Amalia y las Señoras

Our girl is a charmer. Since we've been here she has had a knack for sucking in the old ladies (The Señoras) and they seem to really love children. Its similar in the states, but not quite the same. You see, the Señoras here have a way of expressing their regard for kids in a way that seems, over-the-top and I am still trying to figure it out. It is endearing though,the way they beam and spill their language of love upon my child and extend kisses and cheek rubs.

Today I asked Amalia where she wanted to go as we were leaving for our late morning outing. She said, "On adventure--to market" so we headed to the market, picked up some fruit and went to sit down on the long benches to listen to some musicians. There was about 3 or 4 Señoras sitting there. Amalia engaged them with a smile and began dancing and twirling and laughing right in front of them. She had a captive audience. They were telling her

"Baila preciosa,Baila.....Baila reina....mas guapa....baila cariño....que guapa...."
Dance precious, dance....dance queen...most beautiful....dance love...how beautiful"

Who wouldn't want to be talked to like that??

She kept on dancing and twirling...

and as she was winding down, one of the Señoras had to leave so she walked up to Amalia squeezed her cheek and gave her a kiss on the head

Who does that???? I actually was really touched.

Reminded me of the way my grandma would talk to me when I danced in front of her...

Taming the Extrovert

I used to be a high extrovert, well maybe even more than that---more like an extrovert on crack. I could joyfully be around people from sun up till sun down. I used to say “Everything is better experienced with another person", and maybe down deep, I still believe that. But I am changing.

It all started 8 years ago when I married my best friend who is a very high introvert. Yeah, he likes being around people at times (Ha! That sounds so bad), but he HAS to retreat to read or be on his computer or listen to music---alone. I had to learn early on in marriage that he needed space. I learned how to let him have his alone time all-the-while calling up friends to hang out and filling every single second of my life with people. Sounds like an ok personality type for a minister right? But, living like this made it almost impossible for me to be quiet and listen to God.

Fast forward 8 years. Living in Spain can be both great and lonely. I feel like I have been thrown into a situation where I am being forced to come to terms with this hyper-extrovert, hypo-introvert. I still believe God created me to thrive and find energy and renewal from being around people, but I have to break the addiction from letting people and even worse, Facebook, fill my time. Facebook is a cheap substitution for real friendships anyway, and ultimately unfulfilling (I know you already know this).

But, there is good news. In the midst of this struggle, I am learning to quiet myself. I have been reading again, playing music and turning off the television and my computer. I have been talking to God more...I find myself praying for some pretty impossible things, but praying nonetheless. I am going out, taking Amalita with me and learning to be content with my limited ability to communicate with the world here. I am still connecting quite a bit with people (IV retreat, International students, Having US students in our home, English Mums group), but the difference is, when I go home, I really do return to a place of quiet. I am indeed cut off.

You might say,” But wait a sec, you have your 2-year-old with you at all times right?" Yeah I do, but she is 2. I am thankful that God blessed us with her during a season when I would be learning some hard things about adapting and being friendless, but she certainly doesn't play the same role as a bunch of girlfriends. Sometimes I want to connect with her in a deeper way and even try engaging her on that level, and have a good laugh as she smiles back and dumps rice in her hair. I have to laugh and be thankful for this season. I remember what a blessing it is to have this adventure in Spain with my Honey and my Little Honey, and that everything I am learning is purposeful, and that these growing pains are just the evidence that I am indeed growing and changing and becoming.

Quick Update

Hey there! I forced myself to update. A few new things here:

* I am no longer a sweaty mess. Thank God Almighty the temperature here has dropped and it seems Fall is in the air. This means, no more dreading the moment when I first meet someone and they greet me with a kiss on both cheeks...it was pretty humiliating and then of course being self-conscious of the sweat only made that darn sweat pour out even more. But, I did have Amalia to blame as I often had her 30 pound body strapped to my back. Today I colored my hair dark, and styled my bangs and we went out and my hair looked remarkably the same when we returned :)

* 4 more days of holiday and celebrations!!! I am beginning to wonder if it is always like this here. First these folk were off the whole month of August, then celebrating Catalan independence day, then our neighborhood celebration and now La Merce--with fireworks, and dancing and concerts and a circus at the castle on top of Montjuic that overlooks the city--oh my!

