I finally have hope that I am going to pass my biology class! This week has been so stressful.... God is faithful through it all!
I want to be personal on this blog, not too much so... This Friday I went to the doctor here in Spain. (It´s free--isn´t that something, even for foreginers)I will not say too much but remember to pray for me.

Also this week I had my friend Ines over. She is from Tawain. She has been in Spain for a year learning Spanish, she is a blast. She brought the ingredients to make Tiramisu but we were so tired after homework that we passed out. She has promised me that this week I must go with her to a coffee house in Barcelona to search for Spanish boys, I just laugh. (But we really are heading out Wednesday to the closest coffee shop :-)

My roomate Michelle and I had a great run this morning. We ordered shoes from the states and they got here on arrival! We went for a stroll this morning, it was wonderful. It is starting to warm up a bit, I even got a bit sunburned yesterday reading on the patio of our host family´s restaurant.

This week in Spanish, here better known as Castellano, we are writing articles on current issues in the world. We read an article this week on hunger in the world. I guess I realized as I read this articles, many times I have my eyes closed. Did you know there are 792 million people in 98 countries that do not have sufficient food? I didn´t. Also there are apx. 200 million children under 5 that suffer from cronic malnutrition in the world. The article also mentioned that the world produces enough food to feed double the population everyday. That has been weighing on my heart. We are assigned to write up on an article so I am doing mine on human sex trafficing. My church back home, Brentwood has been involved in this and I think it´s something I want to have my eyes more opened to...

I am hoping to visit more around Barcelona´s authentic spots this upcoming weeks. 10 weeks till I get home! See you all then

Love
Krista

This week has been a crazy week. School school and more school. My teachers that my Spanish is improving so much but I feel as though I have sooo much work to do. I have a lot of hw to get to right now just wanted to drop a quick note on my blog... I guess the highlight of the week would be when my class changed buildings this week... During a five minute break I rushed to the bathroom which were on opposite sides of the normal building. After I finished I opened the bathroom door to see my professor using the restroom I quickly made my exit... how embarrassing!!! To make it even worse we were discussing issues that women face in the world. When we came back to class he looked and he and smirked "Maybe we should be discussing men's habits this week." I think I could have died.

There are two really neat girls in the intermediate class who I am getting to know as well. One is from London and the other from Holland. Although all the students are learning Castellano, everyone speaks English whether from Sweden, or Japan so in the courtyard on our lunch break, everyone chats in English and I have found this two girls to be rather interesting. The girl from London, Charlotte chats with me everyday after class. So far I have learned she is from France, now lives in London, and yet spent 15 years growing up in Asia because her mom is an antique dealer.

In the picture I posted the first girl is Tora, she is from Sweden. She loves our 5 minute breaks so she can get a quick smoke and she is very reserved. There's me, then Zoe. Zoe is joining our class for two weeks, and is American which is really neat because in class we are able to talk about what America is like. (more to say on that later but I really, really have gained an appreciation for US being here!!) Next to her is our professor. She is almost finished with her doctorate, she is one of the most patient teachers I have ever had and she is not yet married. Next to her is Catarina, by far the best speaker in class who is from Germany. Her boyfriend is Spanish so we always joke maybe that would help the rest of us learn the language better. (We're just joking!) Not pictured is Ines. She is from China. I feel most close to her. She is very sweet and wants me to teach her to read better in English. I'm very excited for the opportunity.

I have so much to do, please stay in touch. Also for those of you who ran Holiday Lake, please e-mail me the results! I am dying~ since they are not posted yet!

Miss you all!

DS

School:
I love pink. A great friend of mine was letting me use their "borrowed" pink DS and there is such thing called "brain age." Supposedly a doctor came up with how much your brain works while you are doing different activities. The DS shows your brain with colors signaling how much of your brain is being utilized. This week has been the week of school. The school Michelle and I are attending is an intensive language school called UAB. www.uab.es (I think I have already posted that on here) It consists of four hour sessions of reading, writing and speaking each day. I am not sure my brain has ever worked so hard.... If my brain were registering on a DS right now it would be completed colored, blinking out of capacity to show there is TOO much brain action happening. I leave school everyday FINISHED. I am tired but learning so much! I am trying to forget I ever learned English so that my Spanish will increase. A bit challenging.

