A Spanish Winter

Well my friends it has been quite a while. I never intended to go so long without writing but the time has been flying.

So here is a review of the past few months or a "repaso" as we say in Spanish. January passed with the usual happenings. The middle of January to the middle of February was probably the worst part of the experience so far. I don't care how warm it is here in comparison to other parts of the world, the winter is winter. And it's a fact that nothing great happens during the winter in any parts of the world BUT some of the highlights were:

-Watching my school...yes my friends, The Pennsylvania State University, raise $10.6 million to help children fight pediatric cancer. As I watched live from all the way across the Atlantic, I remembered my past involvement in THON. I remembered the children, the families, the students who made it happen, my Public Relations Student Society of America group, our kids, Emily and Colleen, and everything that is THON. It was nice to have a piece of home for a little while.

-Living through one of the most deadliest cold fronts to sweep through Europe. Luckily I was in one of the most southern parts of the continent, but that doesn't mean I got away with freezing for a week. Spanish apartments in Sevilla are built for the intense 100+ degree heat that arrives each summer. They have tile floors, ceramic and cement walls and many windows. And they have no heat. So when 28 degrees hit Sevilla without heat in the apartment, it was anything but fun. But when I saw what happened to Switzerland and other countries north of us, I was grateful for what we got.

-Right after the week of intense cold, the temperatures spiked up to 70 degress, my high school friend Scarlett arrived in Sevilla from home and life started looking up again.

From Scarlett's visit, I started looking at this city and culture for what it is. Every part of it truly is beautiful and I realized for a month and a half before her visit, I was failing to appreciate the beauty that surrounded me. Like any place, once work and responsibilities are involved, things become more complicated and you forget to take time to stop, look around and enjoy life.

I had to show Scarlett everything that Sevilla had to offer and although I was tired from running from work to tutoring and everything, when I arrived in the center of the city to enjoy a tapa on the street or a glass of wine on the river, I was reminded that this is an experience that will never come again.

I saw how Scarlett's eyes would light up when she walked past the Cathedral or spent hours walking through Real Alcázar. And I began to wonder why I ever thought it would be acceptable to see these things as normal parts of my everyday life. Because they're not normal...they're amazing. I also began to once again let myself see this city for something more than just a place where I am living and working. I watched a Flamenco show and I felt like I was watching it for the first time when I was here in 2010 and thinking how amazing it was for a country to have such a wonderful culture and how hard they work to preserve their traditions against the all of the challenges of the changing world.