Here I am...now what?

Dordt Blades

2009-10-24T19:14:00.000-07:00

I went to a hockey game last night: Dordt Blades vs Calvin Knights. Justin and I bet dinner on the game against two of our seminary friends who attended Calvin College. Calvin was very smooth. Their passing was crisp. They moved as a cohesive unit and filled open space. 12 minutes into the first period the Knights seemed to have their broad sword firmly placed against the neck of the defenseless Blades. 4-0 home team. It did get better, but not much. Dordt lost 8-3. It looks like Justin and I will be cooking a delicious vegan meal in the near future.

Cali to Barista!

2008-10-23T17:28:00.000-07:00

First of all, i'm not sure if anyone will read this now that I'm back in the US and accessible more easily by phone (515-402-9325). But if anyone is interested, I'll throw out a little update.
Since arriving back in the US a few days shy of 2 months ago, I've seen California, the Hoover Dam, Las Vegas, and the Grand Canyon all for the first time! Pretty amazing. I also went to my first country concert: Luke Bryan and Josh Turner! For someone who isn't too enthusiastic about country music, I really enjoyed the concert! I've also moved into my first apartment with a lease and bought my first matress. Fun stuff!
And now, I am a barista at Starbucks! Yep, I work at Starbucks. How is it? Very mixed. It's fun learning how to make all of the drinks and often fun doing it; but today I started at 5am and was busy making drinks non-stop from 6:30-9:45: not too fun! But, so far it has been a good experience and my boss and coworkers are really great, so that helps a lot.
If you're ever on I235 and going by the 73rd street exit, you might want to consider taking that exit and stopping in for an amazing beverage! :)

Beautiful Good-Byes!

2008-08-25T05:30:00.000-07:00

The past four days have been filled with crazy fun as I've been trying to see people, eat dinner with people, and have fun in Korea one last time with good friends. I have eaten a ton of really amazing meals, I've played some really fun games of ping-pong and bowling, went to a wild dance club, and stayed up to watch the sunrise! It's always a little sad to say good-bye, but I'm really thankful that I have these wonderful people in my life from this past year in Korea. The joy and friendship that they have brought me and the hope of seeing some of them again makes these good-byes beautiful.

Amelie!

Amy and I dominating on the alley!

Janie, Amelie, and Gary bought me a sweet North Face man bag for a going away gift!

At the dance club with Jen!

Joseph, Gary, Justin, and I went out for an awesome dinner at the outback! Yes, Justin, Gary, and I are wearing the same shirt. Couple t-shirts are really popular in Korea so we decided to get triplet tees. :)

The love was felt at the dance club, even though Justin and I might be worse at dancing than we were at guitar! :)

A beautiful sunrise over the ocean, captured from our apartment window overlooking Yeong-do. I'll miss the view.

Saying Good-bye, Saying Hello

2008-08-17T05:03:00.000-07:00

In 10 days I’ll be leaving Korea and arriving in the US—367 days after arriving in Busan. As I prepare to leave this place, I am experiencing many different thoughts and emotions: sadness to leave many wonderful people, sorrow to leave Justin, confusion about what I exactly did this last year, joy to see many loved ones in the US, excitement to be near Jenni after a year of phone calls and distance, and uncertainty about what exactly I will do this next year.

I also have been thinking back on many of the joys and frustrations of this past year. Living in another culture really is an adventure; but it’s often a jungle of confusion in which you feel lost among the different customs and an unfamiliar language. And believe it or not, contrary to what many people think, living abroad is often boring. It can be difficult to do things, or even find out what there is to do. There aren’t a lot of friends around to call all the time, especially on the weekends in Korea: everyone’s in church! And then living abroad can be lonely.

Justin and I have discovered that we know many people, but other than one friend, no one really knows us. There are many familiar faces and people who are friends, but not many friends whom you can deeply discuss thoughts, confusions, feelings, and ideas with. And then the loneliness can be increased when many of your friends and those whom you love in the US have somewhat disappeared from your life; never calling you and rarely emailing. It can be frustrating to have to always be the one to call. And I know that’s just how life goes; you make friends and then you grow apart. I am extremely thankful that Justin and I were here together, it really made life a lot better.

But enough of the frustrations, there are countless more joys. The main joy, other than Justin, has been Gary. Gary has been a wonderful friend whom I will dearly miss when I return to the United States. We have had many hilarious nights when Gary has slept over at our apartment, or when we were hanging out in the city. One time he was giving directions to some tourists; he was directing them to the beach but was afraid of mispronouncing “beach” as “bitch”. So, instead he said “be-och”, not knowing that it happened to be the “hip” pronunciation of “bitch”. Gary was embarrassed, but us and the tourists had a good laugh. :)

Another joy has been our numerous friends from Cambodia, Kenya, Thailand, the Philippines, and of course Korea. Though the depth of the relationships hasn’t been great, I have learned so much from them about the world and the beautiful variety of cultures and people. Their joy and laughter will remain in my heart and memory for many years.

I also have loved the food in Korea! It’s so good! From rotten cabbage mixed with rice, to dog soup, to seaweed wrapped rice! OK, I know that doesn’t sound good, but it is!!

Traveling has been another huge plus. On top of Korea, seeing Japan, Cambodia, Thailand, and the Philippines was incredible. It was so eye-opening to see the variety of ways of life, so challenging to encounter different life philosophies and cultural differences, so heart-breaking to see the poverty in many of the places, and so incredibly moving to see the beauty of God’s world and the greater beauty of the people he has placed in it. Though from hundreds of countries with thousands of different cultures and subcultures, we are all human and all God’s image bearers. It’s beautiful to see and experience in so many places.

Yeah, this year has been an amazing experience full of both sorrows and joys; and that is what I feel as the end nears: sorrow and joy.

Laziness

2008-08-10T04:44:00.000-07:00

Hey all! So, I went to the Philippines, but don't really feel like blogging about it. This is pretty obvious since I've been back for 10 days and haven't yet. It's not that it wasn't a good trip, because it was, I'm just lazy. :) So, to hear all about it and see some pics please go to Justin's blog at justinvanzee.blogspot.com or click his name on the right under chingus. Thanks Justin! :)

Mud Festival and Kid's Class

2008-07-18T08:08:00.001-07:00

We got a little dirty! (Left to right: Me, Justin, Amy, Beyonce)

Actually, everything got really dirty!

Beyonce! (Mi Ji)

Judy and Phyllis must've skipped the lessons on hygiene.

The crew!

The Boys!

I had a few clingers!

Yeah, they are cute. :)

Summer!

2008-07-05T06:46:00.000-07:00

Summer vacation has finally come for me! The other professors at Kosin have been done for 3 weeks, but I ended my time as an English Professor with a 3 week summer course. It was a great way to finish my experience as a professor in Korea; I had some really fun students and the class was a joy to teach. I'm really gonna miss teaching in the classroom next year.

The last 2 weeks have also brought 2 interesting discussion nights. Justin and I were invited by our coworker, Jen, to go to her friends apartment to watch a video and discuss Islam. The video, What the West Needs to Know about Islam, had the stated goal of sharing the truth about Islam, but had a very blatant purpose of portraying Islam as a religion of war and domination. While it may have stated some or many truths, it didn't seem to at all represent the majority of Muslims that are non-violent and do not want to destroy those around them. Anyway, the video led to some interesting discussion.
The next week we watched an interview with Chuck Colson, Greg Boyd, and Shane Claiborne about the role of Christians in politics. (Here's the link to the video: http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/evangelical_politics/.) The discussion afterward went a lot of directions, but one big issue was the connection of voting and abortion. The seven of us there were all against abortions with the main idea being the sanctity of life and humans being created in the image of God. But from there I followed the suggestion of Shane Claiborne in the video that perhaps we should also think about what being prolife means for all people, not simply unborn children. That definitely brought up a lot of different perspectives, and as I figured, I was in the definite minority of those who had a leaning towards pacifism and non-violent resistance. I wasn't too bothered by this, I know there are millions of Christians who believe in just war and the like. What concerned me that night, and what concerns me more often, is the number of people who will argue very well for the sanctity of life and humans being created in the image of God when the lives of unborn children are at stake, but the ideas don't even cross their minds when they talk of going to war with other nations to defend our freedom. Yes, I love the freedoms in the United States, but it bothers me when we seem to worship freedom and fail to even give a first thought, let alone a second thought, to the cost of that freedom...not for our citizens, but for the world. Don't get me wrong, I love America, I just want people to think about the sanctity of life seriously and beyond the scope of unborn children.

On another note, I read this article (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/julyweb-only/7-2-24.0.html) in Christianity Today and was wondering what some other people think about it.

Anyway, happy 4th of July. I hope you enjoyed some awesome grilled food, a good beer, and watched some fireworks with the fam.

This is what I really wanted on the 4th and miss dearly from the USA!

Finished...kind of

2008-06-14T01:48:00.000-07:00

Friday was the last day of the semester at Kosin. Exams were written and students left campus for the summer. The foreign faculty is now finished and can relax for the summer...except for me. I will be teaching a 3 week summer course, which is good b/c it will help prevent boredom, but bad b/c I will need to continue wearing dress clothes everyday. :( Hopefully the class goes well and is a lot of fun though; it could be a great way to end my experience as a professor in Korea. HA, that still sounds funny. :)

Oh, this is my look for the three week summer course. If anything, I might teach them that it is ok to look different. :)

Summer Culinary School

2008-06-08T06:17:00.000-07:00

This summer I have some pretty big plans. Ok, not really, just three so far. I want to walk a lot, study Spanish some more, and cook. I'm not really going to a culinary school of any sort, but Justin and I both feel that this summer has huge potential to bring a lot of boredom, so my plan is to become a better chef (in a very loose sense of the term). In order to do this I would like a little help: please send me an email with your favorite recipe or 2. Seriously, email me a recipe at adamvangelder@gmail.com. I know I could find plenty on the internet, but I'd prefer to cook the things my friends like. Oh, and baking recipes (breads, bars, cookies, ect.) are welcome as well. So, email me. :) Thanks.

Jenni was here...it was amazing! :)

2008-06-02T00:10:00.000-07:00

It's time...

