Look up has been my theme of the week. It has its very
literal interpretation, to look up at what is above you, but it also has its
metaphorical and epistemological meaning. *Insert chorus of oohs here.* But I
am jumping ahead of myself.
It is 5:41 am local time, and clearly I should not be
allowed to think at this time or more importantly to share those thoughts with
you. It’s not too late to back out now!
The final week of teaching passed in a blur. Several kids
brought chocolates for our last day, completely undoing any good the walking to
and from school did. Kim spent Thursday night with us and most of Friday
evening. We had so much fun just spending time together before we all go our
separate ways. Saturday morning, I saw Kelly off out of the house, bound for
Dublin. I immediately collapsed back into bed, which is where I would love to
be right now. Allison roused me a few hours later and we set about packing our
belongings and cleaning the house. I met up with Kim at McDonald’s around 12:30
and we had a lovely wee chat. Allison joined us later, and naturally, more
chatting ensued. Finally, we had to part. It was sad to say good-bye to Kim,
but she has promised, pinky promised
at that!, to come and visit in the States. (You see that Kim? It’s on the
internet. For everyone to see. So now you have to.)
Lillias, a local friend, was at the house already when
Allison and I arrived. She waited patiently while I packed my remaining things,
and then after I loaded them up in the car, she drove me to Edinburgh, which is
literally across the country, albeit
only a 40 minute drive, to the airport. I was able to catch my flight for
Madrid, and had the privilege of sitting next to a very kind man named Jorge. His
first question, coated with a thick Spanish accent, was, “You… speak Spanish?”
I sheepishly replied, “A little.” He said, “I speak even less English.” My
reply? “Oh, good.” He lied though. We had a lovely chat, even if it was a
little frustrating at times with the language barrier, about his job as a
policeman, the places I had to see in
Madrid, his wife and kids, politics (did you know Spain has a King?!), and
religion. I think my favorite part was when I mentioned Google and he said with
utter confusion, “Google?” After much frustrating attempts to explain what
Google is, he finally exclaimed, “Aah! Goo-gehl!” He then proceeded to have me
say “my version,” although I still hold that they sounded the exact same, to
his friends. They then proceeded to laugh and talk in rapid Spanish. It felt
awesome. Oh, wait…
ADD moment: Have I mentioned that I’m tired? I’ll explain
why shortly, but I am. And I have to wait until 7 am to check in at the desk
and I am trying desperately not to look at the little clock in the bottom
corner of my screen, but it’s like a siren, calling my eyes back every few
minutes and making time pass agonizingly slow. Okay. Continue.
Upon arrival in Madrid, Scott, a local missionary, picked me
up and took me back to his and Kathy’s apartment. I crashed pretty much
immediately. On Sunday we went to a little church, where 11 people, myself
included, were in attendance. It was quite lovely, even though I didn’t
understand everything that was being said. We went back for lunch at the
apartment and then drove to Segovia. It was exquisite! The first thing we saw
was a Roman aqueduct built around 200 AD. No big. It was built without any
mortar, and it remained in use until the 1970s. Then we went up to the cathedral,
and that is where the theme “look up” really began. The ceilings were all vaulted,
molded, or painted. Gorgeous. Then it was on to the castle. This was one of the
homes of Ferdinand and Isabella, and it is thought that the throne room of this
particular castle is where Christopher Columbus asked permission to go explore
the world. The rest of the evening consisted of dinner and TV. Yay for Castle!
Monday, I got up and travelled into Madrid. I went to the Royal
Palace and the Reina Sofia Museum. I loved the palace! It is one of the biggest
and most extravagant in Western Europe. The museum… eh. It was pretty much all
contemporary art, so I didn’t enjoy that as much. Tuesday I toured the Prado
Museum, an art museum and much more
my type. I saw works by Poussin, van Dyck, Goya, and Rembrandt. I really appreciated
the variety they had and the layout was superb. Wednesday I went to the Museum
of Decorative Arts, much more thrilling than it sounds, trust me. They had historical
pieces dating as far back as 120 BC! I then went to the Archaeological Museum
but it was closed. Sadness! So I decided to get completely turned around, but
never lost, and wind up at a little café type thing where I had a delicious
brownie with ice cream and chocolate sauce covering it... ‘Nuff said! I then found
my way to the Romantic Museum. Before you judge, it was not a museum about
romance; it was more about the romanticism period. It was an old house that has
been set up to look like a house would have looked between the 18th
and 19th century. I loved it! After that I walked to the bus station
for a final time and bid farewell to Madrid.
Today, or rather yesterday at this point, I got up, packed,
and then walked to the monastery that is located in the town Scott and Kathy
live in. And it. Is. HUGE! It took 22 years to complete the building of it, and
then another 11 years just to decorate it! I did a walk through and know I didn’t
even come close to seeing every part of the building, but what I did see I was
impressed with. Some interesting facts about the monastery:
·
It was commissioned by Phillip II, king of
Spain.
·
From this monastery, he planned the Spanish
Armada.
·
There is a hall which is dedicated to one long
mural depicting battle scenes. How long? Well, I calculated. 92 steps at an 8
to 5 measurement (8 steps for 5 yards), so that’s 11.5 times 5 which is 57.5
yards, or 172.5 feet. Impressed? J
Anywho, after finishing there, I headed to the airport with
Scott and Kathy, thanked them profusely, and hopped on a flight back to
Edinburgh. Allison and Lillias met me there, and we made the trek back to Bill
and Lillias’house. Here’s where it gets fun.
ADD moment #2: Can I just say how obnoxious it is when
people walk past where you’re sitting and let out a fart that makes you gag
while you are trying to write about the beauty of Madrid? That has happened
twice. Okay. Moving on.
So we get to the house and Bill tells me my flight from
Glasgow to Manchester has been canceled. I thought he was pulling my leg, but
alas! So, he was the best person on Earth and took care of everything. He
booked me a seat on an overnight bus to Manchester Airport, talked to the
airline, and as compensation, I have free, UNLIMITED baggage! This is such a
blessing because this is all I have been stressing over for the last week. 2
heavy bags at an airport are expensive! So all of this is where the metaphorical
“look up” comes from. I have spent this week worrying about how much money I’m
going to need to pay for baggage, but God is taking care of me. I talked to mom
and told here that I would rather take the overnight bus ride for the free
baggage. Plus, I should get a refund from the airline! Praise God from whom all
blessings flow!
So here I am, typing all this and thanking God for people
like Bill and Lillias over and over in my mind. My flight will leave from here
in Manchester and go to Chicago. Then from Chicago to Indy. I am quite excited.
I’m up in the clouds somewhere, coming back home again in Indiana.
So as you are waking up today, remember to look up, because
if you don’t, you just might miss something beautiful.
