Why should it come as a surprise?

Wow! This week has flown by! I can't believe it's Friday already. And the 3rd of October. Wow.

So I've been in Barcelona about 9 days now and I find I'm actually quite enjoying myself! And that comes as a bit of a surprise. But why should it? Well... there are a few reasons for it.

The first reason is that I was generally disappointed with my time on my study abroad program. I look back on it with a certain amount of fondness, but at the time, I had a much different opinion. Even when I came home to all the "How was it?" inquiries, I had to choose my adjectives carefully. Parts of the trip had been rewarding, but I felt like I hadn't had the experience I was promised. Past participants had expressed what a phenomenal time they had had, how they wished they were going back, all of the wonderful things they experienced, and great friends they had made. As time passed after my return, I looked back on my trip with a more positive attitude and wondered if the glowing reports I had heard were also catching a little sparkle in the light of hindsight.

Regardless of what other people thought of the trip in the past, I came home a little disillusioned. My relationships with my tripmates were almost non-existent. Even after spending 10 weeks with the same people, I still felt very distant from most of them. Going through things like a trip, a school program, an adventure into a different culture usually bonds people together, and yet I left feeling so distant from everybody. Also, I had an incredibly dry summer spiritually. I had not been to church (besides visiting them like museums). I had barely read my Bible. I had rarely prayed. I had had my beloved friend Pam with me, an oasis in that dessert. But a friend can only do so much.

Also, we were kept so busy during our trips that it was hard to really experience anything. School and homework occupied most of our time. Being on a tight schedule and sometimes limited transportation ruined a lot of what was left of it. Weekends we traveled, taking "red-eye" bus trips to some destination and making it back just in time for class on Monday. We spent so much time doing and so little time being, observing, and absorbing.

On the other hand, I went to church my first Sunday here. I was welcomed in quite heartily and spent the rest of the day just chilling with new friends. I've had afternoons with nothing to do quickly become filled up with just walking until my legs couldn't stand it anymore. On occasions I come across things that strike me as funny, but try to choke back my laughter to avoid being rude (or standing out--the Spanish aren't terribly expressive people when out alone). I've had to navigate grocery stores, clothes lines, apartment hunting, cell phone shopping, lost metro tickets, cafeterias, trilingual computer operating systems, to name a few things. I'm so struck by how very much like life this is. I suppose it's partly in contrast to how much not like life my last trip here was. I'm just doing all the things I would be doing if I were out on my own anywhere else. Sure, there are certain differences, (I didn't know I was supposed to have my produce weighed before I went to the check-out counter!) and there continues to be a language barrier. But this is life and it is fun!

I mean, I guess I didn't come here because I thought I would hate it, but I think I did come here because I thought it would be intriguing and bearable. I am finding it to actually be enjoyable. Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised, but I am. And I'm glad.