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| Camino de Santiago |
Friday, April 17, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Glad that's over with and Palm Sunday
I had my last "dance" class on Saturday. I would have had it on Sunday, but all of us Americans decided that we weren't going to go, which meant there were probably like 5 people there on Sunday, suckers. Saturday was pretty ridiculous, but it started out ok. We did this exercise in partners and pretty much gave each other massages and stuff, so that wasn't too bad. After that, we did an activity with 3 chairs and one person would go up and move them a certain way, and then someone else would go up and move them. We did that for an hour...yeah. After lunch, we found out that we were going to be going to one of the parks on campus. This time our activity in pairs was that one of us would close our eyes and walk around, and the other person would watch them and make sure that they didn't run into a tree or something. My friend and I participated for a little, but then we realized that we were far from the group and our teacher, so I opened my eyes. We walked over to 2 of our other friends who did the same thing. We just sat on a bench and talked for an hour. That was pretty much the best part of the whole day. Then it just got worse. Our next activity was to find an object, so I picked my chapstick, and then we were to do motions with it, so I put my chapstick on and then rolled it around on the floor and then bounced it in my hands. The next part was that we had to do it in pairs in front of everyone. So I did it no problem. Then we had to do it without the object. Ok, not so bad. Then we had to only do the movements aka make yourself look like a fool. After that, we got into pairs again and while the one person was doing the motions without their object, the other person would try to push them around and change their positions and stuff. Yeah, in other words, just do a bunch of crazy stuff and make it look like you're insane. Just wait, it gets better, after that, we had to act like there was someone pushing us around while we were doing our movements. So in case we didn't feel dumb enough, this was the cherry on top, better yet, why not do it in front of the whole class? Perfect. We were all watching each other and saying how crazy this all looks. Ridiculous. BUT it's over now!!!! Yesssssss. I don't think I could have taken another day with that crazy lady.
This Sunday was Palm Sunday, el domingo de ramos, and it started the celebrations of Semana Santa, Holy Week. During this week, they have processions with floats that people carry with statue things that represent Jesus' final days. It is so cool to be able to see this new part of the culture that I haven't seen before. The only part that I don't like is that there are people dressed up in the KKK looking outfits. These religious groups were around before the KKK, but it's still really creepy to see dozens and dozens of people dressed up like that. There are processions all day. I'm glad that I am getting the chance to see them, since I will be on the Camino de Santiago during Easter. I have been taking lots of pictures, because this is great teaching material for the future!
So, I am officially on Spring Break!! and will be until the 26th of April! Here is my plan for my 2 1/2 weeks:
9-16- going on a pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago, 60-70 miles of hiking
18-23- Mom, Dad, Aunt Margie, Aunt Star and Lillie are coming to visit and we are going to Madrid, Toledo, Malaga, Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada, Morocco and some white towns
I'm pretty excited!! I can't wait to see my family and travel with them! I will be sure to take lots of pictures! I hope everyone has a great Easter!!
This Sunday was Palm Sunday, el domingo de ramos, and it started the celebrations of Semana Santa, Holy Week. During this week, they have processions with floats that people carry with statue things that represent Jesus' final days. It is so cool to be able to see this new part of the culture that I haven't seen before. The only part that I don't like is that there are people dressed up in the KKK looking outfits. These religious groups were around before the KKK, but it's still really creepy to see dozens and dozens of people dressed up like that. There are processions all day. I'm glad that I am getting the chance to see them, since I will be on the Camino de Santiago during Easter. I have been taking lots of pictures, because this is great teaching material for the future!
So, I am officially on Spring Break!! and will be until the 26th of April! Here is my plan for my 2 1/2 weeks:
9-16- going on a pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago, 60-70 miles of hiking
18-23- Mom, Dad, Aunt Margie, Aunt Star and Lillie are coming to visit and we are going to Madrid, Toledo, Malaga, Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada, Morocco and some white towns
I'm pretty excited!! I can't wait to see my family and travel with them! I will be sure to take lots of pictures! I hope everyone has a great Easter!!
Monday, March 30, 2009
What did I get myself into...
So I had my first Direct Enrollment class, which is a 2 weekend course with the University of Alicante on Saturday from 10-2 then 4-8, and let me tell you, it was not what I, or anyone else, expected. The class is called "Cuerpo, movimiento y accion" which means "body, movement and action." So I figured that we would be dancing and moving like that. Yeah, no. We spent over 4 hours rolling around on the floor, "feeling the movements." I could not stop laughing because I felt ridiculous, along with the other Americans in the class. There were also Spanish people in the class that were actually PAYING to do all this crazy stuff. We did an activity outside in partners. The one person would close their eyes, while the other would lead them around by the back of the neck. When the exercise was over, the teacher asked us what we felt. This one Spanish girl said that when she hugged a tree, she could feel the energy from it....yeah, I had to hold back my laughter so hard. I was like you people are nuts. After our lunch break, we did another lame activity which consisted of 3 people sitting in chairs in front of everyone and they could only raise their hands...yeah...this lasted for about an hour. When I went up, I apparently wasn't raising my hand straight, and she called me out on it in front of everyone. I told her that when I normally raise my hand, I don't do it straight up. She said it seemed like I was being lazy and I was like um...ok. This was after she told me to stop laughing and smiling so much. Then the creepy old guy in our class with a crazy eye said that he liked my presence...I was like oh gee thanks...NOT. Geez louize. We ended the class with some improv dancing, but it was optional, so I opted not to do it. One of my friends got a video of it, and everyone that was "dancing" looked like they were on drugs or something. So yeah after the first day, I figured the teacher pretty much hated me.
Then on Sunday, I had the class again from 10-2, and it was so hard to wake up for it, because we all left the class saying how much we hated it and felt so dirty after being on the floor for a billion hours. The walk to the bus stop felt like the longest walk of my life, and then the ride to the University felt even longer than usual. I was not looking forward to it at all, especially now that I know I have a not-so-secret admirer...yuck! Once we got there, the difference between our culture and the Spanish culture was clearly visible. In Spain, "being on time" means if the class starts at 10, you come around 10:15. So there were all the Americans right at 10 and a little earlier, and the first Spaniard didn't come waltzing in til 10:20ish. 20 mins of waiting for a class that we hated. We finally got started and it actually wasn't bad at all. Our first activity was doing different walks across the room. It was fun watching everyone's take on what the teacher told us to do. It was actually what I expected the class to be like. After our break, we focused on speed. We got into groups and we each picked a pose and then we would switch spots and do each other's poses. Every time we would switch, we would have to go slower and slower. Our last activity was doing a string of movements 3 times at different speeds in front of the class. So with mine, I pretended like I was creeping around these wooden polls things in our class, and when I was done, my teacher said that she really liked mine, and I was like Oh! Thanks! Haha, so I don't think she hates me as much now. We didn't leave the class hating it, just dead tired, because what we did was actually like a work out, and now we are all sore from it! We only have the class this Saturday and Sunday, and then we're done, so hopefully I can survive til then!
For an update on what I'm doing, my spring break starts in a week and a half! I'm really excited, I just have a lot of work to finish before then. I also booked 2 more trips! I am going to France the first weekend in May and then Ireland in the middle of May. Also, there has been a change of plans for when I'm coming home. My new date is May 31st. A little early than what I wanted, but there's nothing I can do about it, and I know that I will be back here sometime, so I'm trying to get over it. I hope everyone is doing well, and I miss you!!
Then on Sunday, I had the class again from 10-2, and it was so hard to wake up for it, because we all left the class saying how much we hated it and felt so dirty after being on the floor for a billion hours. The walk to the bus stop felt like the longest walk of my life, and then the ride to the University felt even longer than usual. I was not looking forward to it at all, especially now that I know I have a not-so-secret admirer...yuck! Once we got there, the difference between our culture and the Spanish culture was clearly visible. In Spain, "being on time" means if the class starts at 10, you come around 10:15. So there were all the Americans right at 10 and a little earlier, and the first Spaniard didn't come waltzing in til 10:20ish. 20 mins of waiting for a class that we hated. We finally got started and it actually wasn't bad at all. Our first activity was doing different walks across the room. It was fun watching everyone's take on what the teacher told us to do. It was actually what I expected the class to be like. After our break, we focused on speed. We got into groups and we each picked a pose and then we would switch spots and do each other's poses. Every time we would switch, we would have to go slower and slower. Our last activity was doing a string of movements 3 times at different speeds in front of the class. So with mine, I pretended like I was creeping around these wooden polls things in our class, and when I was done, my teacher said that she really liked mine, and I was like Oh! Thanks! Haha, so I don't think she hates me as much now. We didn't leave the class hating it, just dead tired, because what we did was actually like a work out, and now we are all sore from it! We only have the class this Saturday and Sunday, and then we're done, so hopefully I can survive til then!
For an update on what I'm doing, my spring break starts in a week and a half! I'm really excited, I just have a lot of work to finish before then. I also booked 2 more trips! I am going to France the first weekend in May and then Ireland in the middle of May. Also, there has been a change of plans for when I'm coming home. My new date is May 31st. A little early than what I wanted, but there's nothing I can do about it, and I know that I will be back here sometime, so I'm trying to get over it. I hope everyone is doing well, and I miss you!!
Switzerland DOES have the BEST chocolate!
Last weekend I went to Switzerland and it was such a great trip! Even the flight over was amazing because we went over the Alps! There are sooo big!! And they just go on for miles as far as the eye can see! Our first stop was in Basel which is a cute little city. We checked into our hostel and went exploring. We didn't start out too well, because we got on the right bus, but wrong direction. Luckily Swiss people are really nice and told us when to get off so that we could catch the right bus. Another thing we learned is that they don't have to pay to ride the buses. Our hostel person told us that you may have to pay like once a month. So it was crazy to see people getting on the bus in the back. Once we got off at the right spot, we were surronding by cute little buildings that felt really European. We walked to the Monster Cathedral, but we couldn't get in because it was closed but we were able to go around it to where there was a balcony. We were able to see the Rhine River and the other side of the town. We were told that we should take a boat across the river which was only a 5 minute ride, if that. It was a lot of fun, and quite a touristy thing to do. After we got to the other side, we did some more exploring and got some dinner. After dinner is dessert and you know what that means...CHOCOLATE!! I had my taste of real Swiss chocolate and it was soooooooo delicious. I was hooked and now I am a chocolate snob. Later that night we went out to a pub to check out the night life. We went to a club too, but the Swiss don't know how to have a fiesta like Spanish people do. So we decided to call it a night because the next day was a trip to Lucerne!
