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Published: October 6th 2008
So I haven’t really done any trips recently, but I figured I’d update you on the little things that have happened and the new stories that have arisen since the Barcelona trip. It’s been two weeks since my last update, so get ready for lots of stories!
Let’s see… the week following Barcelona was pretty uneventful overall, minus the finals for my first block of grammar classes, which went pretty well, and The Office premiere (awesome!), so I’ll skip ahead. The following weekend was relaxing by night and stressful by day. Explain? Don’t mind if I do!
NIGHTS. Friday night Adam, Daman, and I went and saw “Passengers,” the new Anne Hathaway movie in which she plays a therapist dealing with the surviving passengers of a plane crash, and slowly they begin to disappear. The movie itself was only alright (I’d rent it rather than pay to see it in theaters), but the best part about it was that it was dubbed in Spanish and I understood the whole thing! Yay! I mean, I didn’t understand it word for word, but I was able to follow the entire story, and it’s a slightly complicated film with a few twists. Again, yay!
Saturday night we went down to the port, where they have a whole stretch of stores and stages and whatnot set up for the Volvo Ocean Race (I’ll get to that in a bit), and we had a really good time just wandering around and hanging out. The port is beautiful by night, and it’s very calming to listen to the waves, even when you can’t see the water (it gets crazy dark out there). I can totally see why people live by the ocean.
Alrighty, DAYS. I spent pretty much all day Saturday and all day Sunday researching grad schools, trying to plan a few trips, trying to upload pictures on Facebook (to very little avail), trying to figure out my schedule for next semester, and basically being really overwhelmed and frustrated. I’m sure I scared my parents with a panicked email (sorry Mr. and Mrs.!) as I freaked out about my entire future. I’ve since calmed down quite a bit, but it was quite crazy stressful there for awhile. Fun fun. PLUS Ana’s granddaughter came to visit for the weekend (the one she likes… have I explained that? She has two granddaughters, ages 5 and 7, and for about two weeks I thought she only had one (the 5-year-old), because she’s the only one Ana EVER talks about), and the girl is pretty spoiled, so between my panic and her screaming at Ana to shut up (!), it was quite a relief that the nights were so relaxing.
Although, as obnoxious as this girl is (she was over yesterday too and crawled under the table during dinner and refused to come out and eat whilst also repeatedly smacking my leg and pulling on the table cloth), she’s learning English and used me as practice, which was actually quite cute. She greets me with a “Hello!” and departs with a “Bye-bye”… she also knows the words to Hannah Montana and High School Musical in English, which is pretty funny, since she has no idea what the words actually mean.
Last week I started my new 4-week block of grammar classes, and I really love both my conversation and my grammar professors and classes, which is a relief since the last block was pretty boring overall. There’s not much to say about my conversation class, other than there’s a 60-year-old British man who hates England and tries to make a lot of jokes that nobody understands, but my grammar class is awesome. We have: 3 Americans, 3 Russians, 1 Polack, 2 Japanese, 1 South Korean (FABIO!!!), and 1 British woman, so it’s quite a melting pot. They’re all fantastic too, and our professor is beyond awesome and moves really fast so we’re never bored. The British woman, Paula, is almost the new Chao Chao… she’s only been taking Spanish classes for 3 months (she’s actually really good), but whenever she gets flustered or doesn’t understand, she laughs, which happens quite frequently, so she always seems like she’s in a really good mood. She’s slightly older (mid-30s I think), and so much fun to talk to, since she’s always laughing, which is hilarious. Also, Fabio (the one that yelled at Chao), likes to do the same to Paula occasionally, which just makes everything even funnier.
Oh, so the Volvo race! This thing is a ridiculously big deal… it only happens once every three years or so, and it’s THE sailing race around the world. You may have heard of it without realizing it, but the entire race takes about ten months, and there are various pit stops all over the world. It’s actually going to be in Boston in May, so I’m sure it’ll be a big deal there too. Anywho, for the first time it’s starting in Alicante (it ends in St. Petersburg, Russia, I believe), so for the last few weeks they’ve built a temporary add-on to the port full of shops and restaurants. There’s a stage at one end and every night they have a range of activities, from dance performances to comedians to movies (all ocean-themed, like Pirates of the Caribbean and Finding Nemo) to concerts (Bryan Adams was here this past weekend), so it’s been really cool to head down there from time to time to catch something and get out of the house a bit. The city is also extremely busy, full of tourists and such, so it’s been a really interesting experience thus far. The race starts next Saturday, and I’m looking forward to heading down to check it out.
Okay, so that was a jump from whatever progression I had going in this entry, so my apologies, but I’m going to get a bit back on track before I break off into more stories. Also, I needed to explain that to explain this past weekend, so there… not so random after all!
Anywho, this past weekend was probably the best and most relaxing I’ve had since I’ve been here (not that the trips weren’t awesome, but this was the most consistently good weekend so far). Thursday I had lunch with Fabio and a friend of his after classes, and it was so nice to really use my Spanish and hang out with someone other than the other Americans. I felt much more comfortable with speaking, too, and it felt great to eat with other students on campus rather than in my house with Ana where conversation gets to be a bit mundane.