* We went to a leadership retreat with GBU here and it was great! It felt like InterVarsity back home. Warm people that love God, love life and thoughtfully read scripture, serve others, and do a lot of scholarly reading. Also, how crazy is this?, but I met and talked with a student that spent her time up in the U.P. of Michigan at InterVarsity's Cedar Campus. Yep! She even knew some of my students. Small world!Tomorrow I am meeting up with some International students to tour the city and make some connections. Should be fun.

Now off to bed to get some rest...before the horn players begin their march through the streets first at 8:30 and then at 10:00 to wake us up and beckon us out to start the festivities (so cool)

Also, stay tuned for a very special interview...

Lifting Spirits

I experienced the coolest thing today! Amalia and I were playing at the park, well I was there, not really "playing", more like half-dead, but there none-the-less. I was dutifully trying to make sure my kid was having a little fun, a little exercise and little social exposure, but I hadn't had any coffee---AND I had yet another short night of sleep (No one to blame here except myself). I am telling you..er.. rather confessing that this staying up to 1....2 am junk has got to stop!

Anyhoo, we are on the playground and Amalia is chasing the poor pigeons around when I hear some really good jazz. I am sure it must be coming from the market, as there is often live music out front. The music gets louder and louder and I'm thinking, "wow, they must have set up speakers or something". Soon,I'm feeling the vibrations and acoustics bounce off the nearby buildings.

The music gets exponentially louder as 1, then 2 then 5 and pretty soon like 10 guys round the corner and begin to walk right up to us and then slowly past us. The music sounds and feels so good, a New Orleans style jazz I believe. Each member had kind of a pep-in-their-step walk and were engaging spectators with warm and enthusiastic smiles.

Let me tell you, this means a lot in a culture that is often "cold" in interaction with strangers. Like a ray of morning sunshine piercing the overcast, grey monotony of clouds, their music and jubilant spirits penetrated my tired fog. Woke me right up! One of their entourage was handing out fliers of upcoming city-wide celebrations. This was just kind of taste of what is to come!

Amalia went absolutely nuts dancing and smiling and giggling. You could tell the band members were genuinely warmed by her gestures. But, They had to keep on walking-- spreading their gift to the neighborhood. We quickly packed up our stuff and trailed behind them dancing and singing and clapping. It was such a hoot! We must have followed them, winding down small cobblestone streets, for a good 20 minutes. People were rushing out of shops, hanging over balconies, smiling and clapping.

Its hard to fully describe the experience to you here, but I will never forget it. It was like this picturesque little scene unfolding right before us....one of those moments that feeds your soul and makes you think...

Getting Connected

Ok, so my last post was kind of emo, but I needed to put that out there so you know how to be prayin'.

Though I still have a true desire for friends and community here, I have been getting out there and its important for me/ us to celebrate the little victories in ways I have been "connecting" along the way. This has been my battle cry for the last 6 weeks--Celebrate the victories no matter how small!!! Below is a list I compiled of 7 or so things I consider instrumental in helping us make this our home for the next several months.

*An apartment (yep, I am still giving ourselves and my Dad credit for this one ;)We found this apartment from a website called Loquo (basically a smaller,Spanish version of Craigslist). This whole deal worked out great because we are renting directly from the owner instead of through an agent/ company. This was at least a thousand dollar savings. The agents here charge anywhere from 1 to 1.5 months rent for their commission--Go team!

*An online Mum's network of 200+ English speakers in Barcelona. I registered and instantly began posting questions on a forum. Every single person that has replied to me has been so warm and welcoming. I met up with another Mom and her 2-year-old at a cafe a few days ago. She is an Irish woman married to Spanish man with lots of stories of world travels and adventure. I also found a toddler's music group that I took Amalia to today. It was great--about 10 active toddlers running around, banging on instruments just giddy to be able to run around in a fairly large room in the civic center.

