Further Up and Further In

In the mountains of Galicia Fun-sized candy bars, do they still make those anymore? I love them because that's often just amount of chocolate I want, two bites worth, and I'm satisfied. But the line, "I'm not short, I'm just fun-sized!" is one I find entertaining and have oft repeated in regards to my own height. As you already know, I'm a short person by American standards. I'm about 5'3" and the average height for an American woman is around 5'4"-5'5". So I'm not horribly short but just short enough that pants are a couple inches too long, I often can't quite reach something, and I'm always in the front row for group pictures. It's something I often joke about--you ask tall people if they play basketball but you don't ask short people if they play mini-golf! (okay, the fun-sized one was better)--and am occasionally grateful for since it means I can easily curl up in chairs or fit into small spaces co...

Vale. Venga. Vamos. My roommate and I half-kidded throughout the semester that all you need to know in Spanish are these 3 words. But we were also kind of serious because you use and hear these 3 words all. the. time. But the real question is, what do they mean? Dancing at Feria de Abril (April Fair) Vale - everything affirmative, such as, okay, gotcha, mhmm, sure, etc. Usually used twice, so you would say, "vale, vale" if you wanted to sound more authentically Spanish. Once I figured out what it meant I used it every day and I said "vale" to numerous things over the course of the semester. Whether it was trying new foods like morcilla (blood sausage), octopus with visible suckers, clams still in their shells, whole shrimp--shell and all, and lastly, snails! I said "vale" to traveling around Europe, making mistakes and learning from them, and having the opportunity to explore some of the most amazing European cities like Zurich, London, and Amster...

Reading with my sister and friend If you know me at all, you know I love to read and I mean, love to read. I've learned that reading is one of the rhythms of my life I need in order to function. It's up there with eating and sleeping for me. Anyways, I've read goodness knows how many thousands of books in my 16 years of being able to read and I love tracking the characters in the books. My childhood was living through the eyes of Anne Shirley of Green Gables and entering the magical world of Harry Potter with my dad and sister. I fell in love with Frodo, Aragorn, Arwen, and Eowyn. I've read and re-read the Chronicles of Narnia, gaining new appreciation and insight from every reading. The characters go through adventures and numerous conflicts. They change, grow, and develop which is a huge part of the beauty and brilliance of good writing. But the characters remain the same throughout the book. The Frodo you meet in the Shire at the beginning is still the same Fro...

I don't have any profound thoughts or particularly poignant self realizations this time so I thought that I'd share some of the interesting anecdotes and snapshots that have happened to me since living and adventuring in Sevilla, Spain. Scavenger hunt photo in our neighborhood, Triana My roommate (she's a junior at Asbury University) and I attempted to explain to our host family what the word "sassy" meant. Elocution in Spanish is fun and challenging! We also tried to explain the significance of Groundhog's Day, definitely a strange American holiday that I don't understand. My host brother (he's 24 years old) and I bonded over a mutual love of Lord of the Rings or El Señor de los Anillos. That was a good night.  Weird foods I have eaten so far include: bull's tail (it's like ox tail Chinese style but not), blood sausage, whole clams/mussels still in the shells, and octopus (yes, I could see the suction cups on the tentacles). Fun coll...

(author's note: this conversation is slightly paraphrased due to an imperfect memory. For context, it was held the day I left for Spain) This is straight-up how I function. No lie. Me: "Do you think anyone is ever ready for something that they're about to do?" Friend: *laughter* (kind, not mean) Me: "Why are you laughing at me?" Him: "That's a very vulnerable question. Indirect but vulnerable. Do you not feel ready?" Me: "No, I don't. But I don't know that I ever have been on any of my adventures." Him: "Our definition of ready usually means being without fear. But if readiness can include fear and anxiety, sometimes a lot of fear and anxiety, then you can be ready. Being ready can be being committed and doing what you know is right and what God has called you to. Being ready is also being prepared for what is to come, not just physically but also emotionally. It depends on how you define 'ready'."...

Communion Christmas morning Bread in the manger and cup on the cross Redemption is a word that we, as Christians, usually associate with Easter not Christmas. But the truth is that Christ came as a baby to redeem us. His birth began the redemption process and it was culminated in His death at Easter. One does not usually think of Christmas as a holiday in need of redemption. But for many of our staff and residents, it does because news flash:  not everyone has good Christmas memories. You're probably like "Well, duh. This world is broken and full of sin. Christmas isn't brimming over with magic and snow globes for everyone." Perhaps not all of your Christmas memories are positive ones. I registered this fact for the first time when I was 13 or 14. I didn't realize that people had Christmases they didn't want to remember. That last Christmas was a sad and lonely time for them as they sat in their homes with only a pizza box for company. That last Chri...

"You were meant to be here and what you do this summer will be enough." My unit leader gave this encouragement to my unit as we began our summer of camp counseling. I had a gut reaction of "that's not true" to the second half of the statement. I knew the first part was true. I had felt a peace about applying to SLS and believed that He had brought me to HoneyRock for this particular summer. His reasons being His own but I had no doubt as to where I was supposed to be. But I realized, sitting on a bench at Black Bear campsite, that I never believed that what I did was enough. I thought in my gap years and since being in college that I had loosened up on my perfectionistic tendencies. I knew I still possessed them but I thought they weren't as strong as they used to be. I gauged this by the fact that I didn't go crazy if every project or task that I completed wasn't done "just right". I knew that I wasn't going to do things perfect...