Thursday was also my friend Jen’s birthday, and her host parents invited a group of us over for cake. They were ridiculously nice, and as much as I like Ana, it was nice to break from the norm of either talking to her or other students. They made us peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which doesn’t sound all that exciting, except for the fact that peanut butter is a really weird concept to the Spanish (I don’t know how they survive), and therefore hard to find, so Jen’s host mom MADE it for us! Seriously, it was amazing… I miss PB&J sandwiches! Oh, the little things…
Then we had cake (which was also awesome) and just spent the night hanging out and talking with her host parents.
Friday night Nikki and I hung out in the barrio, which is the area of the city with all of the bars and clubs, but we went out early, so we were the youngest ones out. We hung out there for a few hours, but left around midnight (most of the young people STILL hadn’t started coming out), and I went home and hit the hay early. Again, a relaxing night.
Saturday morning I woke up early and met Nikki at the port at around 9:30 to head over to the Volvo (that’s what everyone calls that section of the port right now). We had coupons for free t-shirts if we got there before 10, and I never pass up a free souvenir! There was also an in-port race to get people excited for next Saturday, and it was supposed to start at around 10, so we stuck around to watch. The boats didn’t take off until close to 11, and then they sailed around the port for another two hours… we got bored and left before the race even started, which was a bummer, but sitting on the port for 3 hours watching boats slowly sail around wasn’t all that exciting, so I’m not too upset.
Ana wasn’t home, so I took a pre-lunch siesta, then attempted to eat the lunch she left for me, which was a puree of the soup I had had earlier in the week. It was quite gross (I feel like I’m eating baby food), so I washed it down the sink and had a banana instead. Oh well.
Saturday night Adam and I were going to go to a Spanish youth group that he knew about, but we couldn’t find the church and the girl he knew that was supposed to meet us and introduce us couldn’t make it, so we chickened out and gave up. Hopefully we’ll actually go next week…
Instead we met up with Nikki and went to get tapas. Those things are delicious and super fun, but ridiculously dangerous, as the price quickly adds up. I spent more than I should’ve, but as my lunch was pretty non-existent and that was my dinner, I didn’t feel too guilty. We then went to get churros and coffee… again, dangerous, but oh so delicious. There’s a chocolate shop near the beach that we found, and the chocolates are made near Alicante (we might go tour the factory… be proud, Mrs.!), and their churros were beyond amazing. One complaint… Spanish coffee is good, sure, but since Europeans pride themselves on the flavor, the cups are pretty small and pretty expensive, and most definitely don’t come with free refills. I’m not gonna lie, I miss big to-go cups of American coffee! They scoff at American coffee here, but I’m really looking forward to a nice big cup (or two or three) when I get back.
After stuffing ourselves we started heading back towards the port, and right at the entrance we came across a drumline performance. Alright, I need to edit that a bit… clearly we knew they were performing before we got there… the drums aren’t really a quiet instrument, but I’m sure you get the idea. Anywho, we watched them for quite a while, as they were awesomely awesome. There were about ten in all, and they all got REALLY into it… so much fun!
I then returned home for a night of reading…I just finished Chelsea Handler’s book, which is hysterical, and then I read "The Catcher in the Rye", which was… interesting, and now I’m just about out of books to read. Yikes!
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Let’s see… yesterday I spent the afternoon at the beach reading, which was nice as it was supposed to be one of the last really warm days (not that it’s cold, by any means, but not really beach weather), and then we watched an urban dance performance at the Volvo and I turned in for the night. Again, super duper relaxing and fun and the exact opposite of stressful 😊
Okay, so now that the main progression of my daily activities is done, I have a few random stories. First up, more food stories! Last weekend for lunch one day, Ana put out a whole bunch of finger foods… empanadas, chicken wings, fried calamari; I was so excited to have a light lunch! We all (her son, granddaughter, Ana, and myself) stuffed ourselves, me thinking that that was all we were having… haha, joke was on me! Ana then cleared the plates and brought out giant bowls of some sort of rice soup with chicken drumsticks inside. Seriously, I didn’t think I’d be able to eat it at all after my first course, and I truly don’t think she realizes that Americans really don’t eat that much in one sitting. We may be fat, but it’s because we snack! Good grief, I’m surprised I didn’t get sick.
Yesterday for lunch we had (and I kid you not) a mountain of white rice with warm ketchup and an egg. Yeah. And not a side squirt of ketchup either, I’m talking half a dinner plate’s worth of the stuff. They like to mix it all together, and I did my best to at least make it look like I ate plenty of ketchup with my rice (it tasted somewhat like Chef Boyardee sauce), but I still had to drink about three glasses of water to wash it down.
