Soy Española, No?

I am... Just... Yeah, let's go with pictures:

Left side being restored. Eloisa told me that the stone used to build the Cathedral is very porous and needs to be replaced/maintained frequently as Galicia is known for its rain.

Galician exchangers! Left to right: Xenia, Hope, me, Eric, and Katie

Botafuemeiro being swung above congregation

Light streaming in through window (seen due to excessive amount of smoke from the botafumeiro.)

Exchange students being exchange students...

Supposedly Saint James' tomb

Cathedral seen in distance and picture taken at the nunnery down the road from it.

On a tour, I got to walk on the roof of the Cathedral!

Part of the city of Santiago de Compostela

I should add that there are NO filters of any kind on any of these photos. The sunset was, indeed, that vibrant and amazing to see on top of the Cathedral. Perhaps I should also mention where this is... Last Saturday, I visited El Catedral de Santiago de Compostela. Other than being a stunning site to see, it is a very important landmark and is rich with history! 

Santiago de Compostela is the capital of my autonomous state in Spain, Galicia, so it has many important government buildings and officials there. It also has one of the best universities in Spain, and a large portion of students in Galicia choose to go there. It also is one of the oldest places in Spain. According to legend, Saint James the Greater took a route through all of Europe and the Iberian Peninsula was his final destination, and with him, he brought Christianity to Western Europe before he was beheaded in Jerusalem in 44 A.D. His body was taken back to Galicia and buried in Santiago de Compostela. King Alfonso II de Asturias ordered the construction of a church where James' remains could rest in 829 A.D. but was later burned by another king in 997 A.D. The Cathedral that I visited began construction in 1075 A.D. In 1122 A.D., the "final brick" was laid when in reality it has been embellished, updated, and restored since then. 

Nowadays, pilgrims also take a journey like Saint James did to walk to this Cathedral. Some start in Spain, others in France, Portugal, or even Germany. Pilgrims have been coming since the cathedral was first built and Alfonso II de Asturias was the first one there. Rumor has it that the Botefumeiro was not only introduced as a ceremony of prayer but to cleanse the pilgrims of epidemics and make it smell not so horrid in the church. These people had been possibly walking for months without bathing and living in the wilderness or hostels in the same clothing. The incense was supposed to cleanse them.

And there you have it! Nice little history lesson! Our day consisted of all meeting at the Cathedral, doing an informal tour and going to all of the plazas around the Cathedral, eating lunch together, going to the nearby convent, and then back for a formal tour where we got to go on the roof! It was absolutely stunning and it blows my mind to think how this building is 600-700 years older than my home country! The USA is a baby in the world compared to Europe! But then again, Kosovo is only 5 years old, and that is in Europe...

Next weekend, I am off to Vigo to have a Thanksgiving dinner with all of the Gallego kids! Unfortunately, Johan couldn't make it to Santiago, but next weekend we will be together! To meet these people only a few times and immediately be friends is just amazing. Not only does this happen with my fellow Gallegos, but with any exchange student I have met so far! There is something innate that draws us to one another because we understand and we long to be with people who know exactly what we are going through since we all were thrown into our adventures head first. These people are easy to talk to and we all share some commonalities as Rotary chose us to be where we are today! Not only that, you can talk to exchange students you have never met on Facebook, Instagram, etc. and feel like you really are friends. 

This type of community really can't be found in many other places in the world, which is what makes us a unique group. We see the world differently, that it is more than tourist destinations and vacation hot spots, but a place to live with people who have a culture/language/family/traditions different from anywhere else in the world. Each place is different and shaped by its own and its country/bordering countries' histories and makes it special, which is why going on exchange gives us the chance to live this instead of reading from a text book! I never could have told you before coming here that those who speak Gallego are usually passionate about it and defend its right to be taught in schools because it preserves a culture and history that otherwise would be lost. The little social norms that are only found in Galicia or Spain allow my exchange to happily nestle into my heart as I am now changed and will be bringing back some of these to the states to practice or promote. For example, electricity is SO expensive here, and although I would love to have on a bigger light in my room, it isn't necessary and I always have to turn my light/heater off when leaving a room. Why don't we do this in the states?! Think of how much energy we could be saving and CO2 emissions prevented! I can see the turbines out my window that help power my town, and being from the Midwest where it is mainly flat, why don't we have this either?! The air is so crisp and fresh and clean here! Or even seeing bad examples has led me to change my behavior such as students having no respect for teachers in class, talking while the teacher talks, etc with no punishment. I now have an elevated respect for my teachers here considering they deal with a lot, and the least I can do is try to be helpful by smiling at them, maybe pushing in that extra chair, or taking notes even when I don't have to to show I am intently listening.