2008-05-13T05:05:00.000-07:00

In exactly 48 hours Jenni and I will be driving from the Busan airport to Kosin...together! A long distance relationship isn't all bad; you get to know the other person pretty well through countless conversations. But that might be where it ends. Distance really takes away a lot of the elements involved in a healthy, well rounded relationship. I could go on and on about how much distance sucks and all the things that you miss out on, but I won't. I'm just super excited that I can finally hear Jenni's voice without it being through a poorly connected phone line and see her face without it being on a computer screen or picture.
My point: I probably won't contact any of you in the next 14 days, nothing personal.

Happy 23rd!! :)

2008-05-06T20:53:00.001-07:00

Lots of good friends came to celebrate! :)

Justin made me one of the best chocolate cakes I have ever had!!!

Peanut Butter M&M's!!!!! I love you Justin!! :D

Painting!!!

2008-05-05T17:33:00.000-07:00

My office has been really ugly since I got here; an off-white speckled with brown has been my surroundings. So, last night after watching Taken (a pretty exciting movie) Gary and I put on some music, stripped to our boxers, and painted my office...a surprisingly bright blue! It might be a little too bright actually, but we only painted 2 walls and will paint the third a really dark blue to balance things out. and yes, I do have four walls, but the fourth is already plain white and we might leave it that way. Anyway, color has come...and it's wonderful!!!

BAKING!!!

2008-04-27T02:31:00.000-07:00

Justin bought an oven, it was delivered today! Immediately after putting it in it's new home Justin made banana bread, and then we made 2.5 dozen chocolate chip cookies! I love baked goods!! :)

Here's to you Dordt Maintenance!

2008-04-24T04:02:00.000-07:00

Today the lock on my office door broke. A gust of wind slammed my open door shut and 3 of 4 screws holding on my lock came out. Fortunately, a maintenance man was able to come with new screws and put my lock back on. Unfortunately, an internal piece was positioned incorrectly when he secured the lock into place. Even more unfortunately, I didn't discover this until I left my office and locked the door. When I returned at 5pm I discovered that I could only lock my door from the outside but not unlock it. By this time the maintenance workers had all gone home and would not come until the morning. Not a problem except my wallet and apartment keys were inside, and I had students coming Friday morning for thier midterm conversation tests.

So what did I do? I did exactly what the son of a dordt maintenance man should do; I grabbed 2 screwdrivers, hunted down a ladder, broke into my second floor office through the window, and reassembled the lock correctly.

What's my point? I'm simply trying to highlight the fact that the Dordt maintenance crew could possibly be one of the top crews in the entire world. Dordt maintenance would have been there at 10pm to help a professor get into thier office (but they also would've assembled the lock correctly the first time).

Here's to you Dad, Arnie, Paul, Phil, Vern, Lyle, Stan x2, Doug x2, Lee, Cindy, Kevin, Duane, Brian x2, Carol, Jeanne, Judy, Eldon, and Wilma! Keep up the amazing work!

JOY

2008-04-19T05:57:00.000-07:00

Kosin is built on the side of a small mountain, so to go from building 1 to building 2 you must go to the fourth floor of the first building and then walk outside to enter the first floor of the second. It leaves many people gasping for air daily as they climb the steep incline.
The other day, a student named Violet was ascending the stairs of building 1 ahead of me. As she climbed she looked out from the dimly lit building upon a beautifully sunny day and saw the path outside veiled in falling cherry blossoms. She instantly let out a giggly squeal of intense joy and leaped up the remaining 5 or 6 stairs into the rays of sun. She dashed 20 feet down the sidewalk and plunged her nose into a branch covered with sweet, white blossoms. Then, after inviting the beauty and aroma of the blossoms to settle into her memory and fill her heart with delight, she literally skipped down the sidewalk and up the stairs into building 2!
I walked up to my office with a warm heart and huge smile, feeling blessed to be a spectator to such pure and beautiful joy. Thanks Violet. :)

Australia = America (sometimes)

2008-04-17T00:26:00.000-07:00

As I left the office yesterday, I wanted to have nothing to do with Korean food for supper. Don't get me wrong, I love Korean food, but I was just sick of it. I also didn't want to make any of the semi-American food that we had at our apartment; you can only eat toast, or eggs, or pancakes so many times. Upon arriving home, I found Justin laying on his bed, looking beaten down and tired (it's been a long week). Last semester, at times like this, we would go to the United Seaman's Service; a restaurant that serve's awesome hamburgers, fries, and imported beer. However, the USS became a members only establishment, so we were denied service the last time we went. So, last night we opened up our wallets and went to Australia (or the Outback Steakhouse) with Gary and consumed a ton of BREAD and shared a pitcher of Foster's draft beer (Korean beer is terrible!). Oh, Gina came too, but just for the company b/c she already ate. She's good company. :)

PNU

2008-04-13T06:25:00.000-07:00

A Saturday of discoveries began alone in a usual place; the busy shopping district of Nampo Dong, twenty minutes from Kosin.

After some wandering and a heart-shaped donut with pink frosting and both cream and strawberry jelly filling, I called Gary. Gary was watching TV, lame! So, we decided to meet in Someyon (a newer, and possibly more popular, shopping district). The big discovery there: the MacBook Air! Ridiculous! It is so light and so thin, but probably not very practical (still cool though).

After the Mac store, Gary and I headed to the PNU (Pusan National University) area. It's the newest popular shopping district, frequented mostly by the college crowd, and an area of Busan that I've never been to. We met our friend Gina there, ate some awesome spicy chicken and rice combo for supper, explored the university campus, and drank some coffee at an Italian coffee shop.

What a great day of exploration and friendship! :)

Sunday: the Lord's day

2008-03-20T19:05:00.000-07:00

Ok, as an alumni of Dordt College with a degree in theology, I firmly beleive that everyday is the Lord's, but we do often set aside Sunday as a day for rest and worship. Here in Korea, Sunday is much different from what I grew up with in North America. In the US and Canada, many churches have dropped their evening services while in Korea many churches have anywhere from 3-6 services! I often respect the dedication to prayer and communal worship that the Christians in Korea have; they are very focused on worshipping God in the classical pietistic ways. We Westerners maybe too often stray away from that, but the Korean worship also reflects the workaholic Korean culture. One student wrote, "the Lord's day is very busy and requires much exertion." I hope that you are finding a good balance of working for God while also taking time to rest in Him. Happy Good Friday!

Waves

2008-03-11T07:25:00.000-07:00

My life is filled with things that come and go and come and go again, kind of like waves. They usually don't disappear entirely, but they come on strong and then fade away and then come back again. One major wave is working out: I'll be really dedicated for a while and then I just won't do anyhting for several weeks. I think I gained 10 pounds when I was home for Christmas; all i did was eat awesome food and meet people for coffee! But then I went to Thailand and Cambodia and walked several hours a day. I'm pretty sure this will continue throughout my life; I'll get sick of it so I'll stop for a while, but then I have this deep desire to be a sexy 40 year-old so I'll go back to it. ;) And then there's the wave of music preference. One week I'm listening to Sufjan Stevens, the next week it's the latest pop songs, and the next I'll be craving Beyonce or Timbaland. Another wave is reading. One month I'll read 3 or 4 books, the next I won't get past more than 4 chapters in a book. There a so many waves: love Korea, sick of Korea; estudiar Espanol, avoid Spanish like the plague; cook, eat out; miss Jenni a lot, really miss Jenni (ok, that one doesn't change so much); read the Bible, hear the Bible read at church; call friends and family, live in a state of pre-object permanence; read the news on BBC or CNN, getting the weather report via my mom; and on and on.
This week the waves consist of working out, Stephen Speaks, Romans, loving Korea, really missing Jenni a lot, and calling friends. Next week: ???

Back to reality...I think

2008-03-04T15:59:00.000-08:00

This week is the first week of classes. This means that my 3 month vacation has come and gone; that my days of sleeping in until 11 and doing absolutely nothing related to work all day are finished; that I can’t ride elephants, raft down rivers, or eat awesome Thai food for under a dollar; that I can’t see the faces of my family, friends, or Jenni unless it is via pictures or webcam; basically, my dream vacation is no more. Instead, I’m back to meetings entirely in Korean, teaching 7 English classes, and wearing ties. Back to reality, right? Well, maybe not in the sense that most people think of it. I’m back to the reality of my life in Korea, which means celebrity status as the young American professor. I’m back to assembly halls filled with hooting, hollering, and whistling when I’m introduced on stage; I’m back to people thanking me several times for simply remembering their name; I’m back to groups of girls chattering excitedly and giggling as I walk by; I’m back to people older than me bowing and calling me professor as they hand me a drink that they just bought for me from the vending machine. Yeah, I guess I’m back to reality, but a really, really strange one.

Thailand and Cambodia Captured on Film

2008-02-22T00:22:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! So, I'm finally back in Korea, settling down, and actually having to do some work. Justin and I returned from Thailand and Cambodia about 3 days ago and, although the trip was amazing, it's really nice to be in one place and establish some sort of routine.
There are a ton of stories from our trip about people, food, elephants, magnificent temples, boat rides, hikes, and many other things, but most of them can be told through the pictures. Just copy and paste the addresses below into the address bar and they will bring you to my facebook albums containing many of our experiences captured by camera.

http://dordt.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2010033&l=91938&id=148300132

http://dordt.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2010034&l=8ad26&id=148300132

Thailand

2008-02-01T02:58:00.000-08:00

Justin and I have been in Thailand for almost one week now. We started in Bangkok; a busy city full of beautiful temples and people looking to make a quick buck off of the tourists. We saw two of the major temples, both full of golden Buddha statues, and a few other things and then left for the small city of Pak Chong near Khoa Yai National Park. The city of Pak Chong was wonderful; no one was yelling at us to buy touristy things, the people were super friendly, and everything was really cheap. We got to and from the National Park through a lot of hitchhiking and ended up hiking an 8km trail (guide suggested strongly) and swam in a beautiful pool by a waterfall. After Pak Chong we went to Sukothai, a town famous for the ancient ruins at the old city. The ruins were really incredible: lots of old temples and giant Buddhas. It's incredible waht people made by hand hundereds of years ago.
Right now we are in Chaing MAi- a huge tourist city. Today we got soaked by rain while we looked for a guest house, drank good coffee, and then got an hour massage for under 4 dollars! It was great. We are trying to take some cool pictures, so ho[pefully I'll put a bunch online once we are back in Korea.

