La Alhambra

La Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex that is locatedin my city, Granada. It is located on a strategic point, with a view of the whole city. Also making it a beautiful place to visit with some great views.

On of the many fun things that comes along with my orientation is a tour of La Alhambra.  One of our professors, Aurelio, gave us the tour in Spanish. It is crazy to think that I am getting to the point where I can understand a tour of a huge fortress in a second language. I will do my best to show you La Alhambra, however first the pictures will not do it justice. It is so beautiful and is a must for all who visit Granada. Second, remember I was given the tour in Spanish so I might have misunderstood some parts of the tour.

Our tour guide Aurelio Photo credit: Marissa

We started our tour at a side entrance, la puerta de justicia. There is a hand on the arc of the door that represents the 5 obligations of Islam.

We entered into the military area of the city, where we saw the foundation of what used to be the living quarters, and where they kept their food, water, and prisoners.

view from La Alhambra looking over Granada

Then we headed to the palace. The palace was decorated with great detail and fun patterns much like the one below. 

After the tour, many of us stayed to have lunch inthe beautiful gardens, followed by a fun photo shoot.

Then we walked down the hill to Los Italianos, my new favorite gelato in all of Granada and a must go to when visiting this beautiful  city. Speaking of Los Italianos, I am now heading there to get one last ice cream with my roommate before we head to Morocco (we are taking a ferry to Africa, but don’t worry you will hear more in my next post). We just finished our placement exam, and decided that it is our celebration treat.

 

Put this in just for giggles, it is our tour guide and professor Aurelio. (He kind of has a crush on me so we took this picture just for fun)

La Semana Primera

I have been in Spain for exactly a week. It has been a crazy, inspiring, hard, chaotic, and relaxing week.

After a hectic week, some of my new friends and I were able to relax at Salobreña beach, about an hour south of Granada. The day was spent laughing, tanning (more like burning), exploring, and just enjoy conversations and company. While at the beach I had some great time to just sit and reflect over the past week.

Last Sunday, orientation started and I felt like an anxious freshman.  I had feelings of uncertainty. I was unsure of my roommate, host family and if I would make friends. I quickly found out that Alicia and I were roommates and we met our new host mommy, Ana.  Though Ana is like another grandmother for me, she can be the life of the party. On Saturday night when we went to bed, she was still out. I found out that she is the same host mother that many of my friends had in the past, including my friends Patsy and Justine. She makes yummy food, my favorite is her paella, and tells us about all the best places in Granada. I am so thankful for my roommate and host family.

I met up with some friends for tapas on Sunday evening and Alicia and I found a beautiful park, Parque de Francis Garcia Lorca, which is close and is a great park for running. I also think its gonna be the perfect park for morning devotions. While running there, we have met a lot of other Americans who are studying abroad in this city.

On Monday, we officially started orientation learning about the culture and geography of Granada as well as taking a Spanish placement test. Veronica, our program director, is absolutely fabulous. She knows how to make us all laugh, and is teaching us so much.  This week we got to go on excursions around the city, the Hammon, Albaycin, and La Alhambra (more details to come).

My Program at Albaycin

We also started our review classes. I placed in Level 4 with 6 other girls. We have so much fun in that class and are learning so much. It is amazing how much different Spaniards teach, but they are teaching us so many cultural things about the language that my U.S. teachers were never able to teach me. I though that having Spanish class for three hours each evening would be hard, however my group knows how to make it enjoyable. Hopefully by the end of our review classes I can place in level 5.

Each day I am falling more and more in love with this beautiful city. It is a big city, but is small enough that you can walk to almost everything. It is a modern city, but has thousand of years of culture. It is a Spanish city, but full of Islamic studies. This summer my goal was to hit all the cities & counties on my bucket list during this semester. However, Veronica’s advice to us for every 1 week/weekend of international travel we should spend 1 week traveling within Spain and 1 week in Granada. As I am falling in love with this city, I understand her advice. Don’t get me wrong I am excited to travel, but I am more excited to explore my new city and my new country. One of my top goals this semester is to learn and experience the culture of Granada, including going to the Arabic baths and taking a Flamenco dance class, and finding my favorite café and becoming a regular there. Alicia and I have already found our favorite heladería, Los Italianos, and recommendit to any one we meet.

