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