Lucerne is where you can see the Alps, so we were all really excited to see them and the city. We hopped on a train and again we did something wrong. Apparently we sat in the first class without knowing it, so when the ticket puncher came around, he told us that we have to move. Oops! The train ride was so pretty. And we knew we were getting close when we saw a huuuuuge mountain. When we got off the train and walked outside of the station, I was in awe of what I was seeing. Lucerne is surrounded by the snow-covered Alps and it is such a beautiful place. I immediately started taking pictures and I couldn't stop staring at the Alps. It was just so cool to actually see them. We made our way to our hostel and then started exploring the new city. We started by going through the longest covered bridge in the world! Right beside the bridge is a tower that was used as a torture chamber back in the day. Nice huh. Then we made our way to the Dying Lion monument, which symbolizes the Swiss Guards who were killed during the French Revolution. It was carved out of natural rock and it was really cool. After that, we were on a mission to find a place that we could go up to get a complete view of the city and the Alps. We couldn't find any and there were towers for that purpose, but they're closed in the winter. Lame. After lunch, we took a little break to recuperate, then it was back to touring. We walked over to a little park by the lake and again, there were some great views of the Alps. We walked around to the older part of the city which had some really cool buildings that were decorated on the outside. Along the way, we stopped in some stores and got some really cool stuff and tons of chocolate. We all bought at least 10 bars of chocolate, but some of those bars were for friends and family. We went out for some dinner that night and in the distance on one of the mountains, you could see a string of lights, and I decided that some day, I will come back to Switzerland and be where those lights are on the mountain because that just looked too cool. After a full day of walking, I was dead. We were going to go out, but only 2 of my friends did. My other friend and I ended up watching Titanic in German and then Murder by Numbers in German. It was pretty funny because we had no idea what they were saying. Switzerland was such a cool country with some really nice people. I definitely want to go back!
Lucerne is where you can see the Alps, so we were all really excited to see them and the city. We hopped on a train and again we did something wrong. Apparently we sat in the first class without knowing it, so when the ticket puncher came around, he told us that we have to move. Oops! The train ride was so pretty. And we knew we were getting close when we saw a huuuuuge mountain. When we got off the train and walked outside of the station, I was in awe of what I was seeing. Lucerne is surrounded by the snow-covered Alps and it is such a beautiful place. I immediately started taking pictures and I couldn't stop staring at the Alps. It was just so cool to actually see them. We made our way to our hostel and then started exploring the new city. We started by going through the longest covered bridge in the world! Right beside the bridge is a tower that was used as a torture chamber back in the day. Nice huh. Then we made our way to the Dying Lion monument, which symbolizes the Swiss Guards who were killed during the French Revolution. It was carved out of natural rock and it was really cool. After that, we were on a mission to find a place that we could go up to get a complete view of the city and the Alps. We couldn't find any and there were towers for that purpose, but they're closed in the winter. Lame. After lunch, we took a little break to recuperate, then it was back to touring. We walked over to a little park by the lake and again, there were some great views of the Alps. We walked around to the older part of the city which had some really cool buildings that were decorated on the outside. Along the way, we stopped in some stores and got some really cool stuff and tons of chocolate. We all bought at least 10 bars of chocolate, but some of those bars were for friends and family. We went out for some dinner that night and in the distance on one of the mountains, you could see a string of lights, and I decided that some day, I will come back to Switzerland and be where those lights are on the mountain because that just looked too cool. After a full day of walking, I was dead. We were going to go out, but only 2 of my friends did. My other friend and I ended up watching Titanic in German and then Murder by Numbers in German. It was pretty funny because we had no idea what they were saying. Switzerland was such a cool country with some really nice people. I definitely want to go back!
Las Fallas de Valencia
Hola everyone! Sorry I have taken so long to post, but here is what I did in Valencia! We only went for the day, which wasn't long enough, but the reason we went was to see the Fallas, which are like huge paper mache statues that make fun of things in society or pop culture. Then the next day they light the suckers on fire! We didn't stay for that though. Luckily we had some great weather. It was sunny and warm all day. We were given a list of stuff that we should see, but it was kinda hard because there were over a million people in the city that day to see the Fallas. And let me tell you, there were people everyyyywhere. We were only able to get a few of the things on the list because we didn't have enough time. The first thing we got to was the huge wooden statue of the Virgen Mary that was decorated with flowers. There were tons of flowers surrounding her too. After that, we went into a cathedral that supposedly has the cup that Jesus used on the Last Supper. We didn't get to see it because it closed for lunch time. Instead, we had time to climb the billions of winding steps to the top of the cathedral which had some great views. After the long climb down, we went to the center of town for the Mascleta, which the only way to describe it is that it's kinda like the annoying fireworks on the 4th of July that only pop and make loud noises. Before we got to Valencia, we were told that this was a must-see, and that when we watch them, we should do it with our mouths open so that our eardrums wouldn't break because of the intense sounds they make when they go off. Yeah, they weren't joking. We somehow managed to get really close to them and they started at 2:00 and were done at 2:10. It was sooooooooo loud!! And there was smoke everywhere, and at one point, it was hard to see clearly. It was such a cool experience because there was the constant sound of loud fireworks. I took a couple videos of it to prove how crazy it was. After that we just walked around the city and enjoyed the weather. We walked around to the different neighborhoods to see their Fallas, which I took pictures of. Before we knew it, it was time to get back on the bus. It was a really fun trip, but I could have used more time there!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Foggy London Town
Hola everyone! So last weekend I finally got to travel outside of Spain and I went to London, England! It was sooooo much fun! It is such a cool city. The flight over wasn't too bad but the passport checking people were really rude and mean. I later found out that they are supposed to be like that because they don't want any immigrants and they try to ask you dumb questions to get you to trip up. I didn't appreciate it and I just wanted my passport stamped. After we got out of that mess, we soon realized that every other person from London is really nice and very willing to help you get you wherever you're going. In order to get to the place we were staying, we had to take the Tube, which is the metro. My friend and I ended up running into a couple from Madrid that has a summer house in San Juan, which is 10 mins by bus from Alicante. Their English wasn't that good and we talked to them for awhile, and they were wondering if we could translate for them so that they could get an "Oyster Card" which is the Tube pass. We were able to translate and get them their Oyster cards! Casey and I couldn't believe that we actually were able to use our Spanish, because we were afraid that we would just speak English all weekend. After a Tube ride, we met up with Casey's cousin and we went our for a drink at a Pub. I tried a Strongbow which is like a Cider beer. I really liked it. We told her cousin about the passport people and she told us that they are always mean. She also told us that it is said that you always have 3 cameras on you in London. We were like ahhhh Big Brother!! She said that they just want a safe city. Crazy...After the pub, we went back to her dorm to get some sleep and great ready to start a brand new day in the city!
The next day, we got some breakfast at the Tube station and starting our site seeing tour. Right when we got out of the Tube, the first thing we saw was Big Ben, and we were like wooooowwwww. It was just so cool to finally be able to see it. We started walking because we wanted to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, and everyone says to get there an hour early. We made it into Tralfagar Square where the National Gallery is. We asked for directions to the Palace and started the long walk. Once we got there, which was right when it was starting, we saw tons and tons of people. It was crazy. We decided that we wanted to get closer because we couldn't see anything from where we were. We were actually able to get up to one of the gates, and so we were able to get some pictures and a guy in front of us was taking a video of what was happening so I just watched it haha. It really wasn't anything that cool and sometimes it was hard to see or know what was going on. BUT, the guard band played "Singing in the Rain" so I was super pumped about that! We decided that we wanted to move on to other things, so we walked back to the square. We went into the National Gallery for a little bit and that was cool. Then we went to the London Eye, which is like a huge ferris wheel. It takes you up really high and you can see the whole city. That was really cool and I was able to take some good pictures. After the Eye, we went to the Westminster Abby. We had to pay to get in so we decided not too. A little later, 2 more of our friends arrived and we met up at the Tube station. We took the famous phone booth pictures and we were lucky enough to get ones with Big Ben in the background. For lunch, we got Fish and Chips, which is just a fried piece of fish and french fries. It was really good, and we all got pictures with it. Later that night, we went out on the town. Our first stop was at a pub, and of course, I got some Strongbow. Then we made our way to the Ice Bar. It was really cool because everything on the inside was made of ice, like the bar, the seats and the glasses! The drink I had was called the Reactor. It was delicious. After that, we went out to other bars and clubs to experience the night life in London.
The next day, we had a huge list of things we wanted to do. Our first stop was at Platform 9 3/4 which is from Harry Potter. We all got our pictures in front of it and I did a sweet jumping picture with it haha. After that, we got on a double decker bus and went to Camden Town. It was a weird and crazy place. All of the buildings of the shops were decorated with huge. Then we got back on the bus and went to Abbey Road to take the famous Beatles picture. We got some good ones and it was so cool. So many people were walking across with their friends on the other side taking pictures. We signed the wall that was in front of the Abbey House. I signed mine and I tried to take a picture of it, but it didn't come out too well, so hopefully my parents can fix it up so that it shows up. After that, we went to Saint Paul's Cathedral which was pretty cool. We were able to get in but we kinda had to hurry because a church service was going to be starting soon. Our next mission was to see the London Bridge, the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. On our way we passed Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and a sweet Pirate ship. Turns out, the London Bridge is pretty lame and the popular bridge is the Tower Bridge. We took tons of pictures and crossed the Millennium Bridge and the Tower Bridge, but not the London Bridge. Our last stop was the Tower of London, which was used as a prison back in the day. It was pretty cool. After all of our sight seeing, we went out again for one last night in London.
It was such a good trip and so much fun, because we saw so much in such a short amount of time. I definitely want to go back, and hopefully I can some day! My plans for this week are going to Valencia on Wednesday and then going to Switzerland on Thursday through Saturday. I'm really excited!! I hope everyone has a great Saint Patrick's Day! <3
The next day, we got some breakfast at the Tube station and starting our site seeing tour. Right when we got out of the Tube, the first thing we saw was Big Ben, and we were like wooooowwwww. It was just so cool to finally be able to see it. We started walking because we wanted to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, and everyone says to get there an hour early. We made it into Tralfagar Square where the National Gallery is. We asked for directions to the Palace and started the long walk. Once we got there, which was right when it was starting, we saw tons and tons of people. It was crazy. We decided that we wanted to get closer because we couldn't see anything from where we were. We were actually able to get up to one of the gates, and so we were able to get some pictures and a guy in front of us was taking a video of what was happening so I just watched it haha. It really wasn't anything that cool and sometimes it was hard to see or know what was going on. BUT, the guard band played "Singing in the Rain" so I was super pumped about that! We decided that we wanted to move on to other things, so we walked back to the square. We went into the National Gallery for a little bit and that was cool. Then we went to the London Eye, which is like a huge ferris wheel. It takes you up really high and you can see the whole city. That was really cool and I was able to take some good pictures. After the Eye, we went to the Westminster Abby. We had to pay to get in so we decided not too. A little later, 2 more of our friends arrived and we met up at the Tube station. We took the famous phone booth pictures and we were lucky enough to get ones with Big Ben in the background. For lunch, we got Fish and Chips, which is just a fried piece of fish and french fries. It was really good, and we all got pictures with it. Later that night, we went out on the town. Our first stop was at a pub, and of course, I got some Strongbow. Then we made our way to the Ice Bar. It was really cool because everything on the inside was made of ice, like the bar, the seats and the glasses! The drink I had was called the Reactor. It was delicious. After that, we went out to other bars and clubs to experience the night life in London.
