back in the 'nati

You heard it, I'm back in Cincinnati. I've been here for about 3 days and I sure am glad to be back :) Not that Spain wasn't an incredible adventure, but this trip has shown me where my heart really is; a beautiful country and new, exciting experiences can't really take the place of the people who are most important to you (and no, i'm not only referring to my boyfriend). There's plenty to reflect on, but I'll try to keep this post to the point.
I truly enjoyed Spain, and I'm so grateful for the experience because it taught me so much that I never could have learned just staying exactly where I was.

I decided not to sleep Friday night because we had to leave our house at 5am, so Emily and I just went out with everyone that night and came home around 4:30 to get ready to leave. Eva made us coffees and helped get our heavy luggage in the car. We got to the Alicante airport and were apparently kinda late and were told the plane might be full-- it was really confusing but basically we ended up boarding the plane with plenty of time (after we ran through the tiniest security/airport I've ever seen). We didn't get to take a picture with Eva and that will always be sad to me :( I cried a little as I got into my seat on the first plane because it was such a quick goodbye to my life in Spain (and my madre of Spain). Emily and I took our time in Barajas airport of Madrid--we got McDonald's for breakfast, bought a few last souvenirs, and saw the Spain walking in for the opening ceremony of the Olympics. Then we said quickly said goodbye (quickly on purpose this time to avoid crying haha) and I boarded my plane. I slept for most of the flight off and on and watched a Pirates movie.

Coming home was immediately wonderful--it was weird and wonderful when I landed in JFK and everyone was speaking English, the signs were in English, and I could ask questions in English. I have to say this, and hopefully no one will be offended, but it also felt like home because there were black people in the airport haha (there were hardly any in Alicante). Something super awesome: while waiting for my luggage at customs in JFK I met two girls who had just spent the past month in Spain-- not only in Spain but in Alicante! haha It was crazy because I never saw them there but we were in the exact same city at the exact same time. Anyways, it was so nice to finish off the trip with some girls who just had such similar experiences to mine. They were really sweet, and are even from Greater Cincinnati so we had the same flight home to CVG and found/waited at the gate together. It was just so weird that we had all 3 flights home together, spent the whole month in the same city, and didn't meet until the last few hours of the experience lol. Oh yeah, they even studied at the same university (of Alicante).

I slept a little on the 2 hour flight from JFK to CVG and when the plane landed I could hardly  keep myself from pushing everyone out of the way as I waited to get off the plane. I was jittery with excitement as I walked through the airport and looked up to the baggage section where I saw my parents and Sam. :) I was so happy to see all of them and (not gonna lie) relieved that they offered to carry my luggage for me. I talked pretty much the whole way home, through dinner, and gave gifts and showed pictures after dinner. By the way, my first meal was Skyline and it was delicious. I didn't get tired until 10:30ish that night because I was running on so much adrenaline of seeing everyone... but once I laid down I immediately fell asleep and didn't wake up until about 12 hours later. That is insanity for me.

So I've waited a whole week before finishing this post. Probably because I didn't want the adventure to truly be over, and I didn't think I could tie a pretty bow around it and call it finished---and now I know that I can't, but I also know that's okay. Some struggles that I've experienced in the past week of readjusting to being home have included: jetlag-- I just now feel normal (not super fatigued) and it's 7 days later. Not seeing any of my Alicante friends and realizing that I don't know the next time I'll see them has also been a little sad. The students in my USAC group were from all over the country, which was awesome, but that makes it hard because we won't all be together again. Reconnecting with family and friends has been good, but not as easy as I had thought. I've had experiences now that they weren't a part of and they continued with life as I was gone (go figure), so it's definitely taken some work to catch each other up.

There may be some other things that are hard to deal with, but in all I'm very glad that I decided to do this trip. I feel more confident as an adult woman (i'm 21 now, geez) and I know that I have a more open mind when it comes to other people and cultures of the world-- there really is no "best" country of the world in my opinion; countries and people are pretty much the same everywhere with only slight differences. I think it was a good decision to do this trip and experience something new, rather than stay exactly where I was and continue wishing that I would someday do something different and exciting. I think that the effects of this trip will continue to have implications on my life and I'm really grateful for this opportunity that I had.

Thanks for reading my ramblings and hanging in there with me. It'd be cool if this blog helped inspire other people to go somewhere new or was just fun to read a firsthand experience of living in Spain, but mostly I'm glad that I've been able to use it for processing through my thoughts and experiences. Welp it's time to go back to life in Cincinnati, which may be less "exciting" on the surface, but is truly more rich with people and love. Thanks for reading :)

"kirk out,"  
haha
SarahB

voy a salir...

