Semana tres

This week was the second installation of our intensive Spanish class. I am so happy that it is now over, but it WAS helpful. Four hours of Spanish class per day is majorly draining, though. Mi profesora told me that my speaking was improving, but obviously I need to just practice practice practice!

Tuesday we went to the Mercado Central, which is a huge fresh food market. We saw the slimey giant octopus, the pig heads, rabbits, slabs of beef, oozing shellfish, etc. Because I love food so much, I seriously enjoyed myself there. The vendors were really nice-they were willing to talk to us even as they were stabbing and cutting through the slabs of meat. They usually chuckled at us as we walked around with our homework papers trying to write down answers to questions. Susie and I talked to a florist from Colombia for a while who was learning English.

Later on in the evening, Andalusia and I went to get some fondue--cheese and chocolate! It was an idyllic meal- wine, bread, cheese, potatoes, fruit, and chocolate. Mi padre asked me later- "No carne? Porque no carne? Carne es el mejor!" haha- they sure do love their meat here in Spain.

On Friday, after our final exams and a failed attempt at shopping, a group of us girls climbed up the mountain to the Castillo de Santa Barbara once again- and by climb up the mountain, I mean we took the elevator up. It was such a beautiful day and it was so gorgeous. You honestly could see for miles and miles with the mountains and the Mediterranean in the background. Like, no big deal or anything! Pictures do it no justice, so if you are reading this blog, you will have to just make your way to Spain to see it.

On Saturday, I spent the morning playing with Chema and watching Disney movies in Spanish. Little Chema is a feisty little boy who loves to play with my camera and phone! He also loves to play in my room! Ahh living with a little sibling is a learning experience all of its own!

Most of the kids in our group ended up heading out to our friend Karim's apartment in San Juan, which is a beach town about 15 min from Alicante. The view from his apartment is comparable to the view from the Castillo Santa Barbara! We saw the orange moon rising above the Mediterranean! The amazing views in this country are what remind me that I am living in Paradise for the next 3 months :)

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the semester for us! I dont start my other classes until Tuesday, so tomorrow is only Spanish from 9-11 for me! yay!

This weekend we go to Granada as one large group. I am really excited for another excursion out of Alicante! There is so much to this country to explore!

Until next time,

my little puppy!

La Semana Dos

Language classes started this week and well, they do not call them Intensive Language classes for nothing. Two 2-hour sessions per day and we race through the textbooks and workbooks. We already had our first test this past Friday, which was much harder than I thought it was going to be. Necesito to start thinking in Spanish so I can speak and write sentences better!!

In the midst of trying to rapidly learn Spanish I've been trying to get out and see the city a little more and hang out with all of the other students. Tuesday was actually the busiest day I think I have ever had in my life. First of all, I will never get used to having to get up at 6:45/7 am for class. Then being at the university until 2, I rode the bus home grabbed my things and took the 30 minute walk into town to meet the students to climb the mountain to see the Santa Barbara Castle. I was EXHAUSTED. For some reason I didnt actually think we would be hiking the mountain, but we did. And well, we all know I'm not much of a hiker.

On Wednesday a few of us went bowling, which was borderline one of the most American experiences since I've been here. It one of those mega bowling alleys with the arcade games and the girl at the counter spoke better English than I do. I'm not complaining though. However, I will complain that lost terribly with a solid 63 points.

Food has been great so far! I love eating big lunches and then taking a nap. Yesterday I had hamball soup- well, its not called that--and it was great. Then we had a crawfish dish for dinner. I've had ribs, steak, salads, soups, etc. Muy bien. I feel a bit awkward taking pictures of the food at the dinner table so that is why there have not been any food pictures yet. Actually, I havent taken many pictures at all yet! I have to get on that.

Last night mi madre had her brother and wife and niece over. The little niece is adorable. She is two years old and adopted from Ethiopia. We speak the same level of Spanish, so coloring with her was very easy. We also played Wii bowling and Chema kicked my butt. No one knew how he was winning so much because every time he would bowl he would spin around and jump, but he got a strike or a spare almost every frame!

Weekends are lazy days, so I absolutely love them. I might venture out to the centro comercial and go shopping a little bit, just so I feel like I accomplished something, you know. :)

Mediterranean Living

I dreaded waking up on Thursday because I knew I would have to sit and stare as my family spoke at me in Spanish and try and find my way to the center of town and to the university. Getting to know a new place is never easy. Pero, mi madre took me to the bus station and rode with me to meet the group who was going to the university. This was nice because its the bus I will take to get to town and back, so I was able to memorize the route. However, it took a half hour to ride this bus to downtown and then another half hour+ to ride from there to the university!!

