Just keep swimming...

It is hot in Spain.

I think we've been averaging somewhere around mid to high nineties, but we definitely break over 100 probably once a week.

Some days, it's just so hot, all you can do is go to the pool (after finishing all your chores of course) :)

Anna and her sunscreen...she's just cautious :)

The adorable little huts/umbrellas we sit under...

Kim with her book

Anna was the first to venture down the slide :)

Getting ready...

And there she goes!

She went a second time, and her face just cracks me up! :)

Me and my "parasol" which was actually an umbrella from a shade stand but it had blown into the pool, so before putting it back, I figured I might as well get a good picture out of it :)

But then it was my turn to go down the slide....

...Up the stairs I go!

I'm still not sure how I feel about this...I don't like my head underwater...

...but here I go!

I think we end up at the pool almost every day.

What can I say?

Life in Spain is tough. Real tough :)

An introvert's guide to living with extroverts

Well we’ve reached the half way mark. Four weeks in Spain have gone, four have yet to come, bringing new surprises and adventures with them. What’s been the hardest part you ask? Surely it’s the time difference, or the diet consisting of all things fried, or cleaning bathrooms everyday, or the fact that you don’t eat supper until 10 o’clock each night. While those things have definitely been challenges, the hardest part of this whole experience for me has been the people.

Anyone who knows me at all knows that I am an introvert. I don’t talk much, I don’t insert myself into situations or conversations. I am a wall flower, and I love it. Give me a book and I can go a day or two with no human contact at all.

Living at camp, I get no such luxury. I live in a little tin roof, double-wide cottage with two other girls, both of whom are extroverts. Now please don’t mistake me, I love these girls. I have not laughed so hard and as frequently as I have in my four weeks here. But we wake up together in the morning, we eat breakfast together, we go to work together, we work together all day, we eat our meals together, we got to the pool together, we go home together at night, and we go to sleep together.

We are always together!

That doesn’t work so well for me. I need my alone time. I need it. You can tell if you’re an introvert based on a simple test. Do people energize you, or do people drain you? If you get energized from being around people, you’re an extrovert. If being around people too long drains you, you’re an introvert.

People drain me. I can’t constantly be around people, I just can’t. I get tense, snippy, impatient, tired. In short I become a Mr. Grumpy Gills. That’s no fun for me or the people around me. I don’t wish that on anyone. So I’ve had to work extra hard to get my alone time.

Often I can’t ever actually get away from people entirely. When there’s a camp, there are campers everywhere. They’re mini-golfing, or swimming, or sitting on the patio, or playing games in the courtyard, or hiking or walking around or sitting in the amphitheater. There is no where I can go to just be completely away from people. So I use books and music as my escape. If you give me a book, I can pretty much tune out what’s going on around me, even more so if I’ve got my ipod in too.

Unfortunately I grossly underestimated the number of books to bring with me. I brought two fiction books I hadn’t read yet, and a fiction and non-fiction that I had read. So 4 books total. For 2 months….bad plan Kaylee.

I’ve read through them all, and two of the fiction books twice. Sue (one of the camp directors) gave us a stack of books that she didn’t want anymore. They are Christian romance. Urg. I can’t stand Christian romance. Why are they always about Quakers or pioneers? But don’t let me get on that soapbox. Anyway, I am desperate enough, I might actually start reading these books. That’s how bad it is. That’s how much I need to get my alone time. I haven’t caved in yet, but I’m close.

I also have to go on walks. I just have to get out of the house sometimes and get into the open. Although, being in a mountain valley is not as open as I’m used to at home with the flat plains. But it’s still out of the house, and it’s beautiful here. I suppose I can suffer through another month of a mountain on my doorstep J

In addition to reading and walking I keep a journal. Two journals actually. One is kept for events, if we went sight-seeing one day or just daily happenings. The other is for my thoughts and meditations and prayers. It really helps me organize all the thoughts spinning around in my head. I have all these thoughts and feelings and I need an outlet for them, and journaling helps me do that. When I can’t necessarily say how I’m feeling out loud, I’m able to say it in my journal and get that release.

It has definitely been a growing experience, this month in Spain, and it’s been in ways I wasn’t expecting. God is pretty cool that way, showing us ways He wants us to grow that we didn’t even think or know about. I know I’ve definitely grown in my month here and I’m sure it will continue in the month coming.

Curve Ball

I had several other posts I was working on, but this one takes precedence. :)

As stated in previous posts, I am a planner. I love plans, I love filling out my planner, I love lists, I love things neat and ordered and color coordinated!

But in the couple of months before coming to Spain there was no plan. I was graduating from college and had no job prospects. I had a general idea of what I wanted, but wasn't finding it, at least not at home where I wanted to be. I really did not like the idea of going to Spain and coming back to no job.

But then, an opportunity for a job arose. It seemed too good to be true because it met all my criteria!

