As the plane began to accelerate, I peered out the window, the ground below growing smaller and smaller beneath me. People around me had closed their eyes, headphones in, and for some of them, it was just another flight. But for me, it was exhilarating! I had never crossed the Atlantic before, and I was just about to begin studying abroad. I was in awe of how humans had created a way to travel such long distances in the air and how this invention was enabling me to get to my destination in just six hours.
I can’t count the number of times my jaw has dropped in a similar sense of awe during the last three months since that plane landed in Spain. Traveling to a new country and visiting all kinds of new places has given me opportunity after opportunity to be left marveling at new sights and experiences.
One of my first jaw-dropping moments was when I visited the cathedral in Toledo (a beautiful, old city an hour away from Madrid). It was my first cathedral experience of many here, but the sheer size of it was astonishing. I remember walking down the street and being amazed when I caught my first sight of it between the buildings.
My first view of the cathedral in Toledo.
Another architectural wonder that I visited was the Plaza de España in Sevilla. My friend and I went to see it one evening when our program had taken us on an excursion to the city, and it was so worth it. The plaza was created as part of a 1929 Ibero-America Exhibition, where various pavilions were constructed to represent different Latin American countries. However, the exhibition’s largest construction was this humongous plaza, whose grandeur once again made my jaw drop. Fun fact: a scene from Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones was filmed here!
My photo does not do justice to the enormity of the Plaza de España.
The wonder I’ve experienced has not been limited to man-made architecture but has included the beautiful nature I’ve encountered as well. One of the most amazing natural sights I witnessed was the Rock of Gibraltar. If you haven’t heard of this place, it’s just what it sounds like: a huge rock in the British territory of Gibraltar, near the southernmost tip of Spain. Before seeing it in person, I had no idea just how large it was. It’s so tall that it forms its own clouds, which almost makes it look like a volcano!
The towering Rock of Gibraltar (I climbed to the top!)
These moments of awe have taken on a spiritual component for me. When I look at these huge things—buildings, natural formations, etc.—I realize just how small I am. But in places that feel so grand, so different, and so far away from everything I’m used to, I’m reminded of the God I believe in, how big He is, and how well He knows me, despite my size in the grand scale of the universe.
In smaller ways, I also marvel at the fact that I get to talk in Spanish with locals and walk to school on the streets of a beautiful European city. But when I return home to the United States, I don’t want to lose this sense of wonder. Even though I won’t be visiting cathedrals or natural wonders every weekend, I hope to find awe in the everyday moments. I want to take greater notice of the small things: the details of nature, the people around me, the little adventures I have, or the ways I’ve grown. I think a healthy dose of wonder, awe, reverence—whatever you want to call it—would be good for us all.