I have officially signed an important document for soccer which allows me to play in games. Get this: I haven't played soccer since I was 6 or 7 years old, and now I am playing for my local team in SPAIN. Spain is one of the best countries in the world in soccer! And they want me to play! My teammates keep asking me when my first game is and encourage me a lot during practice even though I really am not that good of a player! I still don't have a position, but my coach will more frequently put me in a forward spot since I run a lot and am not afraid of physical contact or getting hurt (thank you, rugby!) At the same time, I still am training with rowing (just lifting weights right now...) as well as my marathon. I have now hit double digits on my long runs WHICH MAKES ME HUNGRY ALL THE TIME. I really don't like being hungry all the time, especially when my peanut butter is running out... 

Second to last, these past few weeks have been just amazing. I finally feel like I fit in. My friends are asking me to do stuff on weekends, some of my teachers make me take tests (had my first one this week and I didn't study for it, thinking I wouldn't take it... Geronimo..,) my Spanish is so much better and I can communicate very effectively now so that I can even express opinions in class or write a short commentary on the characters Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in "Hamlet" and how the King and Queen had such an influence on them that they were willing to betray their best friend. The little sister of one of my friends in Vigo said I talked really fast to her. YEAH SPANISH. Life is great.

Last, but certainly not least, my mother has been so kind to remind me why I am here: by God's grace, and it is incredibly easy to forget that. My new prayer is that He humbles me in all that I do so that I can live for Him and that His light is shining through me, that that is the first thing people see in me. God's word is what is guiding me and that has caused me to shift in some of my beliefs (for the good!) Some might call me old-fashioned and make fun of my orthodoxy, but God's word stands and we should not let society influence the Bible but let the Bible influence our society. The saying that God remains the same through the ages and never changes has struck a chord with me and although we are now living in a more radical time of Christianity with tattoos and piercings and gay rights and a lot of... Change. People are interpreting the Bible to how they want to read it to fit what they are arguing, but truly you can't argue the word of God. It stands alone and is what it is.

~Ashlyn

P.S. Take a peak at my photo stream for all of my pictures from Santiago de Compostela!

To, Too, Tú, TWO

Today. Today marks the day that I have been in Spain for two months. 61 days. 1,464 hours. 87,840 minutes. 5,270,400 seconds. I don't even know how to fully comprehend this. I constantly say to myself how it feels like I have been here for a long time, but also a short amount of time. At this point, I can confidently say that I don't feel as though I arrived here yesterday. I can now have a normal conversation with people. I am now taking notes in Gallego in the classes where my teachers speak it, and in Castellano in the other classes. (Actually, sometimes I accidentally put some of my notes in Gallego in my Castellano classes.) I feel confident taking a walk through town without getting lost or feel as though I have no idea where I am. I do not feel shy when I tell a stranger that their dog is cute. I can read normal books in Spanish. I am not just surviving or experiencing the world, I am LIVING it. I am a part of this life here! How exciting is that?! I have the opportunity to wake up in the morning and say to myself, "I am in Spain, I am 4,019.65 miles (6,469 kilometers) away from the place I am accustomed to, and I am a part of an exciting life." My year here is not just an adventure or a trip: this year is a new life that I never had the opportunity to have at home. I participate in rowing, am on the girls' soccer team, take guitar lessons, live in an apartment, have a younger brother as well as two older siblings (who don't live with me, but I have talked to and/or met,) speak a language that I did not grow up with on a daily basis, etc. THIS IS AMAZING! I can't stress that fact enough!! I am so excited in this very moment!