Well it’s bed time here and ready to start another week. Hasta Luego.

 

My Fairytale in Germany

As a child I always loved fairy tales. I loved the big castles, the beautiful dresses, and the love stories. I would dress up as a princess for Halloween and hope to find my frog. Disneyland was my favorite, as a ten year old I loved to go up to the big sleeping beauty castle and get an autograph and picture with the princesses. So it was only natural when Alicia and Idecided to travel to Germany that I wanted to visit a castle.

Germany is the home for Castle Neuschwanstein, the castle that the Sleeping Beauty Castle is modeled after. We were told that this part of Germany was beautiful so we decided to go with a tour group, Mikes Bike Tour so we could bike and hike around the area.

Alicia, Allie, and I had some fun during the bike ride, skipping while singing and imitating cows. We took a short stop and swam in Swan Lake, it was a little chilly that day so we were the only ones in our tour group that actually swam. We ate lunch and met some nice Australians and then went on the Alpine Slides, which was a similar track when bobsledding.

My favorite part of the trip however was the beautiful hike to the castle. I’ve gone on many hikes over the years but this by far was the most beautiful hike and it led to a castle at the end! What could be better! 

 

When we went on a tour through the castle I learned that the king actually spent more money on the castle then he had, so he only finished 16 rooms out of 60 and the government took it over after he passed away and immediately opened it for tourists. However the rooms he did finish were stunning.

This was probably my favorite day during my trip to Germany, however Salzburg, home of Sound of Music, and Heidelberg were a close second.

I have now arrived to Granada, Spain and off to start my program in my new city. I am a little nervous to meet my host family and start speaking in Spanish but this trip to Germany was a great way to meet some people in my program and get accustomed to the European lifestyle and a great end to my summer.

A backpacking Life

I arrived in Frankfurt, Germany on Thursday morning with my friends, Alicia, Christian, and Allie. At the airport we met Vera, a lady that Alicia had connections with, who is taking our luggage for the week.So it was goodbye luggage and hello backpack for 7 days!

She drove us on the Otto Bahn (yay! for no speed limits) and dropped us off at the train station. From there we took our time understanding the maps and the train station and then hopped on a train to Berlin. The trains have been very easy to understand but also have taught me so much. Like give yourself plenty of time to catch your train, the app is very helpful, the German Rail Pass is well worth the cost, some seats are reserved or for the handicapped, Munich and München are the same place, there are charging stations but don’t forget what you’re charging, and when the train turns off that means its stopped for good.

Once at Berlin we checked in to our hostel. This was my first hostel and it surpassed all my expectations of a hostel. Alicia and I felt spoiled at this hostel, we definitely weren’t going into the hostel world with cold feet. We spent a fair amount of time in Berlin, learning all about the history this city provides and then set out for a 6 hour train to Munich. Munich is a beautiful city and I have absolutely loved my time here and the adventures that it has provided including day trips to Salzburg and Neuschwanstein.

It’s been fun living on only the basics. Some clothes, a toothbrush, my camera, train pass, and my dried mangos. I’ve enjoyed not being at arms length from my phone although my camera is (I promise photos will come soon) It’s been nice to try and get accustomed to the European lifestyle and time difference before my semester even begins. I’m not gonna lie though as nice as the hostels have been I’m looking forward to staying at the Holiday Inn on Thursday night.

The Essentials

I am not a light packer. I love to use every last space that is available in my bag, whether I need the extra item or not. Packing for Europe came as a challenge for me, but one that I was prepared to take. Over the years I have collected a huge wardrobe, a massive number of accessories (scarves and necklaces primarily :)) I was excited to pack light as it is a way for me to live on less, and truly experience happiness and joy in life, rather than possessions. It feels freeing. So I packed my 1 bag, 1 carry on and 1 backpack this morning, and I still have room! I think the real help was that I only brought 3 scarves and 4 necklaces.

Despite living on less this semester, I made a list of the essentials that were on my list that had to come along in my bag.

1. Rubbish Boyfriend Shirt from Nordstrom BP. A very comfy shirt for traveling.

2. HydroFlask Insulated Stainless Steel Bottle. The best Christmas present from my sister. Made just a couple miles away from her school in Bend Oregon. The perfect container for ice cold water or a steaming cup of joe. This bottle doesn’t sweat and keeps beverages cold and hot for up to 12 hours.

