California Seasons

Something VERY exciting happened in my house on Friday:

We turned the heater on for the first time this fall!! 

While that fact might not seem to be exciting, it signaled a change in the weather patterns here in Santa Barbara, California. I am ready to be done with 80-degree Sundays. As beautiful as they are, they are not for November (but my dad and I did enjoy an ocean swim last Sunday since it was so warm!!). 

Nothing compares to New England fall. Santa Barbara certainly can't compete in the color/fall crisp-ness/leaf color craziness category, BUT...SB proves to have some seasonal beauty that I am very grateful for and am looking forward to appreciating as I live here during the fall/winter months (first time in 5 years. Yikes!)

I love the way the sunlight is different in the fall and winter months. I love having the sun just rising and the sky sort of pinkish as I'm heading to work and the way the sun hits the plants in our backyard in the afternoon. I can't really describe it..but it's different and beautiful.

In the fall and winter months, SB is usually spared of FOG so the mountains stand against the blue ocean and you can actually see the Channel Islands. It's incredible. The summer months in SB are usually plagued with fog for the first part of the day (sometimes even into the afternoon), so the fall/winter clear skies provide breathtaking views.

 You can see a little bit of leaf change at the top of our maple sweet gum tree (thanks for the correction, Dad!) in the backyard and the purple-ish leaves of the ornamental plum tree (the purple color feels sort of fall-like to me)

The maple tree has plenty of leaves below it and the green is turning yellow - slowly but surely!

And, I'm living with my mother again and she has impeccable taste in seasonal decorating. There is no shortage of pumpkin love in our house.

I realize that so much of what I love about the winter and fall coziness at home is a privilege -- things like heat, and warm tea at night, and electricity for when the sun goes down at 5 pm. I am so thankful for these gifts and getting to experience some seasonal beauties here in Southern California.

back in the US of A [warning: this is a long post]

[visiting cuba is not complete without a stop at the cigar shop!]

[Más unidos y combativos: defendiendo el socialismo]

[a view]

[allison, rach, and i on the beach]

[streets of cuba]

[esta es la revolución socialista: de los humildes, para los humildes, y por los humildes]

[allison, rachel, annie, and i enjoying [virgin of course] piña coladas at varadero beach, finishing up our time in cuba]

I am back in the United States of America – honestly hard to believe. I had a really great trip to Cuba and would love to talk to you about it and share pictures and stories - it was such a unique experience. I learned a lot about the socialist government structure, the attitude of solidarity that I have never seen nor experienced before, and heard about Cuba from a perspective so different from what I have heard as a US citizen. We went to different “charlas” as we call them, or lectures/speakers, who ranged from economists, educators, medical professionals, pastors, etc. This was the first year that LASP was able to take all 37 students to Cuba because of some of the changes that President Obama has made with Cuba policy. Usually LASP is able to take a group of students (since it falls under both an educational and religious trip), but not all students together and it takes a LOT of phone calls. This year the process was much smoother and I am eager to stay updated on the changes taking place in Cuba with their new congress, as well as changes between US-Cuba policies. There is so much I could write about Cuba, but I think I’ll just talk about one thing: solidarity. Solidarity, in my own definition, is sacrificing your own personal desires and successes for the good of others or your society. I have never seen this kind of solidarity lived out except in the case of Cuba – especially within the health system I was amazed by the sacrifice of many Cuban doctors for both people within their country as well as those in lesser-developed countries. We met with a doctor who receives a very low wage (actually lower than a taxi driver might make because of the dual monetary system which allows people in tourism to possibly make more money because tourists pay for services in a different currency), but he told us that he wouldn’t change his career because he believes in serving the Cuban people. Wow. I was also really blown away by the hospitality we received by a group of senior citizens at their exercise class: we sat in chairs and on the floor with a group of at least 40 senior citizens who were doing some breathing/stretching exercises and we got to join in! A few people introduced themselves and one of them was around 90 years old and told us how he was so happy that we were here and that he wants us to come home to the United States with warm greetings from Cuba. This also blew me away – my country and Cuba have been enemies for years and yet this man put this aside and welcomed our group with so much love and smiles that I had misty eyes when he shuffled his feet back across the linoleum floor to his seat.

We finished our trip at a popular Cuban tourist spot called Varadero Beach and then headed back to Costa Rica for less than 24 hours before heading on a plane to Miami! Our group spent just a little over a day in Miami doing “re-entry” and then said our goodbyes. Saying goodbyes was really sad: while I hope to see my close LASP friends again soon, I will never be with the same group of 37 students ever again. Even though it has only been 4 months, we have shared a lot together and have been shaped and challenged by this unique experience. We’ve shared so many awkward, funny, embarrassing situations, as well as countless conversations – some funny about our American culture, but many more about the things we are learning and struggling to understand. They have come to know some of the things that make me “me”, like getting food all over my face when I eat (it is a curse that will follow me wherever I go), and I have adapted some of their expressions and accents. I will really miss this community, especially as I continue to process this experience and try to apply what I have learned to my life at home.

