Week 3: Church Search Round 2, Travels, and Choclate

This will be a "grown up" blog post (aka no pictures for those of us who need pictures to keep us entertained--me included). I still haven't taken the time to take pictures of the city; honestly, it's cold and I'm waiting for warmer weather. Yes, you can make fun of me for calling 35-55 degrees cold.

Sunday was absolutely wonderful. "Church Search: Round 2" is how I thought of it. I decided to try a church about a half an hour from my house, hoping I wouldn't get lost this time. I made it about 25 minutes and was getting close, but I was also getting to the more complicated part of the city. Suddenly, I saw a well dressed yet semi-disheveled man on my left; he was carrying a Bible in his right hand. God seems to love sending me people to get me places--He knows I probably wouldn't get there otherwise *laughs*. So I threw my directions in my purse and followed him at a mostly-discreet distance. Poor man. Sure enough, I found the church. It wasn't until the preaching started that I realized I had followed the pastor...

What an awesome experience, though. I almost didn't go; throwing myself into a situation like that is entirely out of character. Plus, the church is quite small; only 40 or so people were gathered in a small room, so I definitely stood out. However, I really got to see real love in action; five people genuinely greeted me before the service, introduced me to everyone else, and got my email so that I could get to know the young people. Also, I understood nearly the entire sermon, and the service was wonderful.

Classes are going well, albeit busy. Granted, I might be one of the 4 students that actually do their homework in a study abroad program...*laughs* I worked hard already, so I may as well finish that way. However, I realized that reading a 30 page article in Spanish takes a significantly longer time to read than one in English...and that a page of translation may or may not take four hours. I truly love the classes, though.

This weekend we're taking a 2 day trip to Granada, where the famous Alhambra is located (http://www.google.es/imgres?q=alhambra+de+granada&um=1&hl=es&sa=X&biw=973&bih=691&tbm=isch&tbnid=f_HICSMibiz79M:&imgrefurl=http://www.reservasalhambra.com/&docid=0dVPwXbOIIjJUM&imgurl=http://www.reservasalhambra.com/imagenes/004-granada-alhambra.jpg&w=399&h=252&ei=hc46T7WZJIqphAfnhfDqCQ&zoom=1) It'll be good to get away for a bit.

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you've eaten as much chocolate as I have today...in fact, one more before bed sounds perfect. *nods* It may or may not be dark chocolate with mousse in the middle...miss you guys.