Back to Europe...

Well, let's see how well I can update you all via my cell phone. Yes, my iPhone has once again proven to be a valuable tool to me. I have returned to Europe, this time for a much shorter stay to say hello to old friends and practice and improve my grasp on the Spanish language. Because I chose to travel light and as cheaply as possible, I only brought my iPhone as my sole means of internet access and communication. It's been amazing! I can access the Internet, keep up with personal email from anywhere with wifi (which is fairly readily available), talk to people via skype like I have just called my neighbor next door, etc... Anyway...

As many of you know, I have been in full time flight school staying very busy with studies, flying, & other work-related activites. Well, praise God!, I finished the first phase of flight school better known as "primary" for us military types. And now I am in a waiting period to begin helicopter training. I am currently scheduled to begin that in May. With the time in between, I decided a trip to Europe would be very beneficial in many ways. This trip has been a blessing from the Lord. It's been a chance to get away from military life for a bit
and change my scenery. It's been an opportunity to see Spanish friends in Germany and Spain and improve my Spanish (which was the educational value in the trip). It's also been an oportunity to see new places in this world our Lord has created and to make new friends. From the day I left my house the end of February, I have met new people, had people to stay with, been able to encourage and help people, or been encouraged myself. Wow!

So how did all this pan out...well, I hopped my first cheap flight out of Pensacola to Philadelphia. The best friend of my friend lived up there and worked on the air force base that I would catch my free flight to Europe. So not only was I blessed with a ride from the airport there, but also a place to stay while I waited for an available seat on a flight. Very content waiting, I read, spent time with this new friend, an met other people traveling to Europe (making new friends). The night of the 2nd full day we all got on the flight to southern Germany. I had plans to fly into there, make my way to the local airport and catch whatever next flight they had to Berlin that was cheapest. In the waiting in the US, I had made friends with an officer in the AF who was trying to get back to Germany with his two little sons in tow so he could be back to work on Monday. Well, liking children, I was more than happy to give him a hand with his two sweethearts and in turn he offered myself and a couple others a ride to the nearest airport once arriving in Germany. Wow, perfect. It was a crazy adventure for all involved getting to that airport out in the middle of no where because many of the roads were blocked with large trees from a large wind storm that had occurred. It was still very windy and coming upon fallen trees with cars under them was a bit disheartening. Grin. We did manage to arrive safely and myself and an American-Irishman found ourselves a couple rooms at a hotel to wait for our morning flights.

I arrived in Berlin with no problems and then had the adventure of finding my way to my friend's house without a map and only a super basic address. A lady at the airport directed me to the metro system, a gal at the metro helped me get the ticket needed, and then a gal & later a guy at my stop helped me find the street. Then I found the house number, and I was golden. Thankfully a lot of Germans speak English. So getting around wasn't too difficult. My friend Irene had a map for me from there so I was ableto get around Berlin on my own the rest of the time. I visited the wall of Berlin, a place called Charlies Checkpoint where there is still remaining an American army checkpoint for all vehicles that passed into the American sector of Berlin back in the day. I walked the streets taking lots of pics and seeing many museums, gorgeously architected buildings, etc and so on. It was an interesting city. I spent time with the girls that I used to care for when I lived in Spain. Irenita and I went out for ice cream one afternoon. I went out for coffee with the mother one morning. She was missing the spontaneity of Spanish culture, so she really enjoyed having me visit and speak with her in Spanish. Anyway, on my last day there, I walked across town to her work and invited her to take a break for coffee at a nearby cafe. She was delighted! Yes, that sounds strange to us since we don't just up and walk out of out office like that, but it was possible for her this time because she is currently doing a lot of research and has no one age works with regularly. Anyway...the girls are doing well. Living in Germany for this year or their mother's work has been both enjoyable and tough for them. They have friends and a lot of freedom to come and go on their own, but they miss friends and their Spanish culture. They have both grown immensely!! Wow. I say both because just the younger two are there in Germany. The oldest daughter is currently studying in a girls private school in Portland, OR. Anyway, my last night in Berlin Irene invites some friends over for dinner. She always did enjoy having friends over to introduce me to. Smile. She thought it'd be a nice occasion for a get together. So I met some other German folk. We had a lovely time.

Then off to Spain again!! I spent a few days with my good friend Susana, her sister Mila, and the church people. Loved seeing them all. There seemed to be some bible study, prayer meeting, or church activity every evening. After which the young people would go out. I enjoyed my time there, though the constant Spanish without a break began to wear on me. When I loved there I had the break of work. Not so this time. Just Spanish non-stop. Guess it was almost culture shock all over again. I helped my friend Susana do some work in the new store she is preparing to open. We painted, cleaned, put together rackets for merchandise, etc. I helped where I could. Interestingly enough, I was in santiago for the Spain-wide prayer for the country. All the local churches gathered and those in other areas did the same, and we prayed for Spain. That was kind of cool, since I also got to see a lot of people I otherwise would not have seen on this trip. A very fulfilling trip.

From there, I made my way south to Sevilla for language school. I am currently in sevilla going to a language school for a few weeks. I have 4 hrs of class each morning and optional classes and activities in the evenings and afternoons. Most afternoons I have spent wandering the city, taking pics, and exploring. One evening I went to a flamenco show and ended up seated beside a Portuguese couple. That was interesting communicating in Portuguese, Spanish, & English. I could follow the Portuguese, and speak Spanish and English. They followed my Spanish and english, and replied in one of the three languages. They weren't well versed in Spanish or English but we made do. It was rather enjoyable really. I also attended one of the extra optional classes that gave me some more vocabulary to work with over the topic of the theater. That works out nicely since the lady I am staying with loves the cinema and theatrical topic. Oh, and I am living with a single lady that the language school arranged for me. Works out perfectly and is cheaper than most hotels. Then I get to practice Spanish with her and she provides two of three meals per day. Works out perfectly.

Well, I think that about brings you up to date. I'll have to post pics after I get back to the USA since I'm not on my laptop. Thanks for all your prayers for this adventurous gal. God's blessed me with some pretty awesome adventures. My current prayer is to continue drawing near to Him in the midst of this adventure and as I go back to my military life. Though I love my job and where God has put me, it has definitely been a spiritually challenging time in my life. Love you all...JC