Today is my last day in the beautiful city of Alicante! Yesterday was a fairly normal day here... went to class, ate comida, went to the beach, it rained for 10 minutes--this was actually crazy. It hardly ever rains here (especially in the summer) so everyone like ran when it started raining, but it was cool because we were on the beach when it rained and the waves beforehand were huge! Normally the water here is very calm with hardly any waves. Anyways, after the beach and some souvenir shopping I came home and studied for my two finals. I also skyped Sam (which is always fun) and I skyped my entire family-Grandma, Aunt Becky, Ali, Jake, the Graves, and the Bakers :) The rest of the night was dedicated to studying and sleep. I miss sleep; I miss going to bed at 11pm and that being okay haha.
My finals went well! Actually, about 5 minutes through the bus ride to the university I realized that I had forgotten my computer (which I needed to give my presentation for my conversation class). I panicked and was so mad at myself for forgetting. I tried calling our host mom 3-4 times with different people's phones (because of course we're out of minutes) but she never answered. So I decided I would just try to stay calm for my first test and then figure out what to do for the second class. However, when I was almost done with the exam my friend Lauren came into class and said that Emily went back home to get my computer... nicest person ever/best friends/omg/i love her/gonna cry :P. But seriously she rode the bus all the way home, got my computer, and brought it back about 10 minutes late for her class. I could not thank her enough :) however, I did give her half of a chocolate pastry which is very meaningful if you know how much Emily loves chocolate :) So, I gave my presentation (which of course I chose to do it on food) and it went very well! I earned "buenas notas" in both of my classes, and I am pleased to be done and enjoy the rest of the day without any homework.
My plan for the day is to pack my suitcase and print my airline ticket, to run last minute souvenir errands, to go to the castle around sunset, and to go out with the whole group tonight to celebrate. Unfortunately, my flight leaves Alicante at 6:30am so it will be an early morning/long night (Emily and I decided to just not sleep until the plane). Our "mom" Eva is going to drive us to the airport, which is extremely nice because it's so early and we don't have to pay for a taxi. I took a video of our house today and I'm excited to show it to the fam when I get home so they can see where I lived :) For comida we had a delicious salad, traditional paella, and un tarto de queso (that's cheesecake, yall). It was delicious :) And the cake was handmade by Eva and in the shape of the heart. <3 I think I'm going to cry when we leave, but I'll try not to lol. I just don't like the idea of possibly never seeing these friends again. I've met a lot of people here that I love being friends with and it's just unfortunate that we're all going back to our separate parts of the US. But don't get me wrong; I am also very excited to go home and see my family and friends, of course. :) I will post again when I'm home with final thoughts and hopefully some sort of conclusion to this journey.

 How I get to my second home...

Hasta pronto,
SarahBee

la gente de mi vida en alicante

Part of a blog that I started last week lol...
Eva-- My madre/mom/host-mom/etc. She is awesome. I absolutely love her, partly because she is an AMAZING cook. I have loved almost everything she has made for us! Even the foods that we have had in restaurants (like tortilla espanola) don't even compare to Eva's tortilla espanola. She prepares all her plates beautifully and you can tell that meals  together are really important to her. She even packs sandwiches, juice, and fruit for school for Emily and I everyday. And lately, she's been making us chocolate milk before bedtime; she even froths the milk and brings it to wherever we are. She makes me feel like some sort of dainty princess because she does our laundry, the dishes, everything. It's so sweet of her and it's really nice to have time for other things, but I am not used to someone doing so much of that for me. It's good that it's just a month... I don't want to get too used to that haha. I can't believe we leave her in two days :( I'm really sad about the idea of not knowing when/if I'll see her again. But moving on for now.

Lucía--My host sister. Unfortunately, she's only been here a few days here and there because it's summer break and she's spending a lot of time with her dad and his family, on vacation, etc. (Eva and him are divorced). However, I have loved talking with her when she's here! She's 16 years old but very mature for her age and she's so sweet to let Emily and I live in her house, and her bedroom! Also, she speaks english so that's helpful when I'm not sure of what she's trying to say to me. I wish I had gotten to spend more time with her, but I'm so glad to have met Lucia.

I just wanted everyone to see my lovely starbucks drink while in Madrid :P

The past few days I have been doing the usual school, comida, siesta, homework, beach, and gone to the barrio once or twice. I can't believe I leave this city in 2 days. I'm definitely going to miss how beautiful it is and how there are always people out in the streets hanging out, especially at night. I went for a run today along the port (is that the word in english?)/ harbor and it was just really relaxing. Everything was so beautiful--the ocean, the castle, the buildings. Running in Cincinnati isn't nearly as pretty, but nevertheless I'm really looking forward to being home. A lot of people are traveling around Europe after classes end, and for awhile I was regretting not choosing to do so. But now I think that 4 weeks here was plenty of time for me, especially for my first time traveling, and I'm really starting to appreciate home now. I gave a presentation in one of my classes today about my hometown and it made me realize there are a lot of things about Cincinnati that I can really value because I've been so removed. But more on that later. For now I've got 2 days to finish up schoolwork, buying souvenirs, and enjoying every minute of my time in Alicante.

¡Fui a Madrid!

Getting there...