Thailand, Laos, & Cambodia!

2008-01-25T21:54:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!
It's been a while since my last post, and that's because I was at home. The last month I had an amazing time with my family, friends, and especially Jenni. It was great to be back in the USA and see so many amazing people, which also made it pretty hard to leave and come back to Korea.
I was planning on getting back to Busan on Wednesday night, but due to a cancellation in Sioux Falls and a delay in Minneapolis I arrived Friday morning. This is fine, but I am leaving tonight (Saturday) for a 3.5 week trip with Justin through Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos. I'm not exactly sure what the trip will bring, but I will be taking lots of pictures and sharing some stories. Stay tuned.

The End of Church!

2007-12-16T05:41:00.000-08:00

While in Korea, the worst day of the week has usually been in Sunday. The second day in Korea Justin and I ignorantly agreed to teach Sunday School at a church. We soon discovered that the hour drive there, combined with all Korean services, poor translation (if any), having to stay there for almost all of the day, and discovering from from the translation we did receive that we wouldn't go to this church if it was in the USA made for a lot of boredom and annoyance. We probably would have tried to quit during the semester, but the church bought a car and donated it to the university so we could drive to the church every week (cutting the 2 hour public transportation commute in half). So, we stuck it out through the semester and informed them that we would not be returning after break. This means that today was the last day and that we are now free from our bondage! However, mthe people at the church are really kind and generous, so it is a little bit sad to be finished. My Sunday school class, composed mostly of university students and young adults, gave me a pair of shoes today as a gift! The shoes I have now have "lasted" two years and should have been thrown away 5 months ago (the entire toe folds back to reveal my sock on one, and there is a big hole in the side of the other). It was super generous of them, but they got the biggest size...they were 9.5's! hahaha! oh well, it's the thought that counts! :) They're going to return them.

New Entries

2007-12-04T18:52:00.001-08:00

Hello all! I just added some new posts, but they are below the modeling one so you have to scroll down. Sorry. :)

Hilarious Phone Call

2007-12-02T22:12:00.000-08:00

Saturday night I was sitting on a beach, looking out at the ocean, and talking with one of my friends named Judro. We were just talking about a lot of different things when my phone rang. It was my assistant, Andrew. Andrew is a pretty fun guy, so when I answered the phone I was expecting him to be out on the town and wondering if I would join him. I answered the phone and Andrew went into his usual flow of "Hey man! Yo, what's up man, whatcha doing? Where you at, man?" The guy watches a lot of MTV, so his English is pretty much like an MTV show; it makes me laugh everytime. Anyway, after the usual small talk he says, "Hey man, you want to be a nude model?" Yep, you read that right: a nude model! "My friends need a nude model and I thought of you. They'll pay you 40,000 won (about $40) for 30 minutes." After turning him down and then exchanging some text messages I found out that his friends are art students (photography!) and they needed to take photos of a "muscle" man for their upcoming exhibit in Seoul. HAHAHA! What an awesome phone call! I said no, but if it would have paid more...maybe I could have been the modern Statue of David. :)

Dog, it's what's for dinner!

2007-11-30T08:24:00.000-08:00

For thanksgiving, Justin and I wanted to have a special meal. We made some big plans, but they had to be postponed for a day. So, on Friday, the day after thanksgiving, we ate DOG!! It was delicious! It has a similar consistency to beef, but much more tender and flavorful. It might have been some of the best meat I have ever had. Plus, it gives you energy! :) I definitely suggest a serving of dog to anyone feeling fatigued. Seriously, everyone should at least try it once!!! MMMM!!!!!

Gary and Joseph: two great friends and men with great taste!

The dog soup-mmmm!

Not much better than a little dog with your best friend!

Daegu!!

2007-11-30T07:54:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago we went to Daegu with a guy named Glory. The weekend was a lot of fun, partly becasue of our activities and partly due to some substantial language barriers. :)

Friday night me ate at an all meat buffet! I think we had about 10 plates of raw meat that we cooked. When this picture was taken I was already full, I think there are 6 or 7 plates.

That night we slept at a Jimjabong. It is a big public bath house (men and women seperated) and then a joint area with saunas and sleeping areas. They sleep with blocks of wood for pillows. Definitely not me best night of sleep. This is Glory in front of some slumbering Koreans. :)

The next day we explored Gaegu and saw the sights. I found Justin interesting. :)

Fan Death: A Korean Killer!

2007-11-19T22:25:00.000-08:00

Lately, there have been some very good hearted people telling Justin and I to be careful. Why? FAN DEATH!!! Yep, fan death! Aparently, if you leave a fan on while you are sleeping it will suck out your soul and leave a lifeless shell on your bed. OK, not quite that extreme, but a majority of Koreans do believe that you will die if you sleep with the fan on! Some say that it must be a small room with the windows shut; I tell them that that is called suffication. It's pretty ridiculous though, they really believe you will die. One girl said she saw it on the news; she said a very old woman died in her sleep with the fan on. So one person died in their sleep in all of Korea and happened to have the fan on. I took that opportunity to explain that Santa and the Easter Bunny do not exist, and the WWE is fake. But no, they insist it's true: FAN DEATH!!!! I just want to share this to tell you all to be careful, really. Fan death is not a joke.

Kid's Class

2007-11-15T23:48:00.000-08:00

Everyday, Monday-Friday, I teach 12-15 9 and 10 year-old Korean kids a liitle bit of English. I teach objects, and simple sentences like "I like babnanas." Sometimes they listen, sometimes not. Some of the kids are really sweet, some are funny, and some are crazy! Sometimes they teach me some Korean. Often they teach me patience. :) Some days are exhausting, but most of the time the kids are a ton of fun and they always make me laugh. Except for the one that keeps farting. It's not funny!

Kirby and Esther

My Korean Nemesis!

2007-11-12T03:15:00.000-08:00

While in Korea I have experienced some defeats and frustrations, but not too many or any too large. However, I have one foe, whom I met on the first day here, that has succeeded thus far in getting the better of me. The First day at Kosin I attempted to use this strange toilet; it was a disaster. I ended up naked, awkward, and unsatisfied. I swore to accept defeat and never return. I kept my oath for over two months until the other day I found myself in a peculiarly adventerous mood and unhealthily full of confidence. I walked into the bathroom and faced my nemesis head on! Disaster? No. Victory? Definitely not. This time I left only feeling slightly awkward and whipped, not severely beaten. I have not braved this stall again, but maybe someday. I often say that I'll try anything twice: I've done it twice, and that may be enough. Maybe...

Football!

2007-11-07T17:21:00.000-08:00

Tuesday night we played football/soccer with the English department, students and professors. It was a blast! I almost scored a goal...on my own net! :( However, Justin scored from over 50 feet out on a beautiful shot, lasering the ball right past the goalie! Immediately he was surrounded by a mob of cheering men. Justin became a hero to many that day. What a guy, what a guy!

The ballers.

The man!

The friendship.

DUKE

2007-11-06T17:18:00.001-08:00

Justin and I got a new roommate last Saturday. His name is Duke. He's beautiful, but he has been making my fingers hurt; they actually feel tender as I type right now. :) I hope we become good friends, but selfishly, I hope I become his master.

Serenading the camera.

I Love the Students!!!

2007-11-05T03:51:00.000-08:00

Here are two reasons why I love my job!

"Adam Professor" by Bora

From Amy

It's easy to be a blessing to someone, give it a try.

Happy Reformation Day!

2007-10-30T21:42:00.000-07:00

Today, 490 years ago, a guy named Martin Luther nailed a peice of paper onto a church door. It was an act of love, and step towards change; and that is what it did, it changed the world. The definition of the verb reform is: the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. Maybe today is a good day to reflect on a lot of different things: personal, family, work, church, society, friendships, beliefs. What needs reforming? Along with some reflection, which should always be followed by action, join in the other great tradition of Luther and eat some candy! :)

2007-10-18T03:16:00.000-07:00

Professor Shim and I

Justin looks huge on the subway! :)

Kimchi!! mmm!!

Carolyn and I at the restaruant that looks like her "Grandma's scrapbook threw up!"

We finally found syrup for pancakes!

The Waves Are Crashing

2007-10-11T17:07:00.000-07:00

It turns out that there is actually quite a lot of work involved in being a professor at Kosin. At the beginning of the semester I didn't know what to do with my time, but now that assignments are being returned for grading and mid-term tests are right around the corner the days have become quite long. However, grading and planning are not the only reasons for long days. As the senester has progressed I have een getting to know a lot of the students so more and more have been stopping by my office, or wanting to eat lunch together, or inviting me to play basketball with them. I really love my students; they are so kind, and generous, and fun-loving, and overall funny people. Sometimes it is very draining to communicate with people in broken English for hours a day, but it is usually a really fun experience.
Besides university related activities, Justin and I went to Seoul last weekend to meet Professor Shim and see a bit of the city. Seoul is so huge that it is hard to see much of it in 2 days. We did see part of the Berlin wall though, there is a section in downtown Seoul, so that was pretty cool. Seeing Professor Shim was definately the highlight though. If any of you reading this are still at Dordt, take the opportunity to talk to that man! He is very humble and honest and full of great wisdom; basically, he's the man! We also met with Carolyn in Seoul. It was great to see her again, kind of refreshing actually. It is fun to talk to someone with a similar background and get their perspective on Korea, plus she is just a really fun person! We ended up going to a resaraunt with her that she described as looking like "my grandma's scrap book threw up!" The restaraunt was really small with pink, flower print booths, fake flowers all over, pictures of couples on the walls, and random toys and books. It was a pretty funny place, but the food was solid. we also saw a weird harvest festival with Carolyn. There were dead pigs, some guy dancing and chanting, and people putting money in the mouths of the pigs. It was pretty odd to me, I'm not sure if it was a Buddhist festival or not.
Well, that's pretty much all from this guy's life. I better continue plugging away at the mid-term planning and test making!

Japan, Mountain Top View, and Buddhist Temples!