The next day, we had a huge list of things we wanted to do. Our first stop was at Platform 9 3/4 which is from Harry Potter. We all got our pictures in front of it and I did a sweet jumping picture with it haha. After that, we got on a double decker bus and went to Camden Town. It was a weird and crazy place. All of the buildings of the shops were decorated with huge. Then we got back on the bus and went to Abbey Road to take the famous Beatles picture. We got some good ones and it was so cool. So many people were walking across with their friends on the other side taking pictures. We signed the wall that was in front of the Abbey House. I signed mine and I tried to take a picture of it, but it didn't come out too well, so hopefully my parents can fix it up so that it shows up. After that, we went to Saint Paul's Cathedral which was pretty cool. We were able to get in but we kinda had to hurry because a church service was going to be starting soon. Our next mission was to see the London Bridge, the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. On our way we passed Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and a sweet Pirate ship. Turns out, the London Bridge is pretty lame and the popular bridge is the Tower Bridge. We took tons of pictures and crossed the Millennium Bridge and the Tower Bridge, but not the London Bridge. Our last stop was the Tower of London, which was used as a prison back in the day. It was pretty cool. After all of our sight seeing, we went out again for one last night in London.
It was such a good trip and so much fun, because we saw so much in such a short amount of time. I definitely want to go back, and hopefully I can some day! My plans for this week are going to Valencia on Wednesday and then going to Switzerland on Thursday through Saturday. I'm really excited!! I hope everyone has a great Saint Patrick's Day! <3
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
A little weekend trip to Granada, Spain
Hola a todos! So last weekend, some of us went on a trip to Granada, and let me tell you, it was such a good trip. There weren't many of us, because a lot of people couldn't go because they had already scheduled trips for that weekend. It actually made it better, because when we go places as a big group, we realllly stick out. As a smaller group, we don't stand out as much. When we got there, we checked into our hotel, which was kinda crappy in comparison to other ones that we have stayed at with CIEE. I was in a room with 3 of my friends, and at first, we only saw 2 beds that were pushed together, and we were like oooh man we have to fit 4 people on those!! But then we found 2 more beds, so it was all good haha. After resting for a little, we took a small tour around the city. It was really cool, because a lot of the buildings have different looks to them with different accents or decorations. Granada is very different than Alicante in that aspect. We went to the main plazas, as well as a cathedral that was huuuge. After that, we had a lot of free time to eat lunch and go shopping and explore. Everyone went to the same restaurant to eat, but my friends and I decided to split from the group to find another place. A well-known thing about Granada is that at some restaurants and bars, if you order a drink, you get a tapa. So that's what we were looking for. We found a cute place and the tapas were delicious. What we didn't know was that the tapas weren't free, but luckily they weren't expensive at all, so it was all good. Then we spent the rest of the time shopping and exploring. Another well-known thing about Granada is that everything is cheap. So I was able to score some great souvenirs at great prices. We shopped til we dropped and decided to rest a bit at the hotel. After some rest, we went out for dinner, and we decided to go to the place that everyone went to for lunch. When we got there, we noticed that there was like nobody there, but we sat down anyways and ordered some drinks and picked our tapas. When we got the tapas, our eyes got kinda big because they weren't that big, and we were planning on this being our dinner. So we decided to order 2 more tapas, and that filled us up for the most part.
Then it was time for the Flamenco show!!! We all got into our bus and we were all so excited. The little place was so cute and the dancers danced in the middle of everyone. I had a pretty good seat. The dancers were so great, and it was so much fun to watch. It is just incredible how fast they can move their feet and legs like that! When the show was over, we went on a night tour to look at La Alhambra, which is a castle/mosque. It looked really cool with the lights shining on it, but my camera just couldn't capture it. After that, some of my friends and I decided to go out and enjoy the night life. It was a really fun night.
The next morning we took a tour of La Alhambra, which was amazing. As you can see, I took tonsss of pictures. It was just a beautiful day at a beautiful place. Our tour guide was really cool and easy to understand. We spent all morning there walking around and taking pictures. Then we walked back down to the city and got some lunch. After lunch, we had some more free time to do some shopping. It was a really warm, sunny day, so before it was time to leave, we laid out in the sun. I liked Granada way more than Madrid, because it felt more authentic, and not like just another city.
On Sunday, I spent all day at the beach getting my tan on, and let me tell you, I now look like a Guido from Jersey. I got really dark really quick. It was so great because we haven't had really good beach weather in like a month. Everyone was outside enjoying the beautiful day.
I have midterms this week, and I've been really stressed lately because I've been having problems with one of my professors. He assigns us way too much work, and I have him for 2 of my 3 classes, so that means I have tons of work to do. Luckily, Paco, the main director of CIEE, is going to talk to him, so hopefully things will get better.
This weekend I am off to London!! I am so excited! I am definitely gonna talk in a British accent for 90% of the trip...100% probably...haha jolly good! Well, I miss everyone sooo much, and I hope you enjoy my Granada pictures!
Then it was time for the Flamenco show!!! We all got into our bus and we were all so excited. The little place was so cute and the dancers danced in the middle of everyone. I had a pretty good seat. The dancers were so great, and it was so much fun to watch. It is just incredible how fast they can move their feet and legs like that! When the show was over, we went on a night tour to look at La Alhambra, which is a castle/mosque. It looked really cool with the lights shining on it, but my camera just couldn't capture it. After that, some of my friends and I decided to go out and enjoy the night life. It was a really fun night.
The next morning we took a tour of La Alhambra, which was amazing. As you can see, I took tonsss of pictures. It was just a beautiful day at a beautiful place. Our tour guide was really cool and easy to understand. We spent all morning there walking around and taking pictures. Then we walked back down to the city and got some lunch. After lunch, we had some more free time to do some shopping. It was a really warm, sunny day, so before it was time to leave, we laid out in the sun. I liked Granada way more than Madrid, because it felt more authentic, and not like just another city.
On Sunday, I spent all day at the beach getting my tan on, and let me tell you, I now look like a Guido from Jersey. I got really dark really quick. It was so great because we haven't had really good beach weather in like a month. Everyone was outside enjoying the beautiful day.
I have midterms this week, and I've been really stressed lately because I've been having problems with one of my professors. He assigns us way too much work, and I have him for 2 of my 3 classes, so that means I have tons of work to do. Luckily, Paco, the main director of CIEE, is going to talk to him, so hopefully things will get better.
This weekend I am off to London!! I am so excited! I am definitely gonna talk in a British accent for 90% of the trip...100% probably...haha jolly good! Well, I miss everyone sooo much, and I hope you enjoy my Granada pictures!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Madrid!!
We arrived to Madrid safe and sound. It's just crazy to think that I was here 4 years ago when I was 17. It's funny because I remember getting here and being so miserable and homesick. I appreciated everything I was seeing, but now it will actually mean something to me. I was very excited to see the city again and go on tours. This was where it all started 4 years ago!
We visited The Prado, which is an art museum, and it was so great. I made sure to see all the works of art I remembered and studied in high school. I was actually able to remember some of the things I learned about the paintings and told my friends what I knew. I went to the gift shop to see if they had a good book about the Prado and I found a great one, in Spanish of course, that explains all of the important pieces. I figured it would be very useful for classroom material. After the Prado, we went in search of some tapas. We asked someone where a good place was, but he said that there weren't any tapas bars, but a lot of places that had "raciones" like small rations of food. So we ended up at a little place and got bocadillos (sandwiches). I got a Calamari (fried rings of squid) bocadillo and it was really good. After that, we went back to the hotel to get ready to go out. We waited over an hour because people couldn't make up their minds, so my friend and I decided to just walk around for a little bit and then head back. I was really excited about the next day because we get to visit the Palace, the Reina Sofia and tons of other places.
We went to El Palacio Real and took a tour of the inside, which was incredible. The Palace has over 2,000 rooms! Each room we visited was so lavish, and it sucked that we couldn't take any pictures. Every ceiling had a beautiful painting, and they were decorated from top to bottom. Some of the uses of the rooms were funny because the rooms were so amazing. There would be a huge room, but it would just be the room where the king changed his clothes, or they would have different rooms for meals. there was a certain room for lunch and a certain room for dinner. It was a great tour. After the Palace, we had free time to walk around and go to La Plaza Mayor. It brought back memories of my first time in Spain. We ate lunch and did some shopping. I'm finding some great things for a classroom!
Then we went to El Retiro, which is just a big park area that reminded me of Central Park. It had tons of paths and some soccer fields and even a lake where people could take boats in. There was also a glass house thing which was pretty cool. It was fun exploring the park with everyone. Our next stop was the Reina Sofia which is a museum of contemporary art. This museum has the famous painting "Guernica" by Picasso. It is a huge painting and is just incredible to see. Of course, it was my second time seeing it but it was so great. We also walked around to other paintings that we knew of, but Guernica was our main objective. There is a song by one of my favorite bands that is titled "Guernica", so of course I was singing it the whole time. It was a good time. After that we went out to dinner for Kebap, which is Turkish food but it is sooooooooooooooo good. I love it. To end the night, a group of us decided to go out but we couldn't get into one club because we were 22, which was weird, so we kept searching for places and asking people, and no one seem to know of any places. We finally found a place to go but it took a while.
The next day we took a walking tour of the city, but it started out crappy because it was a little rainy and cold, but as the day went on, the weather got better. Some people didn't want to go, but I wanted to see more of the city and take more pictures. When we were done with our tour, we ate some lunch and we picked this cute little restaurant/bar. I ordered a Calamari bocadillo again, just because Madrid is known for the best Calamari, and let me tell you, it was the best Calamari I have ever had. I just couldn't stop talking about it. It was perfect and sooo delicious. It was a great note to leave Madrid on. It was such a good trip and I hope everyone likes my pictures!
We visited The Prado, which is an art museum, and it was so great. I made sure to see all the works of art I remembered and studied in high school. I was actually able to remember some of the things I learned about the paintings and told my friends what I knew. I went to the gift shop to see if they had a good book about the Prado and I found a great one, in Spanish of course, that explains all of the important pieces. I figured it would be very useful for classroom material. After the Prado, we went in search of some tapas. We asked someone where a good place was, but he said that there weren't any tapas bars, but a lot of places that had "raciones" like small rations of food. So we ended up at a little place and got bocadillos (sandwiches). I got a Calamari (fried rings of squid) bocadillo and it was really good. After that, we went back to the hotel to get ready to go out. We waited over an hour because people couldn't make up their minds, so my friend and I decided to just walk around for a little bit and then head back. I was really excited about the next day because we get to visit the Palace, the Reina Sofia and tons of other places.
