Days 67-68, Sweet Nothings

Well, I’m getting settled in here and I’ve finally made some more friends, but I’ve actually spent quite a bit of time doing nothing but be on my computer.  What I have done hasn’t been of huge consequence in the world’s eyes, but it’s been sweet—in many sentidos.  

On day 67, Thursday, I kicked it back for most of the day, getting up late-ish and spending a good part of the day on my computer updating this baby, my bloggy!  (Ugh, I have no sé cuántas fotos to title.  The ones on here are but a mere fraction of the some 1500 I’ve taken!)  Then, to my surprise, my sister called me!  We talked about life and our plans for her and her husband’s upcoming trip to Europe.  I got to share some tips with her for traveling and touristing.  As if I knew something, hehe.  Gee, I’m happy to see them in a few weeks in England.  But, for now, I need to enjoy Madrid, yeah?

For lunch, Teresa made some spaghetti.  I thought when I decided to move in that I’d be largely on my own with food, even though she told me we’d share noodles and the like, but it appears that she’s making me food whenever I’m here!  I thought, too, that she said she didn’t cook much, but, wow, she cooks amazingly!  The picture doesn’t show it, but those noodles were in a giant bowl and were at the point of overflowing with delicious homemade sauce.  And the drink was some pudding called Natilla mixed with milk.  Me basta decir que by the time I finished, I knew what it meant to have a “food baby.” And that says a lot, coming from me!

That evening, after Teresa took a siestita, she took me to a market where I bought a few kilos of produce for less than 5 euros!  Soon after coming back, I headed over to the LDS Institute, but I arrived late and decided to wait for the class to end so I wouldn’t interrupt and draw attention…only to find out that the class wasn’t going because the only others there were Elder Faustino (the teacher) and his son!  There was another class, but I decided to go home.  At least the trip was useful for finding out where Institute is, meeting a couple of other YSAs, and getting one lady to fill out Ashlee’s thesis survey.  (She was supposed to do it a couple weeks back, but it didn’t really work out, and because I’m still here, I offered to see what I could do.  Gah, I hate approaching people for things like that, especially now that I’ve seen how it goes when people try advertising by handing out flyers and the like.  But, the people I need for this survey are just like me.  I shouldn’t be scared of them.  And if the say no, well, no harm done.  If they say yes, then, great!  …That’s what I have to remind myself.)

Day 68, Friday, I went to the temple again.  And the French-speaking girl I met there on Wednesday was there again!  In fact, many of the youth there were the same as the other day.  Makes sense, since they have to travel so far and then stay in temple housing.  I was planning on passing the couple of hours between my temple visit and the YSA activity by doing reading on my computer, but I finished much earlier than expected, so I stuck around to ponder, pray, and read the Liahona magazine.  

It’s good to take the time and take advantage of the peaceful atmosphere to think about life and pray and figure things out, yes, but this time was different than others.  You see, that 5-year plan I created in high school is just about completed (minus getting married, but that will happen when it happens), and one of my big plans was to come to Spain.  Well, I’m here now.  And I’ll finish my MA soon, perhaps even next spring.  And as great as sightseeing is, I’ve found that it’s not what excites and sustains me; having friends and interacting with them is what does it for me!  At any rate, I read an LDS general conference talk by Elder Oaks on Wednesday that has had me thinking about what my desires in life are, because desires ultimately affect actions.  So, I’ve been stuck with the question: What do I REALLY want to do with my life?  The extra time in the temple helped me sort that out.

Mind at rest, I went out and walked around.  I could see clouds gathering, threatening to storm.  But amidst all the wind (bless it!) and clouds, I saw a real-life depiction of what I want for my future (notice the temple in the background):

At the activity some time later, I again saw the couple missionary that helped me find the temple.  They are super sweet and the husband, Brother Anderson, made sure I met people there, at what turned out to be a party for his wife.  When I left some time later, I was finally at peace with being here—I have friends who want to spend time with me and help me.  One even offered to take the survey to her ward!

So, you can see my life is full of sweet nothings.  Are you surprised?  Why?  Ah, you were hoping I’d say something else, something more to chismear about?  Well, as much as I’d love that, too, we’ll just have to wait.  :D