San....Refried Beans.....San Ruffillo?

Ciao Bella! This last weekend marked the first of our many out of country trips of the semester. On Thursday February 24, Mackenzie and I set off on our Italian adventure. In typical Rachel and Mackenzie style, we were quite frantic getting everything together the day of our departure; but we actually arrived at the airport over 3 hours early (you can never be too careful with Ryanair). We flew from Sevilla to Pisa and then took a train to the Florence airport. We made friends along the way and decided to make an awkward video with people we just met. We actually made over 30 videos the whole time that we were in Italy...video highlights to come. 

We arrived in one piece and Katherine and Alli met us at the train station and we went to Dante´s for dinner. I ordered my favorite dish of the whole trip...a bowtie pasta with tomatoe sauce, pesto, and chili powder...yum. Mackenzie and I were instantly overwhelmed by the difference in Italian food from what we are used to. Food is such an art in Florence, and every meal was a different experience. Katherine and Alli have their own (adorable) apartment and cook all their own meals so we got to go to the market with Alli to pick out the ingredients for dinner. She made a WONDERFUL risoto with stuffed potatoes as an apetizer. Such the little homemaker.

Little Alli the Cook picking out groceries for dinner.

The Market where Katherine and Alli shop. So Italian.

We could have spent all day here. 

Some of the best dried fruit I have ever eaten. 

 We spent the first two days eating, walking around, shopping, and eating some more. We were blessed with such beautiful weather. Good thing we brought our running clothes....right Mackenzie?? We staying with some of our family friends, the Runns, for two nights while we were there. They live in a small town called Fiesole that is 4 miles outside of Florence. One morning, we woke up early and went on a hike around the town. That was probably one of my favorite things we did. Fiesole felt so authentically Italian. 

Katherine likes to sip on cough medicine. (Poor Kitty was sick most of the weekend) 

Bestiezzz in front of the Duomo

Ponte Veccio 

It wouldn't be Italy without a few solo shots. 

The third day in Florence, the weather was less than desirable and that interfered with our plans to go to Michaelangelo´s Piazza and the Duomo. This was my second time to Florence and I have YET to go to the top of the Duomo...what a joke. That rainy cold day was also such a joke. We tried to be as optimistic as possible, but the circumstances were a bit overwhelming. That night we left Florence and hopped (more like frantically raced to get on) our train to Bologna. We were going to stay with some of our other family friends, who are also on staff with Crusade, for two nights. We ended up missing our stop (San Ruffillo...I will never forget the name now) to get off by their house. We were stranded with no phone, no contact numbers, no address...nothing. I may or may not have had a hysterical laughing/crying break down on the train while sitting next to two Italian men. We asked a random lady at the train station to use her phone and we finally got in touch with the people picking us up and we arrived safely at their house after one of the longest, wettest days of my life. We were greeted by great conversation, warm hugs, homemade tortilla soup with sliced avacados, and chips and salsa. The Marcos´ said they knew they were having a Culwell in the house so they had to make Mexican food. They know the way to my heart. It was the best Mexican food I have ever had....Oh Chipotle, how I miss you.

Jesse and Tricia Marcos, our wonderful hosts! 

The next day was also miserably cold, but we were better equiped with umbrellas and a good night´s sleep. We walked around, ate a great lunch, did some shopping and had another delicious dinner at the Marcos´ house that night. It was so great to be with them and catch up; they remind me of my parents so much and that made me a tad homesick.


We lit candles in one of the churches we visited. 

We had a long day of travel back to Sevilla the next day, which included a 5 hour layover in the Pisa airport without seeing the leaning tower. When we got home we went for a nice long run to counteract the food we ate over the weekend and talked about what we thought of our first trip overall. Here is what we decided: We both absolutely loved Italy. It was so great being with Katherine and Alli (and Jordan!) and getting to see their world and spend good time with them. I had missed them both so much and the reunion was sweet.We were so thankful that we can speak spanish and communicate with people in Spain. There were many times when we just stood there like idiots when we couldn't communicate what we were trying to say with hand motions and broken English. The food, wine, and scenery were absolutely to die for. But we both found ourselves missing Spain, specifically Sevilla, the whole time we were there. I couldn´t help but compare in my head and think, "Oh but in Sevilla we do this...or in Spain we have that..." I realized while I was in Florence and Bologna that I wasn´t missing Austin or Texas; I was missing Sevilla. On those cold and rainy days I was so looking forward to coming back. I have officially begun to think of Sevilla as my pseudo home. Being in Italy just caused my appreciation/love for Spain and my experience abroad to grow exponentially. I have no doubt in my mind that God brought me to Sevilla for a reason and I am living with the family I am living with, have the friends I have, am taking the classes I am taking, and am learning the language I am learning for reason. God has a specific plan for me this semester and I can already list the ways He has grown me and provided for me. I know that I am in Sevilla during the spring of 2011 for a reason, and I wouldn´t trade it for anything.

