4th of July in Sevilla

a few Americans, KFC, watermelon, and a very short firework show by the waterpark made for a very happy fourth of july in Sevilla...we even sang a few patriotic songs:)

 

the market

jamon serrano! spanish cured ham...what Spaniards are most proud of from their country. personally, i'm not a huge fan...but i don't tell many people that...

la fabrica de tabacos

this is the Fabrica de tabacos - the main university campus in Seville where we've done most of our english clubs.  the building used to be an old tobacco factory that stored tobacco that was shipped over from the New World...now it's a university building!

summer teams

a team from georgia came to teach english in highschools and help with our english clubs and a music team from tennessee came another week to give concerts around the city

some cool girls

last hangout day with the interns before they headed back to the states...we took a paddleboat ride on the river (one of my favorite things to do here) and had a coffee on the riverwalk (another of my favorite things)!

english club party!

our end of the year party with english clubs and the interns...we made mexican food and american desserts and played lots of english-speaking games

jman retreat...

At the end of April we planned a retreat for the journeyman girls in Europe...girls living in Rome, Paris, Spain, and Portugal all met in Seville and from there we traveled to a beach in southern Portugal for the weekend.  It was an encouraging and refreshing time for everyone...and the beach was absolutely beautiful!!!

feria de sevilla! ¡olé!

Feria is one of the biggest holiday weeks in Seville.  It's basically just a big fair, but it's a huge deal!  Families or businesses set up tent houses (casetas) in one area of the city and people are there 24 hours a day for an entire week eating, drinking, and dancing sevillanas. 

top: McEnglish - an english club we lead for high school students in the village at McDonald's

bottom: our four semester interns with the MK girls

Mallorca y Bollullos

top pictures: the whole crew Easter Sunday at the park...we sang and read and shared and prayed together as we celebrated that Jesus lives!!  and afterwards we had an Easter egg hunt for the kids...and they shared their jelly beans with me which made me pretty happy:)  bottom pictures:  in Spain the whole week before Easter is a vacation week, so we headed to Mallorca (a Spanish island) for a few days to have a team retreat...we did some planning for the next year, but mostly used this time to rest, be refreshed and to encourage one another spiritually.  Aren't these kids precious!?!

easter in sevilla

Holy Week in Seville...hundreds of Sevillians  participate by dressing up and carrying crosses, statues, and candles throughout the city...thousands and thousands of people come to watch.  Many Sevillanos believe that by participating in this tradition they are paying a penance for their sins...that by carrying these crosses and statues, often walking barefoot for hours through the city, they are receiving forgiveness. There are so many details and traditions wrapped up in this week...with a lot of focus on the cross of Christ, but very little on His empty tomb.  That they would know the life and forgiveness found in the risen Christ!

fun times!

top: friends in sevilla from germany, england, usa, el salvador, and ireland  bottom: sleepover with MKs at my apartment...I think this was a crazy face picture...

you know you've lived in Spain too long...

...when you no longer recognize a mullet when you see one.

...if you consider wearing brown boots and a black shirt matching...or, for that matter, any color combination seems to go well together.

...when after an hour of waiting at the post office you just then begin to think, "Hmm, I've been waiting here a long time..."

...if you consider a 20 minute walk a pretty short distance, you only catch a bus if the walk is 45 minutes or more.

...if you can't imagine eating dinner any earlier than 9:00pm and sometimes eat as late as 12am.

I love Spain:)

Christmas time...

Family and friends from home, family in Spain, homemade Christmas cookies, and a can of boiled peanuts from dad:)...what else could a girl want for Christmas!?