Finding a Rthym

            Life here is city life. It is vastly different from the peace and uniformity of Point Loma, San Diego. There is a hustle and bustle here with smoke coming up from the cars and mass amounts of cigarettes, quick walking with different languages accompanying, abrupt honking, and it seems every inch of space in the city is utilized. This compactness is all fine by me, because the architects and city designers seemed to know when space is worthy of being given. The buildings that have space are magnificent, breath taking, and are the buildings that often I have sat and looked at for 40 minutes before walking on, and I say it’s a 40 minutes well spent. Can’t say that about many buildings in the states!

            Family life has changed from gathering around the table at home with familiar faces and a dog snoozing in the corner to a different language being thrown around the table, a cat sleeping on the heater, and much smaller servings of food. These servings consist of lots of white fish, rice, salty and oily salads, bread, ice tea, and my personal favorite, the post meal espresso. These new meals typically conclude with “gracias” and “hasta luego” as my new roommate Chris and I make our way upstairs to relax. Our living area consists of a rather small bedroom, which is balanced out by us having a nice little living room area upstairs. That living area has been host to a few TV watching sessions with friends as they come over with snacks to enjoy some TV that isn’t in Spanish, quite a breath of fresh air to my ears.

     People have been rushing to get into the public transportation system, which is actually great here, but I chose otherwise. My feet seem to do just the trick and I have enjoyed many great walks through this city. Although my Tuesdays and Thursday have a class that is a 12-minute metro ride away and it’s a 55-minute walk otherwise, I still opt for the walk. Seeing the Sagrada Familia on my way to school is something that I will never grow weary of. I have walked into the backsides of many people as I try to walk and look at that thing at the same time… doesn’t work out.

       This weekend I had the pleasure of joining my host family at their house in the country, dubbed “El Campo”. They showed me a tattered old photograph of a building, which looked similar to a California mission, it did not disappoint. After driving 2 hours south through lots of side streets, freeways, roundabouts, switchbacks, and dirt roads we arrived at El Campo and got out our groceries while the rest of the family headed off to their house further down the road. Me and Josefa (my host momma) started a fire, which at first smoked us out of the house but then turned into a great friend to sit next to. We ate food and watched a Spanish version of Charlie’s Angels with Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz… what more can a boy ask for. I tried to read a basic level Ninja Turtles Spanish book that she had lying around but I felt bad stopping her from her coffee every 10 seconds. I decided to pick up an old cracked guitar that was laying around and sit out on the porch.

                   Nature is another thing that is the same everywhere. Languages will never be able to confuse the clarity that nature brings. Nature brings a solitude to the rhythm of life. It is something that can be found across the world and that same feeling of peace rings true. Nature also happens to be God’s creation coincidentally, funny huh? God likes to whisper to us in ways that are unmistakable, experiential, and constant. HE surely is a rock but also his creation is something that should never be overlooked as we seek for peace in new surroundings.

PS: 
     We got held up on our way back into Barca as we tried to take the metro home. No dogs allowed. Our dog Liz (pronounced Lith) named after Liz Taylor was stuck...Until I carried the groceries and Josefa stuffed her in her backpack. Job done. HAH! Here is a picture of us awaiting the metro, everyone in the family jokes that she looks like an Ewok from Star Wars. Agree?