Discovering Facets of God

         I apologize ahead of time for the rambling that is going to occur in this blog.  I haven't thought through all of this yet, but I am learning so much about God that I want to share it and get it down before I forget.  One of the reasons I wanted to study abroad was to learn more about God.  I know that is not a typical reason for studying abroad, but I believe that the different races and cultures in the world can teach us different truths about God's character.  For example, a church body is made up of believers that are given different spiritual gifts and the body only works when all members are performing their specific gifts.  These gifts are manifestations of different "traits" of God.  If you then broaden this concept to different cultures and races, there is so much more to learn about God!! God's being encompasses the love and enjoyment of life of the Spaniards, the passion of the French, the drama of the Italian, and the fire of the Irish.  I have learned a lot about how different people's cultural backgrounds can be and how important it is not to judge people's form of worship, etc. because for them, it may seem perfectly normal.  However, I need to admit that the other day, I judged a couple based on their ethnicity, and immediately was rebuked by God who reminded me that these people were image bearers of God as well.  Today at church, there was a mission team from a Bible school in Denmark.  There was a student from France, and we started talking about the different burdens God has laid on our hearts.  It was amazing to me how passionate and worked up he got about his beliefs.  There aren't many American guys who will get that passionate about their beliefs.
       Another lesson I have been learning, is that the experiences we have in our lives shape who we are.  I recently learned about how my host family lost a son a few years ago.  I was thinking about how hard that must have been for them and how I wished I could take the pain from them.  But then I remembered Lois Lowry's book The Giver and I realized, that sterilized world is exactly what we would be like if we didn't have our memories.  Memories remind us of past experiences, painful and beautiful, and how we deal with these memories/experiences, determines who we are.  Do we turn to God? or away? Without these, we would be like robots living in ignorance without any depth of character.
      This final lesson seems rather random compared to everything else. Today I was wondering why I didn't love to listen to classical music like all my fellow musician friends and colleagues.  I also wondered why I don't always have a passion for playing my instrument.  I mean, I love to play and fiddle around and make up stuff, but I don't like practicing or even playing standard music sometimes.  Today I realized it was because I didn't see a purpose to the music.  It was notes on a page to me and nothing more.  It was someone else's expression and not mine.  I also didn't see how playing standard violin repertoire was praising God.  However, it suddenly hit me that music in its essence is a creation of God's.  I have always known this, but it suddenly made sense to me that, if I am playing music with the intent to worship God, then it is glorifying to Him because He created music.  Granted music can be twisted by mankind to be the complete opposite, but when I am practicing unaccompanied Bach, I can appreciate the complex sounds as something a man put together using the sonorities created initially by God. Therefore, even when I am practicing, I am worshiping God through music.
I hope all of my ramblings made sense!!

Pensamientos

      This coming week is midterm week.  I am not too worried except for my History and Gypsy class.  They both have a lot of dates and names to memorize.  Also, the professor was sick for four of the class sessions for Gypsy class, so we are really behind.  Oh well,  nothing a little studying won't fix....
This week has been so long! Partly because my roommate's health started going downhill, so I've been worried about her.  Wednesday she got really bad, and then Thursday she wasn't really able to walk.  Friday I went to the hospital with her so she could get a saline i.v. infusion.  It helped give her energy and clear her mind, but she was still unable to walk without assistance.  She decided as of yesterday that she should go home to the states. It's super sad!!
     Besides that, there hasn't been much going on except for class. However, I was thinking the other day about the differences between English and Spanish.  Spanish tends to be a much more formal language.  For example, there aren't any real substitutes in Spanish for the words "awkward" or "messy".   The closest you can get to awkward is "uncomfortable" and the best word for "awkward" is "unorganized".  Not quite the same meaning. Also, when I am speaking Spanish for a length of time, I feel like I am a different person.  I don't really know how to explain it, but I am thinking in a different manner, putting thoughts together in a different way, and it's a really weird experience.
     Last bit of news......this week was the start of Carnival.  I haven't really seen much except for a few people in costumes.  Today though, a friend and I watched a parade and then saw the "orange fight".  It was absolutely crazy!!

There was the King of Silliness and all these people dressed up in outrageous costumes and bunch of little kids dressed up.