*Churches!. So we have checked out two churches now. The first one we went to is called La Vina, and I believe it is related to the same movement of Vineyard churches that we have in the states and which we attend. The church was very warm, very long (something like 3 hours) and felt a lot like, El Nuevo Pacto in Tijuana. The only catch is, its a little bit of a commute, and of course the language. We also checked out a Methodist church that was close enough to walk to. There were only 2 small kids in the entire congregation, and we opted to leave early as it seemed keeping Amalia in the pews with us was probably not going to work (A far too quiet church for a 2-year-old). We have a few other leads which I am excited about. We also randomly met a guy that is a church planter, living in our neighborhood with his family, so I am excited to see if we can partner with them in any way while we are here.

*GBU. I meet tomorrow with the coordinator/ supervisor of the Grupos de Biblicos Unidos here in Barcelona. Ooh, my nerves. Pray for peace and help with language. Thankfully, she seems fluent in English. She has already invited us to a leadership retreat, a kickoff party and a Fall retreat with students! I am excited to get a chance to work with an International Bible Study here, more to come on that.

*Hanging out at the park. There are so many parks here! I am under the impression that most Moms take their kids to the park just about daily. I guess when you are living in tight quarters, without a yard (you may have a terrace if you are lucky), the park becomes a necessity. I have met and talked with many Moms now from all over the world. Amalia seems to mostly enjoy climbing backward up the slide, playing in the sand, and chasing pigeons.

*Conversation Exchange. So David and I found a website that helps connect people that are trying to learn another language. We signed up and did a search in Barcelona and discovered that there were 90 people that spoke English wanting to learn Spanish, and over 900 that spoke both Catalan and Castellano (the Spanish we know)looking for a conversation partner to learn English. Pretty good odds I'd say! David meets with a a guy also named David tomorrow over a coffee. We'll see how this whole thing goes.

* Mujer. I found THE cutest store, owned by a British woman just around the block from us. This store is like all of ETSY crammed into a small storefront in the Bohemian neighborhood of the Born. I introduced myself and she gave me tons of resources, contact info and referrals for all kinds of things in Barcelona. She is well-connected with a natural birth and parenting community here too--double plus. Her shop sells baby carriers, natural foods, handmade bibs, clothes and all things artsy. She has like a loft type area where breastfeeding groups and small baby playgroups meet.

* Coffee Shops. Coffee shops have been instrumental in providing us internet, caffeine, and a place to gather and feel like one of the locals. We found a very cool place that is kid-friendly (has about 5 kids tables, toys, books and a huge courtyard for the kiddos to run around). Going here helps me to reconnect with the hubster while the little one runs around and it has helped me connect a little with some of the other moms going there as well.

You wanna know what is SO COOL? Well, I'll tell ya! We have a children's bookstore, coffee shops, dozens of bakeries, the beach, shops and restaurants, cafes, an old style market (with fresh produce venders, fresh meat and freshly caught seafood), a zoo, half a dozen parks, a huge park, called the Cuitadella (where locals gather to run, meet, do yoga, practice martial arts and picnic), libraries, museums, cathedrals, gelaterias, 2 hand-made markets and I am sure even much more....all within walking distance. So, come visit!

Desiring Community

I am feeling lonely lately. It comes and goes. But today, I could use a girlfriend or a like-minded couple to hang out with. Do you ever get tired of doing life alone? So much of the American life is lived alone. It seems the American dream is to move out, get through college, get your own good job, get married, buy your own home, have your own cars, have your own kids, do your own hobbies, etc. Well,that's not my dream--and today I'm reminded of it. Could use prayers that we would find true community while we are here and even more so when we return.

The Zoo

We are really impressed with this big city! Lots of stuff to do and its refreshingly child-friendly! We took Amalia to the zoo to celebrate her second birthday. We went later in the day after her nap. We took a short stroll in the much cooler weather and walked right in...no crowds, no waiting. In addition to all the normal zoo animals you would expect to find, this place had a children's petting zoo, several playgrounds (complete with bridges and slides and misters) and lots of wild Peacocks just meandering about. We finished our day by filling our bellies with yummy greek food from a local cafe. Great day.