Differences

I went to "la misa" (mass) with mi madre last week. Since I've gone to more Catholic masses than I can even begin to calculate, it was pretty easy to follow even though I couldn't understand some specifics. I could identify prayers simply by inflections, which was pretty wild.

Afterward, we went down to La Explanada which is a beautiful walkway with thousands of hand-laid tiles. You can walk on it at any time, but on the weekends, there are several vendors in booths who sell jewelry, purses, belts, scarves, etc. There are also a few guys who don't have a booth who lay out knock-off purses (Louis Vuitton, Carolina Herrera, Dolce & Gabbana, etc) and sunglasses on large sheets, much like the vendors in NYC. Since this is in broad daylight, they have to be very careful because, as mi madre explained, the guys who don't have booths also don't have permits, and in addition are selling imitations. While we were walking, you could tell that there were cops a few paces behind us, because all the people with these knockoffs started cleaning up and walking away "inconspicuously" (with massive sheets full of bags over their shoulders). Then, after the cops pass, they put their stuff out again.

Stuff like that makes me feel right at home. Well, right in NYC, which is kind of close enough. However, I already have noticed some glaring differences between life on the East Coast, USA and life in Spain...

1) Staring. The CIEE staff warned us of this early on, and they weren't kidding. Everybody here stares. It's not always a mean stare (except when we roll up into el barrio 40 deep), it's just a stare of "Who the F are you and what the F are you doing here" or, in many cases, "How YOU doin'." I'm sure it's not technically socially acceptable, but it's kind of the norm.

2) Grocery stores. I must admit I was very relieved to find that the Mercadona (Spanish Giant) is half a block from mi casa. But it is a little different than my beloved Hershey Giant. For instance, in the Mercadona near the Universidad, the first thing you encounter when you walk in is...wait for it...feminine hygiene. Make-up, hair products, tampons, etc, immediately upon entering. Is it just me, or does that stuff always seem to be hidden and tucked away in American stores?

3) Television. First off, Spaniards LOVE watching TV. Mi madre, who is educated and lovely, loves gossip TV shows. They are impossible for me to follow due to extremely rapid speech and intense usage of colloquialisms, but they are pretty amusing. Additionally, due to Spain's differing views of sex (it's not nearly as taboo as in the US), condom commercials are extremely awkward to watch with families. Actually, Spanish prime time shows are dangerously similar to late-night US television shows.

4) PDA. Along with the openness of television shows is how acceptable it is to make out in public. As it was explained to us in orientation, it's not weird for kids to live in their parents home well into their thirties if they haven't married yet. Since many people are not interested in bringing boyfriends/girlfriends into their parents houses after a date or el barrio or whatever, they take it public. Que interesante.

Well, the intensive cycle is over, so NO MORE Friday classes this semester! Being the scheduling brat I am, and designing my schedule around time slots rather than course content, my weekends last from Thursday at 11AM until Monday 4PM. Furthermore, my direct enrollment course (the one I take at the Universidad with other Spanish students) is called Relaxation and Auto-emotional Control. So, when I do get stressed out due to my grueling schedule, I have my relaxation class every Tuesday and Wednesday evening. Que bueno.

Have a wonderful weekend! And happiest of birthdays (tomorrow, January 30) to my dear roommate and friend Jaclyn McDonald who will be entering the wonderful world of 21!

Rebajas

This morning was rough. I decided against going out last night in favor of getting extra sleep (this week and next week are very early mornings) and watched "Hospital Central" with mi madre. I went to bed between 11:30 and 12, which is still a little later than I hoped. I woke up this morning to the sound of church bells. I was pretty sure I heard 9, which sucked, because class starts at 9 and it takes at least a half hour to get to the Universidad by bus. I checked my clock and it was, in fact, 8:55. Not sure if I forgot to turn the alarm on, or if I shut it off in the middle of the night, but regardless, I was going to be late. I got there around 9:35. (At least I was well rested?) I haven't had to wake up this early this consistently since high school. I forgot how terrible it is.

Moving on...

In America, we have "sales". These occur randomly, whenever the CEOs of a store decide to run a promotion. Our biggest sales take place at the end of the seasons, specifically winter and summer, and discounts are usually between 15% and 40% off. Which is pretty decent.

But SPAIN knows how to do sales.

This time of year, just about every store in the area (country?) is in the middle of "rebajas". Rebajas are just like sales, except WAY BETTER. Discounts are more commonly 50% to 70% off. If Forever 21 had a sale like this, they would literally be giving stuff away for pennies; however, most of these stores are a little more expensive than Forever 21 so I didn't find anything for 50 cents. But I did find a great pair of boots for 17 euro, which is about $23. My plan was to spread out my shopping over the time I was here, but that's just silly when everything is half price now. I actually didn't spend as much as I thought I would, so maybe that means I can actually bring souvenirs home for family and friends :)

El barrio y homestays

Alicante es la ciudad mejor del mundo.

Ok so that may not be ENTIRELY true but it IS awesome.

Last, despues de un almuerza de paella and a major walking tour of the city, we had dinner at another traditional Spanish restaurant con muucchhhos tapas. And then, after that, we went to el barrio, which is on the east-ish side of town a cerca de la playa. El barrio is Alicante's equivalent to Beaver Ave, the Southside, Second Street, whatever. Except it's hardly equivalent. There are bars for DAYYYSSS and the Spaniards literally stayed out raging until 6 or 7am. I didn't, but it was still a great time. Waking up at 8:00, however, not so much.

We had a few more orientation seminar things today, a brief walking tour of the Universidad, and another huge lunch. After lunch, we talked a little bit about our classes, and then we met our familias. We all sat in an auditorium-like room with our luggage around the perimeter, and Paco, the director, would call our names one by one when our familias arrived. When he announced the student's name, everyone clapped, and then he/she would go greet their familia. Mi "senora" se llama Ileana and her daughter is Elena. They live in an adorable apartment (casa) in a very convenient, central location. I'm close to buses, trains, el Tram, la playa, el barrio, todos. Fantastico.

Pero estoy muuuuy cansada y necesito descansar.

Also, pardon my Spanglish.

Goodnight Mom and Dad :)...and Jill and Jeff and Dan

Finally.

After a good 16-18 hours of traveling, I finally got here!! I shouldn't complain...I only had two flights. Other people had to fly from the west coast to the east coast then onto Madrid and THEN to Alicante. No free WiFi in the airports made my life a little stressful, but now we're in the Villa Universita which is where the University's students stay. We have orientations and stuff to get through tomorrow and Sunday, and then our host families pick us up Sunday evening...wild.

Tengo hammbbreeeee

First post...here goes nothing!

I've always been of the opinion that blogging is awkward. Xanga is dead...I retired once I realized how weird I was in middle school.

But here's the thing.

I'm going to Spain in five days or so for an entire semester, and I have a terrible memory.

Therefore, I've decided to keep a blog so that I don't forget all the cool things I do and so that my parents know I'm not just sitting on Facebook while I'm abroad. (No worries...my Facebook will still be up and running...obviously.) Maybe, if I'm lucky/loved, even a few other friends will use this to track my life too :)

So keep up, and leave some love if you want to remind me that you haven't forgotten about me even though I'm six hours ahead of most of you.


Oh, and Skype me!: jafornadley


Welp...see ya in June.