3. Nikon D3200. My birthday present to myself this year and the device that will capture countless memories and sites during my adventure.

4. Deuter Act Lite 60 +10 SL Pack Women’s. Luggage that you can wear on your back. Skip the wheels and carry it. This pack has been a lifesaver on countless trips

5. Journal. Over the years, I have still yet to find the perfect journal. Sometimes I like lines and sometimes I want blank pages. But regardless a journal is a must for me to document my adventure and a place to keep my museum and train passes.

6. Raw Almonds from Trader Joes. My favorite grocery store and the perfect snack while traveling. Just a quick pick me up of protein until the next meal.

7. The Northface Surge Day Pack. The perfect day pack to fit my camera and lunch. Not to mention a special compartment for my laptop.

8. Grey Maxi Skirt from H&M. A gift from my dear friend Sunee and the perfect, lightweight skirt that goes with anything. Dress it up or down, this skirt will make a regular appearance on the streets in Europe.

9. Black Toms. As a shopper, I don’t normally by for practicality but for this trip I had to buy and pack with practicality in mind. My new black Toms will go with anything and everything plus are very comfortable to walk in.

Studying Abroad is like Freshman Year

My bags aren’t packed yet and I have a never ending to do list, but I leave for Europe in almost 48 hours. I have been waiting for this day for so long, yet somehow it just snuck up on me.

Between spending my summer with family and friends, golfing, and working I haven’t had much time to process the fact that I am leaving home, family, friends, California, and my country for four months. As Spain is finally approaching I have a whirlwind of emotions. I am excited. Excited to meet new people, travel, getting lost in a new world, live in Spain, learn Spanish, and experience new food and culture. But I am also scared. Scared to meet new people, scared of getting lost, getting stolen from, missing home, and fail with learning a new language.

Even as a junior, this chapter makes me feel like a freshman again. I am going to a new place, meeting new people and experiencing something completely different than I have before. As a freshman I was so excited to head to Central College but I was also scared. It’s weird to go through this same experience again but there is also something so refreshing about going somewhere new.

Freshman year was a very humbling experience for me and drew me so much closer to God. He was my ONE constant when everything else was new and different. My prayer as I embark on this new trip is that I would journey with Christ this semester. This is his journey, not my I am delighted to get to journey with Him in a new land.

Life with a Capital L

A trip to the farmer’s market can always lift up my mood. My taste buds go crazy as I try a ripe peach. The vibrant colors of the heirloom tomatoes widen my eyes. The smell of the fresh basil makes my nose deviate from the path ahead. The commotion of people around brings a ring to my ears. Lastly, the touch of the warm, soft bread makes my mouth drool. There is something so life giving about a farmer’s market because it is a place where all 5 senses are engaged in such a joyous way.

This past weekend my family came along with me to the farmer’s market at the ferry building in San Francisco. There was something so raw and authentic about sharing my joy with the people I love most. Grocery shopping with my family was so much fun. We would stop to taste, smell, and look. Oh and I can’t forget about standing in the long line for our Blue Bottle Coffee (my dad is now obsessed) . It wasn’t the chaos grocery shopping we fall so easily in, where we rush in to pick our three or fifty items and get out as fast as we can. This experience wasn’t rushed. We were focused on utilizing our taste buds and just having fun with the raw food God created and intended for us.

To say that our fun ended as we piled into the car with bags of fresh produce would be an understatement. My mom, sister, and I spent the rest of the day cooking what we had just bought. We madeKale Chips and Fresh Heirloom Tomato & Squash Pasta and ate lots of bread.

I think the reason I love cooking so much is because I love to take raw ingredients and mix them together to create something completely new that could not be made without the help of each other. I think that this can be a metaphor for our Life. When we allow Christ to take our raw self and allow Him into are life, we are made new. This kind of living creates Life with a capital L.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17

Rest and Joy in one weekend

This summer has felt like go go go. Between working 40 hours a week, and trying to squeeze every free minute I have catching up with family and friends back home I am utterly exhausted. I decided that this weekend would be different, a time of rest for my soul. The great thing is I didn’t just sit on the couch being lazy all weekend. All I did was fill my weekend with some rest, a lot of ME time, doing things I absolutely love and spending time with some great friends.