1. It was a small organization, I really wanted something personal

2. It was in my field of study

3. It was people/community-orientated

4. It was in my home town

Other bonuses were I knew the girl who at the time held the position, and I also was doing my internship under a man who works closely with this organization and could vouch for my skills and abilities.

So I applied.

I got an interview.

During the interview I asked the woman when they were hoping to fill the position since I would be leaving for Spain in a couple of weeks and would be gone all summer. She told me that she wanted to fill the position right away. Shoot.

I thought the interview went very well, but I assumed that because they wanted to fill the position right away I didn't stand a chance of getting it. Well then the afternoon after my interview I got an email from the woman who had interviewed me. She said she wanted to know more about my design skills and had attached a brochure they had used a few years ago. She wanted me to redesign it and send it to her by the end of the week. She also said that she was having me and two other people do this and it would determine who would get the position. I was surprised that I was actually being considered still! So I redesigned the brochure and sent it off to her.

And then I waited...

...and I waited...

...and waited....

Finally! An email!

Unfortunately, she said, you were top candidate but we really want to fill the position right away and with your summer plans it just won't work. She said to let her know if my plans changed for the summer, but otherwise she was going to keep looking.

Well I was going to Spain, there was no changing that.

At first I was upset.

Why did I get dragged through that whole process if they knew the whole time that they wanted to fill the position right away?

But after that passed, I was finally resigned to the fact that there was no plan. There was no job.

So I was determined to go to Spain and not worry about it. I was going to BE in Spain and deal with the job when I got home.

After a month in Spain I was doing quite well! There was always the little nagging thought at the back of my mind, taunting me, "Kaaaayleeeee.....what's the plaaaan? Oh wait, there isn't one!"

But over all I was doing really well at being in Spain and not worrying about the future.

And then I got an email.

It was from the lady who I interviewed with before coming to Spain.

She said that she had been searching but had not found anyone comparable to me to fill the position. She asked if I would still be interested in the job.

I had to reread the email once or twice. I was blown away! How is this happening? This can't be real? But I didn't want to get my hopes up, I didn't want to assume that she was offering me the job, so I replied and told her that yes I would still be interested in the position. She replied back and said she would be pleased to offer me the position I had interviewed for!

WHAT?

What just happened? I didn't even know how to react! It completely threw me for a loop! Here I was, minding my own business in Spain, determined not to worry about my lack of job until I got home, and suddenly, out of the blue, I'm offered a job that meets all my requirements, not to mention that it's actually a job in my field!!!!!

This doesn't happen! I'm a college graduate! I'm not supposed to get a job in my field two months after I graduate!

God, you've blown my mind. You threw me this curve ball from left field and man oh man you've completely caught me off guard!

I am just filled with this feeling of complete and utter gratefulness. I can't even express it, I just feel like I'm over flowing and my heart is going to burst!

How great is our God!!!!

I want to climb one of the mountains in my backyard and shout/sing at the top of my lungs!!!!

I can't believe how my God has blessed me. And I couldn't wait to share with everyone.

There's been a plan this whole time! I was definitely supposed to come to Spain. And I am definitely supposed to have this job.

How great is our God!

Testimonios

We spent the day with Beate on Thursday.

Her husband, Jose, works at Camp and she is German but she's been here for around 14 years, and she and Jose have been married for about 5 years. She wanted to spend the day with us, show us around and put us to work :)

Bea manages the radio station in her town, and it's not a specific Christian station but she can play whatever she wants and so she's able to play a lot of Christian stuff.

Missionaries listen to this station, and so do people who are trying to learn English and so she has one hour of her program in all English every day. She wanted us three girls to come on her show and give our testimonies, and then talk about things that have helped us grow in our faith and relationship with Christ.

So she picked us up that morning and took us to Riogordo, her town, and to her radio station. She plopped us down and each of us gave our testimonies! It was really cool! And after we gave our testimony in English she translated it into Spanish for people listening who couldn't catch all of it, since they're still learning English.

Anna getting ready to go, and Bea selecting the next song :)

After we did our testimonies, Bea put us to work cleaning out the station! And oh man was it dirty! I had thought, okay we'll vacuum, dust, reorganize a bit, nothing too involved. Nope. We hard core cleaned, taking everything out of the room, cleaning, and then putting everything back in! Anna got to vacuum the rug....doesn't she look thrilled? :)

Yeah I got the super fun job of dusting out all of these egg cartons that serve as sound proofing in the room, and the dust was sticking to them, and the only way we could get it out was to brush them out with a broom. the dust was flying!

We quickly realized that vacuuming the rug was not going to get it clean, so Anna and Kim got to go outside and beat the rug. Look at that dust fly!

It was just a really cool day, getting to minister in so many ways! I felt so blessed that we were able to share our testimonies on the radio! Who knows how they're going to affect the people who heard them, but what a blessing to be able to share! And then to be able to share with people ways that we have grown in our faith and relationship with Christ. It was a great opportunity to challenge the people listening to get in their Bibles more, get involved in their church, become a mentor, all that stuff! Who knows what will come of it, but even if we just planted some seeds, what an amazing opportunity!