2007-09-24T19:32:00.000-07:00

So, I write too much. Enjoy some Pictures!

Justin was quite sad after his attempt to bake banana bread in the microwave didn't exactly turn out great.

He's got the whole world in His hands!

What great beauty contained in the depth of the iris! :) (taken in Japan)

Justin overlooking a bay full of resting ships.

Justin wishing he could soar on the wind over the beauty below.

Overlooking the harbor and part of Busan.

Prayer room/shrine.

Hiking in the rain on a trail of boulders and flowing water!

Prayer rooms/shrines.

A gorgeous temple.

Yep, it rained and we hiked. :)

Carolyn and I in front of a Buddhist temple.

Stuck

2007-09-16T05:29:00.000-07:00

It smells like rain. This morning it was pouring, now it is only raining heavily. I often dislike rain; I don’t like being cooped up inside as if I were an animal. I would rather be out exploring the streets or playing basketball or spending my Saturday outside doing nothing in particular. At this moment I am feeling antsy; if I were at home I would maybe watch a movie, or maybe bake a cake (probably chocolate). I should probably study the Korean letters. Justin told me I should start writing a book. I actually just finished reading two books today; perhaps the rain is good for me. I had been working on “The Practice of the Presence of God” by/about Brother Lawrence for a couple of weeks. Brother Lawrence was a monk who worked in the monastery kitchen. He didn’t accomplish anything that would end up in history books or do anything that Hollywood could make millions off of; instead, he simply lived in “the presence of God” at all times through constant thanks, praise, confession, and general conversation with God: simple, yet difficult. Brother Lawrence was a devoted servant of God who sought no praise or recognition for his work, humbly carrying on his tasks and serving others as though he was serving God Himself with every action. He also did not see great value in the classic idea of pietistic Christianity, believing that he was just as close to God when washing pots and pans as during set times of prayer. Humbly walking with God at all times: not a bad way to live your life.
The second book that I read was “The Old Man and The Sea” by Hemingway. I must confess that I began to read it so that I could say that I had read a classic. I don’t read many fiction books and I don’t know if I’ve ever read a “classic” before. I don’t think I’m very good at analyzing the meanings and undertones of novels, so I’m not exactly sure about all of what Hemingway was trying to convey to his readers. I do know that it was a book about relationship, a book about the deep desires within us, a book about fighting to attain and the cruelty of losing the things we’ve worked for, a book about what makes life worth living and the stuff that really matters.
I should write a book? With all of the brilliant literature available in the world, with so many books written by authors with great depth and insight, what would I write that would say something new or worth reading? No, I think I shall read books for now, or at least until I am struck with a genius idea. I have heard it said that many of the genius minds in the world were also a little crazy. I’m not sure what comes first: the genius or the crazy; but it’s still raining, which means I may be traveling quickly down the path of crazy. Let’s hope that genius follows, or maybe that it just stops raining.

2007-09-04T18:35:00.000-07:00

I am 12 days into my life in Korea: still amazing! Last week classes were a little hectic as I was still pretty confused on what I was teaching and confused about how things run at the university. That confussion still remains, but I have a better handle overall on classes and the functioning of the university. One of my classes is a conversation class that meets 4 days a week; I'm pretty excited about it as there are "only" about 20 students so I can get to know them better and have more fun in the class. One class has over 70 students so that could be interesting.
My time outside of class has also been pretty fun. Justin and I hung out with President Kim and his wife again all day Sunday. He told us that the best way to learn Korean was to get a Korean girlfriend; I told him that I didn't think Jenni would like that too much. For some reason he found this pretty humorous and started making jokes about my classes shrinking and Justin's overflowing; he also went ahead and told the pastor of the second church that we visited about his hypothesis. That wasn't really a big deal except for when the pastor introduced us during the service and went ahead and told the congregation about it; this resulted in much laughter and many young ladies giggling and staring at us. It was pretty hilarious! President Kim wants Justin to marry a Korean girl and stay at Kosin so I think I'm going to spread the word that Justin is single and wants to learn Korean. :)
Besides hanging out with the president, I played basketball yesterday with some students in my dress clothes, tie and all. It was really fun, it had been a while. Justin and I also went to one of the main shopping areas last night. I had a list of 3 things to get with brown shoes being the priority; however, Koreans, in general, don't have feet that require size 12's. After asking at about 10 stores and being disaoppointed 10 times I gave up my search for the night. I'm not really sure what the solution to that problem is, hopefully I can find a 'Big and Tall' store or something like that.
Anyway, life in Korea is good. It has been a great experience so far and I anticipate it to only imporve as we explore the city more and become more comfortable in our classes.
Here are some pictures of life so far.

Deciphering the root of the main verb in the Japanese phrase.

First day of class (we didn't know if we were teaching or not that day) as we are leaving the hotel.

Shopping in Nampo-Dung

What a Welcome!!

2007-08-29T17:42:00.000-07:00

Koreans, at least the ones that I have met at Kosin, are some of the most generous and giving people I have ever met. Saturday morning Justin and I arrived in Busan; we were met at the airport by one of the biggest smiles I have ever seen. Professor Park (one of many, many Parks) is the Dean of International Affairs and had the job of welcoming us and showing us around Kosin a little bit. During the car ride from the airport he informed us that we were going directly to the university where President Kim was eagerly waiting to meet us. The first thing that we learned about President Kim is that he LOVES, LOVES, LOVES Dordt College. Along with that, he loves the reformed worldview that Dordt teaches; this meant that our first job was to edit the english version of a pamphlet about Kosin, correcting gramar and adding reformed perspective.
After our editing session and some conversation, which involved the Dordt Diamond, Justin and I teaching Bible study and preaching, and a possible trip to the Philipines, we went out for lunch with the President, Dean Park, and two Mongolian students: it was amazing food! The rest of the day involved some shopping for necessities, more Korean food, and settling in to our hotel room.
On Sunday, President Kim and his wife brough us to a church that wanted Justin and I to teach English Bible study at. We recieved flowers during the service, ate lunch in a special room with the pastor and elders, visited the church retreat house, and had a meeting in a special room of the church coffee house. This meeting consisted of the men speaking Korean and looking at Justin and I. About 45 minutes in to the meeting we were informed that, because the church was a 2 hour bus ride from the university, the church would buy us a car and give us gas money to come and teach at the church every Sunday! Yep, Justin and I recieved a car after being in Korea for less than 2 days! That night President Kim and his wife took us to a big fish market where the fish are swimming around in tanks and buckets. He proceeded to point to 2 kinds of fish and 2 lobster; yeah, we had lobster with the President! It was really good (well, the fish were raw and had a crazy, chewy texture), but President Kim told us to eat the meat where the legs connect to the body; that pasrt tasted like pond. :)
On Monday we showed up at the university at 9, recieved our class schedules and textbooks, and then discovered that classes started that very day! Oh, and we couldn't plan at all because we had an assembly at 11 to welcome the students and introduce the new faculty. When Justin and I were introduced the Vice President said we were both bachelors from Dordt College; this was responded to by applause, screams, hoots, and hollers! We had no clue what he had said, but we definately felt like rock stars. :)
The assembly ended at 12:30: Justin went straight to class, I went to lunch and went to class at 1. My class was a freshman general English class consisting of about 25 freshman Korean girls who giggled A LOT and only spoke English to ask if I had a girlfriend and tell me that I am handsome. :) I was a little surprised and very unprepared; class was very short.
Monday night we moved in to an apartment, but we will be moving into a new one in about a week. The one we are currently living in is about a ten minute walk up hill to Kosin, the new one is located directly beside the campus. We are really looking forward to the new apartment as our Tuesday morning walk caused immense amounts of perspiration and resulted in enormous back sweat marks and pitting out! :)
On top of all the other amazing acts of generosity, Justin and I each have our own offices (each twice the size of a faculty office at Dordt), leather computer chairs, brand new Samsung desktops, and an ocean view! The details surrounding classes and lack of planning have been frustrating, but overall everything is amazing here and I am loving Korea.
Alright, time to prepare for class.
Yours truly,
Professor Van Gelder (It still makes me laugh.)

Off to Korea!

2007-08-25T03:57:00.000-07:00

At this moment I am crossing over the Bering Sea on my way to Tokyo Japan. I know, it's crazy After returning from Spain 2 months ago I am off to Asia with my best friend to teach English at a university! We have no clue about our classes and we begin teaching on the 27th (we think). Excitement is welling up inside of me. I wonder about the food, the people, the experience of being a professor, the friendships I will form, the lessons I will learn. There is so much that lies ahead of me that I have no clue is coming, that will change who I am and how I live my life. It's crazy.
Of course, moving to Korea to experience new adventures means saying good-bye to friends and family once again. I am not an extremely emotional person when it comes to good-byes; perhaps it is because I have done it quite a lot, or perhaps I am just cold hearted. :) I feel like most of my good-byes are simply 'see you laters' and that some day I will see all of you again in a joyous reunion when we can share stories and laugh and delight in one another’s presence. Because of that, now, at this moment, sorrow is not present. That being said, I do care about you all as I leave and would love to receive emails about what is going on in your lives. [adamvangelder@gmail.com]. That is also crazy; I'm going to be half way around the world and can still cultivate and deepen relationships with friends in Iowa, Arkansas, Spain, and anywhere else in the world.
But the craziest thing about this all has not been mentioned yet. The craziest thing is that I am sitting inside of this giant metal object full of hundreds of people, bags, and who knows how many pounds of fuel, cruising at 37,000 feet at a rate of 500 mph. Now that is crazy! The fact that something this big can actually stay up in the air is amazing; a lot more amazing than some college graduate heading off to Korea.
Anyway, Justin and I have the important task of making friendly conversation with the stewardesses so we can get our hands on a piece of the first class cheesecake that is sitting in some cooler in the back of the plane. Mmmm!

