But every time I found something new to keep or collect, Jess would remind me "Your case was already too heavy on the way here, you're not gonna fit those in anywhere". I've been responding all week with "Yeah I know, but I've still got room in my hand luggage". Which I did have. And yet my case was still overweight in Zurich airport this morning (thankful for another kind lady who waived it through and didn't mind). My hand luggage did feel decidedly more heavy than last weekend - probably also something to do with the giant bag of goodies and snacks that Bekky sent me off with!
But I've made it this far and today is actually day 18 of of my crazy summer adventures.. I'll fill you in on the last two days!
Saturday was spent with Jess and Bekky in Konstanz for a while, looking round the city, a spot of lunch by the lake, a train back to the car and then the sad drive to Zurich (trip #1) to drop Jessie off and say our goodbyes..
Konstanz cathedral
On the way back to the house, Bekky remembered that we pass by the Rheinfell waterfall on the way home so we took a minor detour to make the most of our time in Switzerland and man, was it worth it!
Rheinfell waterfalls
So awesome I pulled this face!
Absolutely stunning.
And upon returning home, for dinner, Sabine (Bekky's mum) had baked spinach and ricotta cannelloni and we had peach ice cream and blackberry cake for dessert and we felt lovely and full as the storm (yes another storm. Can you believe it?!) set in. Her parents speak good English, so we had a good amount of time to sit and rest after another long day of driving, and just chat about life and things and be thankful that we weren't out in the battering rain and hail.
Eventually, bed was calling , after a late night the night before and with the knowledge that I had to wake up at 5am the next morning to make it to the airport (trip #2 to Zurich). The drive seemed shorter the second time round, and I'm pretty sure I only passed about three cars on the entire journey but it was nice to spend some time reflecting on the week as I drove, and listening out for what God was saying. Some friendly ladies helped me work out which kind of petrol I should fill the car with (its all different again in Switzerland!) and then dropped Fifi off...
I made my way through the airport routine. I got heckled slightly for daydreaming in the queue to check in (not moving quick enough apparently, but I was so tired and things weren't processing properly.) My suitcase was, again, overweight, but only slightly and as I mentioned, the kind lady waived it for me. Actually, the woman in front of my had to unpack loads of her stuff to make her case lighter so I was more thankful then that mine went straight through! I also accidentally left my factor 50 suncream in my hand luggage (how I don't know..) and felt genuinely gutted that the security woman had to throw it away. It was Nivea and everything. I'm just hoping that there are some pale Spaniards in the town I'll be in, so that I'll be able to purchase some high factor sun protection but I can't even guess the chances of that. We'll see!
After sleeping for the majority of the two-hour flight to Barcelona, I then had a 7 hour wait there until my next flight to León. I read a little, slept, read some more, prayed, ate, had a little wander around the check in room (way too early to check in so couldn't go through to departures yet).. And after only two and a half hours of this, I started to panic a little.
I'm just not very good at having long periods of time alone with nothing to do. Not only that but I had no internet or signal (not necessarily a problem, but my concerns were mostly that I had no way of contacting the people who I had been communicating with in Spain, so I had literally no idea what the plan was when I finally reach León airport). Plus, on a good day I find it hard to make friends with random strangers, so that was unlikely to happen, also given that I think I had only heard English spoken by two other people in my time there waiting.
So, sat alone in the airport wondering what I can do to fill the time and how the evening ahead is going to pan out, I decided to go off in search of the business lounge to acquire some internet, and who cares that it cost me a Euro for every 7minutes?! I chatted with mom for a little while, told the Facebook world how I was doing and found an empty inbox (still no email from the my Spain contacts) but instead of worrying, I felt a quiet assurance that God knows what He is doing and I can trust Him. And since we live in the first world, I'm absolutely sure I'll be able to contact people and make my way to the camp some how, if I reach León and no one is there.
In searching out the internet lounge, I also stumbled across a posh little café, with room to charge my nexus and spread out comfortably. After a few minutes there, and probably because I was the only customer in there, the man came over to give me a glass for the rest of my Ice Tea! I felt a bit posh myself at that point..
Notice the palm trees in the background, the blazing sun outside. It was a good spot.
But it was also a quality chunk of time and a quiet space, where I just spent some time with God, coming to Him with how I'm feeling and reminding myself of His presence and His purpose, letting go of the past and looking to the future He has for me, which I'm already in :)
I also managed to order myself my first meal in Spanish hahaaa. I use the word 'meal' quite lightly. I had mozerella fingers and a fanta lemon, but I did also ask what salad options they had and she understood me, so bonus!
I knew that when I arrived at León airport, I was totally in God's hands from that point on.. I didn't have a plan for after the airport and hadn't had any full details through from the people I'd been communicating with, but when I arrived, the director of the music camp (the first week of camp is a music one - will tell you more about it in the days to come!) was there to pick me up and drive me to the camp. We got there in the middle of dinner, and I spend the rest of the evening with Ivan (who is also volunteering for the week) and Lluna, who has adopted me as a friend and has been so welcoming and friendly. I met what felt like millions (of course, I exaggerate!) of other people, some with a little English, some with barely any at all so it really has been a deep end experience so far! But I have been able to (just about) piece together some very broken Spanish to have some conversations with people, and to find out my duties.
It's definitely going to be a challenging few weeks.. But I'm eager to learn, and I'm thankful that Jesus understands me even if no one else does. It's me and Him out here.
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