Rachel, 

Refuse to worry! In this world there will always be something enticing you to worry. That is the nature of a fallen, fractured planet: Things are not as they should be. So the temptation to be anxious is constantly with you, trying to worm it's way into your mind. The best defense is continual communication with Me, richly seasoned with thanksgiving. Awareness of My Presence fills your mind with LIGHT and PEACE, leaving no room for fear. This awareness lifts you up above your circumstances, enabling you to see problems from My perspective. Live close to Me! Together we can keep the wolves of worry at bay.

-Jesus Calling-

Luke 12:25-26; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

No pasa nada...mira!

This one goes out to mah gurlz....Kenzer Bell and Little B. Saturday night was probably one of my favorite nights in Sevilla so far. Mackenzie, Betsy, Denise and I spent some time at my new favorite cafe, "The Glassy Lounge", journaling, chatting, facebooking, spending time in the word, and sipping cafes con leche desnata (coffee with skim milk). We decided to venture out to Sevilla Este because the church we have been going to was supposed to put on free salsa dancing lessons. How could we resist? But after the 15 minute walk and 20 minute bus ride turns out the lessons for the night had been cancelled. We ended up going to the "reunión de los jovenes" which was a night service for the young people of the church. One of my favorite things about Spanish is that I can worship in a totally different language and God still understands. We sang several hillsong classics...I just love Spanish so much more in a setting like that. The message was encouraging (ANIMO ANIMO ANIMO) and overall, I really enjoyed it. Then the adventure begins. We leave the church and walk outside to a constant mist of rain...do we have our paraguas (umbrellas)? Claro que no. Did we (and when I say we, I mean "I") end up sprinting through the rain while pulling up our (again...my) pants so they wouldn't fall down to catch the bus? Claro que sî. You're welcome chicas!! 

At this point it was around 10pm and we had yet to eat dinner. So we decided to try out "Mama Mia" on Calle Betis...a quaint sit down Italian restaurant. Again, we had another 20 minute walk in the now more constant, more intense rain. At this point we just submitted and didn't even try to run. By now it was just Mackenzie (Kenzer Bell/BG#2) and Betsy (Little B) and myself (BG#1). We ordered a bottle of the house rosado wine, one margherita pizza and one vegetarian pizza, and stole a whole lot of breadsticks. I think what made the experience so great all around was that we were eating good food, drinking good wine, having good conversation, making a scene by laughing so hard, and just continuing to grow deeper in our friendship.  

It is cool to see that God has continually found ways of weaving in things we love about Spain with things we love about home to bless us with rich and fun times together. Confession: we literally stole breadsticks off of other tables on our way out and put them in our purses. TOO FAR. We were greeted by yet more rain on the way home, but at this point, we really had nothing to lose. We split ways with Little B as she scurried back to El Centro and Mackenzie and I made our way back to our humble abode in Triana, so thankful for our night together.

a little piece of home.

God bless America. Seriously. Tonight, I had dinner and a movie with three wonderful people. It was just like home. We saw "Más Allá de la Vida" (Hereafter) with Matt Damon. It was an interesting experience to see a movie in a foreign country. For one thing, it cost 6 euros (roughly 8-9 dollars) which is far more than I am used to paying in College Station. We did get shushed a few times...no surprise there. The movie had subtitles in spanish which was actually distracting because I kept trying to read them. We absolutely lost it at one point...in one of the first scenes, the characters are talking about a girl named "June". They said the name "June" over and over again (in english) in this scene...sometimes just saying the word "June" and nothing else. But without fail, the spanish subtitles read "Abril" (April) EVERY TIME. Dying laughing...this actually wasn't even when we got shushed. We got shushed when I asked Mackenzie for a piece of gum.....whatever. No pasa nada. Another interesting quirk was the fact that about one third of the movie is set in France and is in french....with spanish subtitles. It took me a good minute for it to click in my brain what was going on. But overall, a good movie experience; I think we all shed a few tears. 

After the movie, we went to dominoes pizza for some good ole "American" cuisine. It was the best....let me repeat....the best pizza I have had in my life. It took us awhile to figure out what to order/which combination would give us the best bang for our buck, and we went with two mediums to split between four people. A dining experience to remember. 

I do absolutely love it here, but sometimes you just want to not speak spanish, eat american food, and watch a movie in english. So tonight was perfect. It could have ended with some churros...but now I am sitting at Mackenzie's house eating an orange...which by the way, I usually eat about 4 a day minimum. Just another eventful night on good ole San Vicente de Paul.....represent. 

snapshots of spain.

inside alcazar 

 love is everywhere in Spain 

 Plaza de España

Also the same place where Star Wars II was filmed. They wanted a location that looked "other-worldy". 

 Puente de Triana and El Rio Guadalquivir. My favorite place to spend a sunny afternoon. 

 Everything about this picture screams "euro". 

Ronda: a quant little city in the mountains. A breath of fresh air (literally) from the city life. 

 I love fence pictures. 

