La Iglesia

Today was a lazy Sunday, just the way I like them! I woke up around 11am and headed to church to make the noon service. This was the first time I’ve gone to church on a non-holiday since high school and I feel like I might be able to get into the habit! (Thanks for inviting me, Ashley J)

I read an article yesterday comparing culture and religion and how together they influence society, and it inspired me to go to church (in addition to wanting to go previously after talking with a friend). Religion is a huge component of how daily life is lived so I knew it was important to look into it. I also love learning about different religions, faiths, beliefs, convictions etc. Being in Spain I know I will learn a lot more about Christianity as a whole and what it means to be a Christian. I’m hoping while I’m here I’ll be able to experience all different types of spirituality, religion, and even lack there of as my host parents are not religious. 

I took a screenshot on google maps street view...so not the greatest quality!

The church service was a wonderful test of my Spanish language, through the hour and a half service I kept expecting the pastor to look over at us and say “are there any words you want me to explain?” just like they do in class. On the other hand it was nice not to be babied into understanding. We just had to do our best with the fast pace of speaking!  The members of the church were very kind and welcoming and kept throwing smiles in our direction J I would like to continue going back to be in such a friendly environment and to improve my knowledge on what it means to have faith and the importance of worship, and more specifically what that means to the Spaniards! My favorite part was when we sang “Hosanna” in Spanish, it was nice to sing a long in a new language and understand all of the lyrics.

Here is Hillsong's Hosanna in Spanish:

This week is going to be filled with studying because we have a huge exam on Thursday that will determine whether or not we move up to the next level. Send me good vibes because I need to move up to the next level so I can get the credits I need towards my Spanish major.

I promise I’ll do my best to do crazy, exciting, wild things this coming weekend before the new semester starts to actually write something entertaining. I feel terrible I’ve been so sick I haven’t been able to do very much.

But alas, as my host mom always says to me J “No te preocupes, Emii!”