The university is this sprawling campus with concrete sculptures, pools, etc, palm trees, grass, flowers, etc. It is very tropical errr, I suppose Mediterranean looking. It is also very big because it has to house a population of 30,000+ estudiantes. Its quite beautiful.

So, I hate to admit it, but I think I rocked the placement test. It was easy. But, I later find out that it doesnt really matter. They just need to know if we were extremely beginners (never taken spanish) or a little bit more knowledge of the language (me). Oh well. I also found out that I have classes on Friday morning, which really sucks, pero I will just have to make do.

I spent the afternoon trying to find my way home. It actually is not as hard as I will make it seem, but the bus only comes every 25 minutes, so if I miss it, I am screwed and it takes forever. I have a few other students who live near me, so I rode the bus with them and I finally got home about an hour and 15 minutes after I left the university!

Mi Madre had lentil soup waiting for me when I got home--it was amazing. We sat and talked for a little bit, and while I only understand about 50% of what is said, I was grasping concepts and we bonded a little bit. Then, I siesta-ed for a few hours.

I ventured out to buy a phone, which was way more difficult than it should be because I had to go back home to get my passport, etc. I also bought some essential things like a hair dryer at the super mega department store in the mall. This is going to be amazing to have it right across the street. I was going to head downtown to join the group who went out for the night, but mi hermano insisted that I put away my clothes and get off the computer! so, I did that, and besides, I had missed the last bus to town anyway.

On Friday the group went to Guadalest ^, a village and castle that was built into a mountain. It was beautiful and extremely peaceful. Also, we went to Villajoysa (below), which was a fishing town with a big fortress to protect from invasion. We got to see the beach--the bright blue water with palm trees, with the colored houses with tiled floors and pottery. Although my description is not the best, trust me, it was gorgeous. Straight out of Southern Living, err Mediterranean Living. We also at some churros and drank hot chocolate, but it was more like eating funnel cake and drinking chocolate fondue. It was delish, but it made me feel disgusting.

Friday night we went out to el Barrio, which is the area where the bars and clubs are. I had a lot of fun, and I realized that I am really getting used to the areas around town. It is a small town, so it is easy. The Taxi driver on the way home asked me where I was from and I said the US, and he asked specifically so I said New Jersey, and he went crazy with joy. For some reason he loved NJ- it makes me wonder as to whether "The Jersey Shore" has become popular in Spain now. That would make me cry.

Saturday I slept in and then colored with Chema for a little while. For lunch, Mike, the homestay student who previously stayed with mi familia came over to eat. We had paella and it was AWESOME. It was vegetarian, because he doesn't eat meat, but I hope that mis padres will make it for me with some seafood or meat some day. Then, Mike went back to work and I was left with Chema to sword fight, but it was not fair because he had a pistola! He had me running all over the apartment, and after eating a lot of paella, that was just plain exhausting. I siesta-ed the rest of the afternoon!

Mi padre told me that it will only take me 15 days to figure out what they are saying. I think that is a little bit of a stretch, so I'll give myself 20. I also found out today that not only am I the first girl that this family has housed, I am one of the weakest Spanish speakers. Wow, that makes me feel crappy. As of right now, I sit with a dictionary at dinner to try and speak to them haha. If i have something important to say, I google translation it and read it to them :). I cannot wait for language class to start on monday!!!

Dos Gringos en Alicante

I arrived in Boston to catch the group flight to Madrid. Incidentally enough, Heather was flying to Boston from Florida at the same time on the same airline, so we were able to meet up for a drink and some lunch. She, and our outrageous waiter, Carmine, helped to settle my nerves a little bit. I met the other 5 girls from Northeastern who were headed for Alicante in the international terminal at Logan, a place I know all too well. Everyone seemed very nice and very anxious. The flight to Madrid went smoothly, pero they did not feed us until two hours into the flight and then they turned off the lights, so if we wanted to sleep we only had 4 hours, but they turned the lights on an hour before we landed to feed us again. So, I arrived in Madrid sleep deprived and cranky, only to find out que nostros vuelo fue delayed. So the group from Northeastern met some other students going to Alicante with us and hung out for some food and drinks. And then our flight was delayed again. And again. And we had to walk up and down the vast terminal to find the right gate over and over again. Not ideal. When it snows in Madrid, apparently the world falls apart. But, we finally got on the plane at 1:15 pm and I fell right asleep.

