Wait, who is we? Well, we will be starting off with seven people: Me (obviously), Jake (again, obvious), Mom, Patty (Mom's friend), Justin (my older brother by five years), Christy (my sister-in-law... also Justin's wife), and Jackie (my best friend from college). We will be quite the crew! Over the 28 days, however, we will gradually dwindle down to four: Me, Jake, Mom, and Patty.
And what is El Camino de Santiago? The short answer is that it is a trail that goes across Spain and ends in Santiago de Compostela. We will be doing the French Route, which starts in the Pyrenees mountains, between Spain and France, and heads West across Spain. For more information or to see the suggested day-by-day plan we will be following(ish), check out this website. Also, you could watch the movie "The Way" to get a visual of the journey we will be embarking upon.
Since I won't be lugging my computer around in my backpack, I'm going to try to blog via paper and pencil and then post pictures so that I can avoid the annoyance of typing on an iPad or iPhone. Here goes the trial run*...
*I think I need to write bigger next time.
As Jake and I head towards the beginning of El Camino de Santiago, we are also leaving behind our lives in Shenyang. When we return to China in August, we will be working at a different school within our company, in Wuhan. (This is the rough equivalent of moving to Tallahassee, Florida, from Boston, Massachusetts.) Our time in Shenyang was filled with blessings, challenges, and a great deal of growth. But I can't possibly begin to do the stories or people of Shenyang justice at this point, so I will resign this season of life to an unblogged existence. Nevertheless, blogged or not, this city will always have a special place in Jake's and my hearts. It is the place where we first became friends, then fell in love, and recently began our marriage. This was our first home together, but far from the last. I'm so thankful that this next time I start over in a new city, I'll get to do it with my best friend by my side.
Before we get to that point, though, we're headed off for an incredible summer adventure!
再见，沈阳。
¡Hasta pronto, Madrid!
Un abrazo,
Amber
