Spanish Life

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THE CITY:
The city here is about the size of Salem. I think around 300,00-350,000 people, mas o menos. There is a port, marina and beach and I live about 7-10 minutes walking distance from the heart of downtown (depending of course on how fast I walk : ). ) The city is pretty busy and there are tons of motos, I hear that when you are 14 you legally drive a moto with 7 caballos (the horse power is 7). I have found many rebajas (sales) in the clothing stores here, and I searched and found the best deals for items such as conditioner/q-tips and the like. This all makes me really happy, as I love good deals! The beach in town is usually pretty busy during the summer months as many tourists are here from England. There are two nearby beaches-playas: Urbanova and San Juan which are less crowded, cleaner but take longer to get to because I have to take a bus. There is also a main boardwalk that is red, white and blue with waves..and many cafes y little tourist huts with fun lil trinkets.
THE FOOD:
I love the food here! The food here is considered the same or very similar to the Mediterranean Diet. Lots of frutas y veduras, paella, gazpacho, tapas, pan y sangria. Tons of fish and seafood: merluza-hake, bacalao-cod, salmon, sardinas, calamares, gambas (prawns). The salad here at least at my house is usually spinach, tomatoes and the dressing is olive oil and vinegar with a bit of spices. Anyway to say the least I am well fed! Every morning my mom here gets up with me and makes me cafe con leche - my favorite drink here..the perfect blend of coffee, milk and sugar, YUM! - and tostada. Then I am home almost everyday for lunch which is the biggest meal of the day here around 2pm, and dinner is served around 9-10pm and is much lighter than lunch. Food here is very communal. At large family dinners with my aunts, uncles and cousins here I do not use a plate, just dish off a large plate of salad, potato salad or tapas. It's fun!!
SCHOOL:
To get to school here is about a 30 minute bus ride for me. It is kind of a nice waking up period or last minute time to work on homework. The school has about 30,000 students and it is a really big and beautiful campus. This term I am taking Spanish, Spanish Cinema and Camino de Santiago. In the cinema class I get to make a short film : ) and also view several spanish films/movies if you will and discuss the different aspects of each film and spanish culture portrayed. Then in the Camino class we will take a hike at the end of October for about 7 days. The Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage many people take for religious reasons to visit the 'tomb' of St. James. It should be pretty fun. I believe we are going to be hiking about 15 miles a day for 7 days straight! The area we are hiking in is in the northern of Spain where it is much more green and lush.
OUTINGS/EXCURSIONS With my Program:
I went to a parade/festival in Muchamiel where they were having a Fiesta: Moros y Cristianos. The meaning of all this was sometime, ok many years back, the Muslims took over the province and then the Christians reclaimed their land. I have also been to the Castillo-castle in town, from the top you can see the whole city of Alicante. It was really pretty up there. Then last wknd our group went wine tasting in Jumilla/Murcia. We went to two bodegas-wine cellars one of which was private and the other was huge/commercialized and public. We got to try four different types of vino tinto which is red wine. The cheese served with it was delicious. Yesterday I went to a archeology museum, which was interesting but not really my thing..but once again free. It was kind of cool to see the history of the city, but I am not a huge archeology/museum fan : ).

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Comments

[Beka]

Question
So Amy, I'm enjoying the photos and the blogs, but what is up with the guy with the tiny head holding a giant chalk foot?? Any word on who he is or what he's doing in the harbor??