We went to El Palacio Real and took a tour of the inside, which was incredible. The Palace has over 2,000 rooms! Each room we visited was so lavish, and it sucked that we couldn't take any pictures. Every ceiling had a beautiful painting, and they were decorated from top to bottom. Some of the uses of the rooms were funny because the rooms were so amazing. There would be a huge room, but it would just be the room where the king changed his clothes, or they would have different rooms for meals. there was a certain room for lunch and a certain room for dinner. It was a great tour. After the Palace, we had free time to walk around and go to La Plaza Mayor. It brought back memories of my first time in Spain. We ate lunch and did some shopping. I'm finding some great things for a classroom!
Then we went to El Retiro, which is just a big park area that reminded me of Central Park. It had tons of paths and some soccer fields and even a lake where people could take boats in. There was also a glass house thing which was pretty cool. It was fun exploring the park with everyone. Our next stop was the Reina Sofia which is a museum of contemporary art. This museum has the famous painting "Guernica" by Picasso. It is a huge painting and is just incredible to see. Of course, it was my second time seeing it but it was so great. We also walked around to other paintings that we knew of, but Guernica was our main objective. There is a song by one of my favorite bands that is titled "Guernica", so of course I was singing it the whole time. It was a good time. After that we went out to dinner for Kebap, which is Turkish food but it is sooooooooooooooo good. I love it. To end the night, a group of us decided to go out but we couldn't get into one club because we were 22, which was weird, so we kept searching for places and asking people, and no one seem to know of any places. We finally found a place to go but it took a while.
The next day we took a walking tour of the city, but it started out crappy because it was a little rainy and cold, but as the day went on, the weather got better. Some people didn't want to go, but I wanted to see more of the city and take more pictures. When we were done with our tour, we ate some lunch and we picked this cute little restaurant/bar. I ordered a Calamari bocadillo again, just because Madrid is known for the best Calamari, and let me tell you, it was the best Calamari I have ever had. I just couldn't stop talking about it. It was perfect and sooo delicious. It was a great note to leave Madrid on. It was such a good trip and I hope everyone likes my pictures!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Carnaval, Tapas and Intercambios
Hola a todos!! I hope everyone is doing well! Everything is going pretty well here! So let me give you an update on what's been going on! This past weekend was Carnaval here and it was a lot of fun! It is pretty much like Mardi Gras in the sense of partying hard before Lent. So everyone was out in the street drinking and living it up! Also, you're supposed to dress up. I was a hippie, but it kinda looks more like a flower child. Some of the costumes the locals wore were absolutely crazy. As you will see in my pictures, many men dressed like women and some costumes were just absurd and out there! It was such a cool experience. The only thing I didn't like was that there were 2 stages with live music and the one that my friends and I were at, they were playing really old American music, like "You ain't nothing but a hound dog" and songs like that. So we were like umm why are they playing this because no one but us knows what they're saying haha. It was kinda weird. It was just crazy to see the whole city out in the street. There were even families with their kids out. It was just a huge celebration for everyone of all ages.
A common thing here is something called Tapas, which are kinda like appetizers. There are so many different types of Tapas and I pretty much love them all. So I decided to take a 2 day class on how to make some of the main ones. It was really cool because we got to watch a chef make them and then we got to eat them when we were done! We were allowed to help make them if we wanted but I was sick for the first class and I didn't want to risk it for the second class, so I just watched. We got the recipes for them too, so I can try to make them when I come back home, or even make them for my future class! It was a lot of fun and a great way to experience the Spanish culture.
I have met up with my intercambios 2 more times since my last post and every time we have a good time together. It is just really cool actually having Spanish friends that you can talk to and hold conversations with. We keep making all of these plans that we want to do as a group, like go to Vikky's campo (little country house) and eat Paella, or go to the beach and play volleyball, or go out to the barrio. They are really easy to talk to you and it is so great being able to practice Spanish with them. I'm really glad that I got Vikky and Isa because a lot of people have not been able to meet up with their intercambios, so I'm really lucky.
This weekend we are going to Madrid!! I'm so excited! I will take lots of pictures and tell you guys all about it when I get back! And here are my upcoming trips:
March 6-7: Granada, Spain
March 12-15: London, England
March 18: Valencia, Spain
March 19-21: Basel, Switzerland
It's gonna be a busy month, but I'm so ready to travel and see more of the world!! I miss everyone so much!! Muchos besos!! (Many kisses)
A common thing here is something called Tapas, which are kinda like appetizers. There are so many different types of Tapas and I pretty much love them all. So I decided to take a 2 day class on how to make some of the main ones. It was really cool because we got to watch a chef make them and then we got to eat them when we were done! We were allowed to help make them if we wanted but I was sick for the first class and I didn't want to risk it for the second class, so I just watched. We got the recipes for them too, so I can try to make them when I come back home, or even make them for my future class! It was a lot of fun and a great way to experience the Spanish culture.
I have met up with my intercambios 2 more times since my last post and every time we have a good time together. It is just really cool actually having Spanish friends that you can talk to and hold conversations with. We keep making all of these plans that we want to do as a group, like go to Vikky's campo (little country house) and eat Paella, or go to the beach and play volleyball, or go out to the barrio. They are really easy to talk to you and it is so great being able to practice Spanish with them. I'm really glad that I got Vikky and Isa because a lot of people have not been able to meet up with their intercambios, so I'm really lucky.
This weekend we are going to Madrid!! I'm so excited! I will take lots of pictures and tell you guys all about it when I get back! And here are my upcoming trips:
March 6-7: Granada, Spain
March 12-15: London, England
March 18: Valencia, Spain
March 19-21: Basel, Switzerland
It's gonna be a busy month, but I'm so ready to travel and see more of the world!! I miss everyone so much!! Muchos besos!! (Many kisses)
Monday, February 16, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
¡Gracias, San Valentín!
Happy late Valentine´s Day to everyone!! Mine was different over here. Apparently it´s mainly just celebrated by couples, so my familia didn´t have anything for me. It was weird because usually my mom gives all of us kids goodie bags and cards and stuff like that. I got my familia a card and Amy´s one too. I think they appreciated the gesture. It was kind of a depressing day for me, because it really made me miss home and being with everyone on Valentine´s Day. I was pretty bummed. Plus, I´m sorta coming down with something. I barely have a voice and I don´t really feel like myself. Also, Ivan and Noelia came back from their honeymoon and they had tons of gifts for everyone, except me. I mean, yeah, I shouldn´t expect anything, but I was invited to the wedding, and I´m supposed to be part of the family. So not even getting something small made me feel really left out, and I knew that if I was at home, I would be getting tons of little gifts. So yeah...pretty depressing, but don´t worry it got better...
That night, we had the chance to go to a Hércules soccer game, which is Alicante´s team. We were supposed to go as a group, but we were never given a time or a place to meet to buy the tickets, so Amy and I just took the bus there and made our way to the stadium. We asked someone where to buy tickets and they told us to go to the other side of the stadium. So we did that and decided to ask a security guard where to go from there. He said just wait a second...and he dug in his pocket and pulled out 2 tickets!! And we were like oooh mannn!! Gracias!! And he said it was because of Saint Valentine and that he was in love with us (that is something normal to say over here, so we just laughed it off). So we took our free tickets and made our way inside. We actually scored some pretty good seats, like 10 or so rows from the field. The game was so much fun. We missed the first goal they scored because we were outside, as well as the other team´s first goal. It was just crazy being around all of the crazy Spaniards. My dad would have fit right in because if they didn´t like a call or something bad happened, they would all do a sharp, shrill whistle. And of course there was lots of chanting. We would clap along and chant but we weren´t sure what they were saying sometimes. They also handed out blue and white carnations to all of the girls, and luckily we were able to get them! We took lots of pictures and I will have them up on here soon. Hércules ended up winning 4-2!! Champeones!! Champeones!! I definitely want to go to another game, and I want a Hércules scarf and t shirt too!!
So even though it started out crappy, I had a good Valentine´s Day with my free tix and some great soccer! Tonight, me and Amy are going with our madres to see Australia! I´m pretty excited!
That night, we had the chance to go to a Hércules soccer game, which is Alicante´s team. We were supposed to go as a group, but we were never given a time or a place to meet to buy the tickets, so Amy and I just took the bus there and made our way to the stadium. We asked someone where to buy tickets and they told us to go to the other side of the stadium. So we did that and decided to ask a security guard where to go from there. He said just wait a second...and he dug in his pocket and pulled out 2 tickets!! And we were like oooh mannn!! Gracias!! And he said it was because of Saint Valentine and that he was in love with us (that is something normal to say over here, so we just laughed it off). So we took our free tickets and made our way inside. We actually scored some pretty good seats, like 10 or so rows from the field. The game was so much fun. We missed the first goal they scored because we were outside, as well as the other team´s first goal. It was just crazy being around all of the crazy Spaniards. My dad would have fit right in because if they didn´t like a call or something bad happened, they would all do a sharp, shrill whistle. And of course there was lots of chanting. We would clap along and chant but we weren´t sure what they were saying sometimes. They also handed out blue and white carnations to all of the girls, and luckily we were able to get them! We took lots of pictures and I will have them up on here soon. Hércules ended up winning 4-2!! Champeones!! Champeones!! I definitely want to go to another game, and I want a Hércules scarf and t shirt too!!
So even though it started out crappy, I had a good Valentine´s Day with my free tix and some great soccer! Tonight, me and Amy are going with our madres to see Australia! I´m pretty excited!
Friday, February 13, 2009
I could become a movie star. . .
¡Hola everyone! I hope you are having a great Friday the 13th! Here´s a fun fact for you, over here, the unlucky day is Tuesday the 13th. So there you go! I´ve had a pretty good week filled with classes and good food! I´m enjoying most of my classes, but one of them is pretty boring and hard to get through usually. It´s still been pretty windy here, so that puts a damper on things. Recently, a production crew for an upcoming movie (probably just a low budget movie that will go straight to dvd) called Mr. Nice, came to Alicante University looking for Americans that are willing to be extras in the movie! They said they were looking for California girls, beach type girls, cops and people like that. And we were all like yeah why not!! So we filled out our information and they took a picture of each one of us. I´m not sure when we´ll know if they´re gonna use us. I´m not holding my breath, because I have dark hair, so I don´t really fit the California girl, but I do have a good chance of being in it because they said they could use all of us. So I could potentially become a movie star...haha.
Another exciting thing this week was that we got our "intercambios", which are Spanish students from the University that pretty much become our friends. They help us with our Spanish, and we help them with their English. It´s a good deal. I got 2 girls in my group, Isabel and Victoria. They are both 21, like me, and they are both from Alicante. Their English is pretty good, but they said that my Spanish was better. I was pretty flattered by that haha. After we got to know them and asked some ice breaker questions, they wanted to know if we wanted to hang out that night! We were like sure!! I was so excited that these girls genuinely wanted to be our friends! So we met up with them later that night at a pub for some drinks. We spent half of our time speaking Spanish and the other half speaking English. It was so much fun, and they are really nice girls. When we were done, we scheduled to meet up again another day! I am so happy that this is working out, because it´s really going to help me with my language development. I´m really looking forward to spending more time with Isabel and Victoria.