I spent this past weekend in Madrid and it was AWESOME! Although I am still exhausted from the trip, it was well worth it. It was just Emily and I who went together, but we had a blast. Friday afternoon we walked (only 5 minute) to the train station of Alicante and took a 3-hour ride through the country to Madrid. The train was actually kinda fun; much more relaxed and spacious than an airplane. When we arrived in Madrid we decided to walk to our hostel because we weren't very far from the city center... however walking with a backpack/suitcase in the hot sun isn't the most fun thing. We finally got to the street of our hostel, and it was nowhere in sight. For a few moments, I panicked and we asked several people if they knew where it was. A nice guy working in a restaurant on the street looked it up on the computer for us, and found out we had the wrong address. However, the real location of the hostel was very close and when we finally arrived we collapsed on our beds. 

Our hostel was called "Los Amigos Backpackers" (kinda funny) but was pretty nice. We only had to share a room and bathroom with two other people. Plus, there was free toast/cereal/etc. for breakfast in the mornings. The first night in the room we met Francesco, a nice older Italian (Tuscany) guy on vacation, and Romanella, a sweet girl on vacation from Buenos, Aires (Argentina). We asked Francesco where a good place is for dinner and I think somehow the communication wasn't quite clear, so he ended up having dinner with us. He was nice, and it was just slightly awkward. This first night we saw tons of street performers (some of them being really cool and others being ultra creepy), some obvious prostitutes, and way too many people. Madrid is so crowded--i think it may be the bigger city I've ever been to so it was a bit overwhelming for my taste.

Saturday

Okay, on to the more exciting stuff. Saturday morning I woke up without an alarm (this never happens), got out of bed, quickly got ready, and headed over to the Starbucks which was a 2 minute walk from my hostel. Not sure if you knew this, but Alicante does not have anything even close to a Starbucks, and the coffees are always really small so I was so ready for a delicious cafe. To my dismay, they only had fancier coffee drinks like lattes/etc, but still the sizing was the same (GRANDE) and I very much enjoyed drinking my large latte outside on the terraza. 

The first thing Emily and I did was a free 3-hour walking tour around Madrid from 11 to 2. It was really awesome and well worth the free-dollars (ok ok i gave a 5 euro tip but still it was a steal). I wish I could remember all the interesting history and touristy stuff he told us... but that will be difficult. I will post comments on facebook pictures if you'd like more details on what we saw. After the tour, we went over to a restaurant with some people from the tour and had comida. This was the best meal I've had (other than Eva's cooking of course) and it  included lots of deliciousness. For 13 euros I got--a sangria, a vegetable quiche, bread, a chicken vegetable dish, and a brownie for dessert. It was marvelous. 

After comida we head over to the Palacio Real (where the king does not currently live but used to live). This place is huge and beautiful!  There are over 2,800 rooms inside it and we only saw some of the most beautiful and elaborately decorated ones. But unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures, and by that I mean I took 4 or 5 until they asked me to put my camera away. However, we did get in for half price (5euros) due to our wonderful student IDs. Next, we went to put our feet on the piece of concrete in the Puerta del Sol that marks 0km for every part of Spain. After that we went to the fanciest McDonald's I've ever seen (they even asked Emily to stop taking pictures haha) and got fountain soda drinks-great. Then, of course, we did a little shopping. Neither of us bought anything, but it was fun to look around at clothing stores that we don't have in the US. By this time it was getting pretty late so we went back to the hostel for a shower and quick rest. Here we met our roommate for the night--Hannah Walker from the UNITED STATES. It was really nice to meet someone with whom there was no language barrier. Hannah actually lived in Cleveland until she was 16 (when she moved to Florida) so that's pretty crazy we met all the way out in Spain. 

Emily and I went to get a light dinner at a restaurant called Las Cuevas de Luis Candelas and she bought me a rose from a street-seller--so adorable (we miss our boyfriends way too much haha). I just got fruit here but of course it was delicious and fancy--when you order water at these restaurants they bring a fancy bottle of just normal water, it's really bizarre to me (I definitely miss the complimentary ice waters back home). After this we went to a restaurant called "Las Carboneras" and saw a Flamenco show! This was totally awesome and worth the 23euros we spent on it. We also got a drink so that was fun--I got, of course, sangria again. Like I said, the flamenco show was pretty awesome! It is a completely different type of dance than any others I've seen-- very passionate and crazy fast. There were three female dancers and one male; also the music was played live (guitar and voices), which was really really cool. After the show we went back to the hostel and crashed. I slept much better Saturday night because Hannah was the only other person in our room. 

**Side note: Emily won the award for most touristy-tourist of the month on the way to the Flamenco show. While concentrating heavily on the map, she ran straight into a street pole and ended up hugging it. One of my favorite moments yet. 

Sunday

Sunday morning I woke up a little before 9 feeling very sleepy, but we had lots to get done that day so Emily and I got ready quickly and checked out of the hostel around 10. I was a little crabby this morning because I was tired and not feeling so well, but luckily Emily put up with me and I started feeling better throughout the morning. The first place we went was El Rastro, which is a hugeee open air flea market that happens on Sundays in Madrid. I really wanted to go there because my older/wiser sister Abby loved it when she studied abroad in Spain. It was really cool! We didn't have much time to walk around, but we saw the main area of the market and lots of people. 