Home for a moment and then off to South Korea

2007-07-26T11:12:00.000-07:00

So, since getting back from Spain I've been trying to figure out what to do with my life. After 2 weeks of part time work I have discovered 2 things: being a waiter is incredibly fun, and I would never want to work at a gas station for long term. Good stuff to know, but not very helpful for "career" type plans. As I continued to throw around ideas and get nowhere I recieved an email from Prof. Shim; it basically said "do you and Justin want to go to South Korea and teach at a University?".
4 days later I said yes and now am going to Pusan, South Korea on August 23rd to teach at Kosin University. I guess when God lays a great opportunity in front of you things can move along rather quickly.
Anyway, my blog has now switched from a place where I share my experiences in Spain to a place where you can read of my next year in South Korea. Enjoy.

Maria Jose & Fernando

2007-06-28T14:18:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of my Senora and her lover.

To Barcelona and Beyond!

2007-06-06T05:43:00.000-07:00

Gather around and let me tell you a tale, a tale of a stupid little boy traveling through Europe. We will pick up the story as the boy, whom we will refer to as Fredrick, begins his journey from Oloron Sainte-Marie in France to Barcelona...
On the first of June, a cloudy day that many would blame for seasonal depression, Fredrick walked toward the Oloron train station. He was excited for his journey as he was headed toward the beautiful Barcelona. After buying a train ticket to Pau, Fredrick sat and waited for the train; he had a positive disposition and 65.16€ in his pocket.
After a lovely little train ride he arrived at Pau, went to the ticket counter, and proceeded to buy a train ticket to Barcelona...or at least that is what he was going to do. The ticket to Barcelona was 65.90€, so Fredrick simply slipped his debit card out of his pocket to purchase the ticket. What horror, his card expired the day before! What was Fredrick to do?
Horrifying thoughts of being stranded in France with no money and no way to reach Barcelona circled through his colorful imagination. But Fredrick was not one to give up easily. He began to search the sidewalk for coins, hoping to find the remaining 74 cents. After no luck he began to ask other travelers for some change, still nothing. Finally he returned to the ticket counter, and after asking for a student discount (or even a senior discount) the woman at the counter offered to pay the remaining amount. What relief! He was off to Barcelona!
Upon arriving at barcelona with absolutely no money, and a still tender left knee, Fredrick walked from the train station to the Sun and Moon Youth Hostel. Of course, when he arrived he could not pay for his lodging, thoughts of homelessness in Barcelona weighed upon him. However, the man at the desk, who had been a little short with the costumers before, was incredibly gracious and allowed Fredrick to call the USA and get his parent's credit card number. Praise God! Fredrick would not need to be homeless for 4 days in Barcelona.
Yet, a problem still remained; Fredrick was in Barcelona, one of the most expensive cities in Spain, without any money and only enough food for one day. This was not an overly huge problem as the hostel served breakfast, but it was a great inconvenience.
I would love to tell you that everything turned out well, but I cannot, everything turned out incredibly well! On Sunday Fredrick met a wonderful women named Jenni from Indianapolis who saw him putting extra pieces of toasted bread into his bag at breakfast. They hung out for the day and then Jenny bought him a pita falafel for supper, it was amazing!
The next day an angel named Debi from London, who was promoting activities in Barcelona, had pity on Fredrick and gave him 2 euros. With this money and 13 extra cents he found he was able to eat a 1 euro meal at a bar on Monday night and buy 2 bananas, a baguette, and some cookies on Tuesday. Fredrick didn't eat well, but he ate.
Stupid little Fredrick was truly blessed to have met such kind people on his journey from France and during his time in Barcelona. On Wednesday his brither arrived and Fredrick felt like a king, able to eat well rounded meals and ride the metro. Fredrick was no longer in dire need and went on to enjoy an amazing week of hiking in Spanish national parks and haning out in San Sebastian with his brother before heading home to the United States.

Jenni: Friend and Giver of Falafel

1 Euro Meal Provided by Debi

Travels in Spanish National Parks

Oloron Sainte-Marie, France

2007-05-31T07:23:00.000-07:00

So, the Camino de Santiago did not go as planned. The day I began was cold and rainy; throughout the entire 36km of the day I trecked up and down hills through mud that has clmaimed many pairs of shoes on elementary school playgrounds around the world. I slipped and slid along the path and even waltzed right through a couple of raging creeks. It was quite an adventure. The main problem was that my bag was about 4x too heavy for that kind of hike, so as I powered my way along the trail I began to destroy my left knee and the muscles of my legs.
As I began the second day, through the same mud and cold, my legs were groaning. I went about 10km and then threw in the white flag as I knew I wouldn't be able to continue. I began hiking back to Oloron (the stopping point after the first day) and after about 5km my thumb got me a ride the rest of the way back.
Since then, Tuesday, I have been relaxing in this lovely town of 11,000 French citizens and trying to find ways to entertain myself as I heal. It has actually been nice as I have been able to reflect on the past semester, think about the future, and read a lot of Scripture.
Tomorrow I am taking the train to Pau, France from where I hope to catch a train or bus to Barcelona. I'm actually really looking forward to returning to Spain as I haven't been able to talk with anyone the entire time I've been in France. Once I get to Barcelona the plan is to relax as I await Aaron's arrival on the 6th.
Let the adventure continue!

Malaga

2007-05-24T09:52:00.000-07:00

Malaga is a beach city in the South of Spain. That being said, after 4 full days of being in Malaga with 4 friends we have not gone to the beach. It´s not that the weather has been terrible, it´s more that the resort we are staying at is sweet. So far our time has been spent playing mini-golf (i trail by 2 strokes heading in to the final round), tossing, losing, and finding the frisbee, and working on our swim relay (i am the lead leg with a powerful backstroke, followed by Tyler and his graceful breast stroke, with Micah powering us home with his flawless freestyle). We´ve also been making awesome food, serving the girls breakfast in bed, and chillin´ in the saunas at Club Marbella. It´s all been pretty sweet. Right now I am alone as the 4 others have departed; I have 2 more days here and then a 25 hour bus ride to Toulhoose, France, followed by another bus ride to Lescar where I will begin 8 days of hiking the Camino de Santiago, that is if I survive the ridiculous bus ride of course.

The End of a Chapter

2007-05-11T03:44:00.000-07:00

The past two weeks since my crazy trip during Feria have been filled with a lot of little ups and downs. The most obvious down has been going back to class; nobody ever wants to go back to school or work after a vacation and i think even less people want to go back to learning Spanish gramar and the subjunctive. However, sandwhiched in the middle of 2 weeks of class was an amazing bright spot: Lagos, Portugal! Last weekend I went to a beach town called Lagos on the coast of Portugal and enjoyed many wonderful things including: sun, sand, swimming in the ocean, good food, laughs, ´light ´em up´, rock climbing, miny cliff diving, and my 22nd birthday. It was an amazing weekend full of fun and friends.
Another up is that I only have one day of class and one test left in college! It´s crazy to think that I´m graduating. That being said, graduation is also a down. Today is the graduation ceremony at Dordt, something I originally didn´t think I would care about missing; however, now I am really wishing I could be there to see a lot of my great friends and share a few last memories together. I guess I feel like I am missing closure in my college career.
Although missing grad is a bummer, I am looking forward to the visit of Jenni Van Wyk in Sevilla next week and after that I have a month of traveling in Spain and seeing incredible things; which will be capped off with 6 days with Aaron in Barcelona and northern Spain. Part of that month, almost 2 weeks, is probably going to be spent by myself hiking a trail in northern Spain. During that time I hope to do a lot of reading and reflecting. As I graduate a chapter of my life is ending, which is sad in many ways, but a new chapter is also beginning and brings with it much excitement. It will be interesting to see where God brings me as I move ahead in my life.
So today, as a chapter closes in my life, I will celebrate my graduation and friendships at Dordt, and also look ahead with anticipation to the future.
Andrew & Justin: wish I could be with you today boys, it´s been amazing and will continue to be!

Mallorca, Madrid, Feria, & Futbol

2007-05-01T08:08:00.000-07:00

Here are some images of Feria break. If you want to know some of the details you can read what follows.

Sunrise at our private beach

The trail to our private beach

Tyler and his forest friend Stewart

The first cove that Tyler and I swam in. Wow, that water was gorgeous!

Tyler and I on a mountain looking down on a lake in the valley

Royal Armory at the Palace Real in Madrid

Glass Palace in Parque del Retiro in Madrid

Iowa Cafeteria in Madrid; I don't think these chef's have ever been to Iowa

Sevilla F.C. stadium

Feria nightlife!

Horses and carriage at Feria with some of the "tents" in the background

Descanso Loco

2007-05-01T08:05:00.000-07:00

The following is a description of my latest break and vacation in Spain. There are 4 parts: Crazy Times in Mallorca, Getting Cultured in Madrid, Sevilla Futbol Club, and Feria: Tulip Festival x100! The first section is really long so the short version is that I spent 6 days on an island in the Mediterranean with Tyler, hiked a lot, got lost a lot, experienced beautiful sights, ate poorly, experienced some good and bad things for the first time, and had a trip that I’ll never forget. You can read on for details.

