While I'm Waiting: August Update

This is the August edition of my Spain series. To read the previous update, click on the link below:
July update: The Comeback

Last night, I had a hard time falling asleep. I'm sure you know the feeling -- too many thoughts bouncing around in your head. What's interesting is that some of the thoughts keeping me awake were none other than first-day-of-school plans!

I'm sure this doesn't come as a surprise, but, as my coworkers sit through trainings with national brain expert Eric Jensen, host Open Houses with cute glow sticks, and sit around kidney tables with their teammates to collaborate, I feel ... left out!

That's one part of me. The other part -- FREEDOM! -- is very content to sit this one out.

I mean, to all the teachers out there, do you have time to puzzle over a Sudoku for an hour each day? I thought not.

In this month's post, I bring you:
1. Status Check
2. While I'm Waiting
3. Episode 2 of FAQ's
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1. Status Check

I still have an appointment in early October with the Spanish embassy in San Francisco. This appointment is an interview to obtain my Religious Worker's Visa. The main document I need for this appointment is my FBI background check, which I am still waiting for.  There are also some documents from Spain that I am waiting on. I am praying that everything arrives in time for my appointment!

2. While I'm Waiting

I'm not just sitting on my buns, waiting for documents to arrive, surfing the web, and munching on potato chips (although these activities do consume more of my time than I care to admit)!

I'm actually keeping pretty busy, and I'm enjoying this short season.

First, you should know that I moved out of my condo almost 4 weeks ago, and I am now living with my parents (and Oliver) again. I've made it my mission during my time here to make a significant dent in the mounds of fruit overflowing from freezer shelves and refrigerator drawers. Can you say - raspberry pie? Blueberry muffins? Nectarine crisp? 

I was informed by my property management company that the renters moved into my condo earlier this week. Yay for additional income to cover my mortgage while I am unemployed!

One thing about having more time on my hands is I can give myself fully to projects. Normally, I would have the shadow of schoolwork and classroom prep looming over fun events and often limiting my participation. It's been very freeing to give myself more fully this summer. For example, in July I got to help my church put on its first vacation Bible school! Also this summer, I got to throw a bridal shower for my engaged (now married!) cousin, share some memories with my high school classmates at our 10-year reunion, and participate in another cousin's classroom set-up for her first year teaching! I really like this season of being open and available. 

That said, I am picking up a job starting this Friday, working in the orchard under my dad's supervision. I'll be behind the pickers this pear harvest, checking the trees for unpicked fruit. It's a small job that I've done before, and it only last a few weeks, but I'm grateful for it, because every little bit helps!

One last thing: while I'm waiting, I'm praying for Spain, and for the people I will meet there. I've heard it said: "What you pray for, you get a heart for," and, especially after the recent tragedy in Barcelona, I see that God is giving me a heart for Spain.

3. Episode 2 of FAQ's

FAQ: What am I doing with myself now that I'm not getting ready for a new school year?

See #2 above. :)

FAQ: What's it like living with my parents again?

It's like I never left, except in one regard: I feel less entitled now after having had my own home, and more like a guest in their house. I think this is a healthy change!

FAQ: Am I going to come back with a handsome Spaniard on my arm?

I swear, this is the MOST frequently asked question, in all its variations, often not even posed as a question. (It's funny - the non-Mexicans will ask this with an "Oooh-la-la" flair, while my Mexican friends and relatives spit it out with a look of disgust.)

So, people, let's settle this once and for all. Of COURSE I'm not opposed to the idea, but - please! If you know me at all, you know I am not actively looking for a husband (obviously - if I was, I'd have one by now). 

And that, ladies and gents, concludes my August update. Please chime in below ↯if you have questions I didn't answer, and tune in next month for more of the same ;)

Hasta pasta, 

Dahlia

The Comeback

Yesterday, the Seattle Sounders did something that had not been done in Major League Soccer history; they came back from a 3-goal deficit to win their game against DC United!

It was the ultimate comeback! At least, it was, until this moment, because, ladies and gents, Dahlia is returning to the blogging world! Woohoo!

[But, if you are interested in reading more about the Sounders' comeback win, click here for a link to a Seattle Times article about the event.]

I think you'll find that I've changed a bit since I last blogged in August of 2014.

