Michelle Lizano- May 31, 2014

The End

Everything must come to an end at some point. I just hate how fast this month has gone by. During the course of this trip I have learned a lot about myself and others. It’s sad that I got out of my comfort zone towards the end of the trip, but I’m usually slower at those things anyways. I couldn’t imagine a better group than this Horizons group to travel with. Each one of us is so unique and passionate about different things, but the best part of it all is that we can share our uniqueness and passions with others in what truly is a no judgment zone. I’m sure we can all agree that this experience has been the best experience of our lives thus far. Someone once said “Life is full of difficulties, some minor and others of more serious nature, there seems to an unending supply of challenges for one and all. Our problem is that we expect instantaneous solutions to such challenges, forgetting that frequently the heavenly virtue of patience is required’. I am proud of all of us .I’m proud that even though we have been up and running since day one we still enjoyed every single minute of this trip. We had the patience to walk for hours among hours, the patience to deal with our host families and the language barriers. We all had the patience to adjust to the culture, but what I’m really proud of is the willingness to try new things. I know that for me patience has always been a difficult concept, but being here has showed me to have more patience and instead of just getting things done to actually take the time to reflect and think about the surroundings. Think about the culture and why it is so different here. Thinking about the culture is only part of the process, the other part is being willing to understand and adjust to it. My favorite moment from this whole trip was at Tony’s restaurant. We all expected to just sit down and watch someone make pallea, but what we did instead was incredible. This experience showed us that things are not always the way we think they will be, which is why we must keep an open mind at all times and not forget our patience. Thank you every one for making this trip absolutely amazing, but most of all thank you to Horizons, ISA, and special thanks to Rosa and Josh because without them none of this would be possible.

Jessica Carsten- May 30, 2014

It is unbelievable to think that our three weeks in Spain are almost coming to an end.  With tomorrow being our last day to experience more components of Madrid, I feel like I have already witnessed countless new and impressive attractions throughout the cities of Valencia, Barcelona, Toledo, and Madrid. I would like to focus on the very first experience I encountered when going to church in a foreign country.

The very first church I went to in Spain was in Valencia and I was guessing that the mass time would be at 8:00 a.m., but I was clearly wrong because I had no idea how to get into the church and a sign on the garage door of the church said that mass was at 9:00 a.m.  I was becoming a little worried because the church looked pretty sketchy on the outside and looked as if the church wasn’t active anymore.  I went and got some coffee and returned to the same church thirty minutes later.  Surprisingly the garage door was open and I felt so relieved that I wasn’t going to have to miss church that day.  As soon as I walked into the church, I seriously felt my stomach drop.  I was so overwhelmed by the beauty of this small church that I began to cry.  I cried because the beauty of the detail in every component of the church was so raw and realistic that I felt closer to God than I ever have before.  I began to take pictures, but no picture could perfectly grasp the beauty I was witnessing before my eyes and how it felt to be witnessing it.  

As I traveled to the other cities in Spain, the churches just grew in their beauty.  In Barcelona, my jaw dropped by how massive the Segrada Familia Cathedral was.  In Toledo, I went to the second largest Cathedral in Europe and I was truly fascinated.  By touring through that Cathedral I realized how God works in mysterious ways.  I could just see many people around me taking in the beauty of all the unbelievable architecture and even if some of those people didn’t believe in God or weren’t Catholic, I could still see sparks of light in every single person.  Even for myself, I felt like I have witnessed something so special that I need to work on growing closer to God and share my experience with others to help others grow closer as well.  I am so thankful to have been able to see such beautiful architecture because just being able to witness those incredible art works has changed  and motivated me as a Catholic even more.

Me and a Rosa- twins!

Inside the cathedral

La Sagrada Familia