 Meet Emily and Denise. 

 This day in Ronda made me look forward to Colorado this summer. 

 Denise looking fly. 

 We were looking for ice cream. chocolate was calling our name. 

Katherine, this is for you. I was 10 minutes late to meet someone, saw this display and knew I had to capture it for you. 

A perfect day by the river. 

If I eat another orange while I am here, I am going to turn into one. But I can't stop. I am addicted. 

Chicaaaaaaas

I have officially completed by first week of classes at the University of Sevilla. Why so soon, you may ask?  Because I only have classes on Mondays and Wednesdays. Granted, I have class for 8 hours straight on those days. But I am still pretty sure it could possibly have the best schedule of all time. Not only do I have this ballin schedule, but my partner in crime, Mackenzie Lechlitner, has the exact same one. How will I ever go back to classes Monday-Friday? Mackenzie and I met on Summer Project in Santa Cruz, California in the summer of 2009. (Saaaaantaaaa Cruzzzzzz) We have been "planning" to study abroad together ever since. Our plans have been in process, and it is laughable how different our experience has looked compared to what we thought it would be like: 

1. We are in Sevilla, not Salamanca; and thank goodness...there is no way we could survive the cold. 

2. We are NOT studying through Globalscope (a program that combines studying abroad and a mission trip. Long story. We were two of the four girls TOTAL enrolled in the program....would have made for a lonely semester) 

3. We thought we would live really far form each other and we live on the same street here in Sevilla. This might not seem like a big deal, but let me break it down for you. There are 6 major areas in the core of Sevilla, some closer than others. We both live in Triana, which is a great area, even though we are somewhat in the hood. Living in Triana would have been something to freak out about on its own. The fact that we literally live on the same street....good ole' San Vicente de Paul...is crazy. God totally provided for us with that. 

4. Living with a host family is a bit more than we bargained for at times. Other times it is so worth it. We are both coming back with great stories to say the least. 

5. Spanish people are VERY good dressers. Maybe everyone knows that and we were just out of the loop, but I feel like a scrub 85% of the time compared to the way they dress. 

6. It is socially acceptable to let your dog poop in the middle of the sidewalk and keep going without picking it up. 

7. This is going to sound a tad ignorant...but you would think that people here would speak at least a little bit of English. False. Not only do most people not speak a word of English, but they don't understand you when you try to explain words in English to them. Example: I tried asking my host brother's girlfriend in spanish if she reads Harry Potter. She just couldn't for the life of her figure out what I was saying. I even said the words "Harry Potter" with a spanish accent...rolling my r's and what not. Nothing. After I explained the book to her she goes, "Ohhhhhh....Harry Potter....si si!" saying the words Harry Potter the exact same way I had been saying it. What did I do wrong? I will never know. 

8. The weather is beautiful and perfect for going on runs by the river. I expected to be bundled up until mid March. 

9. Our very best friend in the whole word, Heather McGill, is going to come visit us for 2 weeks and we are going to travel Europe together. I never in a million years thought I would get the opportunity to do something like that with people like Mackenzie and Heather. 

10. It is in the works to possibly have a mother-daughter weekend with Barb and Mindy in Barcelona over St. Patricks day weekend. (Still praying for this one to work out). 

Just a few thoughts about how no matter how much you plan for something, God can always intervene and change everything in one minute. Mackenzie and I's decision to come to Sevilla instead of Salamanca literally happened overnight. I remember thinking about how much time I had wasted worrying about the program in Salamanca working out, and how that was all over nothing. I know there have been so many things in my life that I have just been sick about with worry that all change in the blink of an eye. 

Meet Mackenzie. Confession....these aren't actually from Spain. Taken in November of 2009 in anticipation for our grand adventures abroad. Clearly...flamenco pictures and "S" picture for Spain. Duh.

I finally feel like I have a routine. I like routines. Today I went to the river with Mackenzie (I promise I have other friends too) and we both sat in the sun, listened to good music, spent time with the Lord, talked, laughed, and took pictures. Ok so we only took like 2 pictures, but still. That is how I imagined my time in Spain. Just sitting outside or in cafes with good friends and talking and reading and spending time together. I will definitely get my fair share of that during the 5 days without school I have every week. It is so cool to see how God has provided and been so faithful since I have been here. So many times, Mackenzie and I have just stopped what we were doing and thanked Him for all the ways that we have been able to hear Him say, "I am here. I have a plan for you. I am not going to leave you hanging. It is going to be hard at times, harder than you would like. But trust me. I know what I am doing. I will take care of you. Oh and by the way, I am going to bless you beyond your wildest dreams while I am at it." Being here has just assured me all the more, that life with Christ is always better. 

"In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy." 1 Peter 1:6-8

"And I will put this third into the fire,

   and refine them as one refines silver,

   and test them as gold is tested.

  They will call upon my name,

   and I will answer them.

 I will say, 'They are my people';

   and they will say, 'The LORD is my God.'"

Zechariah 13:9