Life is Beautiful Here.

I walked through the cobble stoned Plaza de la Universidad today, noticing the brilliant blue sky and the shining sun proudly peeking between the cathedral and apartment buildings and thought…this is February?! I couldn’t help but stare in awe at the city I’ve been thrown into.
I have everything at home. I have a car, a nice house, a wonderful, supportive family, lots of coffee, and I attend a beautiful university that I absolutely love. Most of these things I have chosen. In America I am able to present myself as a respectable human being who is capable of carrying her own weight. I have everything I’ve ever needed or wanted. I have never experienced a time of lacking. For us Americans, at least for me, living in Spain is a different experience. Walking to every blessed place I want to go to in this city is not an option, I did not choose. Speaking Spanish is not an option. What is put in the table for me to eat every day is not an option. Sharing a very small room was not an option. What I study in school isn’t an option. Trying to communicate with the people in this place with the grammar and vocabulary of a four year old is humbling. Lacking the ability to choose is humbling. What I did choose, however, was to come here and be humbled. To experience what it’s like to be foreigner with red hair and freckles that sticks out more than a giant T-Rex would on the street. To embarrass myself enough in order that I may not judge others who struggle. I chose to be in this place. I am learning what it means to turn the corner and take the awaiting adventure, releasing any hesitation or fear. What happens is I grow. We all do. The good news is I like the person who I’m becoming. Each day is more of a blessing than the last. Life is unexpected, but good. My life is beautiful here.