Our bags arrived safe and sound in Alicante, so life was good for me. Plus it was about 65 degrees outside and sunny when we landed, which was completely different from Madrid. We got to our hotel and it was beautiful and gorgeous, and more than half the group had yet to arrive due to delays and cancelations in Madrid. Therefore, I had my own room for the night, which I was not complaining about. We had a short orientation session and went off for dinner with some student helpers from the Universidad de Alicante, who were forcing everyone to speak in Spanish, which is obviously the point of this trip, but honestly, I need a refresher course and a nice nap before I jump right into that kind of stuff. Dinner was a lovely array of cheese, bread, fried calamari, jamon, y vegetables, etc. The student helpers told us all about where to go out at night and what the youngsters do around town. Following dinner, I immediately crawled upstairs and collapsed into bed after being awake for a good 30 or so hours.

The next morning we got our information about our family which was exciting for everyone. I found out I had a young madre y padre y 5 year old brother and dog! That is the exact opposite of the family I said I wanted, but i was actually very excited about it. At lunch, I found out one of the student helpers, who was a study abroad student from last year, had the same family and they were wonderful, so it made me feel much better. But, I was a little worried because when he studied here last year, he was already fluent in Spanish. So, I have a little catching up to do. Just a little ;)

after orientation and some great tapas, the student helpers took us out to the Dos Gringos bar, which is not really culturally Spanish, but they thought we would enjoy the Tuesday night beer pong tournaments. Andalusia and I ended up losing to some Spaniards who were very nice in teaching me some Spanish while the tournament progressed. I also met a new British friend who is stuck in Alicante on business for a while. The night progressed into a small group of us stopping at KFC on the way home for some fried chicken and fries and talking to Nepalese immigrants about working in Spain. Night well played. I vowed that the next day I would start doing more Spanish things, knowing I would be forced to when I moved in with mi familia.

On Wednesday, everyone was anxious about meeting their family and moving in. It was as if we were about to leave summer camp and get picked up by our parents. We split up into small groups for lunch; split up by where we live around town. I and three other students happen to live in houses furthest away from the center of town, minus the 6 students who are living in dorms at the universidad. Its okay, I was reassured that the neighborhood I lived in was a nice suburbia with a shopping mall across the street. And it is true. Mi madre, Maria Jesus came to pick me up this afternoon and she drove me home. She is very nice, but it is so hard for me to understand what she is saying. I don't want to have to ask her to repeat everything or claim that I don't understand everything, but its true!! It's very frustrating, but she and Jose, mi padre, seem to be very understanding of the fact that I am not very good in their language. Jose Chema, my hermano, does not understand that fact, but he is very very cute. He gave me a stuffed animal on his way out to Judo class, but he took it back later on in the night haha. Eating dinner was funny because Chema likes dessert more than dinner and crawled under the table to get the whipped cream out of the refrigerator. Maria y Jose cooked me tortillas de patatas, which is like a potato omelette, but better, with some sausage on the side and a big salad. it was delicioso and I would definitely be happy if I was cooked that again.

Living in the home so far is a bit uncomfortable because I didnt understand what she was saying about some "rules" or I guess ways of the house is a better way of putting it, and I feel bad having to ask again, especially because I won't understand again haha. I also broke my desk chair the minute I sat down which was a bit awkward. I need to lay off those potato omelets I guess! It's the little things, like not knowing how to act in the house, not knowing when I can take a shower, not knowing if I'm allowed to go in the fridge, not knowing where I am, etc that can really make it kind of difficult. I think Maria was telling me about a job she started, but I could be completely wrong and she could have been talking about someone else. The student who lived with them last year is coming over for dinner this weekend, which is very good because I am going to get him to clear up a few things for me!

Tomorrow we take our Spanish placement exam and tour the campus. I cannot wait to start the Spanish classes so I can feel more comfortable speaking. I wish we had started before moving in with our families!!

That is all I have for now. I am exhausted from meeting people, making small talk and wracking my brain for Spanish words I haven't used in years. Es muy dificil!

Au Revoir

The creation of a new blog marks the beginning of another adventure abroad. This time I will be in Spain. Alicante, Spain to be exact. On the eastern shore of the Mediterranean, with beautiful beaches and some wonderful seafood I assume. I leave on Sunday afternoon.

Before I leave, my parents thought it best that I take a trip to my own nation's capital. So, tomorrow we leave at the crack of dawn to tour the Capital and the White House and wave to the President's dog. Then I leave from D.C. to Boston, from Boston to Madrid, and then Madrid to Alicante, arriving Monday morning. :) Love those long journeys.

So, au revoir, or adios I should say. NJ--See you in May :)