Also, last weekend Ana was preparing dinner and called me in to ask me if I liked what looked like slices of canned cranberry sauce. I eagerly said yes, not recognizing the word that she said, and so she piled a bunch on my plate. It was as I took my first bite that I realized that I definitely don’t like beets. Yup, beets. Part of me was laughing as I was thinking of Dwight’s obsession on The Office, but a much bigger part was gagging as I had to eat just about an entire beet’s worth of the bitter stuff. I didn’t have the heart to say I was wrong, and I’ve since had the dang things on my salad almost every day this week. At least I can say I’m getting my eight glasses of water in a day!
So, surprisingly enough, Ana does make some things that I really love, even though one is hardly Spanish, so I feel a bit guilty. She makes a mean tortilla española, which is basically an egg and potato quiche, and it’s amazing. The not-so-Spanish dish is basically chicken and potatoes. They’re covered in herbs and baked together, and are mouthwateringly delicious, and I do my best to tell her just how much I love them in the hopes that she’ll make that dish more often. Quick random note: I didn’t know that “mouthwateringly” was a word, but apparently it is… cool!
I think that’s all I have for food stories right now, but I’ve got a few others for you! Yay!
So being from Alicante, Ana believes that the weather now is really cold, and she doesn’t understand how I’m still in capris and t-shirts. No matter how many times I try to explain that this is still summer weather where I’m from (it’s still in the 70s, for crying out loud), she won’t let me leave the house without a jacket in the evenings (she would force one on me during the day, but when I leave in the morning she’s still really tired and not all that with-it). I usually end up just carrying it around, which is annoying, as I’m always afraid I’m going to lose it, but she’s beyond adamant that I must be cold. I also usually sit on the balcony at night when I call anyone on Skype, and every single time I head outside (WITH my jacket of course), I can always hear her muttering about how I’m going to get sick. Ahhhhhh! Also, I still leave the window to my bedroom open, which she comments on every day, and she’s started closing my door when I’m gone to keep the “cold” from cooling down the house. It’s getting a bit ridiculous, and I don’t know what she’s going to think in a month when she discovers I didn’t bring a winter coat with me, just my spring jacket. Oh, Lord, I’ll be sure to keep you updated, because I’m sure it’s going to be quite a blowout!
Alrighty, this post is going on a bit long, so this is my last story: As I was typing this in my room, Ana’s friend from upstairs, Teresa, came down for a visit. Teresa is a really sweet lady, but she talks really fast and has little patience. Teresa is hosting another student from our group, Ryan. Now, Ryan’s a really nice guy (a bit weird, but nice), but he’s so intense about learning Spanish that he doesn’t like to associate with any English speakers, and he sits studying ALL the time. I’m sure he’s improving, but for me, that’s not what this whole thing is about, and I feel like I’m improving just as much by getting out and being forced to speak Spanish in public. I also feel like he’s on his way to a meltdown soon, as he’s always really nervous to speak, and combined with his intensity he’s going to freak if he doesn’t really start to pick things up soon. Well anywho, Ryan came downstairs with Teresa and Ana brought them into my room to chat.
So we’ve got me sitting on my bed with my computer, Ryan standing awkwardly at the foot of my bed, and Teresa and Ana standing by the door in my really small room. For whatever reason, I feel like I speak my best when I’m talking to Teresa and Ana, and I really feel like I can keep up with them, even though they talk madly fast. Ryan, on the other hand, completely collapses in front of them. Not literally, he didn’t faint or anything, but he can barely say a word, and with Teresa’s impatience, the poor guy just stands there stuttering as she tries to put words into his mouth. She’s trying to be helpful, but it ends up being really overwhelming. Then I feel bad, because I’m talking pretty well and he’s looking at me to better explain anything that they say to him. At the same time, the whole situation was really funny… Ana and Teresa are spit-firing, loudly and rapidly, Ryan is in a complete panic, and I’m sitting on my bed, calm as can be, admiring the entire situation. To make things better (or worse, depending on how you look at it), Ana keeps telling Ryan that he needs to calm down, that he’s too nervous, and that he needs to be more relaxed like me (she’s always commenting on how laid-back and calm I am, but she doesn’t realize that when I’m really nervous I keep my mouth shut and smile)… she meant well when she said it, but he was really offended, and it was so hard not to laugh at the entire thing.
I probably didn’t explain that all that well, so I’m sorry for the ramble, but it was seriously really funny from my point of view, with this insane, sporadic party that took place in my room.
Well, now that I’ve hit about five pages in Microsoft Word (without any trips to tell about), I think I’m going to call it a rest. I’m planning a trip on the weekend of the 18th, so I’ll definitely have another post up then.
Abrazos y besos (hugs and kisses),
Laura
P.S. I got my absentee ballot the other day, and I have to send it in SOON and I’m still undecided! Yikes! I’ve been watching the debates through iTunes, so I’m trying to stay informed, but it’s a lot harder to do than it seems from this side of the pond. It feels like an entirely different planet, I’m not even kidding… sometimes it’s nice, but other times (like election season) it’s really frustrating!
P.P.S. New Office this week! Yay! And a new Pushing Daisies Wednesday! I was only planning on watching the Office here, but I caved… oops.
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jeni
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this blog def. gives me something to do at work!!! thanks and im glad your enjoying yourself and all the awesome food, lol.