It's been POURING in Valencia all weekend, which has been no fun because it means no beach! It hasn't been too bad, though. We've spent a lot of time studying for finals (Yeah, I know that they're weeks away, but we HAVE to study hardcore.) and watching Grey's Anatomy. We even made a new friend on Friday! Months ago Emily had emailed a place about Baptist missionaries in Valencia, and we finally met up with one on Friday! Her name is Connie, and she is here with her husband Lonnie. Apparently they've been missionaries in Spain since 1985, but they were relocated to Germany a few years ago before moving back to the U.S. for a short period. They've returned to Spain, though, and they're looking to be here for another five years or so. We enjoyed a two hour chat over ice cream with her at the mall on Friday evening, and she told us about herself, and we shared bits of ourselves with her. As we began to talk about the traveling that we've been doing over here these past few months, the famous Ryanair was brought into the conversation. We informed her that we always take huge backpacks onto Ryanair, despite their horrible, strict luggage rules. She asked us if anyone ever gave us dirty looks for doing so, and we told her we didn't think so.. do they?? Anyway, we mentioned the fact that we had flown to Basel, Switzerland, a few weekends ago, and suddenly she said, "I know I've seen you all before!" As we started to piece it all together, we realized that we were ALL on the same flight from Basel to Valencia together. We don't remember her, but she remembers us... we are kind of hard to forget. That particular day we arrived at the airport 3 hours BEFORE our flight and got our boarding passes right away. However, we wasted a lot of time in the airport with random tasks, and then we decided to spend the last of our franks by purchasing lunch before boarding the plane. Well, there was only one lady working at the lunch counter, and it took forever. When we finally got our food, we headed to our gate, but we were confused because no one was standing in line to board the plane like usual. As it turns out, they had all already boarded the plane! In fact, they were about to close the gate. Fortunately, they rushed us through, and we literally ran across the runway (Yay, Ryanair and not connecting the plane to the airport!) and up the steps of the plane. Although we had no idea at the time, Connie and her husband were sitting on the plane watching us. They had an entire row to themselves, and they were waiting to see if anyone else would get on the plane and take up the free spots. As we sat there over ice cream, Connie said she specifically remembers watching us and our faces as we ran through the airport with huge backpacks.. yup, that was us. :) Neither one of us ended up sitting next to Connie or Lonnie on that flight, but imagine if we had! Still, this just once again reiterates the fact that it's a small world!
We braved the rain again today and went to Maria's. Maria is the mother of Natalia; Natalia is the girl we teach English to twice a week. Maria and her husband were kind enough to invite us over for lunch today, and they went all out! They started us off with some red wine, which was actually pretty darn good. She then presented us with like 5 appetizers - ham and bread, salmon, pepperoni type stuff, etc, etc. We also had baby lobster like shrimp things (Yeah, I'm not really sure.), and despite feeling sorry for it when its little eyes stared up at me, I managed to break its head, tail, and feet off, and then skin it in order to eat it. That was a first! Another first was that I ate some type of duck mixture that is a fine specialty from France. I felt a little bad spreading Donald out on my bread, but it actually didn't taste too bad, although I couldn't bear to eat too much of him! For the main dish, Maria made something that she was fairly confident we'd like -- lasagna! :) She was right; it was great! The sweet little family provided us with strawberries, chocolate orange cake, and brandy for dessert. The brandy was a little strong, but hey, whatever. :) It was all very excellent and makes me look forward to home-cooked meals back in the U.S. even more!
We stayed at their house for over 6 hours. We met Nat's turtle and bird, spoke a lot of Spanglish, and learned more about them and their family. Maria brought out the photo albums, and we got to see pictures of them in various places and hear about their different family members. It was kind of nice to relax with a family, even if it wasn't my own. They're such a sweet little bunch. Maria is always patient when we ask her a million questions, and Nat is so eager to learn and also answer our silly questions. It's really obvious that Maria and Carlos, the dad, have a genuine desire for Natalia to have the best life possible, and it's a beautiful thing to observe. Really, I think they're a lot like my own parents. They strive to give their child everything they can, and they love unconditionally.
Today I am especially thinking of my own parents, especially my mommy, because it's Mother's Day! In case you weren't aware, I have the most fabulous mother in the entire world! Even though I've picked a major and I'm pretty set on it, I still have problems sometimes when defining exactly what I want to do. However, if you were to ask me who I wanted to be like, I could tell you right away without any hesitation! Without a doubt, I want to be just like my mom. She is the most beautiful person I know. She is selfless in everything she does; she always, always, always puts our family above herself. She's genuinely kind to everyone, and she's always willing to open our house up without me having to ask twice. She also has a pretty good sense of humor; just ask her about being the Boggle champion or how to recharge a flashlight. :) No matter how I feel or what I do, I know that she'll love me regardless. Whenever I receive good news, she and my dad are the first people I want to tell. When I have a bad day, they're also the first people who know how to make me feel better, and I know they'll always support me in whatever way I need.
The absolute best thing about my mom is that she is not solely my mother. She's also my best friend in the entire world. I can tell her everything - from silly musings involving the boy of the week to deep goals regarding my future - and she listens earnestly, shares advice when needed, and laughs or cries with me when appropriate. She and my dad are two of my favorite people to spend time with. I don't know how many kids can say that about their parents, but I know I'm very lucky to be able to say it and mean it. :) Truly, I am blessed to have the parents that I do.
Happy Mother's Day, Mom! I wish I could be with you, but THANK YOU for bringing me into this world and presenting me with an example of who I want to be like! I love you. :-)
...but she's somebody's hero.
1 comment:
That's crazy about them seeing you get on the plane!!!
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