Authentic and unique are the words I want to use to describe my semester in Latin America. I think it has probably been the most challenging, but in many ways, the most rewarding semester I have had as a college student. What is exciting is that I feel like I am starting to sense the ways that this semester has influenced me – in terms of reflection, thinking about what I have learned, the conversations I have had, etc. It is impossible to process all you have learned right after it happens and I think the real processing is starting now and will continue for the rest of my life!

LASP has given me a real Latin American experience: I have lived with three different host families. I have eaten, slept, gone to church, Bible study, mass, washed laundry, helped cook, clean, enjoy family activities like soccer games and Tupperware parties, gone on family weekend trips, shared pepto bismol, celebrated birthdays and new babies, gone on walks to thepulpería, and tried and failed at dancing (my hips do not move like they are supposed to). I listened to my family laugh and cry – and they’ve seen me laugh and cry too. I have heard from political officials, spoken with Latin Americans in different regions, enjoyed beautiful beaches, mountains, and cities, and also seen a lot of problems and global issues that have overwhelmed me. I have learned Spanish, and realized that being a language learner is humbling. I have seen many cultural differences and similarities, tried new foods that I either loved or struggled to swallow. I have struggled in Latin America. I have been embarrassed and confused, felt sad, discouraged, misunderstood, homesick, and lonely. Yet I have also felt loved, cared for, excited, joyful, and blessed. How does that all fit together? I have no idea…

This semester has been a huge blessing to me, and I am so thankful for YOU – my family, friends, and loved ones who have prayed for me, sent me emails and Facebook messages, and encouraged me along the way. I am completely overwhelmed with gratitude and can’t thank you enough for your support and love across the miles – it has made a huge difference to my experience here. I hope to share recipes and stories with you (maybe we can have a cup of coffee & que que seco in the mid-afternoon like a Costa Rican cafecito?) and to hear your stories and adventures over the past four months. Just as I have learned so much through conversation and living life with Latin American families these past four months, I am looking forward to a continuation of this in the USA with family and friends who have loved and cared for me all of my life.

My name has been “Alisa” for the past 4 months (and sometimes “Alice” and I just don’t try hard enough to correct it) and I think part of me will miss this. I’ll also miss speaking a lot of Spanish and waking up to cows mooing and the frying pan frying something delicious with lots of oil. I’ll miss rice at least two times a day and cheap mangos and yucca. I’ll miss the bus rides and talking to my host sisters and parents. I’ll miss the hug & kiss greetings and hearing “Dios bendiga y acompaña” when I leave. I’ll miss all of the dogs in the neighborhoods, the panaderias and the endless bread that I always eat. The list is long of the special things I will miss from Latin America and the people who loved and cared for me there.

But I’m also looking forward to home: to watching Libby in her play, to dance parties with Kels, to having long chats with my dad over the newspaper, and to coffee mornings with my mom in our pajamas. I am incredibly excited to see my across-the-world cousins in June whom I haven’t seen for almost 2 years and to work with some of my favorite senior citizens at the retirement center for the summer. And I’m looking forward to reuniting with dear friends in the summer and in August when I get back to Gordon (please do NOT talk to me about the fact that I am a senior now - it is truly freaking me out!!).

Psalm 98:1 “Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things…”

no place like home...especially for the holiday

home has been LOVELY so far:

slept for 12 hours on friday and stayed in the house almost the whole day (!!), cozied up on the couch with kels (later joined by mom & libs) to watch the holiday (see previous post about how much i love that movie) with hot chocolate (that's a given for me these days -- i think i've had it every day for the past week and a half)

..and today: hung out with precious sydney for the afternoon: we had a lot of fun :)

is she not the cutest thing you've ever seen???

a rich piece of chocolate cake

this past week i have been thinking about how often times (not always) life is like a rich piece of chocolate cake. not the pillsbury box kind, but the real stuff: the cocoa, butter, flour, sugar and the decadent frosting (we're talking about cream, sugar, butter, and chocolate). does that now sound incredibly rich and heavenly??

i am a fast-paced person and run from one thing to the next: and that's not always a bad thing, but i am coming to realize more and more how important it is to stop, breathe, think, liten, and learn from what is going on around me right NOW. when you eat a rich dessert like chocolate cake, you should...
sit down
actually cut a piece instaed of just taking bites from all sides
get a glass of milk
make sure you get a small dessert fork
eat it s l o w l y and savor every. single. bite.