Tomorrow, we are going to a Hercules soccer game, which is Alicante´s team. I´m really excited because I know it´s gonna be a lot of fun. Right now I´m in the process of planning a trip to London and a trip to Switzerland!! I really hope everything works out! I hope everyone has a great Día de San Valentín!!
Another exciting thing this week was that we got our "intercambios", which are Spanish students from the University that pretty much become our friends. They help us with our Spanish, and we help them with their English. It´s a good deal. I got 2 girls in my group, Isabel and Victoria. They are both 21, like me, and they are both from Alicante. Their English is pretty good, but they said that my Spanish was better. I was pretty flattered by that haha. After we got to know them and asked some ice breaker questions, they wanted to know if we wanted to hang out that night! We were like sure!! I was so excited that these girls genuinely wanted to be our friends! So we met up with them later that night at a pub for some drinks. We spent half of our time speaking Spanish and the other half speaking English. It was so much fun, and they are really nice girls. When we were done, we scheduled to meet up again another day! I am so happy that this is working out, because it´s really going to help me with my language development. I´m really looking forward to spending more time with Isabel and Victoria.
Tomorrow, we are going to a Hercules soccer game, which is Alicante´s team. I´m really excited because I know it´s gonna be a lot of fun. Right now I´m in the process of planning a trip to London and a trip to Switzerland!! I really hope everything works out! I hope everyone has a great Día de San Valentín!!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Tons of new stuff!
So I just posted all of my pictures, which turned out to be 8 albums and I also wrote a new post! Make sure you check everything out! Enjoy!
Museo, Murcia, and Altea!
On Wednesday, a few of us went to the Mueso de Hogueras, which is the Museum of the Bonfires. It's a museum dedicated to their biggest celebration of the year which is la Fiesta de Hogueras. What happens is people, artists of course, create these huge works of art in the shape of people from wood and other materials. They can be stories high. There are smaller ones for the kids too. The festival is from June 19th-24th, and it just a week long of partying. They parade these floats down the streets and on the last day of the celebration, they light them on fire! I will come back some day to see it!
On Friday, we had a day trip to Murcia, which is a little over an hour south of Alicante. It was a really beautiful city with accents of an old European city that are so great to see. We had a full day of activities. First, we went to the Cathedral which was so big and it had so many details in its decoration. Our tour guide took us inside the Cathedral which was pretty cool and explained the history behind it. It was really interesting because Alicante doesn't really have a Cathedral like that. After spending a couple hours at the Cathedral, we went to a museum that was built around some of the remains of the old Arabian wall that surrounded the city hundreds of years ago. We actually got to be in a room with the wall all around us. Of course I had to touch it. It was a really cool museum, but it was hard for all of us to pay attention because we were starving to death. My friends and I ate lunch on a set of steps outside one of the doors of the Cathedral. The sun was shining and finally our bellies were full. Then we were on a mission to find a cute cafe for some dessert and coffee (hot chocolate for me). We ended up at this cute place that had delicious crepes. After the cafe, the group walked around the city to the river which was also beautiful. We made our way to another little museum that was filled with bull fighting stuff. It even had bull heads mounted on the wall which was kinda weird but I liked it...sorry mom...lol. It was really cool seeing all the different pictures from bull fights and all of the matadors and their costumes that they wear. After that museum, we went to one final museum that had parade floats that were of Jesus' last days. The statue things were carved out of wood and they looked so real. They parade them around during Semana Santa, which is the week of Easter. It was a really interesting museum, but sadly, we weren't allowed to take pictures. And, of course, right when we got in there, I looked up at the ceiling and was like oooh man, I want to take a picture so bad. You would have been dying mom haha. Overall it was a really cool trip and a beautiful city.
On Saturday, me and 3 other friends went to Altea for the day. It was around an hour south from Alicante, and that's actually close to where my family is staying when they visit me, remember mom? Right when we got off the tram, we immediately walked to the beach and we were in awe. It was so beautiful. The water was greenish blue and it just looked perfect. Of course there were palm trees everywhere. And the beach was made up of white pebbles. It was so sunny and we couldn't stop staring at everything. It was just too cool. We wandered around the main street by the beach that had tons of places to eat and was filled with British people on holiday, so it was funny to hear a lot of English being spoken for a change. We decided to find the famous church with the blue top, so we started walking around the city. We took a lot of back roads that had all those cool alley ways that everyone loves. We finally hiked up to the top and it was so beautiful. The view from the top was incredible too. You could just see forever. We stood there for a while because we couldn't look away. After that, we decided to stop at a cafe. Well, we picked one and sat down and they handed us the menus and we realized that we didn't want anything on it. So we decided that we were gonna make our escape when the waitress left. So when she did we quick grabbed our stuff and didn't look back. We then went into a French cafe that looked pretty cute. We asked for some Goffres and some crepes and we decided to get cocktails because that's just what you do in Spain. Well, the drinks were pretty strong, so every time we took a sip, we would each make a face, and then we would chase it with our desserts haha. It was pretty funny. After that, we went back to the beach to wait for the next tram. We threw pebbles in the sea and listened to the water against the pebbles. It was pretty much the best sound in the world haha. It was a great day trip and we all want to come back when it's warmer!
On Friday, we had a day trip to Murcia, which is a little over an hour south of Alicante. It was a really beautiful city with accents of an old European city that are so great to see. We had a full day of activities. First, we went to the Cathedral which was so big and it had so many details in its decoration. Our tour guide took us inside the Cathedral which was pretty cool and explained the history behind it. It was really interesting because Alicante doesn't really have a Cathedral like that. After spending a couple hours at the Cathedral, we went to a museum that was built around some of the remains of the old Arabian wall that surrounded the city hundreds of years ago. We actually got to be in a room with the wall all around us. Of course I had to touch it. It was a really cool museum, but it was hard for all of us to pay attention because we were starving to death. My friends and I ate lunch on a set of steps outside one of the doors of the Cathedral. The sun was shining and finally our bellies were full. Then we were on a mission to find a cute cafe for some dessert and coffee (hot chocolate for me). We ended up at this cute place that had delicious crepes. After the cafe, the group walked around the city to the river which was also beautiful. We made our way to another little museum that was filled with bull fighting stuff. It even had bull heads mounted on the wall which was kinda weird but I liked it...sorry mom...lol. It was really cool seeing all the different pictures from bull fights and all of the matadors and their costumes that they wear. After that museum, we went to one final museum that had parade floats that were of Jesus' last days. The statue things were carved out of wood and they looked so real. They parade them around during Semana Santa, which is the week of Easter. It was a really interesting museum, but sadly, we weren't allowed to take pictures. And, of course, right when we got in there, I looked up at the ceiling and was like oooh man, I want to take a picture so bad. You would have been dying mom haha. Overall it was a really cool trip and a beautiful city.
On Saturday, me and 3 other friends went to Altea for the day. It was around an hour south from Alicante, and that's actually close to where my family is staying when they visit me, remember mom? Right when we got off the tram, we immediately walked to the beach and we were in awe. It was so beautiful. The water was greenish blue and it just looked perfect. Of course there were palm trees everywhere. And the beach was made up of white pebbles. It was so sunny and we couldn't stop staring at everything. It was just too cool. We wandered around the main street by the beach that had tons of places to eat and was filled with British people on holiday, so it was funny to hear a lot of English being spoken for a change. We decided to find the famous church with the blue top, so we started walking around the city. We took a lot of back roads that had all those cool alley ways that everyone loves. We finally hiked up to the top and it was so beautiful. The view from the top was incredible too. You could just see forever. We stood there for a while because we couldn't look away. After that, we decided to stop at a cafe. Well, we picked one and sat down and they handed us the menus and we realized that we didn't want anything on it. So we decided that we were gonna make our escape when the waitress left. So when she did we quick grabbed our stuff and didn't look back. We then went into a French cafe that looked pretty cute. We asked for some Goffres and some crepes and we decided to get cocktails because that's just what you do in Spain. Well, the drinks were pretty strong, so every time we took a sip, we would each make a face, and then we would chase it with our desserts haha. It was pretty funny. After that, we went back to the beach to wait for the next tram. We threw pebbles in the sea and listened to the water against the pebbles. It was pretty much the best sound in the world haha. It was a great day trip and we all want to come back when it's warmer!
Monday, February 2, 2009
My abuela tried to run away...
Today took an interesting turn for sort of the worst. I started doing my homework and my grandma who is really old and has Alzheimer's came into my room to talk to me. Usually when we talk, I just nod my head and smile, because she is hard to understand sometimes. But today, I understood her. She asked me if I was going anywhere and I told her that Amy and I were going to an Internet Cafe. She asked when and I said 6:30 because I figured we were just making conversation. She asked to come with me and I said oh...I don't know. She said that she would pay for herself. Then she asked me about going to the beach and stuff like that. Eventually she walked out of my room and into her room but left my door slightly cracked open. Then I heard the front door shut and both me and my madre got up and walked into the hallway and realized that she escaped! My madre ran out and meanwhile my abuela made her way downstairs and out another door, but there is also a gate that she would have to open to actually get out. It was so crazy because she just wanted to get out. For the next hour Amy, my madre and I had to babysit her and make sure she didn't try to leave again, which she did but we stopped her. She gave herself away because she would have her coat in her hands. She just kept asking Amy and I to take her with us wherever we were going. We kept telling her that we weren't going anywhere because we had homework. She asked us if we knew where the bus goes and if we could take her there but we said no that we had to stay here. And then when we left to go to the cafe, she was right behind us trying to get out. I just felt so bad because she didn't want to listen to my madre and she was so confused as to why she couldn't leave. It was a crazy night, and needless to say, I couldn't do my homework during that time because I was on Grandma watch. Yeah, I thought that she was my great grandma, but the lady that I thought was my grandma is my padre's sister. It was just another crazy day in Spain, but any advice on how to deal with her because I know that Poppy had Alzheimer's too. And my abuela always asks me where I live and if I am going home to my mom, and I always tell her that I live here and that I'm from the United States. It's kinda hard because I don't know how to handle people that are losing it. And my madre was pretty frazzled too, and she thinks it was because she gave my abuela too much coffee haha. Who knows. Now I know I just have to keep an eye out just in case she goes A wall again!
