Estamos in Madrid!  We arrived in Spain at 10:30 am Friday (1:30 am California time.) Our flight out of Dallas was delayed a bit, but I (Susan) found a nice Interfaith chapel at the airport and was able to spend some time "letting go" of the patients and hospital staff I left behind to take this trip. It was no doubt one of the first of many opportunities to relinquish control.  When we got to Madrid, we took a taxi and got to our hotel around noon. The taxi driver took one look at Gib and heard my first few words of "Vamos al Hotel Ganivet" and made the assumption we understood Spanish better than we did. :)  So he enthusiastically narrated an historical tour as we drove. (I do know we drove through the door/gate to Madrid!) We were exhausted by the time we got to the hotel. Despite noise-canceling headsets and eye masks, we didn't get much quality sleep on the plane.  So we checked into our room and I took a five hour siesta.  (Gib was good with two.)  I had to acculturate... Right?). When we woke up, it took us a while to figure out you have to use your room key to turn on the lights... It made us laugh. So simple yet so obscure. So much to see and learn.  No assumptions.  We meet up with the rest of our group for dinner tonight. It will be fun to connect. We will stay connected with you periodically, when we have Internet access and a little something to say. :) Susan and Gib

We were in the air, headed to Dallas, our pit stop on our way to Madrid, and I already had a sense of providence as we began our journey. Gib and I both left meaningful but intense work behind us last night as he left MBK and I left the hospital.  This morning, as we collected our belongings, Gib suggested I put an ID tag on my new backpack. He grabbed an old one off a suitcase too cumbersome for our trip. It was a tag I received at a UCC women's retreat in 2004.  What Gib didn't notice was the Bible verse on the tag:  Jeremiah 6:16:  "This is what The Lord says:  'Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it. And you will find rest for your souls."  We're thinking maybe that way is the Camino de Santiago." :). Susan