double birthday cakes

Above are Dani, Agueda and Fran. Our friend and former Connexxion staffer Inga began something in January called "CookIng-a" (also referred to now as "Just Cook") which is a sort of shared cooking class in our apartment every week or so. We take turns --different ones of us share a favorite recipe & teach the rest to make it. We did an unusual one this week, to bake 2 birthday cakes for our good friend Dani (Daniel)!

Here are new friends Han -Seon (from Korea) & Laura, and Yasmin, my super roommate. Since the kitchen is too small for 7 people and TWO projects simultaneously-- we spread out- into the living room! Good thing we have Spanish tile floors-- ha! Oh-- we made coconut cake & carrot cake-- it was Dani's 1st time to try these flavors & they were his request, from a list we gave.

first gazpacho

Gazpacho is a traditional, cold tomato soup -- I just found out a week ago, when our fun friend Rosa came over to make it, that it's not cooked. You use raw ingredients, puree them together, and eat it from a bowl or glass. It was so fun to help make it for the first time!! Tomatoes, bread, green peppers (a thinner variety), raw garlic, olive oil, vinegar, & cucumbers...

If you don't know WHY they eat a cold soup in Spain, imagine hot, dry days of temperatures in the 80's and above--!!

first barbecue, but not the last

Yes, I splurged (about 4 Euro) on a baby pool to cool our feet on the balcony (anyone ready for a swim? -- it's still here!)! And to go along with our "beach" theme for the barbecue!
What's Spain without a traditional "Sevillanas" dance done by a couple of friends!?
Silvia, Encarni (left side), Carmen & Mary Alice (rt.) -- the best part about a group meal is the fun & fellowship!
Sergio (from the Canary Islands of Spain) is here with Mary Alice and Johnny (from Costa Rica). Mary Alice started all the English Clubs that I continued when I moved to Sevilla.

Here on our balcony-- Johnny and Laura (visiting here from the USA a couple of weeks to help out; former exchange student) were 2 of several people tending the barbecue grill, which we had just bought that day for 11.99 Euro. Somehow we started this deal without having a specialty person (Grillmeister) to do the whole b-b-cuing thing! ah--oh. In the distance you see the Univ. of Sevilla campus (architecture buildings).

"Blanco y negro" night

Above are Agueda & my roomie Yasmin-- Agueda speaks German which was fun for me to try out again with a Spaniard. Below Dani and I are showing off our theme "look." Never at a loss for party ideas, we had a "black and white" party with foods, clothing and decorations keeping the theme (along with slow jazz music and songs from the 40's!). Yasmin took favorite pics and printed them out in black and white (the Spanish term for that is opposite: "blanco y negro"). We played a game of charades with movies, where the partners had to be silent (reminiscent of the silent films... but using modern- day movies). Guess which movie is portrayed by Carmen & Abby here?

semana santa

Holy Week before Easter is celebrated with no greater pomp and passion than in Sevilla. It's called "semana santa" and is accompanied by about 50 parades of large statues of Jesus and the Virgin Mary ... sometimes of 1,000 people (for ONE parade) marching through the streets of Sevilla

...who are all members of a society called an "hermandad." They do sort of a penance pilgrimage to the Cathedral from their home church, and back again. Sometimes the participants march for up to 6 or even 12 hours straight. The "Nazarenos" wear a hood, so that you cannot see who is in the parade, to maintain the anonymity in their dedication & repentance.

Flamenco party

Inga & Carlos are looking very dramatic? And aren't Carmen & Yasmin getting into the mood with those decorated fans??! ( Did you know that women really use them nowadays, in the heat of the summer?) This region of Spain is known for flamenco dancing and a famous festival every April in the city-- a fair lasting all week where women dress in flamenco dresses and people dance a famous style of dance called "sevillanas." And guess who is in that flamenco dress of green & red on the left??

So, using that theme, we hosted a Connexxion party at our apartment in late April. Inga did an excellent job helping get the living room looking like the inside of a fair tent!

