The Fourth Weekend

I can't believe that this was really our fourth weekend here. Time is such a funny thing. In some ways I feel like that time has gone so fast, but in other ways I feel like we've been here forever. And in a lot of ways I feel like it is still forever until I get to come home. The other weird (stupid, irritating, annoying, etc.) thing about time is the time difference. I still hate the feeling of waking up when all the people I love are still sleeping and going to bed while you are all still going about your days. I feel like I'm not even in the same world as you.

But anyway, it was a pretty good weekend. Since we didn't have school on Friday (!!!) it began after class Thursday. Sarah, Erin, and I bought a cheap blanket at the Chino, and then we took our computers to the park and watched a movie. It was so relaxing and nice!

Friday was not exactly what I expected it to be, but it was still nice. I got up fairly early and went to the park to study for a while. It was a beautiful day, but a bit chilly for sitting outside. I was kind of discouraged though because I used to be able to study in the library for hours (4, 6, 8) at a time, but now I can't study for more than like an hour and a half without getting bored. Anyway, I got bored and cold in the park so then I went to the library. I love the library. I should hang out there more often. In the afternoon Erin and Sarah and I went out for lunch at this excellent Chinese restaurant. It was so funny to be sitting in Spain eating Chinese food, but it was yummy (and cheap!). We were going to go see this castle place, but we didn't have time to do that before it closed so we just went to the library again, and then we sat in the park.

Saturday was a lot of fun because we went to the Mercadillo (Gypsy market). It was this huge outdoor market where they sold basically everything. It was so much fun!!!! It was perfect day to be outside (probably in the upper 70's), and it was wonderful. I ended up buying these goofy gray sneakers that are so comfortable...kind of like sweatshirts for my feet. I also bought a shirt that I probably wouldn't have bought if I had tried it on, but oh well. It was a really pleasant way to spend the morning.

Yesterday was a very interesting day. We went to a church that is very close to our house. I really really liked the service...it was the best out of the 3 churches I've visited so far. I felt like I could understand very well, and the worship was so good. The people there seemed very genuine. Sarah and I want to go back next week, but we feel kind of bad because it is a very small church, and a lot of students already go there. We'll see.

The interesting thing though was that after church there was a lunch for "foreigners." That was very nice. We met some other American students...the city seems to be crawling with them! Anyway, there was a little program thing where people from different countries spoke. We had people from Bolivia, Columbia, Peru, Ecuador, Chile, El Salvador, France, England, and the US. It was interesting, but the whole thing lasted 2.5 hours, and it got really hard to focus and pay attention. Erin and I were the people who had to present about the US. We did it in English and a girl from the church translated. It was very awkward but fine. I realized some things during it thought that I'll try to write about later. Anyway, we were at church from 11 until 5:15. It was a long day. In the evening, we went out for pastries and coffee for Sarah's birthday. It was nice.

The one thing I didn't do this weekend was study. Exams are this week, and I am so afraid! I have History tomorrow and Cuentos and Art on Wednesday. I think they are going to be so crazy much writing, and I just don't think I'm going to be able to remember everything. I've been totally slacking off on my studying lately. I miss the Emily who could study all the time without getting tired. Erin keeps telling me, "You shouldn't worry about it too much. There's more to Spain than school." I know she's right, but I also know that I basically haven't been doing ANY schoolwork. Sigh. I'm going to feel so much better once exams are over. Please pray.

I was in sort of a weird mood much of this weekend. I miss you all so much, and I thought about that a lot this weekend. Another thing I've been thinking about is all the pressure I feel to "make the most of this opportunity." I know that this is a blessing, a once in a lifetime thing, but still. It is hard to be happy all the time. It is hard to not get discouraged when I miss people. I feel like I KNOW all the things I'm supposed to be feeling/believing/doing, but it is so hard to actually practice them. Sigh. I miss you all. May is still an eternity away.