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Published: November 3rd 2008
Hola everyone! I apologize that these entries are now every other week things, it’s just that without as many frequent trips, I won’t have enough stories for an entry every week. So unless something huge happens, these are going to be a little less frequent.
That being said, here goes a somewhat random entry… but then again, aren’t they all?
First up, a summary of the last two weeks:
The week after Ávila was my last week of grammar class. We had our exams on Friday, which weren’t too difficult and I think they went really well. I was really sad to be done though… we had a GREAT professor and an absolutely awesome class. Luckily, we exchanged emails and phone numbers so we’re all still trying to get together from time to time. I’m going to miss those people! I even tried to see if I could take another month of grammar… it was a lot of work and a lot of time every day, but I seriously learned so much from those classes and I can tell that my speaking has improved tremendously thanks to them. Unfortunately, because of something with IC’s credit system and what
Double Guides
Our conflicting tour guidesis covered by the program costs, they wouldn’t let us continue, which was a major bummer. I was really nervous at first that my Spanish would start to go downhill without being constantly forced to speak and study it, but it’s been over a week so far and I still feel really good. Since I’m home more, Ana and I talk a lot more, which I’m sure is the reason for that.
So yes, I now have a lot of free time on my hands. I only have class Tuesdays and Thursdays for a few hours, so the rest of the week is mine to do as I please. Last week was kind of a lazy one for me, but I’m trying to get out and walk around the city more, so it’s not as boring as I originally thought it would be. I’ve also found a list of cities really close to here, so I think I’m going to try and hit one a week… the trains to each of them cost about 5 Euro round trip, so I think that’s a pretty sweet deal.
Friday, after our exams, we went and saw High School Musical 3.
St. Anthony of Padua
Hey, my church is named after this guy! Cool! Yes, that’s right, I’m admitting it, and I’m not the least bit ashamed. It was a little weird, since the dialogue was dubbed in Spanish but the songs were still in English… it got a little confusing when songs had dialogue within them, as it would switch back and forth, but otherwise it was pretty manageable. I’ll spare the movie review, but basically it was so bad it was good 😊
Then on Saturday we went to two cities not too far from here, Murcia and Elche. This was for our art class, so of course museums were included. We hit Murcia first and spent most of the day there. The city was beautiful… busy, but very quiet at the same time if that makes any sense. There was a lot to see and a lot of little stores and whatnot, but it was still a small city, so it had a cozy feel. I absolutely loved it. We went to a monastery there, which was built before the Alhambra (in Granada) and has a really similar style… reflecting pools, arches, gardens, that kind of thing. We had an official tour guide for the museum portion along with Armando,
The busy/quiet streets
A look down the streets of Murcia our director. I’ve said before how Armando pretty much knows everything about anything, and he can get a bit carried away showing that, even when we have a tour guide. Our tour through the museum actually became pretty funny, as he was constantly interrupting the woman and vice versa. It made it a bit harder to pay attention to what they were actually saying, but it was quite an experience… almost like two kids who compete to see who can talk the loudest. Good times indeed.
We also went to the cathedral in the city (of course!), which from the outside was the most breathtaking one yet. It was so enormous and grand and detailed, and it was hard to believe that something so pretty would be hidden away in a city that few people will ever see. That’s one of the things I love about Spain so far… there are so many things to see just tucked away for you to find, some of it pretty much forgotten. It’s a little sad, but kind of cool to think that you get to see something that few people will. Anyway, the inside wasn’t nearly as impressive, but the outside
Outside the Cathedral
A portion of the front of the cathedral. more than made up for that.
We had some free time, so we had our picnic lunches and got some ice cream. Another quick note: ice cream here, while sometimes not all that great, always LOOKS amazing. Even a simple cone is decorated with wafer cookies and chocolate straws to make it look cool. I love that. Anyway, we then left to catch our train to Elche, but missed it by ten minutes, so we had to kill time for 2 hours. We ended up just napping outside on a lawn, but that’s another plus about Spain. It’s so relaxed that you never have to feel guilty about taking a nap whenever you want.
We finally got to Elche in the evening and got to spend a few pretty laid back hours there. Elche isn’t known for much, but it’s considered the palm tree capital of Spain… they’re EVERYWHERE! I’ve never seen so many palms in my life, so that was pretty cool. It’s funny though—mention going to Elche to anyone in Alicante, and they immediately ask, “Why would you go there?” It’s so weird; they actually seem somewhat disgusted by the city, which I didn’t really understand.