Retreat in Germany

We had an awesome time in Germany in early May, with 34 attending our Connexxion retreat for students...

 and then followed that event with another retreat for our 9 staff & interns directly after it (see left-- Vincent, Vera, Birthe, Cheryl, Anja, Anja K.; bottom row: me, Yasmin, Thomas with baby Immanuel) ... I then spent some extra days, too, in Braunschweig in the north, in my old "stompin' grounds."

Bruce, my brother, came to speak, too and shared wonderful messages!

how the day starts in spain

What could be more typical in Spain, to start the day, than friends & café con leche? It is often served hot in a glass (not a mug). Coffee with milk, half and half doses. And believe you me, mine is always ordered with MORE milk, which is called a "manchado" (= "stained"). And on the other side of café con leche is coffee with just a touch of milk (they order a "cortado" meaning "cut"). Or you can drink full-blown espresso, black (be my guest!). 

Inga & Yasmin & I recently had morning coffee with a good friend José María, & his high school buddy Germán (on left).

birthday parties

Last week Inga had a birthday on Friday; and our friend Francisco had his on Thursday-- so they threw a party together at Inga's apartment! 

It was fun to celebrate with them, with various friends coming & going during the evening (Yasmin & I made pasta salad together, and Yas made brownies & a cake!). 

Under the long tablecloth is a space heater (electric), which is a typical method in Spain to heat your feet, even though the room may be chilly.

The next day we took Inga for a surprise picnic at the beach! Unfortunately it got a bit cold.

band visiting campus

Last week we had an awesome band visiting us from Texas. It was fun to have them do a little "jam session" on 2 campuses during the day. That night 3 friends of mine, Bea, Rebecca & Esther, came to the concert in a nearby town with Yasmin & I.

sunny days, cool evenings...

One evening we went to a flamenco place (the show starts at 11 p.m.! but it's free). Here are my friends Dani (Daniel) and Rosa, with her pal Jose Manuel. He looked so theatrical I thought if he went onto the stage to sing, people would have gotten quiet. After the show, we encouraged Inga to play some tunes - she is wonderfully gifted and creative in art & music!

I love these amazing ladies... Inga & Yasmin (left to right) are doing an internship with Connexxion. Inga & I got to be roommates for 3 + months and we know each other from Braunschweig, my last German home. She has such a heart to serve others! Yasmin just moved in in February, from Oklahoma. She already speaks Spanish & keeps us laughing. 

Maria just came for a couple days visit from Jena, Germany-- she & her twin sister Lydia & I have been friends for about 5 years. Don't you love the palm tree shadow in the background? That night we had "CookIng-A" which was created by Inga to teach others to cook, and share recipes. This time Maria made sausage balls Germany style. Seated here in our furnished apartment (above) are Maria, Daniel, Fran, Yasmin & Inga.

beach & soccer game

My first soccer game in Spain was last weekend, in the city of Huelva, about 1 hour away. "Fran" (Francisco) is a friend of ours who is from there and has season tix. Before that we had already had a full day-- a worship service in a pueblo across the river, with a visiting band from Texas. 

Followed by the biggest paella (yellow rice with meat & mussels) I've ever seen!

Then a short visit to the beach near Huelva, with friends Yasmin & Inga, as well as John (exchange student from North Carolina) & Maria (visiting from Germany).

After that rooting for Fran's home team-- Recreativo Huelva! (they tied)

cordoba & maria visits

It was truly a big treat to have Maria R. from Jena come visit us from Germany. She & I used to be in the same discipleship group with Connexxion for several years there and are special friends. She also did an internship with the Bapt. Student Union in Norman, OK a couple of years back, where she was the roommate of Yasmin (my cool, present roommie!!). 

So we had a fun reunion and those two plus my good friend Inga got to visit the city of Cordoba last Saturday. There we saw the Mezquita, which is a former moorish mosque and now a cathedral. Imagine this: 85,000 square feet; mostly low ceiling; red/ cream arches all over the place!