Greetings from across the pond!

So my Buddy Ryan is also sharing his Spain story with friends and family back home. The title of his blog is La Vida Dulce or “The Sweet Life”. I think that this blog title is a pretty accurate picture of my time spent here so far. The challenges of adapting to a new place are fading away rapidly, which making the small victories that much sweeter. I haven’t even been here a month, but I have experienced quite a bit, and I’m looking forward to more.

These structures, painting and works of art are stupid cool/incredible. I was talking to a friend recently about all these amazing things and how I don’t really grasp the concept of time. By that I mean I can really only imagine what 100 years might be, and anything past that it is difficult to wrap my mind around. It’s almost unfathomable thinking about what it must have been like in the 4th century when the Romans were still hanging out on this peninsula. Thoughts and conversation like this cannot help but lead to the topic of eternity. Focusing on things that will last forever is something that I’ve been convicted of lately. How often do we talk about the weather or the score of game and fail to really connect with people. I guess it’s out of ease or the desire to avoid a potential awkward situation that our conversations stick to arbitrary things. I know this last week I’ve really connected conversationally with a few new people, something that I have not been particularly comfortable with in the past.

So as you may know there is a tradition in Spain called Siesta! Siesta generally happens between 2 and 5 in the afternoon. This is a time were most businesses shut down and people go home for a long lunch and maybe a 30 min power nap. I guess I had in my head that the nap was the most important part of la siesta. After 2 days of napping for over 2 hours Leo (my spainish Madre) gave me a hard time. She told me that I couldn’t be doing that, with a sweet joking tone. Needless to say I’m learning more and more from this Culture.
I'm starting the process of planing out some trips, and I’m finding that there are a lot more details than I thought in all this mess. Fortunately I’m not going it alone. Mr. JD Stark has already trotted some of the grounds where we will be heading, and Mr. Viner is a straight ninja so I’m sure we’ll figure it out.

Miss ya'll

Paz,

-rob

p.s. If you get a chance to watch The Spain England Match tomorrow I think Its 4 O'clock eastern. I'll Be the one with Red and Yellow face paint wearing the Spainsh Flag around my Neck as a Cape.