Familia

For the past month that I've been here, it's mainly just been my madre (Ileana) and me in the house. Her daughter, Elena, is in her thirties and also lives here too, but bounces back and forth between here, work, and her novio's house. From Thursday evening to Tuesday afternoon, we had the rest of the family here, too. Ileana's son Ray, his wife Maria, and their adorable son Ignacio visited. While I was in Barcelona from Friday to Sunday, I got to spend some quality time with the family anyway.

Ray and Maria currently live in Madrid, but they spent some time in Atlanta, so Ray is pretty good at English. A few of their conversations went completely over my head and he was very patient in explaining what was said. Maria was very pleasant and I got to meet her parents on Monday which was also fun. But the BABY. This precious little thing had chubby cheeks and huge eyes, and Ileana affectionately referred to him as "Gordito" or, basically, "little fatty." I always love babies, but am usually a little timid at first to ask to hold them and play with them, especially if I don't know the family very well. But basically as soon as Ray & Co walked in the door, I got as much face time with Ignacio as I wanted. Since I was gone for the weekend, no one seemed to mind passing him off when I was around. They were also talking about teaching him English starting this summer (and baby talking in a foreign language is kind of awkward) so I got to talk to him mostly in English.

It was really nice having some different voices around the house. Additionally, the only mornings the baby was here were mornings I had to wake up relatively early...so no problems with crying in the morning :)

Madrid y Barcelona

I've been quite the traveler recently - two weekends ago was a trip with a few friends to Madrid, the capital of Spain; this past weekend was a CIEE organized trip to Barcelona, another important city in Spain. Each city had it's high points, but in general, I think Barcelona was my favorite.

We took Ryanair, an infamously cheap airline, to Madrid. Aside from slightly delayed departures, we had a good experience with the airline. Upon arrival in the airport on Thursday evening, we hopped on the Metro to our stop at Puerta del Sol. We took it easy that evening (we had done a little pregaming at the airport and were kind of tired) and chose an Irish bar called Dubliner's.

The next day was packed with things to see. We walked through the Plaza Mayor and its little shops, then over to the Palacio Real. The Palacio Real was very impressive. We did a self-guided tour using the plaques in each room and a pamphlet. Walking through once apparently wasn't good enough – the girls I was with decided they wanted to get their "money's worth" (all 5 euro) and walk through again. Fine by me.

After some lunch at a paella restaurant, we opted for a little bit of down time before making our next move. We ventured over to the Paseo del Prado and caught the last two hours of the Prado, which is free. Two hours isn't even close to enough time to be in the Prado (it's HUGE), but I got to see all the works I really cared about/learned about, like Goya's Second of May, Third of May, and Saturn Devouring his Son, Velazquez's Las Meninas, Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights, and Fra Angelica's version of Annunciation.

Saturday was also jam-packed with activity. We wandered through El Parque del Retiro, which is kind of like Central Park in that it's this big, beautiful park seemingly in the center of a huge city. We checked out the vendors and had a little picnic beside the pond where they offer rowboats for rent. Then we hit up the Reina Sofia, which is famous for all its Picasso (most notably Guernica). Another impressive museum with lots to see. Saturday night we went by Kapital, Madrid's biggest nightclub with a staggering SEVEN floors. I'm pretty confident I didn't see all of them...but I'm told each floor had a different theme. Interesting.

Sunday was a day of rest. We wandered a little bit, had some food, nursed our hangovers, and took naps. I opted for the Sunday night flight back to Alicante while the other girls planned on returning the next morning.

This past weekend it was off to Barcelona! We left Alicante at around 7am on Friday morning on charter buses. Our first stop was the Codorníu vineyard and bodega. We learned about the bodega's history, how to make wine, and we took a little ride through the wine cellar. It was a beautiful place and a nice way to break up the 6(ish) hour trip to Barcelona (not to mention the free samples at the end...).

We arrived in Barcelona around 5:00. We had time to settle into our rooms at the Hotel Cristal and then the rest of the night was ours. A few of us decided to go to the Picasso Museum; literally a hole-in-the-wall museum, but very interesting. It included several of Picasso's works before his more popular cubist stuff. Then, of course, we hit the Barcelona night club scene.

Saturday started off with a short walking tour of the city. This city was transformed by Gaudí in the early 1900s and his influence is apparent. We also saw the city's Cathedral (not to be confused with Gaudí's Sagrada Familia, which we saw Sunday). After the tour, we had free time to eat – we chose a bangin' pizza place – and then it was off to Park Güell, again with the heavy Gaudí presence. We visited his former residence and got to see the site of the America's Next Top Model finale when it was filmed in Barcelona.

