I must say that I have enjoyed recording my adventures into a blog for you all. I know that you want to know all of the things that I am doing, seeing, and experiencing and as promised I have done my best to keep up with recording it all. I was on a hike today with members of my church (which was absolutely amazing, by the way) and I realized that I haven't really blogged a lot about HOW I am doing.
When you live abroad for an extended period of time you hit roller-coaster-like emotions. Steven Rhinesmith best describes these emotions by explaining the ten different steps of culture shock: 1. initial anxiety, 2. initial elation, 3. initial culture shock, 4. superficial adjustment, 5. depression-frustration, 6. acceptance of host culture, 7. return anxiety, 8. return elation, 9. re-entry shock, 10. reintegration. Without being super nerdy and going in depth of all of these steps, I can safely say that I have definitely experienced a number of them. People think that living in another country, especially one as gorgeous as Spain, is blissful and happy all of the time. The reality is you have up and down moments just like you do in any place you call home. Some days I am really up for the adventures that Spain sets before me, and some days I simply want to find macaroni and cheese in the grocery store.
I look back at moments of weakness and really cherish them. Those moments have brought me to where I am right now and that is endlessly happy and completely grateful to be here. I love my Spanish life. I love my job. I love my students. I love my friends. I love my church. I love Malaga. I love being able to travel. And I love that I'm able to go home and see my family for Christmas. I am in a great place. So that's how I'm doing. Thank you for supporting me and my dream. You are always in my thoughts.
Con amor,
KA
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