And then to be able to help Bea by cleaning out her office. What another great way to minister! She was so grateful for our help and it hadn't been cleaned in soooo long! If she would have done it by herself it would have taken her all day, but we were able to knock it off in a few hours between the four of us. It was an amazing day of ministering!

This Ain't Colorado....

So we climbed a mountain the other day. No big deal, it's just in our backyard, that's all :) There was a small group from California staying at camp for a couple of days and we decided to hike the mountain together.

There are three mountains in our backyard-ish area. La Hija (the daughter), La Madre (the mother) and El Abuelo (the grandfather) Their ages are synonymous with their sizes and we climbed the medium one, La Madre.

Oh and this isn't like Colorado and Pikes Peak where you have a nice little path carved out for you...nope. You make your own path, whatever way looks easier or whichever rock looks the most stable. It was great!

Glenn and Kim all decked out in their cute little hats :)

the first of the fences that we had to scale...

starting up the hills/rocks

the second fence we had to jump/climb....

the view on the way up

getting higher....

the grayish lump on the left is La Hija, the smallest mountain we could have climbed. It only takes like 2o minutes....what kind of hike is that?

higher still

it's getting steeper....

rest break in the shade, it was hoooot!

and now we're getting out of the trees and into the sheer rock...

Glenn's cute little Moroccan hat and canteen :)

and we finally reached the top! it was just a little ledge of rock and you could see over both sides of the mountain, it was amaaaaazing!

Glenn and his cute little hat :)

the view was incredible

and then Kim's hat blew off, so Glenn, the adventurer/mountain goat that he is ventured after it

look at him go! success!

so while we were waiting for Glenn, we thought it would be a good time for some pictures :)

So yeah, that's after we got back down, the mountain we climbed! There isn't very much perspective to show you how big it really is, but trust me, it's huge! It took us around three hours to go up and come back down total, and all those hours on the elliptical totally paid off!

Camp has just been one adventure after the other, and it keeps coming! God is definitely opening my eyes while I'm here. It's incredible to experience His world in this way.

What time is it?

Time means something completely different to Spaniards that it does to Americans. They don't follow schedules, they don't know what time it is, they just kind of meander through, taking their sweet time.....

That drives me crazy! I love schedules. I love my planner. I need a plan. I need to stick to the plan. I loooove plans! Spaniards could care less. It's not all bad though.

I love being disconnected from things. I love that most of the day I don’t know what time it is. I love that my cell phone isn’t always beeping at me. We live in a society that always has to be plugged in, connected to our electronic devices. And don’t get me wrong, I love my cell phone and the internet and television, but it’s really nice to have a break from those things. And as much as I love plans, it's nice to have a break from the harried hustle and bustle of the states. We’re always rushing to be on time (and we still end up being late) and we’re constantly worried about staying in the loop. Spain is a very different lifestyle from the US. They are much more laid back about things.

Está bien. It’s good.

Life in Spain is good.

Trabajando (Working)

Wednesday June 15, 2011

Well I am exhausted. I don’t know if I’m just having trouble adjusting to the time change or whatever or if it’s just because we’re working so hard everyday, but man I am beat!

The past three days we have been hard core cleaning. We just had a camp leave and so we’re doing intense summer cleaning. There are three sets of rooms, a girls dorm with eight rooms, a boys dorm with 8 rooms and el cortijo which is a set of 8 rooms for anyone. There are at least 5 five beds in each room, giving us a total of around 120 beds.

We had to go through every room an strip the mattress covers off each bed and pillow cases off each pillow. It wouldn’t be too terrible except you have to take every mattress off the bed because the mattress covers are like pillow cases in that that they cover the whole mattress, top and bottom and are zipped close. So it’s not as simple as just stripping the sheets.

Then we had to wash everything, and with only one washer and no dryer, we are still washing, three days later. But as they are getting cleaned then we put them back on the mattresses.

(el cortijo)

We had to sweep and mop out all the rooms and clean all the bathrooms, which are toilets, sinks, mirrors, counters, showers, sweep and mop and replace toilet paper and paper towels.

(Anna working hard)

Then we had to clean the dining hall, and conference hall and water all the plants. Each one of us girls picked one and I ended up with the dining hall. I had to wipe down all 14 tables and then stack the chairs on top. Then I had to sweep the whole hall and mop it. It took a good two hours. And through all of this we’re STILL doing laundry! I never want to see another mattress cover as long as I live!

So it’s been a very busy several days, but tomorrow we’re going to do some sight seeing in a town called Córdoba, so that should be a fun day. And then Friday we have a new camp coming and we’ll be working in the kitchen again! Life is never dull here that’s for sure! I can’t wait to see how God will continue to use this camp to reach people as the summer goes on.