After that we (eventually) found the Reina Sofia, which is a modern art museum, and we got in for free because it was Sunday! This was great. I understand absolute nothing about modern art, but some of the pieces were interesting. Mostly, I enjoyed seeing Dali and Picasso's works because I actually have heard of them lol. The original of the Guernica, one of Picasso's most famous pieces, was here and that was by far the highlight of the museum. It was absolutely huge and super interesting to read the history of the piece.

Next we had a quick lunch at a random restaurant. We each ordered an individual pizza and a soft drink. I paid 4euros for a can of Diet Coke--that's like $6. Not sure how or why this occurred, but mostly it was funny that this was the actual price. 

After lunch we stopped by the botanical garden and got in for half price--1.50euro-- with our student IDs. It was really pretty here and we enjoyed taking even more pictures.

Next was my favorite part of the weekend, we went to the Prado museum. This is full of classical pieces of art, and we also got in free here because of our student IDs (awesomeness). I loved this museum because I have never seen any art like this--dating back to the 1500s. I didn't realize how much I appreciate this type of artwork and I really felt connected to several of the pieces. The strangest painting was entitled, "The Origin of the Milky Way," which was hilarious and disgusting. I'm sorry but when I see a painting of a woman squirting breast milk at a baby's face, I can't help but be immature and laugh. On a serious note, there were a lot of "religious" paintings and statues that I really loved. We even saw an early copy of the Mona Lisa, which is the closest I've ever come to seeing it, so that was really exciting. 

By the time we finished the Prado we stopped by for some gelato, picked up our bags from the hostel, and caught the subway/metro to the train station. By this time I thought my feet might fall off, I was sweaty, and smelled horrible. We got on the train at 8:30pm, with some of our friends from USAC who had gone to Portugal for the weekend, and enjoyed the three hours of simply sitting on our way "home" to Alicante. When we got home, Eva made us pizza and salad and we chatted about the weekend. I showered and passed out in bed within about 5 minutes. 

Conclusion

Madrid was incredible! I thoroughly enjoyed it. It also exhausted me. This blog is extremely long, and i apologize to anyone who is still reading it. I will try to post short blogs the next few days. I only have 4 days left in this amazing city of Alicante :( so I will be busy wrapping things up, studying for exams, and enjoying my time here. However, I'm pretty pumped about seeing my family, friends, and especially my man Sam. 

Hasta Mañana,

SarahBee

Ps.. I will add pictures soon, I promise! It's 1am here and I'm tired haha. 

Leaving for Madrid!

So I did start a blog this week about the people who are in my life here, etc... but I never finished or got it posted. So it looks like the next update is going to have to wait until Monday because I am leaving for Madrid in less than one hour! Only Emily and I are going, but I am so excited. We're taking the train and it should be about a three hour ride until we get there. I probably won't have internet access all weekend because I'm not taking my computer. But family and close friends-- you have our cell number in case of emergencies. Today is the wedding of two of my friends back home--Shook & Stacy. I'm really sad that I won't be there to witness and celebrate with them, but I'm sending prayers and love their way. I know it will be beautiful and everyone will have a great time at the wedding! :)

I will post again on Monday.... probably with a bazillion things about Madrid. Should be a great time :)

Con amor,
SarahBee

¡Hace mucho calor!

It has been extremely HOT the past 5ish days here. Finally, today we've gotten a little break from the heat. It's nice to not smell horrible or be dripping in sweat for a change. Anyway, now that I'm done complaining, let's talk about what I've been up to. 

Friday night I went out to finally try tapas at a restaurant called Kategorri with Emily, Ricardo, Joey, Fabiana, Neals, and Jason. This was a little bit of an upscale take on tapas, but Emily's teacher recommended it and they were delicious! She also said that this restaurant's tapas are more similar to those in the north, which is where they originated. After tapas we decided to walk towards the old neighborhood with lots of bars, and ran into this amazing little corner where a group of people were dancing the tango--moments like this are so fun and feel surreal to me. Unfortunately, it ended about 10 minutes after we got there. But anyway, we headed over to the bars and popped in and out of places for an hour or two. Nothing spectacular, just lots of funny drunk people and awkward dancing. 

Delicious (kinda fancy) tapas

Saturday was the second (and last) excursion with our USAC group--we went to Altea and Calpe. Altea is a very old city and there were beautiful views from there. I also met a very friendly couple from Denmark, and it was really fun to speak to strangers in english. :) All we did there was walk around and see the sights, but it was fun. Then we went to Calpe, which is a much more modern city, and had comida at a restaurant called "Andaluz." It was all tapas, but was very yummy. I even tried fried calamari for the first time! Emily, Joey, Ricardo, and I also had a really good time playing with our food. Emily just kept picking up a piece of tortilla española and slapping it on a plate... one of those things where you had to be there, but trust me it was funny. And there will be a video at some point! After comida we all went to the beach and the water was absolutely gorgeous, but for some strange reason this water was very cold compared to other beaches. 

