February 20

I don’t want this blog to just be about my travels. It’s not that I don’t want to describe my travels, but there is so much more to my time here than just explaining what I’ve been doing. It would be wrong not to write about. Naked. I hate that word. I hate what the vulnerability that is associated with it, and yet that is how we are called to come to God. To strip away all the images we cling to that make us feel good; because at the core of each one is something so hideous that there is a reason we try so hard to cover it up. Tenth Avenue North says “I need your strength to feel this weak”, and in that beautiful paradox is something so profound. Only His strength can make us realize how powerless we are. This is where I have been this week. I am so tired of looking good, trying hard enough, and having everything figured out. The truth is that I am so weak, I can’t ever be good enough, and I certainly don’t have it all figured out. God has been showing me this over and over in Oviedo.

With that said, let me fill you in on a little bit of what I have been up to for the past two weeks. My class schedule is finally fixed. After talking to professors here, e-mailing advisors in the U.S., and figuring out which classes I can understand the most Spanish, I now have a schedule that leaves all of my afternoons free with classes that will count for credit at Chapel Hill. I have also found a place to run that takes me up above the city and gives a beautiful view. Sometimes it is hard to keep running because I just want to gaze at the view, and I satisfy that wish more often than not. I have also met many more international and Spanish students, and it has been great getting to know them. This last weekend on Saturday night each person brought a dish to Johanne’s apartment; the end result was delicious. On Sunday we took a day trip to a nearby pueblo called Llanes on the coast. It is beautiful. A grassy walkway along the cliffs above the ocean, quaint little streets filled with tourist shops, and small cafeterias selling té y café were part of the relaxing day. We went where we wanted to go, stopped where we wanted to stop, and ate when we wanted to eat. 

The biggest change is that now I feel at home. No longer do I walk along the streets clutching my map, no longer do I sit alone because I don’t know anyone, and no longer do I feel overwhelmed all the time. Oviedo has become my temporary home. I love the people, I love the buildings, and I love that I have the opportunity to study here. I am so excited to see what all this semester brings; I am excited about the trips I will take, the things I will do, the people I will meet, and the places I will see. Most of all, I am excited to see what God does here; I know that He has a plan for this place, this time. In all things, para Dios ser la gloria. 

Left to right: me, Julianne, Johanne, Magnus

One of the beaches in Llanes

10 days in

The last week and a half have been a blur. Sometimes I feel like I’ve already been here for months, and other times it’s as if I just arrived. Little glimpses into the past ten days are the best I can do to describe it. 

The first day of class. I stare blankly at the professor as I wonder to myself if he is actually speaking a language that I know; I understand about a tenth of his words, and that tenth tends to be the least important. The Spanish students around me furiously scribble notes, so I know that he is, in fact, communicating, and it is, most likely, important. In other classes I do understand a bit more, and in a few the professors are very helpful when I tell them that I am an international student. The international students in the class all stick together, advising each other about what classes to take and communicating in whatever language we have in common.

Moving into my own room. After spending three nights sleeping in the living room, I was finally able to move to a room with a real bed a place to myself. Two giant posters of men’s faces grace the wall, and the room is only slightly bigger than the size of the bed. Nonetheless, it is mine- at least for the next four months. Lucia and Mariajo, my two apartment mates, are very patient with my Spanish and have already spent many an hour answering my many questions about Spanish culture, music, and food.

Sitting in the police station. On my way to eat dinner with other international students, I reached down to feel my pocket and suddenly realized that my wallet was gone. My debit card, driver’s license, school I.D., and various other important papers in my wallet were lost. With the help of a mildly tipsy, but very gracious, elderly man, I found the police station. After about an hour of waiting, I was able to report my wallet as lost. A new debit card is currently on the way, and it will be a relief to be able to get our more money.

Traveling. A day spent riding a bus with one hundred other international students is always interesting. In some ways it felt like we were back in middle school on a field trip, but there were ten different languages being spoken at the same time and everyone was about ten years older. A cathedral tucked between steep mountains, the first capital of Spain, and crashing waves on sharp cliffs were a few of the sights seen. The pictures below do a much better job describing than I can.

My time in Oviedo has been such a gift. There have been times when I’ve just wanted to sit and cry, but there have been so many other times when I realize how much I already love it here. The multitude of other international students, getting lost in the city, beautiful parks, and blue sky are only a few of the things that stand out in my memory. It is so different from anywhere I’ve ever been, and it has already been such a learning experience. 

The view of Oviedo from my running path

The cathedral that we visited surrounded by mountains

The ocean meets the mountains

The first day

Traveling twenty-four hours can be rough. Traveling twenty-four hours and then having nowhere to stay when you arrive is even worse. After experiencing planes, trains, subways, and taxis, my arrival into Oviedo was met with rejection at every hotel I walked into. On the verge of tears at midnight in a strange city, I was dramatically questioning why I had ever wanted to study abroad. My taxi driver took pity on me and began to call hotels with his personal cell phone. Finally, he found a room in Hotel Ibis, a brand new hotel just outside the city limits. I slept like a rock. 

Drizzling rain greeted me from the window of my room when I awoke the next morning. After calling another taxi, we piled my bags in and drove to the city. I bought a hostel card and moved my luggage into a cheaper though still nice hostel. On foot now and armed with a small map, I took out to conquer the city. That is, to buy a cell phone and check in at the university. My complete lack of direction was proven again and again as I wandered through the streets. Catedrals, zapaterias, and sindrerias confused me at every street corner. Parks, lush with green grass, beckoned invitingly as small children played on the playgrounds. After about two hours of drifting around, I managed to get three large, painful blisters that began to taint my appreciation for the beauty of the city. Determined now, I managed to find a cell phone provider and buy a phone.

The next stop was the Universidad. Much easier said than done. The blisters on my feet were becoming extremely painful and were causing me to hobble instead of walk. My sense of direction was literally leading me in circles, big circles. Two hours later and after asking several people for direction, I eventually stumbled onto the university campus. My sense of accomplishment was short-lived when I walked into the building and they informed me that Carlos, the international student advisor, had already gone home. I was without anywhere to go, no one who even knew my name, and no way to find an apartment. Seeing my distress, a kind professor at the university mentioned an information board with possible apartments. I rushed to the board and managed to scribble every telephone number down. One advertisement looked especially promising and I called immediately. A bubbly woman answered and excitedly asked me to immediately view the apartment. Only a two minute walk from the campus (although it took me more like 15), the apartment was small but cozy. Composed of three bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a small living room with a tv, the apartment also has wireless internet so that I will be able to communicate. Lucia and Mariajo, the apartment mates, are very friendly and accustomed to international students. It is perfect. I will move in as soon as their old apartment mate moves out; or possibly before and I will sleep on the couch. 

So here I am, back in the hostel, an apartamiento waiting, four days until classes begin, and recovering from my blisters. The song “By Your Side” by Tenth Avenue North has been my theme song. God is good, may He be glorified. 

the most famous cathedral in Oviedo

A beautiful park on the outskirts of the city

I love the hills in the background