Crazy Times in Mallorca:
The plan for Feria break was simple: spend 6 days hiking on a continuous trail on the island of Mallorca, 2 days in Madrid checking out the sights, and the final 3 days of break relaxing in Sevilla. Of course, nothing is ever simple…
After packing 2 shirts, a jacket, jeans, a pair of shorts, a tarp, some rope, a thin sleeping mat, and a sleeping bag I was ready for adventure. Tyler and I took an overnight bus to Madrid on Saturday at 1am, bad idea #1. Neither of us got much sleep; we started our journey excited but tired. Saturday at 4pm we arrived in Palma, the capital of Mallorca. There we ate supper, bought bread for the morning, 4 oranges, water, and some crackers; then we took a scenic tourist train to the coastal town of Sollier, a rather lovely ride. After arriving in Sollier we opted to find the beginning of the hiking trail and find a place to sleep rather than stop at the grocery store for more food and water, bad idea #2.
Because of our late arrival in Sollier we found ourselves searching for the trail, hiking on the trail, and setting up camp in the dark of night with one flashlight; it reminded me of vacation with my family. That night I slept about 4 hours, Tyler maybe ½ an hour: the stars sure were beautiful though! Despite being quite tired we got up in the morning ready for a big day of hiking and a healthy portion of fun. If we only knew what the day would hold!
The morning went great: five hours of hiking (most of it up a mountainside), gorgeous views of mountains and the Mediterranean, blue lakes lying in a valley, climbing and bouncing around on boulders like kids on a jungle gym, and good conversation. Upon arriving at the lakes in the valley we decided to take a trail around the lake, opposite the road. Our trail map said that it ran along a canal and there was a spot to get water, which was good as we were both almost out. After an hour of hiking along the canal, which ran half-way up the side of the mountains beside the lake, we came to a grave set of discoveries. First, the canal turned into a pipe and dropped down a cliff, this meant we couldn’t go down and connect with the road as we planned. Second, we then realized that the continuous trail which we planned to hike for the week wasn’t a trail at all, but a highway. Third, we had to hike back an hour to get back to the road. And finally (remember bad idea #2), we just ran out of water and food. Things weren’t looking up.
The rest of the day involved the following: hiking back to the road, hitch-hiking to a town we had never heard of in the center of Mallorca, waiting in that town (Inca) for 3 hours to catch a bus to a city on the northern coast of the island (Port de Pollenca), arriving after dark (once again like childhood), hiking along the beach for an hour to find a good sleeping spot, and finally laying down on top of the tarp 75 yards from the road and 25 more from a hotel. Not the day we planned.
The next morning we woke up before the sun rose so we wouldn’t be seen, this resulted in us being blessed by a magnificent sunrise over the Mediterranean. Despite the mishaps of the day before, and the fact that our plans to hike a continuous trail had been shattered, we were positive. In the morning we hiked out to a crystal clear cove, climbed some razor sharp rocks, and swam in the frigid waters of the Mediterranean. Awesome! Then we hiked/got lost and blazed a trail through a creek bed to a town called Siller; this town just happens to be in a cove of the island and looks out onto the kind of bay that is only seen in the movies, wow. Finally, we bussed from there to another town and hiked for 2 ½ hours, the last 35 minutes of which wound along the side of a cliff, to get to a secluded cove/ private beach to camp at. At last we had a good spot to sleep! We set up our tarp/tent, ate supper and relaxed by a fire; a great end to a long day.
Tuesday morning we got up after the sun, a good idea, and decided to sleep in this same cove again that night because of it’s distance from people and it’s beauty. The plan for the day was to simply hike back into town, get food for the night and next day, hike back toward camp and take some side trails for fun, and then relax on our beach. For once things went according to plan. The day was a lot less eventful, but nice, and we ended it by building an enormous bonfire with all of the wood we could find; I don’t think playing with fire will ever get old!
Wednesday we got up early again and were blessed again to experience a magnificent sun rising slowly out of the still waters of the Mediterranean. The plan after that was to hike back to the town of Alcudia, take a bus to Pollenca, and hike a trail that would bring us past a castle and end at another cove. After arriving in Pollenca we found ourselves back in the wreckage of crushed plans caused back our lack of research. We discovered that the path we wanted to hike was private: we would not be able to hike it without paying and we couldn’t camp along it. That was a definite disappointment, but we simply decided to hike another trail. Unfortunately the other trail ended up leading to a big house and not being much of a trail at all. Another disappointment, but we simply decided to find another trail. This was followed by more bad news, the new ‘other trail’ went along the road the whole time and wasn’t much fun to hike or sleep beside. By this time Tyler and I were a little frustrated, so instead of looking for more trails we decided to spend the day in Pollenca and find a place to sleep in town. We spent an hour in an internet café, ate our supper really slowly in a plaza in order to pass time, got some beers in a tiny bar filled with retired men playing cards and speaking catalan, and finally after dark we walked around town looking for a place to sleep. After walking around town for an hour and not finding a good place to sleep we laid down in the park; that day was the closest I’ve been to being homeless and it was not very fun, relaxing, but not too fun.
The next morning started out humorous for me, but not too good for Tyler. Apparently Tyler hadn’t slept much again; along with the streetlights, cars, and voices, he was joined on his mat in the night by several snails. As he was telling me this I saw a nice blob of bird poop on his sleeping bag, great start to the day! I think he would have been quite angry but today we were flying back to Madrid where he knew we had a roof to sleep under and better food to eat (in comparison to the simple bread and fruit we had been eating for 5 days). The rest of the day was filled with traveling, arrival in Madrid and at the apartment of Kelly and April Krull, our first showers in a week, and some awesome pizza at some little local place. The crazy adventure of Mallorca was over and a little stability returned.

Getting Cultured in Madrid:
Friday morning, after a great night of sleep on an air mattress under a roof, Tyler and I made French toast! It’s impossible to explain how good that tasted after a week of plain bread. Following breakfast we headed off to the Prado, one of the most famous art museums in the world housing paintings by artists such as Goya, Michelangelo, Velázquez, Greco, and Ruebens. We started out looking carefully at each painting as we knew this was the Prado filled with magnificent pieces and felt like we would love them. Then, we began to move a little more quickly as we felt like we should like them but weren’t loving them. Finally, we began going through the museum rather quickly as we both admitted that the paintings were great, but realism was not our favorite style. The only painting that I really liked was The Garden of Delights by El Bosco.
After the Prado we ate lunch in Madrid’s famous, and gorgeous, Parque del Retiro. After exploring that a while we headed to another art museum, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia. The Reina Sofia is filled with more modern art and was amazing, I loved it! The artists included Picasso, Dali (possibly my favorite artist with Picasso), Miro, Man Ray, Santos, and others who used varying styles including cubism, surrealism, and some really abstract stuff that I don’t understand at all. The colors and style of Dali were incredible, Picasso’s Guernica was magnificent along with all his other stuff, the photos by Man Ray were intriguing, and the temporary exhibits were really odd but interesting. I know many people would yell at me for not liking the Prado, but I love the Reina Sofia and the more modern artists and their styles.
Later, when we were heading toward the Plaza Mayor, we ran into Kelly and 2 of his friends from church as they were visiting some of their homeless friends and handing out food. We decided to hang out with them for a while, it was good to see the relationships they had with the people and how they were not only touching the lives of the people but also being touched.
After our culture from the museums and meeting some of Kelly’s friends, Tyler and I had some squid sandwiches followed by some falafel for supper. It was really good! That night we went out with the Krull’s for drinks and took in a little more of the sights that make up Madrid.
Saturday we ate Frosted Flakes (amazing), went to the cathedral that was built in the 1970’s (you can tell by some of it’s funky colors and stained glass), visited the Palace (very gorgeous and elegant), the royal armory (swords, horses, and armor: every little boys dream), and took the bus back to Sevilla. It was a great 2 days in Madrid.

Sevilla Futbol Club:
Sunday I finally experienced what some young men see as the most precious thing in Spain, professional futbol (soccer). Tyler, Ray, Jake, and I went to watch Sevilla F.C. play a conference game against Espanyol. Sevilla is currently #2 in their league: one point behind F.C. Barcelona and a little bit ahead of Real Madrid (that just means that they are a really good team in comparison to some of the best teams in the world).
Our seats cost 35 euros and were 2 rows from the very top on the south end of the stadium, but they were still pretty good. The north side contained the craziest fans I have ever seen: the entire game they waved flags, blasted air horns, and led chants--it was awesome. The first half of the game involved a lot of close chances for Sevilla, but ended scoreless. The second half Sevilla was going toward the goal closest to us and they scored 3 goals, the fans were crazy and the play was magnificent. The game ended in a 3-1 victory for Sevilla and left a sweet taste in my mouth of Spanish futbol.

Feria: Tulip Festival x100:
So the reason why I had this fabulous break for the last part of April was because Seville hosts a 7 day fair (feria) during which they celebrate their Spanish culture and enjoy life. The location for Feria is only one block from my house and is simply a large open area where individuals and businesses set up “tents” to hang-out in for the week. In these tents there is often Spanish food, beer, flamenco music, flamenco dancing, and men and women dressed in classic Spanish dress. It is similar to the people of Orange City wearing Dutch clothes, except these people are all Spaniards in Spain. There are also fancy horse drawn carriages that gallop through the lit up and decorated streets that make the atmosphere of the night perfect for celebration. Of course, along side all of this great Spanish culture is a large temporary amusement park, again similar to Tulip Festival. I was able to experience Feria for about a day and a half; it was a really fun environment, but if you can’t get in to one of the tents it wouldn’t be super fun.

With the combination of these 4 things my break has been a crazy blur of many incredible experiences that I will never forget. Now I only have 5 days of regular class, 2 days of presentations, a review day, and a final test separating me from being a college graduate, crazy!

Island in the Sun

2007-04-19T10:04:00.000-07:00

I feel like that song title from the great band Weever was appropriate as I prepare to depart for the Hawaii of Europe. Tomorrow my friend Tyler and I take a 1 am to 7 am bus to Madrid; followed by a 2:00 flight to Palma. Palma is the capital of Mallorca, the largest of the Balearic Islands. The plan is to get some food when we arrive and then find a good place outside of the city to camp for the night. After that we plan on hiking along the coast of the Island for two days and then back to Palma through the mountains. Hopefully it turns out to be an island flooded with sun, but sun or no sun I'm sure there are many adventures ahead. We then fly back to Madrid on Thursday to spend two days exploring the capital of Spain and relaxing with Kelly and April Krull (and baby). Prayers for safety in travels would be appreciated as well as continued parayers for discernment for what I should do next year.

Wow!

2007-04-14T04:12:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from Portugal, Semana Santa, and a Bull Fight. Following the pics is an update, enjoy!

Fire on the Beach, Awesome!

Carine, Craig, Hayley, and I

Beach Time

Cillin' by the Fire

Sorry, Blurry Photo of a Beautiful Paso

Hermano Carrying a Cross

Paso of Christ Carrying His Cross

Hermandad Members Passing By

MMM, BigMac and Mahou

Animal Rights Protesting the Bull Fights

Wannabe European

Bull-1, Spaniard-0

Charging Bull, Crazy Spaniard!

Portugal, Semana Santa, Bull Fights, and Beyond!

2007-04-14T02:59:00.000-07:00

Since my last entry I have been experiencing some pretty crazy cultural activities in Seville along with enjoying a very chill vacation in Portugal. Easter in Spain brings rise to a week long holiday/celebration called 'Semana Santa' (Holy Week). For many Sevillians it means a busy week of balancing work with celebrations in the streets, for us students it means VACATION!