I would also like to share some things I have learned so far from being here:

1. Kikoman soy sauce is significantly better than the Heinz verison.
2. Living without Netflix is hard at first, but you eventually get used to it. For the record, I do have an unlocked version of it where I can watch it here, but I hardly use it.
3. Rain is not better than snow. As much as I say I would trade the snow for anything else, I take that back. If it is going to be cold, at least give me something beautiful to look at.
4. You can have family by blood as well as family by love and acceptance.
5. There is not a defining factor that distinguishes Spanish people from another population.
6. Not talking during rowing practice makes your coach and teammates think that you don't like it (which is not true.)
7. Having goals makes being motivated much easier.
8. Somehow, putting your hazard lights on and parking in the middle of the street is just fine.
9. Apparently, not everyone learns the primary colors in elementary school and what combinations are used to make secondary colors or what pairs are complimentary colors.

Now, things always aren't this exciting. Usually, I will go to school, come home and eat, take a nap, go to rowing or guitar, take a run, come home and either shower or wait for soccer practice, eat again, (shower if I went to soccer,) and go to sleep while somehow checking Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Imgur in between. Quick side note, if you catch me on one of these sites for a while, tell me to leave and go outside or something. The Spain exchange students did decide all of one hour ago to start a book club and our first book is "Los Juegos del Hambre" ("The Hunger Games" but in Spanish,) so that should get me off the computer. I have also set time limits for certain websites, so that is helping too. ANYWAYS. Where I was going before is that recently, I have been in a little bit of a slump. I have been really tired lately, finding it hard to have motivation to do the things I enjoy, and wanting to be alone. I contribute this to the lack of sunshine we get here. As a Minnesotan, I should not rely on the sun to give me all of the Vitamin D I need considering the sun rarely shines for all of the winter months (November-March, possibly April) in MN. 

This being said, coupled with the things I have learned so far, and running a 10K in Madrid, I have officially decided I will be running a marathon this March in Barcelona! Some of you are now thinking that I am crazy, that isn't good for my body, I am already involved in other sports so I don't need more, etc. I would like to tell you the pros about me running this race:

• Forces me to stick to a training plan and go running (and not use "it's raining" as an excuse)
• It helps me make friends!! I get to be healthy while socializing and practicing my Spanish? Count me in.
• Gives me a goal to work for instead of running aimlessly
• It will progressively help push past limits I have set for myself

Since the last time I have posted, I really haven't done much to be honest. Mostly relaxed and slept on the weekends... We did have the Samhain festival (Halloween) last weekend where I walked in a "parade" of townspeople led by three people carrying ghosts on sticks. It was very odd. No costume parties, barely any candy, nothing I was used to. Culture shock. I do hopefully plan on going to Vigo for Thanksgiving, maybe, kind of, total guess right now. December, I will for sure be going to Madrid and Granada for Christmas and New Year's that will include extended host family. Crossing my fingers, I hope to visit by best friend Sarah (I graduated high school with her and she is in Belgium through Rotary right now) and Soren (in the Czech Republic with Rotary) in March as well as my marathon. Phew. Lots of planning required and it makes me think how fast this year is going by. I will make a video to comment about that later. 

Prayers to combat this sometimes slump I get in would be much appreciated and that I continue to pursue God in this part of the world that so needs His love. I want be a bridge to show that love and that it is always present and existing no matter what people do. Hard thing for me to wrap my mind around, but I can't imagine what it is like for those here who haven't had the opportunity to learn about God in the way that I have. A good friend told me that she doesn't believe in God because the God that exists here is the one dating back to Medieval times. What God is that? The one where if you were rich and tithed more, the more likely you were to go to Heaven, and the poor never got a chance to experience God. Breaks my heart to hear this because that is not the case by any means and I wish for them to know different. I can tell them all about God, but He has to soften their hearts first and allow His Word to flow through them. Prayers would be lovely.

~Ashlyn

P.S. the very few pictures I have taken since my last update will be posted on my photo stream very soon!