This weekend was filled with some of my favorite things: John Mayer. Phillip Phillips. Friendships. Picnics. Breakfast cookies. French Press coffee. Hiking. Baking. Rest. Reading. Proverbs. Incredible Views. Saturday Evening Service. Brunch at La Boulange. Shauna Niquiest. Anthropologie coffee mug. Chocolate. Joy. Rest. Christ.

On Friday I went to the Phillip Phillips and John Mayer concert. I filled this time by getting closer and cuddling with some recent friends (I still can’t believe that these girls are so similar to me just graduated from my rival high school, but God let our paths cross each other), eating a great picnic that we packed, and just watching the stars while listening to some great music.  

Although I had a late night out, it was such a chill night that I felt utterly relaxed after a long week.

Despite my late night, I woke up early (well early for a Saturday morning) with a smile on my face. I knew it was going to be a good day and I woke up in a mood ready to BAKE! Everyone in my house was gone for the day so it was just me, the dogs and a quiet house. It was glorious. I started off my morning sipping my French press coffee out of the beautiful mug my best friend gave me from my favorite store, Anthropologie and I just started baking. I made a beautiful breakfast, completely gluten free thanks to my amazing recipe in Bread & Wine by Shauna Niquiest.

As I sipped my coffee and ate my warm breakfast cookies, I had some quality me time and caught up on some ongoing projects. It was relaxing and accomplishing at the same time.

Later in the afternoon, two wonderful friends stopped by for lunch and more BAKING! We made a beautiful chicken, pear and walnut spinach salad complete with homemade dressing (That was a first for us all) followed by some homemade pretzels. We had some fun, we made a mess, got creative (cream cheese filling cinnamon pretzels), laughed, and cleaned up our huge mess.

The next morning, I woke up early again and went on a 6 mile hike with my best friend. We talked, huffed and puffed our way up the hill, debated turning back, but most importantly made it to the top of the “bench hike”  just in time to watch the fog roll away and see a stunning view. We made our way back in time for breakfast at La Boulange by 10am to study Proverbs together. I am literally falling in love with God’s scripture this summer as I am reading Proverbs with Kirsten. Afterwards Kirsten asked me to give her a tour of Trader Joes because she wants to start shopping there this school year. I literally don’t think she realized how happy she made me with that question. I was so excited to show her the food I eat and how I cook certain things . I don’t know why but the preparation of food gives me so much joy from raw ingredients to a beautiful dish to the unique taste.

This week was so relaxing and it just gave me a burst of energy to start my week off right. After the restful weekend I had I was able to get all my chores done in a JOYFUL mood and even more. I was actually helpful around the house, my car got vacuumed and washed. But most importantly I feel restful as I start a new week.

God created rest and it is such a beautiful thing. He didn’t create us to go go go. There is a reason why we Sabbath and it is a beautiful thing when we can stop and actually spend time with God and ourselves and just appreciate the life He created.

This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:

“In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and

trust is your strength…” Isaiah 20:15

 

Abide in Christ

So this blog post is long over due, but the meaning behind these words are so meaningful to me that I couldn’t not post this.

So I have been obsessed with the word abide for over a year now everything from the sound of the word off someone’s lips to the definition gives me joy. You can find me sitting in class writing the word abide on my wrist as I pretend its tattooed on me.

This summer I had the opportunity to be a boat leader for the annual houseboats summer trip my church puts on for high schools. As I learned more about this trip I found out the theme was “ke aloha” which means Beloved in Hawaiian. I later learned that the speaker was basing his message on the word ABIDE. That’s right he wasn’t just going to talk about abide for one night but his five messages that he would be giving were all focused on the single word based from the scripture in John chapter 15. I was stoked!!!

The word abide is such a rich word. It comes from the greek word meno which means to spend time in. The definition is to spend time with, walk with, marinate in, attach to, walk with, listen to, dwell in, and journey with.

This definition shows me that it takes time and devotion to abide in Christ. But I still had an unanswered question: How do we abide in Christ?

Tyler Scott, the speaker broke it down in such a practical way that will stick with me forever. He broke it down by dissecting each letter of the word.

Attach yourself to Jesus. Jesus will always be the right thing to attach to and abide in. Through Him we will bear fruit. With this, we must first detach ourselves from the things that hurt us and grab on to Jesus.