 The orange fight was this explosion of orange streamers, balloons, ginormous balloons, and confetti that was everywhere! The "King" was up on a stage through it all singing crazy songs including "Gangnam Style" redone as "Barcelona Style".  It was Crazyness!!

A Day In The Life

       A day in the life.  This week has been the ultimate definition of that phrase.  A couple weeks ago, my roommate and I found this little café that's half a block form our home stay called Molika Cafe.  Our host mom actually recommended it to us as well, and goes there often to buy bread and baked goods.  Elicia and I have been going there to study because there is free wifi and the atmosphere is perfect.  There are little tables with pillows, and large wooden table in the middle, baked goods that are homemade fresh every day, and amazing coffee.
     Last Wednesday was the Barca vs. Madrid game in the King's Cup.  We met up with some friends at a restaurant that had a huge T.V. Everyone in the restaurant was glued to the game, and took forever to buy a drink because the employees were so distracted trying to keep up with the game.  At halftime, Elicia and I had to run home for dinner (because we eat so super late), and then we watched the rest at home.  It was so fun to get so involved.  They ended up tying 1-1 but it was an amazing game.
     Thursday, the weather was so beautiful.  It was almost 70 degrees, sunny, and not a cloud in the sky.  After classes, I went to Parc de la Ciutadella to practice violin while my roommate read for homework.  ( I made sure to ask my host brother before I left if I would get arrested or not haha).  While I was playing, two policemen rode up on the motorcycles.  I thought I was about to get in trouble, but instead they complimented me on my playing and one of them told me that he used to play violin too.  Then they drove away, but came back and idled a few feet away kind of listening.  Then they drove away again.  Five minutes later, they rode back up and the one officer pulled out his iPhone to show me pictures of his violin! He told he played for five years in middle school, his violin was from Italy, and he loved hearing violin music. We laughed so hard after they left! :D
     I have really enjoyed getting to know my host siblings.  Gonzalo is fun to tease like a little brother.  He thinks I am crazy and he told his mom that I scare him.  :P Paola is super fun and out-going.  Friday she went running with me! I came out of my room dressed in my running clothes, and she got all excited and asked to run with me.
      To top it all off, I finally made it to church.  The worship service was awesome, and the message was on Jonah and the speaker talked about how we try to "hide from God" by filling our lives with good stuff.  We may miss God's call by purposefully leaving our current circumstances and any reminders of God's will, or by simply not taking the time to include God in our decision making.  There were quite a few people form the U.S. there, as well as people form France, Spain, and Nigeria. There is a young adult group that meets on Thursday evenings that I want to check out sometime as well.  After church, Elicia and I walked to the beach, ate gelato and crepes, and sat in Plaza Catalunya in the sunshine.

Montserrat

     Today we took a trip to Montserrat right outside of Barcelona.  Montserrat means the "serrated mountain"and is named because of it's unique shape.  We took a bus to the mountain and then hiked up to different spots.  It was beautiful and there were amazing views! The wind was really strong and cold though.  We walked out to this point, and all of a sudden, the wind picked up so hard that we were almost blown off our feet.  I couldn't breathe, and my friend was clinging to the railing for dear life.  Our guide then took us through the museum where we learned about the life of the monks who live in the monastery on Montserrat.  They live, eat, pray, and study on top of the mountain and they have the second largest library in Cataluyna.  We were also shown a video of the choir boys who go to school at the monastery and tour around the world.  After the museum, we had a few hours of free time so my friends and I ate the bocadillos and apples IES had provided for us, and then visited the church.  It was incredible!!  The decorations were made of ivory, gold, and wood and everything was extremely intricate.  I felt like I could have sat there for hours and still not have seen every single detail.  In one room at the back of the church there is the "dark virgin".  It is a famous carving of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus.  The carving is in the Romanesque style, and it is made of wood that has been oxidized so that now, the skin of the Virgin and Jesus is almost black.  Her nickname is "Little Moreneta" which means "The Little Dark One".  She is holding a round orb which represents the earth, and Baby Jesus is holding a fruit from a pine tree which represents eternity.  People come from all over to pray and kiss the orb in the Virgin's hand for good luck. They them leave a present as a thank-you gift in another room.  These gifts are very strange and include wedding dresses, figurines, and pictures.