and attentive. They seem so authentic, like they actually want to know about me and how I am doing. 

 The theme of the bible study tonight was that God is always in control. His plan includes every little detail. As I think of today, and how we accidentally discovered some super cool things, I realize they weren't accidents. Sure, we didn't plan them, but God did. It was on purpose. He uses the little things so we can see the big things. When we understand that, we can see how God orchestrates our interactions so that we may grow closer to him. It's amazing. It really is. 

 ~Kthnxbai

Slow Down

 I think my favorite thing about having no classes on Thursday is that I get a day to myself. Yeah, I get to an extra day to travel, but I also need a day for myself after classes and doing work and before hanging out with friends and having fun over the weekend. 

 This morning I went to for a run. It was long and hard. I took a new route with a hill. But, it was mostly good. 

 Then, I met the pastor's wife, Natalie, from the church I went to on Sunday. We went to Cafeteria La Pepa, a cute breakfast place. I got tortilla de patatas with a piece of toast and tomato jam and a ham and cheese sandwich with an aioli sauce. It was delicious. The tortilla was perfect and the sandwich was gooey and warm. So delicious... I got a smoothie too. It sounded weird at first, but it was apple, lime, and mint. That was delicious too! 

 We talked about lots of stuff! It was awesome. It was so fun to hang out with Natalie! We need a picture together next time... We walked around a bit and then I headed back to the foundation. 

 I went to a store on the way because I remembered that I wanted to get a small notebook for sermon notes and other God things. I got distracted by sunglasses. Which one do you like best? My favorite is #3. If only my hair could behave for this impromptu selfie time...

 Halloween is a little more than a month away! What are your plans for the last day of October? What are you going to be dressed as? Do you know yet? I wanna know! Tell me in the comments! 

 Anyway, it looks like this store has the essentials! I didn't realize that it's celebrated here too in Spain, but I did some research and it's true! It's very different than in the United States. It's not random and about fun and candy, like in the United States. It celebrates the lives of those who have passed away. It's similar to Day of the Dead of Latin America. 

 When I got to the foundation, I saw this sign for Zumba classes and it made me super excited and happy! I love doing Zumba. I haven't done it in so long, so I can't wait for next Wednesday! Yay! There won't be complicated steps like that Flamenco class. I had no idea what I was doing then. 

  For lunch, there was flan for dessert. It was no Cuban flan, for sure, but I was a happy girl because my friend gave me half of hers and it was creamy and riquísimo! That's a lota sugar tho.

 I got creative and made art inspired by a hymn we sang in church on Sunday. I don't know what it was called. All I know is that I love the lyrics and it is hymn number 695. 

 Then, I read a bit of Lazarillo de Tormes for homework and took a nap. I'm pretty content with my day. It was slow. I like that. I needed to slow down for once. When things go too fast, I don't take the time to praise God for who he is. But, when I slow down, I can see his glory. I can see it clearly now. 

 By the way, if you're reading this, you're awesome. Thank you for coming along on this wild ride. This is... the 19th blog post? And you're still reading, even to the bottom of this page. Wow, you're amazing. You deserve a prize. If you'd like one, text me or direct message me your address and I'll send you a pretty postcard from the beautiful country of Spain. 

 ~Kthnxbai!

Chocolate from Kazakhstan

 Yesterday, I heard a knock on our door. Two friends were at the door and handed me a chocolate bar. "This is for you," Kamila said. "Oh, cool! Thank you! Wait... for me? Just because?" I replied. "Yeah, you've been so nice and helpful. We wanted to say thank you," Neila said. "Aww, it's my pleasure! I can't wait to try this." 

 Guys, I just tried the chocolate and it so so delicious! It's so sweet and creamy. It's not going to last very long. 

 A group of nine girls from Kazakhstan are staying here with us for a few weeks. They are studying at the University of Castilla-La Mancha for four years, but don't have anywhere to live right now. They speak many languages and they hope to learn Spanish here. 

 I can't imagine living in a country where you don't know the language at all. Part of the reason I came here to Spain is that it is a bit easier than going to China or Germany because I already know the language well. I've helped them learn a few words and talk to people. I also just got to know them a bit. I learned a lot about what they like to do and what the culture is like in Kazakhstan. 

 The first day I met them, I found out that Kamila plays the violin. She asked me what I like to do, and I told her I love to play instruments, like the violin and guitar. "I play violin too!" she exclaimed. She has been playing for two years. She asked me if I can tune a violin. I told her I can, but it definitely is hard and a bit nerve-wracking. The next day, after many attempts and a lot of patience, we tuned her violin. She let me play some tunes on her violin, which was amazing because I have missed playing music lately. She played a song that she has been working on for me, and I gave her a few tips on technique. It was crazy to me that I was being a violin teacher in a way. I've always seen myself as a violin student who has a long way to go, even though I've played for ten years. 

