Spain, por fin!

Wow ~ it has been a long time! I came to Spain ahead of the family and without the laptop, so there's MY excuse. But I am SO thrilled to be back in the country I have loved dearly, hearing the language that was my focus of study, and seeing friends from the days of my college year abroad. Charlie is truly the Seville guy . . . he spent a summer here in 1984 and I visited from Madrid. It is his old friends that we've reconnected with and now we're introducing our kids to their kids.

But let me back up. Have you ever been in a new place by yourself, with no family or friends, not much money, no purpose and perhaps not able to speak the language? It is such an incredibly difficult task. Even though I was delighted to be in Spain, I arrived in Andalucia and began the search for an apartment, a church, Spanish classes for Mary, and a gym. That was my mission. So I started out . . . walking the streets of Sevilla, looking for signs in the windows that said "For Rent" so that I would know what the place looked like and how the neighborhood felt. But there weren't many options and when I called the few possibilities I heard "It isn't furnished" or "We don't want to rent for two months only" or "Already rented". VERY discouraging. I began to doubt that we were even supposed to be here. No language schools had classes for young students (except in the summer) and the gym I found seemd great (Pilates, stretching, step, etc.), but I wasn't sure if we'd end up finding a flat nearby, so I didn't dare join yet.

At least one thing was wonderful. I found a rare 'non-Catholic' church in the outskirts of town. It was a little dicey not knowing what I was getting into, but when I walked through the doors and heard the worship music, I felt at home. The pastor and the people are wonderful and I was incredibly happy to be back in church. But I was losing hope with the rest of my task in trying to find the ideal situation for our family. Loneliness is all-consuming. I don't know if I'd ever really felt it.

And in the depth of my despair, God answered my prayers. I found an apartment that is in the most classic Spanish-style neighborhood with 3 BR, 2 bathrooms, and lots of general living space. It is 5 minutes walking distance to the gym I'd seen, AND it came with underground parking, which is absolutely unheard of! The photo here is in the courtyard leading to our 'casa'. Charlie and the kids arrived on Monday (sweetly rushing their drive south) and I am a happy mama.

Today is Mary's birthday, so we went out for the afternoon meal in a fancy restaurant to celebrate. Life is good, as the t-shirt says.