November 2009
November began with a new adventure—I attended a retreat for 200 Spanish women. We traveled to Torremolinos, one of the resort towns along the Costa del Sol. We checked in at Las Palomas, a hotel perched on the side of a hill. After walking many steps up from the back parking lot, we found our rooms and waited for our 8:00 pm dinner. The hotel put on a lavish buffet with dozens of choices of salads, entrees, and desserts. The cook dealt out pork chops like a card shark onto the sizzling grill. Another night, they offered jumbo garlic prawns—yum!
I enjoyed the meetings which included familiar Christian choruses in Spanish, and talks by a Spanish pastor and author. A Secret Sister exchange of gifts took over three hours! It’s wonderful to know there are dozens of evangelical churches in southern Spain, and an organization that has put on retreats for 25 years.
Spanish people are known for speaking loudly and long, and this retreat was no exception. Groups of women from each church tended to stick together for meals and meetings, and as the weekend progressed, the conversation became more animated—faster and louder-- and full of Andalusian pronunciation and slang! For this poor American, I had great difficulty keeping up and getting a word in here and there. Oh, my ears! By the time to go home on Sunday, I could hardly bear it any more. I just wanted to get home to a quiet corner.
I do love my Spanish friends and will continue to learn from them—as I did this weekend. They are kind and include you in their group, and accept your limitations.