Sunday, February 1, 2009
A Wedding to Remember: Enlace Iván y Noelia
This wedding was by far the best wedding I have ever been to. The fun actually didn´t start on the wedding day, but the night before the wedding. I was in the computer room around maybe 11ish and I was pretty tired, so I was getting ready to go to bed soon. But then I heard some loud voices and it didn´t seem like it was coming from the tv or the radio. And then I heard some commotion in the living room and so I came out to see what was going on and everyone was looking outside, which was where the loud voices were coming from. When I looked out the window, it was Iván, my hermana Noelia´s fiance, singing to her, which a big group of their friends and her family. There were guys playing guitar and everyone was singing. Iván was even wearing a cape haha. He also had a huge bouquet of flowers for her. They also set up a small canon of fireworks that just shoot out sparklers. It was sooo cute. She couldn´t believe it and she kept saying "the neighbors the neighbors!" because it was late haha. When they were done singing, they all came upstairs to our apartment! Right then, my madre and my aunt-in-law, went right into party mode. They moved the table and pulled it out to make it bigger, put tablecloths down and cookies out. When the whole group came upstairs, they were still singing and playing their guitars. And they brought tons of food too! By this time, it was around 11:30 and the party was just getting started. Noelia was just so surprised. People stayed til after 12 and then we cleaned everything up.
Then came the wedding day!! I got ready and showered at Amy´s apartment, which is the next door down, so that I wouldn´t be in the way. I heard people up before 7 and hair and makeup people were coming at 8:30, and the wedding started at 12. So I got out of that chaos pretty quick. When I finally came back, Noelia had her dress on and was in the living room taking pictures. She looked so beautiful with everything put together. And don´t worry, I will get my pictures up as soon as I can. When we got to the church, we sat in the middle section, and thanks to my crazy mom and her brainwashing...I mean...great parenting, I made sure I got an aisle seat so that I could try to get the best pictures (and I was in the second row mom. Thanks for making me a picture freak too). The church was really beautiful. Simply decorated too. And to the right, there was a section where people sit if they want to sing. There was a projector that put up pictures of them and lyrics to songs. There were also guitar players. All of the songs were great. They talked about how the party is here and sharing love and songs about praising God. During the ceremony, her brothers and one of her brother´s wife (who helped a lot during the wedding) read selections from the Bible. Also, the minister talked about their love story, and some of the younger family members came out with cartoon pictures that illustrated what he said. It was so cute, and then he talked about what brought them together and what they have in common, and each kid flipped their heart paper and some of them said music or God and things like that. And then when 2 people started singing, we heard a lot of little kid voices singing too, and in walked the class of students that she teaches, all holding paper hearts. That´s when Noelia started crying because she was so surprised and happy that they were all there. Then some of them said a little blurb about love. And I hate to admit this because my mom is gonna hate me but....I didn´t get a picture of the kiss. But it wasn´t my fault!! I had my camera up and everything and they did a super quick one! You would have been really mad mom, and had them re-do it later haha. They also had their first communion together as a married couple and everyone else did it too...except for the 3 American girls that stuck out like sore thumbs haha. The last thing they did was sign their marriage license. Then the craziness started...PICTURES. It was a mad house. There were so many people, and the photographer didn´t really organize them. He just kinda had them get close and then snapped it...maybe you shouldn´t read this part mom, because you might go crazy. But like some people had their coats on and some people weren´t paying attention, or they were too far back in the line up so you couldn´t really see their face that well. It was definitely different from our photo sessions. Once the pictures were done, we all went outside and threw rice at the novios. Now it´s time to party!
The reception was at a restaurant right on the sea. There was glass, so you could see the water and the castle too. We all started with appetizers and drinks. There were too butchers cutting a leg of a pig, and that meat is called jamón serano, which is just a salty ham, but I don´t like the taste. There´s actually a leg of a pig just hanging out in my kitchen. I will take a picture of it to show you guys what I´m talking about. The apetizers were soooo good. I sat at a table with my 2 hermanos and their wives, one of the wives´ mom and a cousin and his wife...I think. The photographer was going around to each table and taking pictures of the couples and I felt left out because I know I´m not a real part of the family, I am for the time being. So after all the couples got their pictures taken, my one hermano, "Francie", asked the photographer to take a picture of him and I and that made me really happy. He actually comes to our house every day for lunch. So that made me feel better. The food was good but it was really different. I tried everything and I kinda liked it, but it´s just tricky have a couple different tastes and flavors in your mouth. With most of it, I would eat half. Francie kept hounding me because he said I wasn´t eating anything, and I kept telling him that I eat, I just don´t like salad or the taste of something. I ate all of the main meal though, which looked like a pork fajita or somethng. The dessert was really good too. They didn´t cut a cake though. Instead, they had a chocolate fountain which was sooo good. While we were eating, if we wanted the novios to kiss, everyone would start chanting "que se bese" which means that they kiss. And then they would count how many seconds they would kiss for and everyone would be oooing and awwwing and shouting. They would also scream "Viva los novios" or "Viva el novio" or "Viva la novia" and they all mean long live the couple, groom or bride. Also, the people at my table were crazy. They associated my name with Hollywood, and they wanted to know what the words Holly and wood meant in spanish, so I just said that holly is like a little tree and wood is like the trunk of the tree. And then the joke was that they were going to go to Hollywood and stuff. Oh and like every other Spaniard, when they asked me where I was from and I said Pennsylvania they said "Oh!! Like Dracula!!" and I´m like noooo, that´s Transylvania, and they were like oooooh hahahha. And I was like yeah....haha. Also, like every wedding, there was a creeper that like us American girls and he even asked for a picture with me, like I was an American novelty or something. But I don´t even look that foreign but whatever...haha.
Then the party really started...DANCING! And let me tell you, the Spaniards in my familia are crazzzzzy. Everyone was dancing. My other brother even brought my great grandma out on the dance floor. It was so cute. She looked like she was having a lot of fun. All of the guys were doing a bunch of crazy dance moves with each other and it was hilarious to watch. Like one of them would be doing something one way, and another would do it the other direction. They would also dance really close to each other like right up against each other and in each other´s faces haha. It was actually really funny. Even my padres were dancing. I danced with my hermanos and my padres. It was so much fun because you could dance however you wanted because you knew that the guys were doing crazier stuff than you! And the music was great because 90% of it was actual Spanish music which was great. I was hoping to catch the bouquet but of course there was an even taller girl that me who caught it because she didn´t even have to jump. Cheater. The gifts they passed out were cigars and chocolate for the guys and herb type stuff and cigarettes for the ladies, which I thought that that was kinda weird to give cigarettes as a gift, but everyone smokes in Europe so it´s not that big of a deal. Also, one of their friends put together a little powerpoint of pictures of Iván and Noelia throughout the years. There were some really cute baby pictures. And he also had pictures and videos of the bachelor and bachelorette parties. The girls went out to a bar and the guys went up to the mountains. Iván wore a batman costume for most of the party weekend which was really funny. It was so nice of their friend to put something like that together for them. We danced like fools until 8, and then the party moved to a bar type place for more dancing and drinking!
The bar was a lot of fun too because Iván and Noelia were dancing with everyone. She really got her wear out of her dress. Francie bought a Piña Colada for me which was pretty good and we danced the night away. It was such a fun atmosphere. Around 10:30ish or something, Iván and Noelia said that they wanted to get something to eat and we could all come, so of course I wanted to so we went to a place around the corner. Many tables had to be pushed together on the patio and they even turned on a heater thing that was thankfully set by me so I was nice and toasty. We all ate tapas which were sooooo good. And we talked and laughed and had a really good time. Around midnight we called it a night and the novios made their way back to the hotel, and I got home around 1.
The wedding was one of the highlights of my life, because I feel that it brought me closer to my family than the other students in the program. I was able to just relax and let loose around them and have a good time. I am now dreading any American weddings that I have to go to because they can´t compare to this. It was just a different atmosphere and we were able to spend so much time with Iván and Noelia. It seemed like an actual celebration instead of just a boring wedding that you are only going to for the free meal. Also, there was no chicken dance, the macarena, electric slide or any other lame dance song. It was all salsa sounding music that was great to dance to. I just loved it, and now I want my wedding to only have Spanish guests because they know how to throw a good wedding. I am just so glad that Noelia let me come and be a part of her special day because it was amazing. It was definitely a wedding to remember. Viva los novios!!
Then came the wedding day!! I got ready and showered at Amy´s apartment, which is the next door down, so that I wouldn´t be in the way. I heard people up before 7 and hair and makeup people were coming at 8:30, and the wedding started at 12. So I got out of that chaos pretty quick. When I finally came back, Noelia had her dress on and was in the living room taking pictures. She looked so beautiful with everything put together. And don´t worry, I will get my pictures up as soon as I can. When we got to the church, we sat in the middle section, and thanks to my crazy mom and her brainwashing...I mean...great parenting, I made sure I got an aisle seat so that I could try to get the best pictures (and I was in the second row mom. Thanks for making me a picture freak too). The church was really beautiful. Simply decorated too. And to the right, there was a section where people sit if they want to sing. There was a projector that put up pictures of them and lyrics to songs. There were also guitar players. All of the songs were great. They talked about how the party is here and sharing love and songs about praising God. During the ceremony, her brothers and one of her brother´s wife (who helped a lot during the wedding) read selections from the Bible. Also, the minister talked about their love story, and some of the younger family members came out with cartoon pictures that illustrated what he said. It was so cute, and then he talked about what brought them together and what they have in common, and each kid flipped their heart paper and some of them said music or God and things like that. And then when 2 people started singing, we heard a lot of little kid voices singing too, and in walked the class of students that she teaches, all holding paper hearts. That´s when Noelia started crying because she was so surprised and happy that they were all there. Then some of them said a little blurb about love. And I hate to admit this because my mom is gonna hate me but....I didn´t get a picture of the kiss. But it wasn´t my fault!! I had my camera up and everything and they did a super quick one! You would have been really mad mom, and had them re-do it later haha. They also had their first communion together as a married couple and everyone else did it too...except for the 3 American girls that stuck out like sore thumbs haha. The last thing they did was sign their marriage license. Then the craziness started...PICTURES. It was a mad house. There were so many people, and the photographer didn´t really organize them. He just kinda had them get close and then snapped it...maybe you shouldn´t read this part mom, because you might go crazy. But like some people had their coats on and some people weren´t paying attention, or they were too far back in the line up so you couldn´t really see their face that well. It was definitely different from our photo sessions. Once the pictures were done, we all went outside and threw rice at the novios. Now it´s time to party!
