Hospitality

I am writing this little post from the Dordt College home of the lovely Elizabeth Van Drunen. My ridiculously long choir tour (I have to do it for interim) has made a stop in northwest Iowa and I worked it out to spend the night here instead of with host families!

During choir tour, staying at all different host families (by the end of the trip I will have had 5) has taught me a lot about hospitality. Random people with customs and lifestyles foreign to me are nice enough to feed me and give me a place to stay. While there are definitely annoying elements to this whole process (for example, explaining to the 867th person that I have no clue what I will do with my English major when I graduate. or kicking myself AGAIN for forgetting shampoo.), I think it has helped prep me for my big trip this semester. A lesson learned at a providential time. In four days I will board a plane to Spain and do the exact same thing I've been doing for the past ten days: drag around my (overpacked) luggage, meet a new host family, live with a new roommate, and do my best to be cheerful and thankful in spite of being overtired and overwhelmed.

Looking ahead in an effort to start off my relationship with my Spanish host lady on the right foot, I've turned to bribery. Word on the street is that my real mom already bought some Wisconsin-themed hand towels and pillow cases to give as "nice-to-meet-you" gifts to my Spanish mom when I meet her. How smart is that?! Special K is always good with this stuff. Comes in handy.

Four more days! Thanks for reading guys...I hope my writing doesn't ramble on too much for you. You might have to get used to it.