Calpe-- a huge rock that you can climb! Wish there had been time :(

(Altea) Oh yeah, we dressed like twins that day :P

Gorgeous--Altea

Fried Calamari rings... very chewy

 On Sunday Emily and I got up around 8 so that we could head over to catch the boat that went to the Island of Tabarca. This was really fun! I realized on the way that I have never before been on a boat in the sea, and it was a really rocky ride. I didn't get sick though, yay! The island itself is pretty small (only 68 inhabitants as of 2011), but we had fun there and it was also my first time on a real island... and by real I mean in the sea, not a lake. We watched a small marching band play a rendition of Lady Gaga's bad romance and a group of people stood around them and danced. This was just really funny for some reason. Then we explored the island, dropped our sunscreen in the sea, Emily rescued it, and we took lots of pictures of the amazing scenery. After that we went into the one-room island museum and watched a video about Tabarca (with english subtitles, yay!). Next we relaxed on the beach for awhile and then decided to go snorkeling. I had never snorkeled before, so this was awesome! The sea surrounding Tabarca actually became Spain's first marine reserve in 1986, so it was pretty cool to snorkel there. We say tons of fish, and I was nervous enough to get a good workout swimming away so that they wouldn't brush up against me haha. :) We took the boat back last night and relaxed for the rest of the night. I tried to watch one of Eva's (my host mom) movies called "Mar Adentro" because it's supposed to be a really good Spanish film, but unfortunately there were no subtitles at all. Instead I started watching "El león, la bruja, y el armario," but fell asleep quickly afterwards.

The little band in Tabarca

Beautiful beach on the Island of Tabarca

Side note: I've been doing pretty well with hearing and understanding native spanish speakers, but speaking has been a very difficult and frustrating process for me. However, I think my speaking is definitely improving, which gives me hope! I say this because last night Emily told me that when she came in the room I said, "Lo siento, estoy muy cansada." (In english: "I'm sorry, i'm really tired.) I really don't remember doing this, so my brain must be thinking in Spanish easier! Also, Eva told me at comida today that I'm speaking in complete sentences now (yay 2nd grade haha!) and that I've really improved since the first day. 

A helpful visual of where I went this past weekend

Con mucho amor,

SarahBee

¿Verdadero o Falso?

One of my (many) homework assignments this week was to conjugate some verbs within sentences about Spanish culture, and then to guess whether they were true or false. This ended up being really fun, and so I have decided to use this same method here on my blog to help paint a picture of the culture here. However, I apologize but I will be writing in English :P. My Spanish is neither good enough, nor would most people understand it. I'll use the most interesting facts from the worksheet, and I'll also mix some of the ones that I have experienced or learned while in Spain. Here we go, just choose true or false and check your answers at the end (posted at the bottom).

Quiz yourself to see how much you know about Spanish culture

1.) Smoking cigarettes is very common for people in Spain. You can smoke in restaurants, on the beaches, or on the street.

2.) The Spaniards normally drink wine during comida (the big lunch meal of the day).

3.) Many Spanish people go to bed around 12 or 1 in the morning, and even later on the weekends.

4.) Spanish people go to church every Sunday and are generally religious.

5.) Spaniards usually give "dos besos" (two kisses) when greeting or saying goodbye to any friends or family.

6.) Spanish families consist of many children, an average of about 3.3.

7.) Spanish people are very affectionate and public displays of affection are part of the social norm.

8.) Tops are optional for women at all beaches.

9.) Spaniards are very animated when conversing with each other.
10.) Natives from Spain have a "lisp" when they say their Z's and sometimes their C's.
11.) Spaniards eat a huge lunch around 2pm, and then take a nap (siesta) until 5pm.
12.) Spanish people typically stay out and drink lots of alcohol until the wee hours of the morning.
13.) Spaniards generally don't like or own pets.
14.) Spanish people are very environmentally aware and conserve water/energy whenever possible.
15.) Lines in Spain are very strict and it's considered extremely rude if you cut in front of someone.
16.) Personal space is very important and if you speak or stand too closely to someone it is considered strange.

