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| Despite the fact that I'm obviously not very good at updating, Sierra and I are starting up a new blog for Spain. I hereby announce the death of my xanga, but check us out at Much Ado About Spain. Here is a sneak peek of the goodness to come:
Sierra and I are approximately two weeks away from our fated
date of departure. (Actually, we have exactly 20 days, but who's keeping
track...) In preparation so far, well, I have most successfully avoided mulling
over the puzzle of attempting to fit a year of my life into one 50-pound
suitcase and a backpack. Exploiting technology to start this new blog is
perhaps one of my better ploys in continuing to eschew the ominous concept that
is packing. As such, I forge on in my procrastination...
The gameplan. After about a day and a half of flying across a plethora of states,
an ocean, and even a few countries, Sierra and I are set to arrive in Cadiz,
where we will spend about a month brushing up on our Spanish and taking field
trips all throughout the southern coastal city. Purely educational trips, I am
sure. We then head to Barcelona
for another three weeks of intensive language indoctrination. This time though,
we battle the formidable Catalan monster. We officially commence as fully
immersed Spanish students at the Autonomous University of Barcelona sometime in
September, at which point, we also hope to be in possession of some sort of
permanent housing situation; aka: NOT the sidewalks of Barca. Barcelona
shall be our home away from home until our return to the States (not set to
happen until next July), when we're not too busy scuttling around the rest of Europe that is.
I anticipate a rather full and exciting year. Even more so,
considering I’ve never set foot on that side of the world and really don’t know
all that much about Spain.
Aside from the fact that the capital is Madrid.
And that it’s legal to be in the nude anywhere, anytime in the country.
According to an article
from Spanish-living.com, it is a lifestyle that is purely political (Spain is just
screaming Sierra’s name as we speak). Apparently, with the demise of fascist
dictator Franco’s repressive regime, “the Spanish set about enjoying their new
found freedom with a vengeance. Naturism was just one of the many phenomena to
flourish in the new democratic Spain.”
Hum. And that’s all I have to say about that.
Anyways, yes indeed we will be in Spain the entirety of a year. A
year during which we know America
will be direly lacking our presence. Therefore, we extend to you the warmest
invitation to visit. Although our winter break is already booked, that still
leaves eleven other months for you to find a time to fly out. Consider yourselves
hinted and let the exploits commence…
So, my friends, I ceremoniously raise my glass
(or mouse, rather, but technically I don't do rodents) to a joyous upcoming year of
adventures, misadventures, and who even knows what madness is to come. Pray for
us and stay tuned as I am certain there will be much ado about Spain.
Saludos,
Lauren | | |
| Attention: all Lauren's friends and those kind enough to pretend...
They tell me that I've been accepted into the study abroad program in Barcelona, Spain for the 2007-2008 school year.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! 
The thing is...I leave this side of the world on July 15th(ish) and won't
be returning until the end of next June. ::let's that sink in::
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! 
Dah. Considering I’ve wanted to study abroad in Spain since junior year of high
school and I went through a rollercoaster of an application process to get to
this point, I’m pretty stoked on life right now. To God be the freaking glory.
But a full year is a full year. I'm going to miss my brother so much.
And my parents. And my freshmen. And...YOU. Which means we need to hang
out as much as sanely (or insanely...)
possible. I need to see your beautiful faces, whether I've known you my
whole life or just a few days. I'll even try to start answering my
phone and returning calls if that's what it takes...
Do et. Vamos a jugar ya. 
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| I drove home from church with my parents yesterday to find cars lining
the cul-de-sac, neighbors milling around nosily, and half the
neighborhood (my house included) blocked off with bright yellow caution
tape. Police were everywhere and the Channel 8 News truck was
prominently stationed in front of all the commotion. We manuevered our
way into the house, and turned on the television to find news reporters broadcasting
live in front of the palm trees in our yard.
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/02/19/news/inland/21007194516.txt
That was three houses down. Scary because our neighborhood is all little kids who are usually always running around outside.
On another note (not at all to make light of said above), I have an eye
infection. Besides having to wear glasses for the next three weeks
(boohoo...) and drop antibiotics in my eye every four hours, the doctor
also told me to shampoo my eyelashes every night for the rest of my life. Huh. Even better, my dad suggested doing so with a toothbrush.
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| [I posted this entry this morning,
but then took it off because I thought it was too emo.
But it's not
emo, it's life. And life is real. No shame in that, right?  ]
Regret is a funny thing. Funny as in not. funny. at all.
Funny how it's those seemingly insignificant in-between moments that
really eat at you because you didn't realize their magnitude until too
late. Whether it was that awkward instance of a missed hug. Or the hello
you never managed to utter. Or the night you checked your Facebook four
hundred times instead of writing your prospectus. Or realizing you ate
the entire thing of chocolate only after the second you've taken
the last bite. Funny as in not really funny...
This month will mark four years since the death of my good
friend James and four months since Concon's passing. I've been thinking about it a lot lately. (Oh, the
ambiguity of "it." But I digress...) I've been on a hunt for words to compose another entry as another month, another year
passes, but the more I reminisce, the more I lack the words. I couldn't think of anything new or inspired.
Funny how there are certain truths of which God has to continually remind
me because I still haven't learned.
