Tonight I write to you from Madrid, Spain! I arrived here yesterday and met my friend and sorority sister Elizabeth at the airport. She is studying in Oviedo, Spain and we are here to see the capital, as well as the family of a good friend from IIT, Luis Miñambres. The Miñambres family has been so hospitable to us so far! We have shared dinner, breakfast, and tonight Luis´ mom, Reyes, is treating us to a Flamenca dance performance. I´m so excited! Today we saw a couple of museums, inluding the brand new Caxiaforum featuring Patrick Blanc´s living wall system. It was SO COOL!!The past two weeks have flown! I finished a 10 page paper this week on an architect very famous in France named Le Corbusier. I´ve really enjoyed visiting his buildings in combination with research. Perhaps the Austrian architect Adolf Loos was right when he said that buildings should never be photographed, only explored in person. Coming to Europe has given me a lot more motivation to be an architect. Last weekend I even purchased my first architecture book that I was not required to buy! It is about nature in architecture and features a bunch of modern buildings that look AWESOME. Hopefully I´ll be able to visit some of them in my lifetime.
My studio project is progressing nicely but I have a lot of work to do before my midterm presentation on Wednesday. In the midst of studio stress, I confess that I´ve begun to use cooking like a drug. I enjoy it so much! I hope to forever use wine when I cook, especially for meats. I tried my own Chicken Cordon Bleu soaked in red wine the other night. I didn´t have any toothpicks though, so I scrubbed my hairpins well and used them to pin together the chicken breasts. The uncooked presentation was so funny-looking! But it was so worth it because the meat tasted wonderful. :)
In light of my travels and architectural escapades the past two weeks, God has been chipping away at some of my weaknesses by teaching me three important traveling tips:
1) Stay flexible
2) Make decisions quickly
3) Stay alert
As an oblivious, often indecisive planner, these lessons are much needed. Praise God for giving me four months to work on these areas!
God also has been faithful to teach me as I´ve accepted his invitation to love my Parisian neighbors. I began baby-sitting at the Foyer de Grenelle this week - the homeless shelter I mentioned in my last post. I´m so thankful for this opportunity! Surely God uses young children to teach his children the most simple of lessons. I began to read a toddler a French story but he lost interest after about five minutes. I wanted to keep reading because I was learning more French vocabulary, but I put down the book and followed the little boy to the next toy, suddenly aware of my independence as a young woman. Though I deeply desire to be a mother one day, God used this child to give me such a wonderful lesson in contentment. I´m so thankful for this season of freedom and growth! And for my Heavenly Father who reminds me daily of my blessings.
À bientôt!
