Seasons

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind. Tonight marks the beginning of Carnavales here in Spain. Carnaval marks the beginning of the Lent season. There are different theories, but the most widely accepted is that Carnaval began because during Lent, there are certain foods that are prohibited. So, just before Lent, there would be community-wide feast to eat up the Lent-unworthy foods, usually which consisted of rich food and drink. Out of that came Carnaval. Although steeped in tradition and Catholocism, today's Carnaval is far from it. Madrid doesn't have huge Carnavales, but there will be a parade tomorrow that we hope to see, either downtown or on television. We'll let you know how the Carnavales turned out!

Also, our house has been in another season of illness. We have heard that this is very normal while getting used to all the new germs of a new country, but it has been a bit discouraging at times. We are praying that there isn't much else we need to get our immune systems used to before we can be well!

This month, we're not even sure what season it is!!! One week the highs were in the 60s, and we LOVED it! The next, the highs were in the 40s, but because of the previous week some of the trees started to bloom! This week, it has been in the high 30s/low 40s, and it snowed last night!!! No wonder we're having a hard time adjusting!

We haven't been able to do much besides language school over the last few weeks because of sickness, so there's not much to report. We have had the privilege of being a part of a small group here in our town that just started back up within the last month. When we've been able to go, we have thoroughly enjoyed the fellowship and Bible study. We also have been attending language school (when we haven't been sick!), and are learning a whole lot. We can't believe that we only have two weeks remaining in our course! Thanks for joining us in this journey! Can't wait to share more!

Here we are on a nice day sitting in the main Plaza of Alcala waiting for friends

Here are beautiful blossoms on a 40ish degree weather day

And here is the snow from this morning!

The cut-back trees in the Plaza de Cervantes covered in snow

Another view of the Plaza with some snow.

Catching Up

Time to get you guys caught up on the happenings of the last month!

Much of January was spent lying on the couch or in bed with various illnesses. Seriously, it feels like we've been sick every other week since we've been here! But thankfully we've been healthy for a good while now, and we're hoping it'll last for a while!! It's been great the last week or so because 1. We bought a humidifier. This has TREMENDOUSLY helped our breathing. Coming from the humidity capital of the United States, the dry air was really having an effect on our respiratory systems. 2. The weather has been GREAT the last week! We don't have any sort of air circulation in our house unless we open the windows, and up until now, it's been too cold to open them. But this week, the highs have been between 50-60, so we've been able to open the windows and get some fresh air! It has made all the difference.

On January 10th, we started our 3 month course of language school. We've been taking classes now for 4 1/2 weeks now, and we've already learned so much! Our class is a bit interesting, as the majority of the students are from China. It's like a cross-cultural experience within a cross-cultural experience! We're trying to make the most our of this semester, trying to get more practice outside of the classroom, and we've been able to do some extra-curricular Spanish practice. It's been a great experience compared to learning Spanish in the States since the entire class is in Spanish. It helps to learn everything without having to constantly translate from English to Spanish. It's been much more tiring to learn a language than we ever imagined! We get done with classes at 1:30, Monday through Friday, but the mental exhaustion has forced us to really prioritize what we devote ourselves to during this time of language study. We've had to really look at the big picture of this year, the opportunities we have right now, cultural adaptation, responsibilities we've committed ourselves to, and try to balance it all to maximize the impact of this year for our future here in Spain. This internship so far has only ignited our desire to return here long-term. Don't get me wrong, we've been way up high and way down low here...dealing with a huge variety of emotions in only 2 1/2 months already. But being here has added a whole extra layer to thinking about our future here.

Also, we're trying to work it out for our parents to be able to visit us. However, coming to Spain isn't the cheapest thing as you may have guessed, so would you please pray that God would provide the finances for especially my (Kimberly's) parents to visit us? It would be a huge blessing for us to see our parents this year. Thanks!

Here are a few pictures from our last month here! For more pictures, you can see them here and here

Here is a beautiful view of the equally beautiful city of Toledo

Micah and I in Toledo

The GORGEOUS cathedral in Toledo

Our youth meeting with youth from our church