Last year, a guy came down the stairs to take his trash out when he
saw our freshmen Bible Study in Asia Lounge. He decided to stop by and
see what was going on, and before we could barely finish study, he
accepted Christ. He came to a few more Bible Studies and then faded away. The thought of
how we didn't continue to follow up occasionally fluttered through my
mind. I ran into him a few times last quarter at Ventanas, but never said anything more than "hey, how's it going?"
I just found out that he committed suicide a few days ago. And his name was James.
Funny?
What I wrote last year:
"Sadly, it takes moments like these
to drive us to realize how truly short our time is here on earth,
especially for those who have the vastness of eternity stretching
before them. It's those memories of a missed hug seared in our
minds--incidents that occur over a span of mere seconds that remain
etched in our memories for a lifetime.
And let's face it, kids, no one's
perfect. Humanly, we can't possibly live each little, every single
moment of our lives to the fullest, but we can pray for passion. A
passion that would drive us to madly seek after God. A journey of
pursuit that would then result in an overflow of our hearts. An
overflow of such love for God that we wouldn't want to spend our time
any other way, than fruitfully for Him. An overflow that would engender
boldness and courage, impelling us to grasp so tightly onto those
"every moments" so as never to leave room for a 'what if,' 'if only,'
or 'would have been,' and squeeze out any potential regret."
I didn't mean to make a re-entry into the
xanga world with such a morose entry or be dramatic or emo. Rest
assured that though the depth of sorrow has been great this year, the
height of joy has been even greater. I am still learning, but God is
good. Good as in really good.
So, my friends, I continue to pray ardently for your hearts and mine, and may God always be glorified.
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| There was a night last week when I spent nine consecutive hours with
Goon-face and Chen Chen--that's like...an entire car ride to NorCal.
Then during the span of the subsequent 48 hours, I was with freshmen
nearly half the time. And that was just two days of last week. We've
been in school for ten weeks. Hmm, yeah. Pretty much, my life this year
revolves around those little (or not so little) first-years. And to
that I have to say:
What a blessing.
There have really been few joys greater than spending time with my
freshmen this year. It's weird to think that I've really only known
them for a mere two and a half months, but, dang, I LOVE THEM.
Each one is seriously so unique, and I don't mean "man,
they're, uhhh...interesting" or that they're just not a similar blob
of groupies. But in ways that truly set them apart from any other
person in this world, whether it's the guy snoring in class next to me
or someone in a village in Africa (and yes, I know everyone in Africa
intimately, so I can in fact say that.  )
I could devote an individual entry to each one of them. What an
encouragement and honor to be a part of the lives of kids who have
hearts passionate in seeking God, vibrant prayer lives, original
insights on His Word, abundant gifts and talents (and I mean a serious
plethora), sweet personalities, hilarious quirks, crazy leadership
potential, willingness to step up and serve already, and most admirably, incredible humility. (Oh, and, errr, not to mention, remarkable tolerance to my ridiculously extreme sarcasm...)
Hah. I feel like a proud parent bragging about her children. But the
really beautiful thing about this whole Dorm Team deal is the fact that
it's really not about me being some so-called Bible Study leader
attempting to inspire or impress with what little I have to offer, but
rather enjoying the development of some awesome friendships that have
already genuinely penetrated into the heart and I pray, will last deep
into lifetime.
God has enormously blessed me through those friendships, especially
through times of simply serving them. I am
constantly thanking Him for providing those opportunities to drive to
the bottom floor of Mandeville, make grilled cheese sandwiches, pour a
cup of hot chocolate, lend my room as an escape or my apartment as a
pseudo-Geisel (as counter-productive as that may sound...), bring
calorific cookies at awkward hours, simply be available to listen,
pay a quick (or not so quick) visit, pray/praise for
various concerns, and other silly, little things. Good times.
What answered prayers. I was initially pretty concerned that I might
actually be in a position to have influence over someone's life (I
mean, really...is that safe?). And I was worried about the possibility
of finding it really hard to love were we to get some annoying kids.
I know, kind of horrible. And silly. But man, God seriously brought a
generation of freaking quality kids, and I am grateful to
be a tiny part of their legacy (hopefully in a good way...haha).
Awwww.  The family at Ghirardelli's.
In a slightly similar vein, I love my ERC Dorm
Team. A team of four could never fit better--in the ways we complement
each other, in the ways we are able to be vulnerable and share with
each other, in the ways of knowing just how to support and encourage
each other, in the ways we do stupid things together/to each other
(cough--see entry below--cough), in the way that we're ALWAYS together
(hah!!), and...well, you know it's something pretty significant when
they can get me to talk on the phone for more than 30 seconds at a
time. The list pretty much trails on, but basically, my life is
ridiculously blessed because of them. [Dang. Thanksgiving was weird
enough not seeing them like every second of my life. What am I going to
do without them for four weeks over Christmas break? What am I going to
do next year?!?! ]
Yeah. Pretty much, ERC = Best College EVER.
(minus MMW that is...ew)
P.S. My freshmen are so cool they even made a website for our Bible Study.
Check check check it out: http://web.mac.com/jonchen/iWeb/Site/iv%20erc.html
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