(i am definitely not good at this)

it's at moments like this, sitting in the san francisco airport, realizing that i just said good bye to my friends for 8 months, realizing that i may not see some of the same people at gordon ever again, and realizing that i am over half way done with college, these moments are when i realize that life is moving fast and i need to stop and savor the precious moments God has given me. life is not always going to be a piece of cake, it's going to be hard and scary and tiring and stressful, but there are so many moments along that journey where i need to take time to pause and SEE what God is doing. i love the verse "Taste and see that the Lord is GOOD" (psalm 34:8) -- What a blessing it is that God doesn't just want us to see his goodness, but He wants us to TASTE it ourselves and to see his goodness in our lives, through struggle and triumph.

this week has been so full: full of saying hellos and goodbyes -- hearing stories from friends who came back from study-abroad semesters and goodbyes to ones i have lived with for two and a half yeras. it's been full of stress as well with exams and studying, but what comes with that is bonding in jenks and forming friendships over pagesof notes and study sessions. it's been full of packing: putting things in boxes and thinking quickly what i need/don't need/can live without for 8 months and putting it in someone's garage and hoping no animals get into it.

i am thankful for massachusetts and am really going to miss this place: a place that has become a second home to me. i will miss 128 (minus the crazy on ramps), climbing the endless fligh of stairs to get to Laurie's office each week, making dinner in 202 and hearing "my life is in shambles!" over & over again. i'll miss hearing our coffee maker going constantly throughout the day and making the trek to jenks with stops through chester's, lane, and KOSC in an attempt to keep warm. i'll miss seeing familiar faces, talking to my professors, and hanging out in my living room or "the nook."

and now i am thankful for the chance to be HOME: for 12 hours of sleep, home-made split pea soup, time to relax & rest, prepare for another advenutre in a new place: another chance to make new friends & discover a new home.
and hopefully i will learn how to eat my cake and to savor each bite :)

HOME

i just can't wait to see these faces in ONE. WEEK!!

it's been about 3 months since i have seen them last, which feels like forever ago...but on the other hand i really can't believe that this semester is almost over and i will be moving out in a few weeks (yikes!)

homesickness has come and gone in different ways for me during college...my first semester of freshman year was interesting because i wasn't really homesick until the very end of the semester. i think i was so absorbed with the "newness" of living on the east coast, exploring the area, and seeing how different everything looked. second semester was definitely harder (the winter gloom certainly did take its toll on me), but it was helpful to come home for spring break and make the semester seem a little shorter.

this semester i have felt homesick more so than last fall since last year my family came out for homecoming weekend. while it is difficult to be so far away from my family, it is so much more exciting to come home when you have been gone for longer periods of time. i am really looking forward to thanksgiving this year and have so much to be thankful for. i am excited to see some of my extended family, to cook and bake with my mom and libby (maybe kelsey will enter the kitchen if we entice her in some way ;)), chat with my Dad, and see kelsey's new college home.

my friend, hilary, who is studying abroad in DC this semester, wrote something really beautiful in her blog recently (well, actually all of her blog posts are great because she can express things so well!) about travel and home that i absolutely loved. she asks

"why do we travel? it complicates everything...maybe we travel to know what we love in the place we left behind us. maybe we travel because God has made a big wide world and wants us to enjoy it. maybe we travel because it helps us find echoes of ourselves in unexpected places. i hope that i continue to travel for all these reasons, but most importantly i hope i continue to travel to change the meaning of home."

i love how she says "echoes of ourselves in unexpected places" because i have experienced this living in massachusetts. i've found a new "home" in wenham: when i fly into logan airport i am excited to drive along the highway and see the exit signs for "Gloucester" and "Peabody" that have become so familiar to me. i feel at home when i am in the presence of my friends and i feel at home when i am studying in jenks, sitting in chaps or running to west beach. home for me is starting to mean different places and people, and i am grateful to know that God is with me in the midst of that transience, moving, discerning, discovering, and learning...because as fun and exciting as traveling and new things are, there is always a part of me that is homesick and longing for regularity and familiarity. exploring is exciting, but the leaving is always bittersweet.

so, i am excited to be going home. to be with my family and friends who have known me for most of my life and to eat turkey and stuffing around the table laughing and sharing stories. but i'm grateful that as i travel and experience new things, i don't do it alone. God is always faithful to lead me to people and fellowship that helps me to transition and grow, and to show me how much i need him, no matter where my home is.