Preparations

I figured that I'd write a post before I head out tonight to begin the Camino de Santiago de Compostela.  I will be starting in Leon, Spain and going all the way to Santiago, about 312 km I believe.  I'm pretty excited for this, I just finished packing my bag and I still think it's too heavy and full, but I'm not sure what else I can leave behind.  Maybe on the way I'll be able to get rid of things :P  My goal is to not take anything for "just in case."  It's also sort of interesting since my attitude towards this "trip" is very different.  Usually when I travel for two weeks I would bring a lot thinking, I'm going for two weeks that's quite a while so I might need this and this, or this might come in handy.  However, this time my attitude is, "I'm only going for two weeks, I can do without this, and this, etc. and if I do happen to need something I'll get it on the way."  This "trip" (trip in quotation marks as it is really a pilgrimage) is also different because of how little preparation I did for it.  Really I feel completely clueless about what I'm about to embark on and at the same time I really don't know how to prepare myself more.  Usually when you're going somewhere you know where you're going to sleep, where you're going to be when, etc.  For this I have a guide book that I'll read on the way there and along the way that has some maps (it claims all the ones that I need) and I don't know where I'll stop when because I'll just have to see how I'm feeling day by day and if I want to keep walking or not.  I think this will be a great growing experience in terms of flexibility.  It's also very different because it's the first time I've traveled alone.  So, I hope it all works out and that it doesn't rain too much.

This past week of work went well.  The more I work the more I feel like I'm getting better at this whole teaching English thing, although I'm still having a hard time adjusting between different classes and remembering the level of the students in each class.  I've definitely rediscovered my love for children.  It's just great how they come up to you and tell you random things about their lives and ask you about yourself and to top it off they're adorable.  I think that after the break I am going to start some volunteering or something, because I really don't work very much and feel like having a little less free time would actually help me spend my time better.  (I have already gotten involved in youth group activities.)

I'm sure I mentioned in previous posts that I joined ultimate frisbee here, but what I haven't mentioned is that I decided to play "competitively" here.  (It's like the least good rank of the competitive part.  Great sentence eh?)  So it's two weekends, but I think it'll be good and hopefully help me get to know some people better.

Also this past Wednesday my roommates and I had to go to Toulouse for our medical appointments so that we can legally reside in France for the duration of our visas.  So basically all it involves is getting an x-ray of your lungs to make sure that you don't have TB (although really you'd think you would have to do this beforehand since we'd all been in France a month already).  We got to keep our x-rays so I shall hang mine up on my wall if I find something to hang it with.  A plus for me is that I got the doctor to write me a medical certificate so I can play frisbee (yeah, you have to go to the doctor here to be able to play sports competitively and get a note saying that you can), he was just being super nice since that really isn't what he's supposed to do there.  It's good for me since it saved me the hassle of going to a doctor, paying for it, submitting the payment to get part of it reimbursed.  This medical thing was quite fun too since there was a bunch of assistant(e)s from all over with the same appointment time so while we waited we got to chat.  It's kind of cool how there's so much switching between languages it seems like everyone speaks English, French, and Spanish.  Then I did get to see a bit of Toulouse, but I am glad that I'll get to go back since I didn't feel like I got to really see very much or spend time in any place.

 Lastly, a note on cheese: the French seem to be very much about bread, cheese, and wine.  So I've been trying different kinds of cheeses, and last week at market I bought some which I thought was mild-ish tasting (have to start small).  I brought it home and decided that it tastes like mold :).  Yeah, I think I still need to get used to the gastronomy here.

Well thanks to everyone reading this!  God bless you all and please do keep me in your prayers as I start this pilgrimage.