New Term!

Hello Everyone!
So, as I just mentioned, it's already the middle of the semester, which is crazy! We just had our travel weekend, which means that we had 1 1/2 extra days with no classes. A group of about 20 of us (out of a school of 31 students) ended up going to Granada. Honestly, at first I was a little bit upset that so many people from Rio Vida were going to the same city, but in the end it was good. I think that it was the first time that most of us were traveling on our own, so that fact that we were all on the same bus and found our way to Granada as a big group made the transition easier. It must have been weird for the Spanish locals on the ALSA bus (the Spanish version of Greyhound buses), to get on and everyone was talking to each other,. Imagine a Greyhound bus fulls of talking, usually its completely silent! Once we were in Granada, we all separated, and went our own ways. Granada is such a beautiful city! It is going to celebrate it's 1000 year anniversary in 2013! It was first settled by the Muslims in 1013! Since then it went back and forth, several times, between Muslim and Christian governing powers. Everything in the city has a Arabic flair. The tourist stalls are full of North African and Muslim culture and fabrics and shoes and jewelry. The buildings have beautiful arches and are all so intricately carved. My friend, Heidi, and I got to go see the Alhambra, and beautiful castle built by the Moors (the first Muslim king who lived in Granada). Every single tile placed into the wall was hand carved almost a millennium ago, and it is still in great condition today. I wish I could explain the detail of the work, but it is just so amazing! Heidi and I did all of our touristy things on Friday, during the day, because we planned on going to Gibraltar the next day. It is a four hour bus ride away, but we both thought it would be worth it to go there, because it is a tiny piece of land that is still a British Colony. I don't know if I'll ever get the chance to go again, unless I'm in Spain, but no buses or trains worked out. So as we were trying to plan the day trip out, I quickly decided to make the decision to give it up to God, and if it was in his plan to make it work out, he would do that. Well, I'm so glad that it didn't work out, and that God's plan was fulfilled in other ways. We didn't get to go, but I'm not sad, because I know that it might happen another day. But the day that we had in Granada was amazing! We decided that we could take it easy that day, because we had already done all of the touristy things, so we decided to go hiking. We went to the tourist information booth (so helpful!), and the man their point out to us a nearby town. It was a 20 minutes bus ride there, so we took the chance and went on an adventure. We were waiting at the bus stop and heard some English voices behind us, which we thought was pretty cool. Then we got onto the bus, and they followed, and got on the bus as well. They were sitting all around us and talking about going hiking on the same trail that we were going to go on. So basically they ended up leading us to the town, and to the hiking trail! We saw them so many times that day! We figured out that they were a group of American students studying Granada and Madrid. We saw them at the top of the hiking trail again, and then as we were waiting for the 4:00 bus back into Granada. Well, the 4:00 bus didn't show up, and neither did the 5 or 6 o'clock buses, so Heidi suggested we hitchhike it back. We were talking with the Americans, and I kind of agreed (but I wasn't too sure about it...) but one of the American guys said he'd go with us. So we went onto the road and within a minute we had a ride back to town by a very honest looking guy :) The two things that were so great and God given, were this really nice man who drove us back into town, and this American guy spoke Spanish really well. We were just really blessed to be taken care of by God, because his hand in the situation was so evident. During the two hours that we were waiting for the bus, I remember praying, and knowing in myself that God would provide. It is truth, God will provide, but I definitely learned that we can't put God in a box. I knew he'd provide, and thought that a bus would come. But God didn't provide the bus that we 'wanted' and thought we 'needed', God gave us a spanish speaking American, a really nice random man to get us safely back into town, and also, in the end, a beautiful day full of sun, and a beautiful day getting out of the city to experience God's creation in a place I'll probably never see again in my life. So we got back to the city and went to see flamenco dancing, which was also such a great cultural experience. It was nothing like I imagined! I am so thankful to God for the wonderful trip that he provided, and that he made everything work according to his plan, definitely not mine!
           So now it is the middle of the semester already! It is so crazy that time has gone by so fast! But Spain is still great, and I am loving it more than ever. I am even picking up on the language! Every day is truly a gift from God. We learn new truths everyday, and there is so much to soak in and learn! I recently decided to wake up a bit early, instead of going straight to breakfast, and.. I am so glad I did! Starting the morning with prayer, reading the bible, and see the sunsets (which are such a testament to God's beauty) are greats ways to start the day. It is such a change to the day when you wake up and give it up to God, trusting that he will provide, and everything that happens is in his plan.
Hope all is well at home, or from where ever you may be reading this from!
Christi