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1. My first Spanish bus trip
I remember many bus trips from my years in southern Africa - especially those long overnight trips from Cape Town up to Johannesburg or to Namibia. I remember, especially in the desert areas, being amazed that the bus could drive in a straight line for more than an hour, without a single bend in the road. Although I've lived in Spain for four years, I'd never taken a bus journey to another part of the country until last week, when I travelled up to Madrid and back down to Malaga again. Those 6-hour trips through southern Spain seemed relatively short when compared to the 20-hour marathons through southern Africa. There were some similarities - especially in the dryness of the landscape, and the brightness of the sunshine. Generally speaking, though, the Spanish roads had more twists and turns around the Andalucian mountains, although there were also some straighter stretches as we travelled further north. From time to time, we could see the iconic Spanish bull on a hilltop, and the fields tended to have goats in them..... Not an ostrich in sight!
2. My first Spanish conference
My trip up to Madrid was so that I could attend a staff conference of YWAM missionaries working in Spain. Although our ministry at the Leadership Retreat Centre is international, and our courses are held in English rather than Spanish, three of us from the Alhaurín team wanted to travel up to the conference and get to know our colleagues serving in other parts of the nation. The conference was held at the YWAM training centre in Madrid, and we thoroughly enjoyed being immersed in the Spanish environment and getting to know missionaries serving in other cities, such as Valencia, Bilbao, Madrid and Barcelona.
3. My first Spanish class
Although I've lived here for some years, I didn't take time out at the beginning to attend Spanish language classes. Instead I opted to kind of "teach myself" using computer software and online resources. Recently, however, I was praying about ways of getting to know more non Christians in the town, and I read in the newspaper about a free Spanish class being offered by the Ayuntamiento (town hall) in Alhaurín. Anja had just arrived in Spain this year and wanted to do some language study, so we went to the town hall and signed up. The classes began last week (with an "exam" on the first evening to test the level of our Spanish!!) What a surprise it was to discover a group of more than twenty people - from places as diverse as Morocco, the Ukraine, Finland, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, the USA and, of course, the UK. Some had only arrived in Spain this year, while others had been living in Alhaurín for six or even twelve years, and had already been attending the Spanish class for a long time. Based on our "exam results," we've been divided into two groups: beginners on Tuesdays and a more advanced group on Thursdays. Anja's going to attend both, but I'll be going only on Thursday evenings. It's been fun to get to know people from all over Europe and beyond (I've sometimes had to speak French, German or English to communicate with them) and I was even able to invite one lady to come to church with me.
4. My first .... ???
Well, I'm not sure exactly what this one will be, but when I prayed about ways of meeting more non-believers, I didn't only have foreigners in mind. I was also looking for more ways to get to know Spanish people. One possibility I've considered is to sign up for an "aqua-gym" class at the town's indoor swimming pool, which is conveniently situated right in my street. This is kind of an "aerobics in the water" activity, which would not only give me regular exercise that would help my arthritis over the winter months, but would also be a way of getting to know Spanish ladies who also attend the class. I'm planning to check it out, and sign up for something before the end of this month. By the time I reach my fourth anniversary in Spain (October 5th) I plan to have these four "firsts" under my belt!
