Ok...so I know it has been a REALLY long time since I have blogged, but I am FINALLY going to finish blogging about Spain! Plus, it's kind of cool now, because I can reminisce about it this way.
So on Monday we started our cultural interviews where we went up to students in the city and asked them if we could talk to them for a few minutes. All the students were extremely willing and friendly to talk to us which was so encouraging. I was so excited that I could talk to them in Spanish and more importantly - understand what they were actually saying haha! Because everyone who has studied Spanish, knows it's one thing to speak it to someone and a completely other thing to be able to understand what they say back, since native speakers talk fast with heavy accents at times.
We asked them questions such as describe a typical Spaniard, typical Spanish family, what makes someone a good person, their opinion on the Spanish government, Catholic church, religion, and God in general. It was really interesting, because whenever we started asking about religion, they became more short with their answers, and it was obvious that they did were not as comfortable talking about that. Obviously religion is a big issue in Spain...
In the afternoon we had an "intercambio" at the civic center, where we invited university students out to have an interchange of culture. We taught them how to play cornhole and how to swing dance! It was a lot of fun and a great way to build stronger relationships with them.
One of the students from American University and their campus pastor also played some bluegrass music to show the Spanish students some historical culture. They played this song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ohPi38w64w
A Lighthouse Tale by Nickle Creek - and from now on whenever I hear that song I think of Spain. They were always playing that song whenever we had down time, and every memory I have from Spain seems to have that song playing in the background and it gives me a bittersweet feeling whenever I hear it. While it is a sad song, it can be true to life. Some of the lyrics go:
I am a lighthouse worn by the weather and the waves
I keep my lamp lit to warn the sailors on their way
I'll tell a story, paint you a picture from my past
I was so happy but joy in this life seldom lasts
...
And the waves crashing around me
The sand slips out to sea
And the winds that blow remind me
Of what has been and what can never be
Life is hard, life can be sad. And it reminds me that we need God to get through it, because He is the only thing that is above the sadness of life. Personally, since this song makes me sad and miss my time in Spain with my amazing Chi Alpha team, the lines "And the winds that blow remind me/ of what has been" remind me to cherish the time I had there and to be so thankful for how blessed I am.
I am a lighthouse, worn by the weather and the waves - but through it all, I can still praise the almighty God who has a plan for my life.
