Look Up

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 18^th and 19^th 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.