Mmmmm.... Helado
My delicious-looking ice cream cone. Sure, it was really tiny, but it was very pretty and quaint and tropical… I liked it anyway.
Well, they had a medieval festival going on that weekend, which was REALLY cool. Booths of crafts and food and spices and fabrics lined multiple plazas and streets in an absolute maze. It was packed with people, many dressed in old medieval costumes. We spent a few hours wandering around, listening to various musicians, eating dinner that we got at one of the booths… it was just such a nice change from the usual museums that make up most of our cultural experiences. Maybe I just haven’t been to a huge festival like that in awhile, but it was an absolute blast!
Sunday night Adam, Nikki, and I went and saw Eagle Eye (the Shia LaBeouf one), which was much more complicated to understand in Spanish than HSM3 was. It didn’t help that the plot was absolutely ridiculous! In the end, it took a group effort, but between the three of us we were able to piece together the entire movie, so it worked out. There were some scenes that I missed completely and had to be explained, and others
El Cielo Bonito
A view from the outskirts of Elche, including a few palms that I got but the others didn’t… it’s kinda funny how that works out.
Let’s see, this past week was pretty uneventful… again, I was pretty lazy, and just enjoying the fact that I didn’t have to get up early for classes every day.
On Friday, the girls from IC studying in Madrid (Katie, Eva, and Michelle) and Ryan, who’s studying in Sevilla, all came to visit for the weekend. Tourist-wise, there’s not a whole lot to do in Alicante (especially in comparison to Madrid and Sevilla), so it wound up being just a really laid-back, hang-out-and-chat kind of weekend.
Well, Friday was Halloween, which is weird here, as it’s not a Spanish holiday, but now they’re trying to sort of make it one. Stores sold decorations and costumes, but they don’t have trick-or-treating or anything, so I guess people just dress up for parties. It’s more popular amongst the younger generations (Ana had no clue what I was talking about), but it’s still developing into a legit holiday. This was the first year of my life that I didn’t wear a costume… I bought orange tights to wear with a black dress, but that was the
Mmm... Bocadillos
Nikki and I enjoying our delicious bocadillos at the festival. By the way, bocadillo means sandwich. limit of my spirit. Kind of weird!
Saturday it rained all day, so we hit the port for a little while, but ended up just hanging out in the girls’ hostel. They had a really nice one—it was more like an apartment, with a complete kitchen and their own bathroom. Katie and I decided to make dinner instead of going out, and we hit up the grocery store for our feast. I realized as we were shopping that it was the first time since I’ve been here that I’ve purchased more than just one or two items at the store! Anywho, between the six of us, it ended up being a really cheap dinner (and lunch the next day). We decided to make a few American things that we miss… Katie made chicken strips, I was in charge of mac and cheese, and we had fruit salad as well as a regular salad. Mac and cheese in a box is impossible to find in Spain, so I made it from scratch! I was super proud of myself… Rachael Ray taught me how on her show last year 😊 It all turned out really good too, and it was really
Mac and Cheese
Me with our awesome mac and cheese... thank you Rachael Ray! nice to cook on our own. I think I’m going to have to ask Ana if I can cook dinner one night here… any suggestions for American recipes?
Sunday ended up being really sunny, so we decided to FINALLY hike the castle. It took us about an hour to find our way up, but it was beyond worth it! I really wish I had gone sooner, just so I can go more often… there was a lot more to it than I originally thought. There were tons of little places to hike and check out, little rooms, balconies, stairways… and a gorgeous view of the city from every side! I also never realized just how big Alicante is… we all tend to stick to the same areas, but the city expands so much further! The water was, of course, gorgeous as well. SUCH a cool place to hang out! I’m going to try and make it my weekly thing while I can, because it’s just too sweet! Also around the castle are all of the older neighborhoods of the city, with the brightly painted houses and whatnot… I think I have a lot more exploring to do!
So
Dinner
Check it out, aren't we awesome cooks? for the rest of the afternoon we just hung out by the beach, and then wandered around killing time until they had to leave. We went and saw Step Brothers, which I wasn’t a big fan of, but I was also really tired and struggling to stay awake during the entire thing, which may have been part of the problem. Or not… it is a Will Ferrell movie, after all.
