one school week done

"You make all things work together for my good."

One great thing about being here is that I've actually had a lot of down time to relax, read, and spend time with the Lord, something I was desperately lacking last semester. It's been great to be able to intentionally journal and pray, and I'm excited to see what God will do here this semester. I've also been reading "The Reason for God," by Tim Keller, which I highly recommend!

It's kind of crazy to think that I've been here over a week now, but at the same time, it feels like I've been here a while. I made it through my first week of class, which was actually only 2 days of class... Looks like art is going to be the hardest one to get through -- an hour and 25 minutes of straight lecturing in Spanish is not so fun, but we'll survive.

It's been a fun week, getting adjusted to campus life and family life at home. The campus is beautiful (I'll post pictures soon), and it's really fun and relaxing to just hang out on the steps and enjoy the amazing weather -- 73 and sunny has been the typical day for the past week. The food on campus is also excellent (nothing like Lenoir). The crepes station is my new favorite, and I'm determined to try every crepe on the menu -- there's even a Nutella one with kiwi and strawberries! We had another night of salsa this week, which was a bit too crowded, but still an experience. I've gotten the chance to meet lots of new people, and it'll be fun celebrating my 21st birthday next weekend with completely new friends!

And what would an experience be without injuring my ankle in some way? I've always had problems with my right ankle since I sprained it in high school and then again last spring, and anyone who was with me in Mexico this summer can attest to this. I'm pretty sure I re-rolled it every other day. But today was a bit different. We were enjoying a nice lunch at Cookie Box (new favorite lunch place, near Ashley's house), and when I got up to get a cookie, I must have gotten up too fast because I tripped and then fell down the couple of stairs that led into the restaurant. I was a little out of it for a minute, not really realizing what happened, and when I stood up, I was dizzy (which I learned is mareada in Spanish) and couldn't see well. Now, I'm feeling much better, though my ankle is a little sore, but I'm sure after spelling out the ABCs a few times (like I was supposed to do for physical therapy), it'll be back to normal!

"All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."
- Psalm 139:16