Oh hey, culture shock.

I'm in Europe. Yes, I'm aaactually here.

Nothing seems quite real yet & it seems as though I'll be going home in a short while. There is so much to get use to! So we'll start at the beginning, relatively.

After a long flight, we arrived in Madrid around 8 in the morning and found our way around the metro (not the easiest that early and when you speak very minimal Spanish). But by 10:30, we had found our apartment and were able to get in by 1. It's awesome, to put it simply. We all fit comfortably and just have a really nice space to call home for a few days. We just explored the city yesterday and tried some delicious helado (icecream). Madrid is truly a fascinating place. My immediate reaction? I feel small. First of all, they start their days around 10 or 11 and the night life is quite the sight. So few speak English, and that really surprised me. We've run into quite a few confusing conversations to say the least.

Anyway, last night we enjoyed a night in (due to our extreme exhaustion from jet leg) and made some spaghetti & just had fun getting to know each other! Now today, hooolly crap. What a long day. I'm pretty sure we walked for at least 10 hours. It is currently World Youth Day in Madrid and there are people EVERYWHERE.. from everywhere. We took a walking tour this morning and learned so much about Madrid's history. It was all very fascinating & our tour guide was quite the guy. Though from Israel, he talked as if he walked right out of an Austin Powers' movie. Truly groovy, baby.

Beyond that, we went to an authentic Spanish restaurant for lunch and that was definitely an experience. A few tried some seafood dishes and I actually tasted octopus!! It didn't have much taste (I took a small bite, mind you) but hey, at least I can say I did it! Following that, we decided to try and see if we could catch a glimpse of the Pope. Hahaahaa. Yeaaaa right. There were so so so many people. Though it was awesome to see that many Christians gathered in one place, I felt as if the Pope was what was worshipped, rather than Jesus. That kind of crowd is definitely something I have no desire to experience again, but the passion for Jesus was definitely felt. After that, we toured a museum for a short while & then enjoyed some churros that our tour guide from earlier had suggested!

Now I am back in our apartment and quite honestly, feeling overwhelmed by this journey so far. I can't quite wrap my head around everything and it already has stimulated so many questions and thoughts. Some to share with you:

1. Language barriers: tricky. It's crazy to see this life, and yet not understand how they speak and work everyday. To see all of these walks of life is such an experience, I can hardly explain it. I appreciate these differences, but it is hard to see how different my life is. It really opens your eyes as to what is outside of you.
2. Spain is dirty. And really only has two smells: smoke & BO. Mixed. Yummy, I know.
3. You are where you grow up, for the most part. I already appreciate space, less populated areas, and the simple pleasures of clean air. Culture shock really does happen folks.
4. My group is great. We have stimulating conversation and getting along comes so easily.
5. Naps are indeed popular over here. It's like the city shuts down for a few hours in the afternoon.

That's all for now. I'm really tired & thinking deeply is not really happening for me so I'll write again soon! Off to Barcelona tomorrow & I am quite excited for this.

Love to everyone & please keep us in your prayers!
Oh, and please update me on your lives. Missing everyone greatly.

Godbless.