Sunday we visited La Sagrada Familia, which to be honest is the first non-ancient but still famous church I've encountered. Lots of the construction took place in the 1920s but the construction still continues today. They're hoping it will be finished by 2026, which is the centennial anniversary of Gaudí's death.

And then, after lunch, we were on our way home. It was a pretty long trip, but we had a stop in the middle to grab some food and let the driver rest (and don't forget the two emergency stops we had to make before and after the planned stop because of the people who have Taylor bladders). All in all, hugely successful weekends. Both cities are awesome for long weekend or week-long trips, but I can confidently say I am happy to call Alicante home.

Las clases

My first complete week of classes ends tomorrow. I would say "whew!" or something along those lines but to be frank, the schedule isn't terribly taxing. I only have to wake up before 8AM twice a week, and the other days I don't have class til 1:00 or 4:00. And did I mention there's no classes on Fridays? So great. While the schedule and timetable of my classes is nice, the classes themselves are another story. Never been a big fan of writing, so I purposely selected classes with CIEE that didn't seem writing-intensive: Conversational/Colloquial Spanish, Spanish for the Health Professional, and Spain Through its Popular Culture. All of them are interesting, but since they're regulated by CIEE, they ALL have a writing component. FML.

I also was disappointed to find out today that Spanish for the Health Professional is a little more than I bargained for. I was hoping for a nice vocab-intensive course where I would learn lots of different terms to help me in the field, and it will be eventually, but right now it's a little heavy in the politics with debates and discussions over differences between health insurance in Spain and in the US. All interesting, but also mostly over my head.

This past weekend, I stayed here in Alicante while others opted to do some traveling. I went to el barrio in the evenings and spent most of my time during the day laying on the beach. TOUGH LIFE. It wasn't quite warm enough to get in the water yet – probably only in the mid-60s – but it was warm enough to break out the bathing suit and start working on the tan. It was an easy, stress-free weekend (other than the Steelers' loss...still bitter).

Next on the list: MADRID! A group of us are flying out tomorrow evening and I'm slated to get back Sunday night. We hope to see El Prado, Reina Sofia, and Palacio Real among other famous sites. Veryyy exciting!

First travels

Last weekend, we had our "province day trip" that took us to Villajoyosa and Guadalest. The weather conditions were less than ideal, but probably could have been worse, at least in Villajoyosa.

We hopped on the bus and our first stop was a beautiful beachy town called Villajoyosa. We wandered around inside the walls of the city, learned some history of the city regarding pirates, saw the beach, and also saw the town's church. A tour guide talked us through the history of the church, but she spoke pretty damn fast and so I honestly didn't really get a good grasp of what she was saying. Oh well.

Next stop was Guadalest. This is a town in the mountains. Very few of us dressed weather-appropriately and were not-so-pleasantly surprised with the high winds and little bit of rain. However, after heading up the mountain a little bit, we toured the Casa Orduña and the Castillo de Guadalest, both of which provided insights of Spain that we wouldn't have otherwise seen, since we live at the beach.

After regaining feeling in our extremities while we had lunch at a small café atop the mountain, we got back on the bus. The next stop was Campello, easily accessible to Alicante via the Tram. The point of this stop was for many to have their first experience with churros y chocolate. Michelle and I had already sampled them from the same restaurant in Alicante, but neither of us were complaining about eating them again. There was also a really nice beach in Campello where we hung out to digest our churros before reembarking the bus and going home to Alicante.

In addition to the excitement of our first trip with the program, this past week was also important for yours truly in the exercising realm. I have been running pretty consistently just along the beach and La Explanada, which is a nice, flat run that I can usually make last about a half hour (shown in the first two photos that follow). However, thanks to some of the exercise crazies in my program, I was convinced to take a run to the top of the Castillo (shown in the third photo). I've always fancied myself fairly athletic and in shape, especially now that I was running consistently. However, I had to stop and walk for...well...most of the way up to the castle. Twenty percent grades are kind of tricky, unless you're Allison from San Francisco who's used to the hills.

So that's what I've been up to! Lots of walking, a bit of running, some traveling, and a TON of food. Next weekend, I'm headed to MADRID!!! to see some major museums, restaurants, and other touristy things. This will be my first trip sans the coordination of CIEE...nos vemos...!

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