The reception was at a restaurant right on the sea. There was glass, so you could see the water and the castle too. We all started with appetizers and drinks. There were too butchers cutting a leg of a pig, and that meat is called jamón serano, which is just a salty ham, but I don´t like the taste. There´s actually a leg of a pig just hanging out in my kitchen. I will take a picture of it to show you guys what I´m talking about. The apetizers were soooo good. I sat at a table with my 2 hermanos and their wives, one of the wives´ mom and a cousin and his wife...I think. The photographer was going around to each table and taking pictures of the couples and I felt left out because I know I´m not a real part of the family, I am for the time being. So after all the couples got their pictures taken, my one hermano, "Francie", asked the photographer to take a picture of him and I and that made me really happy. He actually comes to our house every day for lunch. So that made me feel better. The food was good but it was really different. I tried everything and I kinda liked it, but it´s just tricky have a couple different tastes and flavors in your mouth. With most of it, I would eat half. Francie kept hounding me because he said I wasn´t eating anything, and I kept telling him that I eat, I just don´t like salad or the taste of something. I ate all of the main meal though, which looked like a pork fajita or somethng. The dessert was really good too. They didn´t cut a cake though. Instead, they had a chocolate fountain which was sooo good. While we were eating, if we wanted the novios to kiss, everyone would start chanting "que se bese" which means that they kiss. And then they would count how many seconds they would kiss for and everyone would be oooing and awwwing and shouting. They would also scream "Viva los novios" or "Viva el novio" or "Viva la novia" and they all mean long live the couple, groom or bride. Also, the people at my table were crazy. They associated my name with Hollywood, and they wanted to know what the words Holly and wood meant in spanish, so I just said that holly is like a little tree and wood is like the trunk of the tree. And then the joke was that they were going to go to Hollywood and stuff. Oh and like every other Spaniard, when they asked me where I was from and I said Pennsylvania they said "Oh!! Like Dracula!!" and I´m like noooo, that´s Transylvania, and they were like oooooh hahahha. And I was like yeah....haha. Also, like every wedding, there was a creeper that like us American girls and he even asked for a picture with me, like I was an American novelty or something. But I don´t even look that foreign but whatever...haha.
Then the party really started...DANCING! And let me tell you, the Spaniards in my familia are crazzzzzy. Everyone was dancing. My other brother even brought my great grandma out on the dance floor. It was so cute. She looked like she was having a lot of fun. All of the guys were doing a bunch of crazy dance moves with each other and it was hilarious to watch. Like one of them would be doing something one way, and another would do it the other direction. They would also dance really close to each other like right up against each other and in each other´s faces haha. It was actually really funny. Even my padres were dancing. I danced with my hermanos and my padres. It was so much fun because you could dance however you wanted because you knew that the guys were doing crazier stuff than you! And the music was great because 90% of it was actual Spanish music which was great. I was hoping to catch the bouquet but of course there was an even taller girl that me who caught it because she didn´t even have to jump. Cheater. The gifts they passed out were cigars and chocolate for the guys and herb type stuff and cigarettes for the ladies, which I thought that that was kinda weird to give cigarettes as a gift, but everyone smokes in Europe so it´s not that big of a deal. Also, one of their friends put together a little powerpoint of pictures of Iván and Noelia throughout the years. There were some really cute baby pictures. And he also had pictures and videos of the bachelor and bachelorette parties. The girls went out to a bar and the guys went up to the mountains. Iván wore a batman costume for most of the party weekend which was really funny. It was so nice of their friend to put something like that together for them. We danced like fools until 8, and then the party moved to a bar type place for more dancing and drinking!
The bar was a lot of fun too because Iván and Noelia were dancing with everyone. She really got her wear out of her dress. Francie bought a Piña Colada for me which was pretty good and we danced the night away. It was such a fun atmosphere. Around 10:30ish or something, Iván and Noelia said that they wanted to get something to eat and we could all come, so of course I wanted to so we went to a place around the corner. Many tables had to be pushed together on the patio and they even turned on a heater thing that was thankfully set by me so I was nice and toasty. We all ate tapas which were sooooo good. And we talked and laughed and had a really good time. Around midnight we called it a night and the novios made their way back to the hotel, and I got home around 1.
The wedding was one of the highlights of my life, because I feel that it brought me closer to my family than the other students in the program. I was able to just relax and let loose around them and have a good time. I am now dreading any American weddings that I have to go to because they can´t compare to this. It was just a different atmosphere and we were able to spend so much time with Iván and Noelia. It seemed like an actual celebration instead of just a boring wedding that you are only going to for the free meal. Also, there was no chicken dance, the macarena, electric slide or any other lame dance song. It was all salsa sounding music that was great to dance to. I just loved it, and now I want my wedding to only have Spanish guests because they know how to throw a good wedding. I am just so glad that Noelia let me come and be a part of her special day because it was amazing. It was definitely a wedding to remember. Viva los novios!!
Monday, January 26, 2009
Pictures!!! Some more observations, my goals and what´s been happening!
As promised, I put most of my pictures up! There are still 2 albums of pictures that I still have to put up, but I was getting sick of putting them up one by one so just scroll down and you will see them! So in the past week or so since my last entry, I have just been going to school, eating, sleeping and then doing it all over again the next day. It was hard getting back into the swing of things, but I think I´m ready to go to school now. I did pretty good in my class. I got B´s for most of my stuff, but then today, I finally got 2 A-´s!! That´s actually something to be proud of because the grading system over here is very different. On a scale of 1-10, students are usually really happy with a 7. Now in the U.S., students would be kind of upset with a grade like that. Over here, a 10 is perfect, you made no mistakes and you exceeded expectations. So that means, getting a 10 is practically impossible. Those 2 A-´s were 8´s. So I was pretty proud. We had our final test today, and I think I did pretty good. I´m not sure when we are getting our final grades back, but I´ll let you know what I got!
So while everyone has been freezing back home, I have been able to get to the beach and play out in the sun and sand! The water has been too cold to swim in, but there are still the wackies that jump in and swim. Recently, we´ve been having some crazy wind, like 30 mph with over 60 mph gusts. It´s actually been really fatal. Many people have died and trees have been blown down and tons of people have been without power. Luckily nothing like that has happened to me or my familia, but the wind has been bad throughout Spain, as well as France and Portugal. Mom, don´t read this, but Dad would appreciate it...it´s kinda fun walking around in that kind of wind and getting pushed around...I mean...lol. Also, on Friday, we went to see the movie "Seven Pounds" with Will Smith, but it is translated into Spanish as "Siete Almas (Souls)" which is interesting. It was pretty much the most depressing movie ever. I understand pretty much the whole thing, so I was happy about that...just not happy about hating life when it was over.
Here are some more things I´ve observed. Spain is more Americanized than you think. I mean, everywhere I go, I hear American music, from pop, rap to rock. You just can´t escape it. It´s in all of the stores, the bus, supermarkets. Also, a lot of Spaniards really like Americans. Of course some hate us, but others really like us. A lot of Spanish students like practicing their English and hearing about stuff in the States. Most of the people I´ve met are really friendly towards Americans. Another thing is that I do feel like I can fit in somewhat if I am alone. I was really worried that I would stick out like a sore thumb, but that´s really not the case. Not everyone has dark brown hair, awesome style and the same size. Some people that are Spanish don´t even look like they are Spanish. I was all worried for nothin´.
For my seminar class we had to make a list of 10 goals we want to accomplish by the end of our time here in Alicante, so I decided that I might as well post it on here for everyone and that way I can keep everyone posted on my progress.
So there you go! My actual semester of classes starts on Wednesday, so I have 2 classes then and then 1 on Thursday. Can´t wait! Now I´m just trying to figure out when and where I want to travel!
So while everyone has been freezing back home, I have been able to get to the beach and play out in the sun and sand! The water has been too cold to swim in, but there are still the wackies that jump in and swim. Recently, we´ve been having some crazy wind, like 30 mph with over 60 mph gusts. It´s actually been really fatal. Many people have died and trees have been blown down and tons of people have been without power. Luckily nothing like that has happened to me or my familia, but the wind has been bad throughout Spain, as well as France and Portugal. Mom, don´t read this, but Dad would appreciate it...it´s kinda fun walking around in that kind of wind and getting pushed around...I mean...lol. Also, on Friday, we went to see the movie "Seven Pounds" with Will Smith, but it is translated into Spanish as "Siete Almas (Souls)" which is interesting. It was pretty much the most depressing movie ever. I understand pretty much the whole thing, so I was happy about that...just not happy about hating life when it was over.
Here are some more things I´ve observed. Spain is more Americanized than you think. I mean, everywhere I go, I hear American music, from pop, rap to rock. You just can´t escape it. It´s in all of the stores, the bus, supermarkets. Also, a lot of Spaniards really like Americans. Of course some hate us, but others really like us. A lot of Spanish students like practicing their English and hearing about stuff in the States. Most of the people I´ve met are really friendly towards Americans. Another thing is that I do feel like I can fit in somewhat if I am alone. I was really worried that I would stick out like a sore thumb, but that´s really not the case. Not everyone has dark brown hair, awesome style and the same size. Some people that are Spanish don´t even look like they are Spanish. I was all worried for nothin´.
For my seminar class we had to make a list of 10 goals we want to accomplish by the end of our time here in Alicante, so I decided that I might as well post it on here for everyone and that way I can keep everyone posted on my progress.
-I want to be fluent.
-When I come back to the States, I want everyone to be able to see a changed and different Holly.
- I want to find the courage to step out of my comfort zone.
- I want to see as much of
-I want to make long lasting friendships with Americans and locals.
- I want to grow and become more: confident, independent and secure of who I am.
- I want to be accepted by the locals.
- I want to find the perfect cafés, restaurants, tapas bars and dessert places that don’t have tons of Americans.
- I don’t want to just “pass”; I want to learn as much as I can and get good grades.
- I want my parents to be proud of me, and I want them to think that it was money well spent.
So there you go! My actual semester of classes starts on Wednesday, so I have 2 classes then and then 1 on Thursday. Can´t wait! Now I´m just trying to figure out when and where I want to travel!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Churros for breakfast and a day at the beach!
Yesterday was my madre´s 65th birthday, and I gave her a card and she loved it. She showed it to all of her friends saying, look at what my American daughter gave me. haha. She´s so cute. For breakfast we had churros con chocolate!! Churros are like a fried pastry type thing, and you dip them in melted chocolate. Yep, and that´s what I ate for breakfast! After breakfast, Amy and I went down to the beach for a few hours. When I came back, my madre commented on how pink my face was. After the beach, I went to my madre´s other house in the country where she has fruit trees and vegetables and small animals. Her son lives there with his family. We all ate Paella that my madre made. She said that it tastes better when it is cooked over an open fire. It was really good. We hung out there a little bit before going back home. Then, some of my padres friends came over to play a card game called Chichurón, or something like that. It´s kind of like Rummy. You have to pay 1 Euro to play haha. I watched them play a whole game through and then decided to play. I lost, but I was doing really well until someone went out in like the first round so I was left with a lot of points. After cards, we had more chocolate and we dipped different types of bread in the chocolate. It was really good, but I shouldn´t have eaten so many sweets before going to bed haha.