Bring your Burdens. Burdens are BIG, RELEVANT, and REAL. We all have burdens. Now you may be thinking what do we do with our burdens and how is this relevant to abiding.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Bringing our burdens is an important step to abiding in Christ. Giving our burdens to Christ is not easy and is not a one time deal. We have to give them continually. But through praying about it, reading what God has to say about our burdens, and sharing them in the midst of community (sharing each other’s burdens) we can begin to Abide in Christ

Invest your Time. This step is a key to growth. As humans, our deepest desire is to find a love that will last. It gives me hope to know that God loves me with an everlasting love. The key to abiding in Christ is to build a relationship. All relationships take time. But is promising to know that time with Jesus is NEVER wasted time. Relationships also take trust. Trust is earned through truth and time spent with each other (Trust = Truth + Time). A relationship with Jesus takes trust, but through spending TIME with Him, who is TRUTH, one can begin to trust HIM. I am bad at this and can be working on this more, but the #1 habit is to spend time in God’s word and to use that time to learn all about Him, find wisdom with all of my decisions, and learn to trust HIM.

Decide to Follow. Tyler brought up an interesting point that I never fully realized. NOW affects LATER. The choices and decisions I make to today will affect later. It is important to make wise decisions. The framework that I want to live by when making a decision is to ask myself: is this wise based on my past experiences, present realities, and future hopes & dreams? Making the decision to follow Christ is one of the biggest and wisest choices one can make. As a Christian I want to continue to make wise choices. In proverbs, wisdom is the person of Jesus. So by following and abiding in Christ I will be pursuing the wise choice.

Enjoy life with Christ. “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” John 15:11 Now you may be asking yourself like I did when I read this verse, How do you get that kind of joy. Well the first way is by plugging in through reading God’s word, going to youth group and church, and just talking to others about what God is doing in your life. The other way is by partnering up. In proverbs it talks about how two are better than one and it is important to have someone alongside of you, holding you accountable as you are fighting back Satan and trying to pursue Christ. It is also important to know that God is filled with overwhelming grace and that when we wander He will still have his arms open for us.

I just love how we unfolded what it means to Abide in Christ by breaking it down by each letter.

It is no suprise to me that the single word abide can give me so much joy because when I am truly abiding in Christ I am filled with joy.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

-John 15:1-11

FINALLY

springtastic- the state that falls on communities, towns, and campuses when the first sign of 70 degree weather appears. A state of gratitude and utter joy. Characterized by smiles, sporadic wiffleball, ultimate frisbee, wearing dress, bike rides, and doing homework outside, and lack of motivation to do anything inside. Synonyms include so pumped to play Guinness today! 

It is spring, finally. For those that don’t live in a region that experiences a true winter, including snow, freezing degree weather, snow days, then you won’t quite understand my true joy when I say it is spring.

I am from a small town in Northern California. I use to long for summer, when it was already 70 degrees outside. I would long for the days to spend at the pool and trips to the lake. But after a long winter in Iowa, and yes I mean long we had snow in May, I don’t think I can express my joy for spring in words.

It is fun to watch the campus come alive this week. After what seemed like the longest winter of my life, I see college students leaving their dorm rooms and running to the outdoors, like caterpillars leaving their cocoons. I see college students tanning by the pond, playing a game of sand volleyball, a game of Guinness across campus, ultimate frisbee at the park, and friends studying for finals by the pond.

It’s funny, I feel a season behind. Most of my friends back home are longing for summer. But I on the other hand am longing for spring. I have anxiously longed for the day I could sit by the pond or go on a bike ride to Lake Red Rock.

It snowed on my last day of classes. Let me just tell you, that day felt like the opposite of summer. It is weird, normally I long for summer, mainly because by the end of the semester I am just so worn out and need the relaxation.  But I feel like summer just crept up on me. I am not tired, just desperate for spring.

I think that the weather is a reason why I am not ready for summer. But the other reason is because summer means goodbye. I have said too many goodbyes this week and more are to come. It is hard when people that have been in my life everyday for the past two years, I will not see again for 8 months. So this year, rather than longing for school to end I want it to continue as long as it can. I love my friends and don’t want to say goodbye just yet.