For 5 days I went to a beach town in Portugal called Albufeira with 4 other students (Craig, Mike, Haley, and Carine). Basically, we laid on the beach a lot, played volleyball, cooked awesome food (pancakes, french toast...), played a lot of cards, and explored the town a little. I guess I'll just hit 2 of the hightlights. First, we played a lot of cards in the apartment. One night we started playing a great game called President around 10:30. The next time I checked a clock it said 3:30. At that point we were still feeling alright and decided to keep playing, soon 5 am rolled around. By then we were feeling a little drained, but someone threw out the idea of staying up to go watch the surise over the ocean, sweet idea! at about 7:30 we headed out to the beach; upon arriving we realized that there was one big problem: the sun sets above the ocean in Albufeira, it rises bhind the town and some big rocks! Needless to say, we laughed a lot about that and headed back to the apartment to crash. The second highlight, and actually the highlight of the whole trip, occured the last night. The 5 of us hiked out to the beach, found some wood, and built a grand fire on the beach. We sat in a half-sphere cut out of a big rock on the beach. As we sat around and told stories and laughed we looked out from our rock shelter upon the fire, followed be 100ft of beach, waves crashing on the shore, glistening reflections of the moon off of the ocean, and a bright full moon straight in front of us in the sky; it was a gorgeous night and a beautiful experience.

When we returned to Seville we were able to expereince some of the Semana Santa events. (The two biggest festivals in Spain are Semana Santa, in Seville, and Feria, also in Seville in one week.) During Semana Santa brotherhoods (hermandads) carry big, gold covered floats (pasos) that depict the passion week events through the streets, along with candles, a band of trumpets and drums, and a section of them carrying crosses. I wasn't sure what to think of this deeply rooted Catholic tradition when I first heard of it (partly because the men in the brotherhoods where hoods like the KKK), but after seeing the Pasos I found the events to be very respectful and moving. It was a good experience and hopefully a great tool of witness.

Besides Portugal and the Semana Santa celebration I have experienced 2 other great cultural experiences in Spain. First, I went to McDonalds with some friends and ordered a Big Mac, fries, and a Mahou beer! Yep, the worker went over by the fountain pop dispensor and filled my plastic cup up with Mahou keg beer, what an odd and humorous thing for us Americans to see. The second great cultural experience was going to a bull fight! I actually debated whether I should go or not because it seems a little cruel, but I decided seeing it would help me understand it better and make an educated judgement. As I was walking to the Plaza de Torros I was excited to see that the event I was about to attend was being loudly protested by about 200 animal rights activists. Anyway, the bull fight basically consists of the following: funny dressed men waving pink capes and then dodging bulls (which doesn't look hard), followed by a man on a protected and blind folded horse stabbing a charging bull, then men running straight at a charging bull with the goal of jumping up and to the side to jab 2 decorated sticks into the bulls back, and then the main bull fighter does some fancy dodging with a red cape and makes the crowd a little excited, and finally he takes a sword and stands in front of the charging bull and attempts to shove the sword down the back of the bull all the way to the hanlde, resulting in the death of the bull. This occurs with six bulls during the night and we saw one guy get tossed and almost stepped on by a bull, another got caught in the leg by a horn one time and tossed about 6 feet in the air another time, and a bull digging his horns into the ground during a charge resulting in his flipping straight over, hind legs over head, back on the ground. After watching a bull fight I am still not sure whether I should be in support of such an event, but it was really cool and the time in which I felt the most like I was actually in Spain.

I guess that's the update for now. I have a week of class and then a big break for Feria (hiking and camping on the Island of Mallorca for 6 days followed by a couple in Madrid with the Krull family). The crazy times in Spain keep on rolling!

Sights and thoughts from a chair in Starbucks.

2007-03-25T08:59:00.000-07:00

good?

Twirling steam playfully rises from the black surface,
The bitter liquid’s heat scalds taste buds.
Eyelids rise as caffeine begins to pulse through my veins.
Comfort of the familiar settles.
This place is safe, comfortable...good.

Two euros for a coffee, three for cheesecake,
A frappachino pushes near four.
Luna sits a block away; hands open,
Holes in her socks and longing in her eyes,
Begging for mere centimos to feed her family.
That isn’t right, that isn’t…good.
Tension grips my soul...eyes wander.

Eyes stop.
“Casino Royale.” Now that’s a movie!
Live for money, kill to get it, kill to keep it,
Plus sexual encounters along the way!
A black, leather-bound Bible lies open in front of me.
This place...good?

My eyes glide over phrases in Matthew,
“You have heard that it was said, ´You shall not...´.”
Focus is lost, another scan of the surroundings.
An FHM sign captivates my gaze.
Beautiful women...sexual women...sexual objects.
Gouge out an eye! Not objects, image bearers!
Where is the good?

My head is spinning, how do I respond?
Injustice, greed, and temptation envelope me.
Society feeds a beast of emptiness within.
Jealousy, greed, lust, hate...the beast grows.
It’s chocking, kill the beast or be killed!
But how? I need to be filled with something,
Something more powerful than the beast,
More powerful than the deceptions that feed it.
I need truth, I need substance, I need...Good!

Rhonda

2007-03-25T08:29:00.000-07:00

Friday I went to a little city of Rhonad with the school. This city is famous for it's bridge, having the first bull-fighting stadium with the biggest ring-size, and now for having the best McDonald's ice cream cones (they were so creamy!). Here are some of the pictures from the experience.

The view!

Just playing, reliving childfood bliss.

Hillary and Sarah dancing flamenco with random Spaniards in the bull fighting arena. I love Spaniards!

Micah, Tyler, and I taking in some of the sights while sitting by the edge of the gorge.

The amazing bridge.

Salva (my professor) and I at the bottom of the gorge.

Tyler and Andrea

Radiant Reflections

2007-03-18T05:59:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, Spain is gorgeous. (Yes dad, Iowa is also beautiful, but in it's own special way.) While immersed in the beauty of Spain I have nearly been blinded by the radiant reflection of God all around me. In Spain it is extremely difficult not to see the reflection/beauty/fingerprint of God all around.

Standing on a fortress tower at the Alhambra I gazed down on the city of Granada lying below in peace and tranquility while the Sierra mountains capped in dazzling white stole my breath from above, the sun shone down upon me and the other tourists from Spain, France, Portugal, Brazil, China, and who knows where else. For a moment it seemed as though heaven descended to earth and everything was right and good, good like the beginning.

From the top of the Rock of Gibraltar on a blue-sky day God’s beauty is anything but absent. Morocco lies across the straight, the mountains of Southern Spain shoot from the water to the West, to the East ripples the open Mediterranean, below the crowded city with winding streets parallels cargos ships resting in the still blue of the harbor, and all around me, often mere inches away, are monkeys, monkeys that seem to arouse childlike jubilee from every person visiting this magical place.

As I walk through the doorway of an old palace the gardens of the Alcazar force an unintentional ‘wow’ from my lips. The sun is high, causing the full colors of the Alcazar to explode from inside the palace walls. Ducks flap, dive, and paddle around in the fountains that overflow into peaceful ponds. A maze of shrubs causes children to giggle, blossoming trees create an elegant background for couples posing for their wedding photos, towering evergreens and palm trees provide cool shade for a woman wrapped up in a gripping novel, and lemon trees throw me back into the feeling I first had when everything in Spain was exotic and new.

But God doesn’t only reveal Himself in the ‘wow’ moments. The joy of 85 year old Jose when he wins Bingo Tuesday afternoon, the reflection of an illuminated Trianna bridge off the still river water, the giggles of two little girls playing in the park, my professor Salva learning and using the term ‘fergalicious’, eating pizza with corn on it with 10 friends, the thanks and joy of a homeless woman named Luna when we share a meal with her, playing soccer with 7 Americans and 3 Frenchmen in Spain, watching flamenco at a local bar, an email from a friend, and many more. The beauty, love, and grace of God is inescapable, His reflection in the world is dazzling. I hope that you also are experiencing this wherever you. Open your eyes and watch God transform the ‘ordinary’ into extraordinary. Isn’t it beautiful?

A photo is worth a lot of words

2007-03-16T05:33:00.000-07:00

The UK, Toledo, and Sparkle Extreme

2007-03-09T03:46:00.000-08:00

The 28th of February I went to the UK, no big deal. Ok, that is a little misleading, I actually went to The Rock of Gibraltar on the Southern coast of Spain which is owned by the UK. Anyway, the rock/island has a lot of history because of the constant battle for ownership between the Spanish, English, and Portugese. All of that is interesting, but the real attractions are the natural caves, being able to see Morocco across the straight of Gibraltar, and MONKEYS! Yep, monkeys! The monkeys live near the top of the rock and are a huge draw for many tourists. Some of them jumped on us, stole our food, made monkey love in front of us, and even bit a couple of people; basically what I lerned was: never trust a shifty-eyed ape.

That next weekend the school headed to Toledo (South of Madrid). Toledo is basically a good example of a really old Spanish city with very narrow streets, a wall surrounding the city, a gorgeous cathedral, very old buildings, and, of course, sword shops! Toledo is famous for their swords; the shop owners told us several times that the swords were not 'chino': aka. made in China. The city was amazing and intriguing, but the real fun, like most trips, occured in the hotel that night. It involved my 2 roommates and I each buying and eting an entire box of cereal (I had Frosted Flakes cause they're Grrrrreat!) and 3/4 of a liter of non-refridgerated milk from a box. Tyler and I chose Heineken to wash down our cereal while Jason drank an entire 2 liter of Pepsi! I am now a strong supporter of Kellog's placing a warning on their cereal boxes about consuming in moderation and not mixing with alcohol; the amount and combination really does a number on your bowel movements! Along with that fantastic meal, we played an intense card game of Egyptian Rat Screw followed by an intense 10 person round of Oreo Madness! All of that, combined with an earlier sunset photo shoot/ hill climbing excursion, made for an amazing trip. Oh, we also stopped to see some windmills that seemed to impress some people: same old, same old.

