HERMANITO!

It’s the people that matter, not the place.

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On my way back to my apartment today, I took the metro, per usual. However, today was a little special. I was exhausted because of a weekend of traveling and stressed about the homework I still had to do. While I was sitting on the metro, stressed and exhausted, this family gets on with two kids. The two kids ran around the metro car and running in circles around the poles. It made me smile seeing them have so much fun on the metro of all places. As I watched these kids, I realized that no matter where I am, as long as I'm with the people I love, I can have a good time.

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Soooooo this week has been interesting, to say the least. On Monday, I got to have lunch with Ryan and Natalia, which was fun because I love talking with both of them. My day ended early because my professor made the wise decision to put me in a group of people whose practical class was at an earlier time, so I didn't end up going to the class I'm actually signed up for 😅 On Tuesday, the highlight of my day was exploring the northern part of Madrid with Ryan. We got to see some cool buildings, including the Real Madrid stadium (second row, middle picture). On Wednesday, my only class was canceled but my group in the class decided to meet up and discuss the research project that we will be doing together in the class. In the evening, I went to the art museum of Arte Reina Sofia with Armana, Natalia, and Ryan. It was very different from el Prado, but it was more my style of art. On Thursday, I had some friends over at my apartment for a Venezuelan lunch. It went better than expected and I think I would do it again. After class, I went to Kapital, which is a 7-story club 😅, with Natalia and Helena. We ended staying there until it closed, which was at 5:30am.... I have no desire to do that again. This weekend I went to Valladolid to visit NACHO!! For those who don’t know, my family hosted a foreign exchange student who went to my siblings' school last year and he is from Spain. One of the reasons I chose to study in Spain ;) It was amazing to get to know his family and to experience a weekend in the life of a Spanish family. On Friday, I explored Valladolid with Nacho and his mom. We ate really good tapas and I had a good time learning the history of Valladolid. On Saturday, I tried paella for the first time! 10/10 recommend. In the evening, Nacho's parents took us to Simancas, which is where an archive of Spanish documents from the 15th century to the 19th century exists. I love being able to explore new parts of Spain! When we got back to Nacho's house, we FaceTimed Daniela and my family, which was awesome. This weekend, along with last weekend, reminded me that I’m here in Spain for the people, not the places. So if I don’t get to see anywhere else in Europe, at least I got to spend time with people I love.

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This week, please continue to pray for comfort and contentment. I am definitely missing my family, but it super important for me to enjoy the moments that I'm living in. Also, please pray for wisdom on how to balance classes with traveling. I am really feeling stressed about keeping up with classes because it is more study based rather than assignment based. My family could also use prayer, as there is a lot of change currently going on and also on the horizon. Thank you so much for all your support and prayers!

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Until next time!