Answers

1.) True. Our USAC representative, Luis, told us EVERYONE smokes and my teacher also told us how common smoking is here. Even our host mom smokes, but she usually goes out on the balconies and the house doesn't smell like smoke. This has been great for getting me over my extreme dislike of people smoking, though.
2.) False. We've never had any alcohol during our comidas at our house. However, my teacher told me that sometimes they do have wine for very special occasions.
3.) True.  This is partly due to the siesta during the day.
4.) False. In general, Spanish people are not very religious, especially not the young people. However, the history of Spain has a very Catholic/Christian background and therefore there are many cultural aspects that started due to religion. For example, ALL stores are closed on Sundays and people stay in their homes for the most part this day.
5.) True... kinda. The dos besos is given when men and women greet other women. However, men generally do not greet each other with dos besos... usually they do a hand grab and hug (aka "bro hug") similar to that in the US.
6.) False. My teacher told me that the average number of children in Spain is 1.3 and that many people never have children. This is quite a bit lower than the US average of 2.3ish.
7.) TRUE. This is very, very, very true. It is not uncommon to see people laying on top of each other and making out on the beach. Even walking the streets or on park benches, couples are very openly affectionate and no one stares (except for me maybe). This has been very weird for me to get used to... plus it makes me miss my boyfriend Sam :( Hope you're reading this, Sam lol :)
8.) True. At least all the beaches I've been to have been tops optional. This is a topic that I can't begin on though because who knows when I'll stop rambling about my opinions and thoughts on this subject.
9.) True. Very true, and I love it. It's actually really helpful for someone like me who has speaks and understands Spanish at a lower level. The way they use their facial expressions and body motions really helps me understand more of what they're talking about. I love our host-mom, Eva, because she fits this animated stereotype perfectly and is so fun to talk to.
10.) Yep, that's true. And in the States most professors are from Latin and South America so they teach different pronunciation than this. It's really hard for me to get the "lisp" right--either it's too much "th" or too much "ss." But I'm working on it.
11.) True. Our first day here our host-mom told us that she wanted us to come home very hungry for comida after school, so that's what we do. There is always lots of delicious food, and we rest immediately after. This practice is partly due to how freakin' hot it is during this time of day; all the stores are closed during this time of day for workers to go home with their families.
12.) False. This is what Americans, other tourists, and some young (as in teenage) Spaniards do for fun. However, in general Spaniards go out for a drink or two with close friends, sit in the outdoor seating of a restaurant, and socialize. Much more calm and in my opinion fun than the alternative.
13.) False. In our city of Alicante, it seems like EVERYONE has a dog. We can't walk more than one minute anywhere in the city without seeing a cute "perrito." Emily couldn't be any more happy about this :)
14.) True. Lights go off automatically everywhere because they are on timers (this is especially problematic in bathrooms). Also, there are recycling bins everywhere and trash gets picked up everyday.
15.) Completely False. It's the total opposite here. Line do not exist (hardly ever) and it's not considered rude at all to walk in front of someone... it's just the culture. This is sometimes frustrating as an American who particularly enjoys knowing that if I stand in a certain spot I will not have to aggressively earn my turn. 
16.) False again. The personal space bubbles are much smaller than in the States, and has taken some getting used to.


Alright, well that was fun. And that's all for now. We had a long day of excursions to Altea and Calpe. I got a little burned (for the first time) on the beach of Calpe--the sun was SO hot today--but it was absolutely beautiful there. Then came home and napped because I felt exhausted. Emily and I stayed in tonight to finish our homework and rest up for tomorrow. We'll be heading to the Island of Tabarca at about 9/10am (early for a Sunday in Spain) by boat and hopefully snorkeling while we're there!

Buenas Noches,
SarahBee

Wait, I actually came here for classes?

Cariños,
(this means love/affection and is what our host mom often calls us) so cute!

There are so many things I'd like to tell you all about--the cultural differences (good and bad), the food (pretty much all good), the people I've met, classes, language barriers, and fun things that I have seen/done.

 I'll start off with classes... I actually like them. My professor for intermediate is named Juan Luis and he's very nice. We only have six students in the class, so we have a lot opportunities to practice speaking together. Also, Juan is always telling us about cool restaurants, etc. in Alicante and I love that! My professor for conversation is named Conchi (don't remember how to spell it) and is also very nice. She speaks more quickly and has a thicker accent than Juan, which completely intimidated me at first, but now I'm starting to understand her better and am learning a lot in her class. This week has been pretty heavily loaded with homework and studying because we have midterms on Friday... classes move fast when you're only here for a month.

The food actually is not that different from foods we would eat in the US. They use a lot of olive oil, eat a lot of pork, and our host mom uses oregano a lot. However, for the most part the foods are things that we eat in the US. The biggest difference is probably the daily routine of when to eat certain foods. And there is also much less junk food--awesome! Breakfast consists of something small, a delicious chocolate croissant maybe, and a waytoosmall coffee with sugar and milk. Most people then wait to eat until the big meal--comida--around 2pm. This is when we come home. Our hostmom, Eva, is an amazing cook! She prepares all her plates very meticulously and you can tell that meals are very important to her. I really enjoy and admire this about her. Between comida and dinner we usually have a few small snacks and then eat a light dinner around 10pm. New things that I've tried and enjoyed are: tuna and crab (cold) on a salad... delish!, mussels (they taste like buffalo chicken but freak me out a little), and lots of variations of cooked pork/chicken and vegetables.