First, I have developed a love of soccer, namely the Sounders and the US teams, both men and women. Following soccer was a conscious decision I made around the time of my last post, after the 2014 World Cup. Needless to say, I've discovered that there is a whole world of soccer enthusiasts just like me, including several of my students. It's been fun :)

Second, I finally have a purpose for this blog!!! Before, I never knew quite what to write about because: a) nobody read my blog, and b) without an audience, I was at a loss as to what kind of content to provide to...nobody...not to mention, why?

But now, I've practically been begged to blog! The reason? I'm off on an adventure come October (or so) to Spain, for 8 months or so!

I won't promise too many posts for two main reasons:
1. It wouldn't happen.
2. You wouldn't want it.

What I hope to provide is a post a month, beginning now. I'll post a link to each entry on facebook and Instagram (I think - I just started using Instagram, so I'm not sure if that's even possible...is it?), and I will do my best to include lots of photos, because, let's be honest - photos make the reading a LOT easier!

Please let me know in the comments ↴ if there's something I'm not including in these posts that you would like to see.

Now that I have finished this really long intro, I'd like to get to the meat and potatoes of this post:
1. Why Spain?
2. What am I going to do there?
2. Have I bought a plane ticket yet? (and other frequently asked questions)
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Why Spain?

The short answer is: because I believe God put Spain on my heart.

The long answer is: the seed was planted in January, when I was at my friend Bek's birthday party. In a conversation with a mutual friend of ours who was looking into a teaching career abroad, she asked me this question that wouldn't let me sleep that night: "Haven't you ever thought about doing something like that?"

Have I ever thought about teaching abroad? No, not exactly, but...haven't I always had a dream to live in a Spanish-speaking country? Why haven't I ever done that? What's stopping me from exploring that now?

The questions, the possibilities, all kept me restless that night. And as for Spain - well, it was really the only country that came to mind. Don't ask me why I didn't consider Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, or any of the host of Spanish-speaking countries in the world! Spain came and wouldn't leave.

After fasting and praying, talking with my parents and my pastors, meeting with my coworker's daughter who had been a missionary there, emailing Jaz Jacob, and fasting and praying some more, I am convinced that God is sending me to Spain.

What am I going to do there?

Right now, the specifics are still general. That is to say, there are no specifics! 

I'll spare you the loooong narrative of how various doors closed and opened so that the path I'm now on is looking MUCH more different than what I first envisioned, and I'll just tell you this: 

I am in contact with Jaz at Amistad Cristiana, who is helping me through the process of securing my religious worker's visa. This type of visa forbids any type of work for pay, so all of my work will be as a volunteer, and it will be in service to the church and/or nonprofit organizations that serve the Madrid area, such as Oasis, which helps immigrants integrate into Spanish society (don't mention the irony that I won't be far from fitting that description myself!).

The specifics will come as I have more definite arrival and departure dates, which leads me to...

Have I bought a plane ticket yet? (and other frequently asked questions)

No, I have not bought a plane ticket yet! (Can someone pass this on to my boss, who asks me this every time he sees me?) 

As I mentioned before, I am in the process of securing my religious worker's visa. This is a VERY involved process! Only once I have the visa can I purchase a plane ticket. I am expecting to do this around mid-October.

FAQ: Where will I stay? 

Jaz has offered to let me stay with her until I can find more permanent housing.

FAQ: Am I planning to do a bunch of traveling while I'm there?

Actually, no. My mission is to serve Madrid, plus I'll be broke [no job - remember?], so I don't anticipate a whole bunch of traveling around. I'm totally okay with that, though. I'll have plenty of time to travel later because - hello! - teacher here! Summers off! And also, I'm sure I'll do some traveling with (hopefully) friends I make there.

FAQ: Am I a Barcelona or Real Madrid fan?

Barcelona all the way! And, will I go to a game? Heck to the YES, if it's at all possible! [Although I hear the games may be hard to get into? Please, God, say it ain't so!]

FAQ: But what about my condo (that I just bought last year)?

I've hired a property management company, who is working as we speak to get a renter into my condo as soon as August 1st. That means I'll be moving back with my parents next weekend, who have graciously accepted me after thinking they were finally rid of me!

Well, folks, that's all I've got for now! Like I mentioned earlier, you can expect one of these per month. I'll shoot for the end of August for the next one :)

Hasta pasta, 

Dahlia