I'm in Spain.
I still can't really believe it..... well, except for when I look out my window at either Arahal or the hills of Andalucia. All the work, planning, and saving finally have payed off and I'm here. A dream come true.
The flights were fun. Nothing really extraordinary happened except that I sat next to two retired ladies who kept mispronouncing "Dubai." Everything went smoothly until I got my luggage at Madrid. In previous entrances to England and re-entries into the US I had been given a customs card to give to the agents. I was not this time and as I approached that "Nothing to declare"/"Declare" decision I was a little apprehensive. I went to ask someone who looked official but he spoke no English and waved me through this exit to my right. Then I was in Spain. For about the first 15 minutes or so, I wondered whether I was in the country legally and mentally lamented every green card joke I'd ever made.
After a long search and an unnecessary detour to terminal 4 (which could have been avoided had the person giving me directions been clear) I made it onto the bus that would take me to the train station, Atocha. I had a nice talk with an Italian girl named Nicoletta. She spoke no English and I don't speak Italian but we were able to communicate quite well through Spanish. I finally got off the bus at Atocha and found the ticket office after about 10 minutes of looking. Long story shorter, after 3 flights totalling about 12 hours and a 2.5 hour train ride from Madrid to Sevilla, I made it to Arahal. It was a great comfort knowing that people were praying for me.
This place is awesome! I'm staying with Manolo and Rossy and their one-year-old son, Manolo. Manolo Sr. is the pastor of a small church in here in Arahal. I've only been here for a day but I've already begun to settle into the routine. Breakfast is pan y pan dulce (bread and sweet bread). Lunch is between 2 and 4 PM and dinner is usually around 9 or 10PM. The food is delicious! We eat a lot of puerca (pork); in the supermarket today there was literally a wall with smoked pig's legs hanging from it. (I would guess probably 70 to 100) To buy one you simply ask the attendant to give you a sample and after you have selected the one you want, she slivers off super-thin slices until the desired amount is reached. As you might expect, this takes a long time.
Arahal itself has about 5,000 more people than McPherson in about 2/3 the space. There are several beautiful churches. The streets are tiny. It is exactly what I imagined a European town to be like.
I guess my sleep schedule hasn't caught up quite as well as I thought it had - it's almost 3 AM here. Tomorrow I want to find a route to run. Thanks for reading!
P.S. I apologize for the random, slightly ADD writing style which is particularly evident in the last few sentences. If you were ever to read my journal you would discover that it is, unfortunately, the rule and not the exception.
The writing is great.
ReplyDeleteI really like how the whole meal schedule is shifted later by about 2-3 hours. That would be my ideal, but that's not how things usually work in America.
I'm interested in the local culture - is there a strong sense of community and shared public life or do people mostly stick to themselves?
I enjoyed this blog very much and am happy to hear you are safe and enjoying your stay. I hope there are many beautiful Spaniards who love your accent.
ReplyDeleteWow man, I still can't believe you're there and doing this. I read this whole thing with a big smile on my face. It's so unreal to me that one of my best and longest known friends is out of the country just doing his own thing for two whole months. And my smile grows bigger when I think about how well you're going to do there and what you're going to learn cause you're such a smart and successful person.
ReplyDeleteIt's great to read this, and you better keep those pictures coming!
Gah, I love you man. I'll be praying for you. See you in a couple of weeks.
Also, I laughed when I read the running route, the only words that came to my head were "he would."
Jono - from my limited observation, it would appear that there is a strong communal sense. Family is very important and is the context of much of the social interaction. Manolo and Rossy seem to know about everyone in this town.
ReplyDeleteSteve - thanks! I'll make certain to snap some pics of people here for you. You would love it here.
Brendan - thanks man! I appreciate your encouragement and prayers so very much. Rome is going to be legendary! Love you too bro.