Sagunto, Part 1

Hello! Yes, I have arrived safely in Spain, and am incredibly sorry for the delay in writing this issue, for any of you who may have been worried if I got here. I almost didn't, though, as my flight from San Francisco to Chicago was canceled due to mechanical failures in the plane, getting me off to a great start on this saga. Fortunately, American Airlines was able to rebook me for a flight to Los Angeles instead, from which I was able to fly to Chicago, literally walking straight off of my first flight and onto the second. In Chicago, I didn't have much time, either--just enough to make a few last phone calls before kissing cell service good-bye for the year.

The flight to Madrid was long, dull, and tedious like most transatlantic flights, amplified by the fact that I couldn't sleep. By the time I got to the Valencia flight, I was so tired, the only thing keeping me awake was a certain skepticism as to how airworthy the plane really was. And, of course, some magazines talking about great things to see in Spain I hadn't realized were even over here. Even in a year, I don't think I'll see everything I want to see in Spain, let alone Europe. Coming off of that flight, I thought I'd lost my baggage, but fortunately, they had merely come in on a different terminal, so I was set for success already.

Riding on the highway at break-neck speed, I enjoyed the scenery passing by--with all those orange groves, the place looks like Southern California used to before all the orange groves were covered by houses, with the added perk of the occasional ruin of a castle. Upon my arrival, I was settled in with a very nice room mate, Yamuna, who speaks no English and is very sociable. That's a very good combination for someone who's actually trying to learn Spanish. She told me how her somewhat odd name is actually the river that flows in front of the Taj Mahal. Cool.

The next morning, which was my birthday, I took the placement test to see what group I'd be placed in for the year. I scored in the top group, to my wonder, joy, and delight. This made me eligible for the Translation class I so badly wanted to take, which I registered for along with the rest of my 19 credits. That may sound like a lot, but the pace and culture here is much more laid back than PUC, and I feel like I can handle it. If I can't, I'll probably drop my Bible class--we have worship every night, several hours of church and sabbath school a week, and the credits probably don't transfer to my religion department back home anyway. If I took a class at their seminary, on the other hand, that would count. . . but I don't want to try that until I get a general feel for the coursework in the regular ACA classes.

I celebrated my birthday by walking into the town of Sagunto with some other ACA students. We had to cross several orange orchards, walk under a tunnel, and ask for directions when we got lost to get there, but it was rewarding enough when we actually located a place to eat. Sadly, we didn't have time to do much else, so we got back in time for evening worship, which was followed by an orientation to dorm life here. It is very different than dorm life at PUC, and I actually appreciate the enforced silence rules they have from 10:30 PM--7:00 AM. If they had that rule at PUC, I know any number of people would get a better night's sleep.

Yesterday was my first day of class, but I only had two classes which aren't even into the subject matter yet, so no comment. I did, however, meet, their Biblical Languages teacher--nice woman, and a lovely wake-up call for me to remember to practice my Greek. With Spanish swimming around my head, though, I really don't feel like it. That afternoon, the school had us all bussed into Sagunto to go to Carrefour, a store a lot like Walmart, but better, for some of our daily necessities. It was hard for me not to fall into the temptation to buy a nice, large jar of Nutella. I justified my purchase of a bottle of tonics by my need for a one-liter bottle for my water. We were supposed to go to the beach afterwards, but there wasn't enough time--we just got to see it from the bus, looking beautiful and tantalizing. I can't wait to go next week.

There were two worships last night, and three this morning, so I'm actually sort of worshiped-out. I've enjoyed the music in all of them, and the preaching, even, up to a point--the more tired I am, the less any language, particularly Spanish, makes sense, and I'm still jetlagged. I think I'll appreciate it all a lot more next week, and I am truly glad to see such an active church community over here.