Sunday and Monday evening Emily and I went to a festival in our neighborhood (called San Blas) to watch the parades and reenactments of the war between the Christians and the Moors. Click here for a short wikipedia description of these festivities. The parade on Sunday was of all the Moors. They were dressed in elaborate, beautiful costumes. There were animals, funny dances, and the parade was very long. We stayed from 8 until 10:30ish  and it was still not finished. Monday evening was the reenactment of the fight, and this turned out to be very interesting. First, the two kings did a 15 minute skit of arguing over the castle, and then they rode away on their horses and the crowd began to disperse. Emily and I were a little confused why everyone was leaving, but were excited that we could move up for a better view. Just as we stepped up right next to the road, a cannon fired louder than anything I thought was possible and we just screamed. It was exciting and painful at the same time. We met a really nice middle-aged man during this loud tradition and he told us a lot of history about the festival, the castle, and the city of Alicante. He's lived here his whole life so it was really interesting to hear what he had to say. Although, with the gunshots I could only hear about half of what he said, and only understand half of what he was saying... but it was still awesome to meet him.

smoke from all the shooting

Dancers... very entertaining

The costumes and floats were beautiful

Will write more and add pictures later. I have two midterm exams tomorrow... woohoo.

SarahBee

Nuestra Excursion

Yesterday we went on our first excursion to three places near Alicante. We got on the bus around 9:15am (which felt very early after going to bed at like 3am and having my first real shot-tequila-the night before, but more on that later) and our USAC leaders, Luis and Sylvan, gave us some information on the history of these places.

The bus made its way up the winding road into the mountains towards our first stop at the village of Guadalest, which is actually within the rocks of a mountain. The only entrance to the village is a tunnel carved out of the rock, and as soon as you walk through the tunnel a beautiful landscape is before your eyes. It was incredible!

The village is inside these rocks

Me and my"best friend"

Our next stop was Las Fuentes de Algar, which is a natural waterfall and probably the most beautiful place that I have ever experienced. The coolest part about it was not just how beautiful it was, but that we all swam IN the river and stuck our heads under the waterfalls. I've never really enjoyed nature so much as I did at the Fuentes. One of the cultural aspects of Spain is that rules, if they exist, are not very strict and so this was true even at the Fuentes. There were hardly any workers or lifeguards, there were no signs telling you what you couldn't do other than "swim at your own risk." It really made the whole experience breathtaking. Also, the fact that the water was absolutely FREEZING (mind you, this was a hot day) contributed to the breathtaking aspect. 

Click here to read some info about Las Fuentes de Algar

After the fuentes, we had lunch in a restaurant overlooking the landscape. It was beautiful and we literally had a seven-course meal (this whole excursion was included in original payments for the trip)--bread, grilled vegetables, croquetas, salad, tortilla espanola, paella, and delicious helado turron (which is a specialty for this area). 

The last place we went was much more simple- the beach of Benidorm. This was a very touristy area, but it was fun too see and of course the beach is always enjoyable. :)

This was on the bathroom door of a restaurant in Benidorm haha.

Oh, about the tequila shot thing I said earlier, I had my first shot. It tasted horrible and I did not at all enjoy it. But I'm glad I tried it. When I got home and into bed, apparently I said some funny things to Emily... something along the lines of: "We're best friends. We go to bed together, we wake up together. And I don't get annoyed with you. Isn't that great?"

The excursion was definitely the highlight of the weekend for me. Went to San Juan beach yesterday with a bunch of people with the group and that was fun. The sea, the scenery, everything around here is beautiful. Plus I'm getting tan, which is a definitely a goal of the month. I will post again tonight or tomorrow about a very interesting fiesta/desfile happening in my neighborhood of San Blas.

Hasta Luego,

SarahBee

Muchas Cosas

I've only been here four full days, but I already love it. It's 3:30 right now; we just ate comida (which literally translates as food, but it's not called lunch/almuerzo here) and it was delicious. It is now siesta time, and this is the first day I've actually slowed down to relax during siesta. I'm not a big napper, but I love being able to stop in the middle of the day and take the time to do things I want to do... like write a new post. :) Btw, my good friend Emily (o Emilia) is using her time to watch funny videos of pugs. Yes, she's that awesome.

My schedule most days looks like this: 

Buenos Dias

7:30am Wake up, get dressed, eat a chocolate croissant and juice (called zumo), catch the autobus to the University of Alicante

9:15am Intermediate 1 class with my teacher, Jose Luis. He's a really good teacher and very relaxed. We usually get a 10 minute break for cafe and I eat the bocadillo (sandwich) that my madre makes Emily and I for school.

12:00pm Oral skills and conversation class. I don't like this one as much because my teacher has a strong accent and speaks very quickly. I think I will understand more as time goes on though.

1:15pm leave the university and take the bus back home for comida.

2:30pm The most delicious meal of the day with Eva (our madre), Emily, and sometimes Lucia (the daughter). We chat during this meal; I mostly listen and try to speak whenever I know how to say something.

3:30-5:00pm Siesta time... which means I can relax, nap, do homework, or talk to the fam or Sam on skype. All the stores are closed during this time.

Buenas Tardes

5:00-9:30ishpmThis time of the day always looks really different. Some days I will go for a run to the nearby park and other days I will go to the beach. 