My teachers are Javier and Marca. Javier is older, loves futbol <>, and marca is middle aged and has to be one of the most patient teachers I have ever had....more later

Squid: I have been eating so much calamari. Yummy! I realized the other day how comfortable I am getting with just throwing miniature squid in my mouth. Four girls from class went to a Korean restaurant and they had a prepared squid and I munched and munched away. Quite rare for a conservative American girl...

Squishy: It rained some this week. Actually it poured. I couldn't figure out the idiom to describe "it's raining cats and dogs." The phrase simply does not exist in Spanish. Michelle and I ventured to Barcelona last week. We are staying with my good friend Ainhoa's family, so it only seemed natural to meet Ainhoa's twin sister. We trudged through the rain in Barcelona. We finally made it to Ainhoa's sister's boyfriend's restaurant. Neus' bf. It is one of the nicer restaurants in Barcelona. Neus told us that for 6-7 people to eat it can cost up to 3000 euros. That's a lot of money especially when the dollar is 67-68 cents to the euro.

Anyway it was the night of the Superbowl and we ate frozen coconut cover chocolate, and had juice with ice. (The first time I have had ice since getting here.)

Special Moment: In Barcelona, when we were I the restaurant I decided to explore by my lonesome. Sometimes I just need alone time to reflect. The restaurant consisted of glass windows on every side, so I found a quiet place (restaurant had not opened for the night) and looked out on the pier. There were so many boats, specifically lined in rows and rows and rows.... I thought had God has taken me from an childhood that did not look promising to VA to a loving home with my dad, then to college from which i have seen many interesting places. I thought had in that very moment as I watched the boats rock back and forth, how I was in Barcelona, Spain. What I had hoped for for so long had finally come. What a blessing from God, what provision. What an opportunity I can share with others.

Much care and love to all my friends and family,

Krista

Mountains....

Adventures: This has been the week of mountains. Michelle and I visited Montserrat yesterday, a beautiful site here in Catalonia. It started with a train ride up the mountains and ended in a site with a vast overlook as well as a Catholic monastery. Michelle and I went into the monastery which was beautifully crafted. The outside was an enclosed plaza with three of the four sections of the monastery, small balconies of windows where the priests live and the fourth wall the entry into the church. As we entered there was a mass going on, so we sat and listened for 15 minutes or so but as it was in Catalan, we understood nothing but it was still an authentic experience.

The outside was an array of mountains. The gift shop had a number of books, one which I bought on the history of this mountain (a children's book in Spanish.) I also bought incense for my mom and some other gifts. During our trip we met a young mean from South Korea who had studied in the US.

The other mountains this week were merely right in our back yard! Michelle and I venture to run during the week and I was soooo tired of running the same loop so we asked our host family how to get to the top of this mountain. He explained it and then there we went. It was wonderful getting on a trail. Today I ran on the mountain, it was a great change of pace. I also discovered a few other small trails.

At home: As side from the outdoors, I have also seen a bit of indoors as well. The beginning of this week Michelle and I went to our host mother's mom's house and I rested all day. We first went to church, all in Spanish and then came home, ate Paella, watched a bit of "Bounce" with Ben Afflect in Spanish, and then I passed out. Also biology has keep me in the books.

** Special note: I also ate cheese this week....some of you will appreciate that :-) Our host family asked what I would like to eat for "cena," dinner and I told them pasta with vegetables. I received tortellini, (filled with ricotta cheese), but not to offend I ate half. It was actually good but a bit rich.

Personally: This week passed much faster than last week. I was very homesick last week and even considered coming home a month early. Thank God everything is going much better. We start our first Spanish classes Monday which is really neat. It will consist of four hours a day, 5 days a week studying at www.uab.es We are really excited.

Also each night after dinner, our host family discusses different issues with us. I have been really encouraged and open to a lot of conversation topics. Our host dad knows that we are Christians and also discusses his view of agnosticism. It is rather interesting hearing what he has seen in his life and what has really stood out to him. The other night he said, "people's actions are what really speak to me." He was talking about American missionaries (from an aspects of religions) who had sacrificed time and money to come to his home country Peru and what it really meant to him. So words have not really impacted his way of beliefs but the way that people had shown love is what has impacted his heart. That really stuck out to me in the way my life has headed and future decisions that I will make on what path my life will go and who I have the opportunity to care for and love. It is rather easy to be comfortable so I hope by God's grace I will be obedient to help those that really need it.

Much thanks for all the encouragement. Miss you all dearly.
Much care and love

Krista