Today I had my first test. It wasn´t too bad. I think I did pretty good on it. After the test, I went straight to the beach and got there around 11:30. My friends and I laid out in the sun, ate some lunch, ran around, played on this spider web rope thing, played some soccer, and then some hardcore beach volleyball. It was sooo great. I didn´t get home til 7:45! We all kept saying that we can´t believe that we are going to be doing this for 5 months! It´s gonna be great! Tomorrow we start a seminar class called Living and Learning in Alicante. It isn´t a mandatory class; we could decide if we wanted to take it or not. I decided to because it´s free and you get a certificate for International Learning or something like that, so I figured it would look good on a resume (yep, thanks mom) So that means I won´t have time to go to the beach, oh well! Also, there is now talk about where everyone wants to travel, so I have to start making my list...it´s rather long!
Today I had my first test. It wasn´t too bad. I think I did pretty good on it. After the test, I went straight to the beach and got there around 11:30. My friends and I laid out in the sun, ate some lunch, ran around, played on this spider web rope thing, played some soccer, and then some hardcore beach volleyball. It was sooo great. I didn´t get home til 7:45! We all kept saying that we can´t believe that we are going to be doing this for 5 months! It´s gonna be great! Tomorrow we start a seminar class called Living and Learning in Alicante. It isn´t a mandatory class; we could decide if we wanted to take it or not. I decided to because it´s free and you get a certificate for International Learning or something like that, so I figured it would look good on a resume (yep, thanks mom) So that means I won´t have time to go to the beach, oh well! Also, there is now talk about where everyone wants to travel, so I have to start making my list...it´s rather long!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
A visit to the castle, something I forgot, and the beach!!
On Friday we finally visited El Castillo de Santa Barbera, and let me tell you, it was worth the wait. The views were just incredible. You could see for miles! The walk up was fun because a lot of us were getting out of breath. I stayed in the back with the other photographers so that I could take as many as I wanted without getting in the way. We would stop at various points on our way up to see the different views. Once we got to the top of the castle, we couldn´t stop saying wow! Tons of buildings everywhere and then the Med. Sea! I didn´t want to leave! I will get my pictures up as soon as I can so you can see for yourselves. I decided though that whoever comes to visit me is going to the castle because they have to see the view. After we walked back down, me and 2 other friends went out for dessert. We wanted churros con chocolate, but the place was closed, so we went to the ice cream place that was soooo good. It was a cool place to hang out and talk.
So the thing that I forgot to talk about was the day trip we took to Guadalest, which is another castle a few hours from the city. It is one of the most visited places in Alicante. We took a tour of it and it had a lot of little rooms with artifacts and books. Again, I took a lot of pictures because of the great view. This time it was just plains and mountains. Also, there was a greenish blue river that was so pretty. After the castle, we went to a cave. I didn´t take any pictures because cave pictures usually don´t come out very well. We took a tour in it and it was pretty cool.
Today was such a nice day in Alicante, so Amy and I decided to go down to the beach and soak up the sun. We saw one of our friends that was already there and hung out with her. A couple others came later. Everyone was laying out or playing volleyball or soccer. Some brave people were even swimming!! I still have to get used to the whole speedo thing...lol. We felt bad for everyone back in the States trying to stay warm while we were watching the sea and getting some color. Once it gets warmer, I am spending all my time at the beach. That is where my homework is going to get done. I can´t wait to swim too!
Like I said, I will put my pictures up as soon as I can. I am using my family´s computer, but will have the internet on mine very soon!
So the thing that I forgot to talk about was the day trip we took to Guadalest, which is another castle a few hours from the city. It is one of the most visited places in Alicante. We took a tour of it and it had a lot of little rooms with artifacts and books. Again, I took a lot of pictures because of the great view. This time it was just plains and mountains. Also, there was a greenish blue river that was so pretty. After the castle, we went to a cave. I didn´t take any pictures because cave pictures usually don´t come out very well. We took a tour in it and it was pretty cool.
Today was such a nice day in Alicante, so Amy and I decided to go down to the beach and soak up the sun. We saw one of our friends that was already there and hung out with her. A couple others came later. Everyone was laying out or playing volleyball or soccer. Some brave people were even swimming!! I still have to get used to the whole speedo thing...lol. We felt bad for everyone back in the States trying to stay warm while we were watching the sea and getting some color. Once it gets warmer, I am spending all my time at the beach. That is where my homework is going to get done. I can´t wait to swim too!
Like I said, I will put my pictures up as soon as I can. I am using my family´s computer, but will have the internet on mine very soon!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
What I actually did on 1/14/09
We had another day of class, which wasn´t too bad. We are starting to get our schedules together because our semester starts soon. Today was just a laid back day that consisted of eating, school, eating, siesta, eating and soon sleeping. Yeah, I think I´m gonna like it here haha. Since this post is short, I will also include some observations/reflections/conclusions.
1. Spanish homes are freezing.
2. They love their coffee and wine.
3. The kisses on each cheek isn´t so bad.
4. Offensive? They don´t know the definition of that word.
5. We aren´t eating lunch/dinner til when??!!
6. The whistles and remarks make you feel good about yourself.
7. If you don´t like oranges, you´re outta luck.
8. You´re expected to eat for like 3 people.
9. The portion sizes for lunch are bigger than dinner.
10. Get used to the staring...
11.It´s not as cold as they think it is.
12. Wear your coat and scarf or DIE!!
13.American music is played everywhere and it gets real old, real quick.
14. I am now addicted to the show Pasapalabra thanks to my padre.
1. Spanish homes are freezing.
2. They love their coffee and wine.
3. The kisses on each cheek isn´t so bad.
4. Offensive? They don´t know the definition of that word.
5. We aren´t eating lunch/dinner til when??!!
6. The whistles and remarks make you feel good about yourself.
7. If you don´t like oranges, you´re outta luck.
8. You´re expected to eat for like 3 people.
9. The portion sizes for lunch are bigger than dinner.
10. Get used to the staring...
11.It´s not as cold as they think it is.
12. Wear your coat and scarf or DIE!!
13.American music is played everywhere and it gets real old, real quick.
14. I am now addicted to the show Pasapalabra thanks to my padre.
1/14 cont again...
On the 13th, we started our first day of intensive language class. It was kinda boring, but it´s a good review of everything. We have to take the bus to school every day so that will be an experience. My madre was gone for a few days because her step sister is sick, and when she came back, I called her madre and she loved it. She hugged me really tight and was really happy to see me. Her granddaughter slept over too and became my little friend. I showed her some of my pictures of my family and friends. I met my madre´s daughter, Noelia, and she was so great. She was so nice and easy to talk to. She is getting married on the 31st, and invited me to the wedding! She even said that if there is a trip with CIEE, I can´t go cuz I have to come to the wedding. Her fiancé is really cool too. We ate so much food that night, and Noelia´s fiancé said to get used to it. My madre brought back a lot of delicious desserts from her town. I loved everything. It was fun getting to know my madre´s daughter and fiancé. on the 14th, I went over to Amy´s house for lunch after school and we ate rabbit paella....yep...rabbit...and I liked it too. After lunch, we walked down to the beach for the first time. It was amazing. The castle looked so cool, because it was in plain view. The water was a little cold, but it felt just like Cape May! I can´t wait til it gets warmer. I plan on spending all the time I can at the beach. After we walked inthe sand and took lots of pictures, we did more shopping. I think I am adjusting to life here in Alicante. I´m just trying to take it one day at a time. I try not too think too far ahead becuase then I get homesick and miss everyone. Tomorrow we visit el castillo de santa barbera, which I am so pumped for! I can´t wait! I am becoming closer with my family which I think makes my time here go smoother and a little less stressful.
1/14/09 cont...
So, I was really nervous when it came time for me to meet my host family. I kept wondering what they would be like, and if they would like me or not. Well, needless to say, it was nothing to be nervous about. My madre´s name is Aurelia and my padre´s name is Antonio. They are sooo nice, and they pretty much love me forever. They are so easy to talk to. They live in a nice set of apartments too. Right when we got inside, a little dog popped out. Lola, a yorkshire terrier, wearing a little dog sweater. She is the cutest thing ever! I put my stuff on my bed, and my madre asked if I wanted anything. She made us café con leche with galletas (like graham crackers), and we watched her telenovela. She put a shawl around me cuz she assumed I was cold. After we finished, I started to unpack. She came in and offered to help, but I was fine. She commented on how skinny I am and grabbed my waist. I also have a grandma and a great grandma that also live in the house, as well as an annoying bird named Lorenzo that I want to kill. The house is always freezing. They complain about it being cold, but barely turn the heat on. I´ve gotten used to it for the most part. It is hard to get used to the eating times. Lunch time is from 2 to 4, and then dinner is from 8 to 10:30. Also the verb comer and the noun comida are used for lunch, and then cenar/cena is used for dinner. I have done a good amount of shopping and walking around the city. I have gotten lost sooo many times, but Amy and I always seem to find our way back home. It´s actually a great learning experience, because we pretty much familiarized ourselves with practically the whole city. On Monday (1/12), we toured the campus of the University of Alicante. It is a pretty big campus, and it´s easy to get lost...been there, done that, bought the t shirt. But it is such a beautiful campus filled with palm trees and orange trees! It is also surrounded by huge mountain peaks. It is so cool to see scenery like that.
1/14/09
So, I love Alicante, Spain. It is THE beach city. The thing that surprised me most when we landed on January 7th was that there are mountains everywhere, and it´s not really a chain of mountains but rather huge mountain peaks everywhere. It is just a beautiful area. Another great aspect is that it is literally right beside the beach. What more could a girl want? There are palm trees everywhere as well as orange trees in the country side. Also, el castillo de santa barbera is so amazing to see. The legend has it that the king wanted his daughter, Cantara, to get married. So, he had two suitors, prince Ali and prince Abed. He gave them each a task. Abed´s was to search for rare spices from India. Ali´s was to construct an aqueduct that collected the water from the river into the city. Abed completed his task, and Ali didn´t, so the king gave his daughter away to Abed. But, she was in love with Ali, so she decided to kill herself. When Ali found out, he threw himself off the tower of the castle. Because of this, there is a figure of an arab face on the castle that looks like prince Ali. And, that´s how the city got it´s name Ali+ Cantara = Alicante. Yeah, how cool is that story? But yeah, I´ve had good days and I´ve had bad days. As of now, the good days just keep on coming. I´ve only been here a week, but it feels like a month! For our orientation time, we had different sessions about Alicante and the program. We were able to meet everyone in the CIEE program and hang out. We took a tour around the city which was really cool. It was fun walking in and out of all of the little streets, and looking at all of the little shops and cafes. The food we ate that day was excellent. For lunch, we had paella, which is a huge pan of rice and then either veggies, meat, or seafood. I had all three, and the seafood was the best. We even had some calamari mmm. For dinner that night we had Tapas, which are small portions of appetizers. I tried everything the waitor brought, and loved most of it. After dinner we did a toast with shot size glasses of wine and said ``Ariba, a bajo, al centro, para adentro!´´ which means up high, down low, in the center, inside (your stomach). It was a lot of fun.
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