I'm sensing a shift in the way those around me approach their time in Spain. The first days of our program were filled with meetings and small adventures to get us excited about living in spain, the next with learning to adjust to our rooms, our room mates, the language and everything else that is foreign and intimidating and exhilarating about a new place filled with the unknown. But I feel as time passes and the magic of newness fades a bit, those around me are realizing that there are obstacles to face, classes to struggle through, and no parents or friends close at hand.
This was the first week of midterms and papers and the instinct to do only the very best is alive and fighting in all of us. As we do our best to take notes and exams in a language we do not understand and in a system that is designed to be a challenge to spaniards I find those around me beginning to feel more like students than vacationers. Of course it is better to understand that we are here to learn, both in school and in our other experiences, but I hope that we are able to keep our wonder at the beautiful things around us and the opportunity we have to experience it.
Today I saw a man picking oranges from the orange trees that line the street, a child dressed in a suit walking with his father who wore jeans and a sweater, I saw a flock of doves, white wisps like cloud pieces painting pictures in unison in the sky, I saw a woman sitting against a grey stone wall holding her hands to her face so passers by couldn't see her red eyes and damp cheeks, and I saw flowers that don't grow in the united states, purple with alternating ascending and descending petals creating a purple throne on each side of the flower. Look and see what is a blessing to your eyes, its a pretty world full of pretty things. My next entry will be about the castle of Sevilla, until then take care grandma, I hope its not too cold in kentucky these days and to all who may be reading remember to vote in your local primaries, its your right as an american. Adios.