10:00pm-2:00am This is the time to that Spaniards go out and socialize. They'll usually go to a bar or restaurant to get tapas (different appetizers) and drinks. Most Americans like to go to discotecas (dance clubs) or bars at this time, but the Spaniards socialize much more casually. 

Last night was the first time we (when I say "we," I usually mean Emily and I) went out with girls from our program's group. It was fun! For dinner we got kababs, which are a mix between a gyro and a burrito... very yummy. And then we got delicious gelato that our new friend Kyle told us was the best in the city. We then went to a bar in el barrio (neighborhood) and got a "Alacuntus rosado vino" and Emily got a "sex on the beach." I'm pretty new to drinking, and learning that it takes me only one glass of wine to feel buzzed. Emily said I'm just a very outgoing version of myself after a drink--and I like that haha :)

Emily and I went to the beach yesterday afternoon and it was beautiful! There were lots of big waves (olas), which apparently is uncommon for the Alicante beach. We saw a few sets of tetas (you know what those are), and had lots of fun discussions about nudity, shame, and American culture. It was blowing my mind how normal it is for women to be topless here. 

I'm learning new things about the Spanish culture everyday. A few of these are: Spaniards are very easy-going people, they're very diverse, and liberal/modern. 

I'm also learning and noticing lots of things about our own culture: Americans are easy to spot (but we still haven't figured out what exactly distinguishes us from Spaniards), in general we're fat/unhealthy, and we rush/stress much more than they do.

Until tomorrow,

SarahBee

Estoy en Alicante!

 Well, I’m here. Can’t believe it’s only been 2 days since I left home. I’m having a great time! But all the traveling made yesterday a lonnngggg day (technically 2 days) before I finally slept. I feel pretty good though, just a little sleepy today. So much has happened in the past few days. It feels a little surreal. I’ll try to go through a few of the significant things that happened.

            Once we landed in Madrid and I stepped foot off the plane, I was a little culture-shocked. Everything was in Spanish and I was completely alone. I looked at the up-to-date gate signs, but didn’t see my flight so I asked a man and he responded in English, which was nice. I continued to go where he said, but got very lost. This airport was HUGE! I had a lot of difficulty finding where I needed to go, and a nice man (not a worker) must have noticed how nervous I was because he asked to see my ticket and told me it was ok. I went through security and accidentally forgot to empty my water bottle (ha!), but the worker just emptied it for me, which was nice. Once I got past security things got easier and Emily found me about 15 minutes later. I was very glad to be with Americans, and I met several other members of our group.

            I fell asleep on the short flight into Alicante (45 minutes) and took the bus with the group to La Plaza de Los Luceros, which is the center of the city. Emily and I met our “mom,” Eva, there and walked to her apartment… which is beautiful! And MUCH bigger than I expected! It’s an old building but is very modern. She made us a salad and pasta meal, which was delicious. She mostly speaks Spanish, and I’ve had some difficulty communicating with her L But that is to be expected and I am already getting more comfortable and learning. Plus, Emily is amazing and helps translate when I don’t understand. J I’ve learned that I can understand much more Spanish than I can easily respond to, so I’m excited to start classes tomorrow and get into the swing of speaking.

            We went to a bar with our group last night and sat outside in this alley in the old barrio of Alicante. So many people were there to watch the futbol game between Spain and Italy… they won the European Cup! It was so lively; the cheering and fireworks did not stop until very late.

            Orientation was this morning, and then later went on a tour around the city. Everyone in the group is very nice and I’m having fun! Will write again tomorrow.

Dos besos,

SarahBee

departure

Hola amigos!

I chose to use this blog because I want to be able to reflect on my experiences, and it will be a great way to keep my friends and family up to date with what I'm doing. If you're reading this you should know that I've never written a blog before, so yeah.

Leaving the US

I meant to write before I actually left, but preparing to leave has been so busy that I haven't really had spare time to do that. Since I'm waiting on my first flight to JFK, and it's already delayed 45 minutes, I might as well start a post.




Here's today's schedule:
12:55 to 3:05 CVG (Cincinnati) to JFK (New York)
6:50 Leave JFK for Madrid
Arrive in Madrid at 8:30am (July 1st)
11:50 Depart for Alicante
1:00 ARRIVE!

I was mega-nervous in the week leading up to this trip, and I'm convinced that everything went wrong that could have (ok, maybe not everything)... I got a stomach flu that lingered for five days that has still left me with little appetite, I found out I wasn't registered for the right course with UC, and many little details were super stressful to me. I've never left the country, and I've only flown domestically twice (with friends and family). This will be my first time flying internationally and I'm alone (eek!).

Landing in Madrid

I'm excited right now, waiting for the plane. But (not gonna lie) it was pretty hard to say bye to Sam (my boyfriend) and my family. I'm really looking forward to what I'm going to learn from this trip, and what God is going to teach me about surrendering. Also, I get to try yummy food and speak Spanish!

Time to board,
SarahBee