Finally, yesterday, the 8th, I was put into a state of extreme wonder and awe as I saw the professional European version of Sparkle! If you dn't know Sparkle, you probably don't know the true meaning of the words: breath-taking, elegant, fashionable, and fergalicious. For those of you who do not know Sparkle, Sparkle is the dance group that catapulted me to stardom. Anyway, this European version combined acrobatics on a trampoline, juggling, climbing up poles like only monkeys can, and of course, dancing in spandex! Wow! Let me say it again, wow! If that doesn't make someone like Spain, nothing can. On a side note, I miss you all and, while I'm loving Spain, it will be good to see most of you in a few months.

Spanish Quirks

2007-02-16T15:23:00.000-08:00

-30% or more of the population smokes

-males aged 12-20 love the mullet

-lip peircings are the cool thing

-speedos are the rave (i definately bought one)

-the parties end at 8am

-nothing but toast for breakfast

-capri's

-and much more

Granada & Alhambra

2007-02-16T14:58:00.000-08:00

On Friday (Feb 9) Brighton, Jessi, Ju, and I departed Sevilla and headed for the city of Granada. After a three-hour train ride we arrived. We set off to find our hostile while strolling through markets, a church, and a hospital along the way. When we got to our hostel we checked in and started the search for our room. The hostile was only $15 a person but it looked like a prime place to find cockroaches and convicts. Once we got in our room we were relieved to find it a lot nicer than it first appeared. Friday night was spent exploring the city a little and standing on our balcony, eating chocolate nut spread, enjoying the view of our algae filled pool (which they advertised proudly on the sign as if it was nice), and shared some precious moments of bonding together.
The next morning we ate breakfast at a quaint little restaurant (the usual toast and coffee) and headed to the Alhambra. The Alhambra is a palace/fortress/city that was built in only seven years by the Muslims in the 14th century. When the Muslims began to build the Alhambra they knew that they were inevitably going to be driven out of Spain by the Catholics and assumed that the Alhambra would be destroyed, so they used cheap materials and worked very quickly; it is absolutely amazing to see how much was built in that short of time and the detail that the still put into the buildings. When the Catholics did take over they didn’t destroy the Alhambra, but instead they added on, making it even more impressive.
The Alhambra is massive and breath taking. The palace is eloquent and full of detailed architecture, the fortress walls are bold and intimidating, the gardens are filled with bushes, fountains, ponds, and flowers, and the small houses and shops contain the usual beauty of Spanish architecture. As if the Alhambra itself was not impressive enough, the Muslims built it on the side of a hill resulting in a view of the entire city of Granada below and the majestic snow-capped Sierra Mountains above. We spent about 4 hours at the Alhambra and felt as though were in some dream for most of it.
That evening we explored Granada a little more, enjoyed sitting in a plaza and observing the people, and then rode the train back to Sevilla.
The next day (Sunday) I didn’t do anything much: went to mass in the Cathedral (beautiful), took a stroll through the Parque de Maria Luisa, stumbled upon two museums that held cultural, archeological, and historical exhibits, and went for a run. Just a nice little Sunday☺

Dance, Dance, Revolution: a night in honor of Tanner, Bas, and Nate

2007-02-08T03:43:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday was my dancing debut in Spain. The night began with supper at 9. I had an awesome burger, which I have been craving since I arrived in Spain, and a meal in a glass, aka: a pint of Guiness (I won't be getting that again for a while). Supper was followed by an icecream cone at McDonald's, the prerequisite for any serious dancer. Around 12 we made our way to our primary destination, a salsa bar.
One of the guys I was with, Craig, has more grace and elegance on the dance floor than Emmit Smith. He began teaching some of us amatures and then I gave it a go with Ju and then Brighton. The verdict came back and I was guilty of being a stereotypical white Dutch male. Oh well. After standing on the sideline for ten minutes I decided I should practice my salsa a little more. I had already danced with the two women in our group so I surveyed the room for a new partner. I saw the perfect candidate to my right. A forty-some year old Spanish woman was standing by her female friend (not dancing) and she was shaking her hips to the music. To me this looked like an obvious sign that she wanted to dance and was trying to lure some lonely man to the dance floor. As I built up my confidence (and got shoved in the back by Brighton) I stepped ahead and in broken spanish asked if she knew how to salsa. My question was answered with laughter, a concerned look at her friend, and shower of no's. Rejection, a dagger to my pride. I blamed the beard and walked back to my friends feeling like the last kid picked in kickball.
After a pity dance from Ju and some time standing by the wall, we decided to get some hydration. Leaving the Salsa club at 1:45 we headed to the always popolar street, calle Betis. Betis is the street with most of the bars. We hung around there for a while; meeting up with some classmates, sharing stories of the night so far, and making plans of what to do next. At 2:45 we decided to head to Orange.
Orange is a dance club for people in their 20's; the music is a mix of American and Spanish pop songs booming from speakers so that your ears ring for an hour after you leave. The crowd is a little more wild than a Salsa place so there is always chance for more adventure. The group that got into Orange was Ju, Brighton, Jess, Breeanna, Blake, and myself. 3 other guys tried to get in, but they came about 15 minutes after we did and didn't come with any girls (a problem). The huge men in suits by the door let girls in gor free, and if a guy walks in with two girls (like Blake and I each did) they usually don't charge; however, without women our friends were asked to pay 20 euros each. They didn't end up dancing with us that night. Those of us who did make it in had a fun time danicing until 4 am. Blake and I had a particularly fun time as we would watch for guys trying to touch or grind up on the girls; when we forsaw this happening we would dance our way between the particular guy and our friend and make him dance with us or no one. I find this particularly entertaining, the Spanish guys don't. :) As I said, we danced until a little after 4 and then headed home. After a twenty minute walk and the usual brushing of the teeth, I layed down on my springs, which I try to call a bed, and went to sleep. The clock read 4:45, an early weekend bed time according to Spaniards.

Cordoba

2007-02-07T04:27:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we went to Cordoba, a town just Northeat of Sevilla. The main attraction is a giant Mosque/Cathedral. For about one century Cordoba became one of the most important cities in the Muslim world when a prince moved there and built a mosque. The mosque has a buitiful courtyard, an elegant bell tower, and is famous for the hundreds of arces inside. When the Christians drove the Muslims out of Cordoba (in a very Christ-like manner I'm sure) they built a Cathedral inside the central part of the mosque. the cathedral has beautiful carvings on the ceiling, magnificent statues, and rich mahogoney benches. The combination of the Mosque and Cathedral was fascinating; to see a shared place of worship between the largest, and perhaps most historically combative, religions really makes one think of both the brokenness of man's relationships and the confusion within our world. I'm sure Justin is faced with this a lot more than I am at this point.

Some Visuals

2007-01-30T04:44:00.000-08:00

An amazing cathedral, pictures do not come close to doing it justice.

Plaza de Espana, it's about 3 times bigger than on the picture.

Gerrid and I enjoying our daily wine and tapitas at 2:45, muy bien!

Hola de Sevilla!

2007-01-26T03:52:00.000-08:00

Whoa, I've been in Seville for 4 days and i have already seen a ton of amazing things. First, orange trees line the streets; unfortunately they are not good for eating, only making orange marmalade and gun powder. I guess in March when the trees bloom it is gorgeous (unless you are alergic to polen). I have one roommate named Gerrid Mouw from GR Mich and we live with our Senora named Maria Jose and her 26 year old son, Enigo. Our Senora also has a male guest visit quite often, we think it is her boyfriend. Maria Jose loves to watch tv (the shows in Spain that are similar to ET and Extra in the States) and she smokes like crazy in the house (Gerrid usually joins her). oh, and she doesn't speak any english, or at least won't around us. She does, however, cook amazing meals and always gives us a glass of wine and a small appetizer at 2:45;) Meals here are as follows: breakfast consisting of toast at 8:15, wine and snack at 2:45, huge lunch at 3:30, and supper at 9:30ish.
At school we may only speak spanish. I tried the intermediate class for a day but it was really hard so I switched to the beginner class. Es muy facil.
The city of Seville is absolutely gorgeous. It is very old and full of history. We already saw La Plaza de Espana, some beautiful parks, a monsterous and breath-taking cathedral, old churches, the Jewish ghetto, and much more. The streets in a neighborhood called Trianna are cobblestone and many are no more than 12 feet wide. It is really cool.
2 things that are kind of funny: the average sized car is the size of a 2-door Chevy Cavalier or smaller (there are quite a few Smart cars) and everything is more expensive here except for beer.
So far my short experience has been wonderful. Thanks for all of your prayers. Feel free to email me, I should be able to respond whenever.
Adios mis amigos!

Today Upland, Tomorrow Spain!

2007-01-20T10:50:00.000-08:00

Wednesday I said goodbye to my family and left NW Iowa for 5 months. My flight to Spain departs from Chicago on Sunday the 21st, so from Wednesday until now I have been on a little road trip in a resurrected 1985 VW Jetta with stops in Upland Indiana and Louisville Kentucky. Kevin, Andrew, and I have slept in the lounge of the library at Taylor Universtiy and showered in a communitty shower with three random students in a random dorm, while Cassie experienced the more standard college life in her sister's dorm. In Louisville we visited The Southern Baptist Seminary, partied with the University of Louisville fans at the Orange Bowl victory celebration on Fourth Street, and walked around the "hippie" neighborhood. Overall, the road trip has been a blast and hopefully a foreshadowing of my semester in Spain. I am really excited to get to Spain and appreciate your prayers during travel and adjustments that will occur.

Preparing for departure

2007-01-08T11:35:00.000-08:00

On the 21st of January I will embark upon perhaps the greatest adventure of my life (ok, maybe second to eating Jake's cooking) as I fly from Chicago to Seville. In Seville I will be living with a host family and perhaps one other student (I really don't know much yet). The classes consist of a sequence of four Spanish languge classes taught by professors of the Trinity Semester in Spain program. Beyond that, I'm not sure what to expect. I anticipate extreme frustration during the first month or so with not speaking Spanish very well. I'm sure they will ask for the hot sauce during lunch and I'll pass the dog, but hopefully I can catch on quickly. I guess my goals are to become conversationally fluent in Spanish, to learn a lot about the Spanish culture, and enjoy living in a different part of God's world. Right now I am getting more and more excited to leave and would appreciate your prayers for safety during travel.