Blog Has Been HIjacked

The blog has been taken over. For all of you that are bored with Austin's blog good news. I will now take over. It's me- Dad. Some of you call me Joel.

We flew from the Twin Cities early this morning, sat in the NY JFK airport for a few hours,noticing that many flights to Europe were being cancelled due to the volcano, flew 8 hours to Madrid, took a cab to the train, waited in the train station for several hours, took a great two and half hour train ride and then got to hold our little boy once more. ( he will always be our little boy and no one will change that).

Dawn was yelled at for stepping in line at the train station for not taking a number first. We ordered what we thought was coffee and got an expresso the size of a thimble.

I told many of you that I was concerned about pick pockets and theives. I look at it like this. On the African plain the cheetehs, lions and tigers always drag down the old and weak water buffalo. I see my self as that buffalo. I'm the slow and the old that the thieves will take down easily. They would never mess with Dawn as she is pound for pound tougher than me. She can also out run me as she has proved the last two times we have ran together.

We did have a lot of fun today however. We ate tapas with Austin and his roommate. We took a long walk learning about several places in Seville that Austin loves. It was very fun.

The "old buffalo" will be back tomorrow with more hijacked blogging. The "old buffalo" is now shifting his focus to surive the predators in Rome.

Adios amigos.

Parents Safe at Madrid Train Station

Woo hoo my parents have arrived in Madrid! They made it to the train station from the airport via taxi, and ordered coffees but actually got expressos as they wait for their 12:00 train.

My disgust with using a travel agent continues, as she got them 12:00 tickets from Madrid to Seville, even though the plane was scheduled to arrive at 7:25 in Madrid that morning. But, she said it'll be no problem because you can just switch trains to an earlier one if you want to. Well, they're all full. So, my parents are spending the first part of the day in Madrid by themselves waiting for a train and will now not be able to meet Ana, my senora, for lunch, because she leaves for Alicante at 2.

Well, thanks to God that they're safe in Spain. I look forward to seeing them soon.

Aust

Volcano

They did in fact take off, although thousands of flights have been cancelled because of the volcanic eruption. :(

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/04/15/iceland.flights/index.html?hpt=T1

Dawn & Joel on their way

They've landed safely in New York and are awaiting their flight to Madrid that is still on time. It's only hours until I see them... :)

I'm going to finish up editing my Spanish paper (7 pages), get some quiet time in the Word (I'm currently going through Revelation), finish planning our time in Seville, and hit the hay!

They should be arriving at Madrid at 7:15 tomorrow, which means they'll hopefully be in Seville by about 10:30-11:00ish. We're kicking off the vacation with lunch with Ana (the Senora I live with) in the apartment. I gave my mom the idea, and she seems on board, that I will let them take over the blogging this week while they're here. It'd be fun to be inside of someone else for a change. Anyways, see you soon parents!

Killing Time

Franco & God

I am writing my Spanish History paper on Franco and his impact on the Spanish population during his reign from the 1930s to 1970s. I should mention that I do plan on posting it on my blog once complete, even though no one else will understand it. So I went through this paper with my tutor, she's Sevilliano, and she thoroughly improved what I wrote. Something to note: I am writing as very anit-Franco, as everyone I've come across has been. I labeled him as a cancer to democracy during that period. My tutor, Nuria, was reading a certain paragraph where I explain that more than 500,000 Spaniards fled to France, and then some were forced back to Spain. Nuria's grandma was one of those people. She was on the verge of tears while reading that part. I really didn't know what to say... but wow. History right in your face. Her grandma was a part of that!

Bible Study: What a great study. Rosie, an Australian, whose parents are missionaries, gave a great study about why she (and all of us) don't trust God. These points included fear and independence. Her parents left when she was 16 so she learned to be independent from her parents. When they got back she tried to explain hat she didn't need their help anymore. When they left once again when she was 18, Rosie got a lip-ring to proclaim her independence from all. She told us that she's always given excuses for why not to take out the ring, because, after all, she's learned to DEPEND on God. She took our her lip ring at the Bible study for good. It was so great.

Worship! It's been a long time since I was able to worship God with others, since a church service about a month ago. We had a couple guitars and the 20 of us did some singing in a local park. Oh yes, we got some stares. But I get those anyways when I'm not worshipping... ;)

Second Languages:
I think as an American that always talks Spanish to Spaniards such as in class, at the store, at home, etc. it's accepted that I only speak so fluently. I am only so able to communicate. I have two classes where the professors talk in Spanish. Gustavo is another example. Every once in a while, though extremely rare, they utter something in English. After looking up to them as brilliant Spanish minds - it's comical to hear they're English. They sound foolish. I'm not saying this in a mean way - I'm just used to being the one that can't speak the foreign language very well. It's great when the tables turn.

My Spanish History class, the one where I am going to be fighting for a B- is going quite well. 1) praying before class starts is key - I pray for peace and perspective on how important this class really is. 2) We have been discussing Franco all week and so I have participated about half a dozen times in two days. I prolly participated a total of two times the last two months. 3) I think my paper will rock the house.

Well, I see my parents in two days and couldn't be more excited!! Safe travels you two!! +34 633 477 344 is my number.

Espanol