Up, Down, and All Around

Hello everyone! I hope you're each happy and healthy and enjoying the fall weather! I'm having a bit of brain-fog so I apologize for the hodge-podge of this blog post. It is so horribly all over the place :)

Weathering

Here in Ubeda, the temperature changed extremely fast. A week and a half ago it was in the 70's and 80's. On Wednesday it dropped into the 50's and it's only gotten colder since. It has also started profusely raining, which is unusual for this area.

On the topic of health, mine slipped last week as I wandered the streets trying to find a doctor's office. Here's the play-by-play:

Tuesday is my long day at school, I teach 5 classes in a row with one 30-minute break. I woke up not feeling well and with no voice, and by the end of the day, I was in pain. I took a nap when I got home, and woke up feeling 10x worse (you know how naps can be).

On Wednesday, I did not go to school. I had to obtain a doctor's slip to excuse my absence, so I set out to find one. My program provides insurance that has a doctor's office in town. The earliest appointment was for a week later, so I just walked on in, hoping they would see me. They told me to go to the urgent care/emergency room down the road, so I walked there. Because I cannot read Spanish, I waited in the wrong line at the emergency room for almost an hour. When I finally made it to the ER they told me they would not see me, and to go back to the place I started. So, I walked back and tried again. At this point, I had been walking around for three hours and it had begun to rain. Teachers at my school called me and said they had made me an appointment at a different clinic, and that the clinic knew I was coming. I took the 10-minute trek there and was seen shortly after. By the time I got home, it was well past lunch, and I was exhausted.

I had strep throat and Covid-19.

So, I slept for two days, took my antibiotics, and was all better 72 hours later.

This begs the question, from whom did I get covid?? Who was I around that had strep throat??

The weekend before getting sick I went on holiday to Malaga. It was seriously so much fun, and there are pictures posted on that part of the website. Jana and I stayed in a 10-person hostel room (which is probably where I got sick from). We toured the Picasso Museum, went to two different beaches, and ate lots of very very good food. Malaga was a dream, it was so nice to get out. But every illness I had last week, I blame on Malaga.

The joys

Currently, Jana and I have an old friend from high school in town, and it is so sweet to have another familiar face around. I cannot tell you how much it brightens my day knowing that Miller is at my house. Sharing experiences here is the biggest joy, and I genuinely want everyone to visit. If you want to travel to Europe and have an "unconventional" stay, let me know and come visit Ubeda.

(A perk is that flights to the rest of Europe are so cheap from Spain. I have a friend who went on an all-inclusive trip to Morocco for 4 days for 291 euros and a friend who is flying to Edinburgh for 30 euros.)

We also had a dinner party with the language assistants in town on Friday night, and we toured the neighboring city on Saturday. The group of people we have in our small town is so sweet, and I love getting to know them more.

One of the biggest joys I have discovered is the family-walk culture after siesta. The streets are so crowded at 5:30/6 with people going on walks with their families. It is so sweet to watch them and also provides excellent people-watching.

The sorrows

There are only a few things that have proven to be sorrows in my short time here. One of the few is the lack of a Trader Joes, or my ability to cook for myself. That is another shortfall that allowed me to get so sick last week. I am not fueling my body the way it needs to be fueled. The grocery store nearest me has slim pickings, and the larger grocery store is a 20-minute walk from my apartment. I need to bite the bullet and buy a pull cart. Regardless, I am determined to start cooling real meals this week.

(Update: I made tomato basil soup from scratch last night with grilled cheese and it was VERY easy and VERY good. It was around 8 Euros for the produce, bread, and fixings, and made probably 5-6 servings. I have leftovers!)

This one is a little bit raw... I did not expect my spiritual life to take as heavy a hit as it has since being here. It feels like I was bundled up and insulated when I was at home, but in coming here all the layers have been stripped away. I feel like I am standing in shorts and a tee shirt in the middle of a blizzard. That's a bit dramatic... But it is weird to be in a place where you cannot communicate, there seems to be no church, and there is no community of believers either. I told Molly Mustafa before coming here that I "feel like I'm going to training camp!" I just did not expect "training camp" to be as spiritually isolating as it seems to be right now.

Bottom Line

I have only been here for 3 weeks. Part of my joy and sorrow is a result of culture shock, part of it is my lack of emotional preparation before moving. Most of it is my being dramatic. I fly home in 5 weeks for my brother's wedding and then have the long stent of 5 months away from home after. There is a lot to be thankful for and a lot of prayers that the Lord has answered. I am extremely thankful to be here, and am excited to see what the next few months have in store!

Prayer

If you are in the process of praying for me, thank you. I crave routine and calmness right now, and I am excited to stay in town this weekend (and not be sick!). Please continue to pray that if the Lord will is for me to have a spiritual community here, it will come sooner rather than later. Or, if not, that I would see the plan and provision He is causing my growth to come through.

When I get homesick I think about the people who read this and smile. Y'all are my hype crowd and it's awesome. Y'all are awesome.

xoxo

Your resident American in Spain