Who knew that I would meet some new friends in Kazakhstan this semester in Spain? It's so neat! Mariliana even got to practice her English with them! I helped her with a few words, but other than that she did great! They understood her well. We talked about all sorts of things such as, biodiversity in Puerto Rico, the food in Kazakhstan, religion, and learning Spanish! It has been super awesome to spend time with them. 

 Left to right: Mariliana, Neila, Kamila, Sydney (me!), Yana, and Kader 

 Kthnxbai!

Something Good and Different

 I miss Bama Wesley. I miss being there almost every day, laughing about random things and crying about the hard times. I miss having game nights, going to Cookout late at night, and having "living room sessions" with the worship team. Comment if you're a Bama Wesleyan reading this. I love and miss you all!

 I miss Double Oak Community Church. I miss trying to figure out what to wear after having a delicious breakfast with my family. Even though we live three minutes away from the church, we are always rushing to get there, somehow making it on time usually. That's just how life goes, right?

 I miss driving to pick up Paige and Dawn to go to First United Methodist Church. We'd go to the contemporary service and then meet everyone else at Sunday School. When it was over, we all gathered to talk about the important subject of where to get lunch. It had to be somewhere delicious, but also affordable for us thrifty college students. 

 My roommate, Mari, helped me find a protestant church to go to and how to get there. She and some other friends were going to mass at a Catholic Church and didn't want me to be left out. We found a Presbyterian church that's not too far. I tried to see if anyone from the foundation would like to go with me, but I ended up going by myself. It really wasn't that bad being by myself, but it was hard to get to the church. I had to take a bus, and it took about 20 minutes for the bus to get to the stop. Then, I missed the stop I had to get off on, so I had to wait until he made a circle back to that stop. I ended up being 30 minutes late to the service. Plus, it was raining this whole time. At least I made it. 

 The service was very different from what I'm used to at home. It reminded me of a traditional service I went to once at First United Methodist Church of Tuscaloosa. We sang from a hymnal book and took communion. But, we didn't drink grape juice; we drink wine. It was gross. 

 After the service, I met many people and gave them a kiss on each cheek. They were all so sweet. This reminded of Harvest a Christian Fellowship, a tiny church my family and I went to in Connecticut, because you could about everyone in less than twenty minutes. 

 I met the pastor of the church and his wife. His wife told me all about a ladies bible study that meets on Saturday that I am welcome to go to. They also have a bible study on Friday that I am thinking about going to. I told them all about my bus adventure of the morning and they offered me a ride that I gladly accepted. The pastor's wife and I exchanged numbers and talked a lot about being here form the United States. She is from the United States too! They lived in South Carolina for a while. 

Here are my sermon notes in case you can read Spanish or are just interested in the way I take notes. I was surprised that I understood most of the sermon!

 I arrived back at the foundation in time for paella for lunch. It was so delicious, although I would like seafood with it... 

 I've said it before and I'll say it thousand times more: God is so good. I have been hoping to find a community of believers to be a part of here in Spain. No, it's not like Bama Wesley. It's not like Double Oak or First United Methodist either. It's something different. But what I noticed is that the one thing that is the same is the people. They were so kind and welcoming. I think I'll come back next week. This visit was really good. 

La Noche de Patrimonio

  Last night was so cool. 

 It was the Noche de Patrimonio. There were many musical performances and museums open for free to celebrate the culture and history of Toledo. 

 My friends and I went to see a flamenco show and a violin solo performance. 

 So, the Flamenco turned out to be an instrumental and singing group, called Canela & Cia. We thought it would be a Flamenco dance. They were really talented and passionate, but it just wasn't what we expected. 

 Next, we went to Plaza Zocodover to see El Violinista Rebelde perform. I was freaking out about how talented this dude was! The beginning of the first song was really slow as he played quarter notes, then he gradually turned them into eighth notes, then sixteenth notes! It was insane! The second song was my favorite becuase I immediately recognized it as "Roundtable Rival" by Lindsey Stirling. He performed it really well! No, he didn't dance like Lindsey does. He did spin around a few times though. He also played a Michael Jackson medley and a song by AC/DC. It was amazing. 

 I got me a hot chocolate at Starbucks because the temperature is actually cool enough to drink something warm in September. I think one of the few things I don't miss about Alabama is the weather.

 Even though I didn't get to see a Flamenco dance performance, I got to see an incredible violin performance, so I was satisfied. 

 Kthnxbai!