All in all, though, it was a really fun weekend. Even though none of us really know each other all that well, we have at least something in common (all going to the same school and all), so it was really nice and relaxing to just hang out. Also, in Spain they’re not big on going to people’s houses (at least, none of us students are allowed to have people over), so with them having their own room at the hostel, it was great to have a place to hang out together without going out out… know what I mean?
Alrighty, that’s about the end of that… now onto the random tidbits and thoughts!
So lately I’ve been feeling much more comfortable when talking to Ana, which
A view of Alicante
A view from the top of the castle. is a big plus. I’ve just recently begun to notice, too, that she’s more comfortable talking to me. And the more we talk, the faster she speaks… for most of my time here, she’s spoken much slower to me, to be sure that I understand (no, she doesn’t talk to me like I’m dumb, but she knows a fast speed isn’t going to help me at all). In the last week, especially, she’s started to talk a LOT faster than she ever has. The other day, in fact, while talking about our grandparents and family history (she likes to randomly pick a new topic of discussion every day), she was in full blown Ana chatter mode… she could hardly spit the words out fast enough! And, the best part… I understood almost all of what she said! How exciting is that?! I missed some specifics, but for the most part, I was right with her. I was super proud of myself that day 😊
A kind of funny Ana story: so she really likes to go for walks, usually two or three times a day. Most of the time she leaves the house to walk, but occasionally she forgets,
The Big Fig Newton
Dad, here you go! This is at the top of the castle. or it’s too late, or the weather is bad. On these days, she just power walks around the house. Normally this wouldn’t be all that story-worthy or funny, but each of these walks takes about 30 minutes, and while she walks, she wears her house shoes. Her house shoes, unfortunately, are sandals. LOUD, flopping sandals. So at least a few times a week, either while I’m in my room or in the living room, I hear her sandals flapping away up and down the hallway, around the dining room table, and in and out of her bedroom. Since she’s power walking, her shoes flap even harder than normal, so it winds up being a really funny 30 minutes. Oh, Ana…
During the week, Ana’s niece, Lydia stays with us. I’m not really sure why this just started, or why she doesn’t go home every day, and I don’t know how to ask without seeming rude, so I’ll just stick to confused oblivion for now. Lydia’s a few years older than me and pretty nice, so other than the fact that we occasionally have to fight over outlet space for our computers in the living room, her living here is
A We Bit Windy
Eva, Katie, and I on the castle fine. Unfortunately, however, she mumbles when she speaks, so I’m pretty sure she thinks I’m an idiot since I can barely understand anything she says. Well, the other night at dinner, she was telling Ana a story, and I was doing my best to follow the conversation (not an easy thing to do with a mumbler). I don’t remember what was actually being said, but Lydia made a joke, and I actually understood it and started cracking up… Ana missed the joke, so she was confused, and I think Lydia was a little confused as to why the mute girl sitting next to her was suddenly laughing and nodding her head in comprehension (that girl is me, by the way). I didn’t care though… that was one of the first jokes told within a conversation that I actually understood to join in on the laughter, AND it was told by a mumbler! Double snaps for that!
Ummm… ooh! Some food stories! Not really exciting ones, but food stories nonetheless. My new favorite Spanish food is croquetas. If you’ve never had them, you should find some somewhere. They’re basically bite-size fried balls of dough, potatoes, and cheese… it’s hard to
Footprints in the Sand
My attempt at one of these pictures... the footprints are a little bit light. describe, but they’re really gooey on the inside, and therefore really delicious. Sometimes they add meat or seafood, but the cheese ones are the best. Ana’s never made them, and I’ve only ever eaten them in restaurants, so I don’t know how easy they are to make, but I want to try when I get home. Good good stuff.
So I discovered something interesting about milk in Spain. All of the milk comes in liter-size containers, which really isn’t all that much. I’ve noticed that whenever we run out of milk (which is about every other day), Ana almost immediately has another one stocked in the fridge. I figured she just ran to the store all the time, but now that I’m home more, I’ve noticed that that’s not the case. I’ve also noticed that the expiration date is years away. This weekend I learned the reasons for these oddities. Cows are pretty scarce in Spain, so rather than fresh pasteurized milk that we drink in the U.S., they’re milk is basically powdered milk mixed with water. This way, it doesn’t go bad anywhere near as fast. So, where does the milk sit in the store? On the shelf! Not in a cooler, but right on the shelf of aisle 4. Now that I know that Ana just has stocks in her cupboards, I’m a little bit hesitant to drink it so willingly. I know it’s not bad, but it’s just weird—they keep their non-fresh milk just sitting warm on grocery store shelves, where you can take it home and store it until you actually need it. Welcome to Spain.
