Of course I would be approached to share publicly my thoughts from our final week here in Cadiz, which is also the first truly trying, testing week. For us it’s almost time for our final exam, and if you’re in the upper-level Spanish class as I am, time for a twenty minute exposition of your speaking abilities. Up until this point the pace of University study seemed comfortable, but now there’s a palpable sense of apprehension and anxiety.

In the cross-cultural setting my emotions have been heightened and tonight they are precariously perched at the top of the roller coaster. For me this unfamiliar and challenging experience has led to new exploration. During one of our weekly meetings at Moira’s, she shared a devotional that resonated deeply with me. The devotion came from the book ¡Gracias! and comes back to me in a striking way tonight.

“We can come to experience our basic vulnerability, our need for others, our deep-seated feelings of ignorance and inadequacy, and our fundamental dependency. Instead of running away from these scary feelings, we can live through them together and learn that our true value as human beings has its seat far beyond our competence and accomplishments.”

I could not articulate more accurately the feelings that are revealing themselves here in Spain. Through sharing our feelings of being overwhelmed and insecure we give each other strength to face these challenges, and that’s an amazing thing to be a part of.