Hmmm, what else? Oh! I sent in my ballot last week, so that’s exciting. The election is quite the hot topic over here… Ana likes to bring it up quite frequently, even though she really has no clue what’s going on. It’s kind of funny… she tries so hard to discuss politics, but the only thing she can really talk about with our election is that Obama is black and that would be so historic if he wins. That’s really all she has going for her. Props for trying though. That’s actually the biggest factor of the election here… Obama’s race. In classes, if anyone ever said that they weren’t sure if they would vote for Obama, the professor would immediately ask if it was because he’s black! I dunno, to me that’s weird, I guess because that doesn’t seem to be the biggest issue in the U.S., but here it’s all they can talk about.
Well, so it’s going to be hard to watch the results come in, since we’re 6 hours ahead of Eastern time here… I’m going to do my best though! Also on the election note, I had to interview people for an article for my internship about their political views. I’m bringing home a copy of the paper… it includes some quotes from me as well, so that’s kind of exciting.
Also, speaking of Obama, I swear that the Spanish-version lives right near me. I pass this guy almost daily, and he’s always wearing a suit, and every single time I think he looks just like Obama walking around the corner. I had to do double-takes a few times… it’s a little nuts!
¿Que más? Umm… OH! Okay, so back in my grammar class, we were discussing population growth and the rights of mothers one day. First off, the U.S.’s maternity leave policy is ridiculous… England gets 3 or 4 months off! That’s not really the point, but I thought that was crazy. Anywho, someone mentioned how women are pregnant for nine months, and all three of the Japanese girls in the class turned and stared, confused, before cutting in to say that in Japan, women are pregnant for 10 months. Umm…. What?! I haven’t looked it up to see if it’s a difference in calendar or what, but they insisted that that’s the case. 10 months! How does that even work?! Has anyone heard any evidence to support or contradict this fact? Ca-razy!!!
Oh, another random thing. So for Thanksgiving, Armando is going to have us all over to his house for dinner. Since that’s definitely an American holiday that won’t be adapted here any time soon, in any way, shape, or form. I’m pretty excited… he’s buying the main things, but he doesn’t know how to cook a turkey, so one of the other girls and I have volunteered to do it. Wish us luck!
Last bit of randomness. I finally caved and closed my bedroom window and put a blanket on my bed. It finally became too chilly for me at night. Needless to say, Ana is extremely pleased... she even offered me about 4 more blankets today, just in case. Oh dear...
Let’s see, I can’t think of too much else to add, so I’ll wind this down. I checked my calendar today, and I have less than 7 weeks left in Spain! I can’t believe it! Time is really flying… I’m down to 6 weeks and 4 days. Wowza. It’s weird though… we were discussing how little time we have left the other day, and though we all feel bad for saying it, we’re all kind of counting down until the end. That’s not to say that I’m not having a blast or anything, but I’m really excited for both my Christmas trip and seeing my family and friends again in January. We were also talking about how much we’re going to miss this when we get back… right now it doesn’t really feel like I would so much (again, not a slight against Spain or anything), but then again, you can’t really miss something until it’s gone, right? Hmmm, I guess time will tell, and stepping away and looking back on this semester will really be eye-opening. It’s just hard to tell just how MUCH this will all mean to me in a few weeks. Wow, that sounded a little sadder than I meant it to… I’m truly loving it, I promise! Does anyone get what I mean, though?
Alrighty, well, Madrid is in two weeks, so there will definitely be an update then!
Until next time,
Laura
P.S. Happy Election Day tomorrow! Go vote!!!!!!
P.P.S. “Pushing Daisies,” one of the best shows on TV, is close to being cancelled due to a lack of ratings. Please, please, please, save this show! Watch a few episodes online, buy the first season, or, most importantly, start watching the show!!! It airs on Wednesdays at 8/7 central on ABC.
P.P.P.S. There seems to be some confusion over subscribing to the blog. You don't have to sign up for anything, just click the "subscribe" button to the left of the screen and fill out your email address. It'll then email you every time I update!
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Jessica
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I love your comment about the milk! The same thing happened to me in Argentina. I was terrified the day I opened the cabinet and saw boxes of milk lined up all in a row! It is like astronaut food.