Whoops! Time passes so quickly here. It's weird some days I'm super busy and other days I'm bored. I need to find a better balance. But anyways here's what I've been up to lately. Oh and a correction for my last blog...I should have said "ir de juerga" jaja. Una huelga is a strike and there actually is a National strike this Wednesday.
Winery- It was cool seeing the process and all the machines used. I love it because they use all the parts of the plants in some way (as fertilizer!) and don't use pesticides nor fertilizers (other than the plants themselves). There was a wine tasting as well, but sadly I still don't like wine.
El partido de futbol- I went to a soccer game between Hercules (from Alicante) and Valencia. It was really fun because everyone was super excited- yelling and chanting. We stood almost every time Hercules was close to making a goal. It was insane because Valencia scored within the first 5 minutes, but then Hercules stepped it up and came really close to making about a million goals. There was also a penalty goal for Hercules! Sadly, we lost 2-1 but Hercules played really we regardless.
Saliendo en la noche- I've had some pretty good times and met a few Spaniards this way. At one bar, Goa, we've met the owner (who also works there) and he's super nice. One night we got to play with water guns, huge sunglasses, and cowboy hats. =) Besides that bar, I think my favorite place thus far is Stereo. They play lots of American rock and it's basically all Spaniards there. I went with Jenni, Kelly and her Spanish brother and his friends. We had tons of fun dancing like fools. One of the guys knew the "Carleton dance" from Fresh Prince and tried to teach us it. It was pretty funny. That night I stayed out until 7am! Craziness in Espana.
Intercambios- I'm doing a language/culture exchange with a Spanish boy who studies law at the University of Elche (close to Alicante). He's really nice and can talk a lot which is good because we've only been talking in Spanish thus far. The first time we met we went to have coffee, and the second we tried to go surfing (he's really into surfing) but ended up just swimming and hanging out on the beach. It's a good way to make a Spanish friend especially because I've only had to go one time for my class at the University.
El gimnasio- So I joined the gym at the university and it's definitely going take some getting used to. You have to get a card to use either the gym or the pool and turn it in before you start. In the gym, there's hardly any girls and I need to get used to the machines...The pool was nice, but the first time I went I didn't realize all the rules. You have to have a swim cap, and shower first. There's also some sort of time limit/limit on the number of people but I don't really understand it. Both visits were a bit upsetting at first because I didn't know what I was doing and felt a little stupid, but I think it will be better when I go this week.
La copa mundial- My gosh! I almost forgot to write this...I SAW, TOUCHED, AND HAVE A PHOTO WITH THE WORLD CUP!!! I went with a few friends and we waited for 6 HOURS to see it. Craziness. I didn't think the line was that long. And of course it started to rain around hour 4 and none of us had an umbrella. We did meet a super nice Spanish family though and they let us stand under their umbrella. I just have to tell myself it was worth it (although if I had know it would be 6 hours...I don't know...). The wait made it so much cooler though!
Mis cursos- I'm taking Spain through it's pop culture, Advanced Conversational Spanish, and Legal and Political Structures of Modern Spain, as well as the university class. I like all my professors- they're all very different. I've learned a ton of colloquialisms from my convo class and lots about the culture in all of my classes. I love the overlap. My class about politics is interesting, but so far it's been more historical. I know we need to learn about the transition from dictatorship to democracy, but I get the feeling that my professor doesn't know all that much about it. I think his main job is his other job (which does relate to the class). The prof of my university course is super nice, but I still haven't had a real class. We didn't have class the 1st 2 weeks because he wanted to wait for everyone to sign up. So my first real class is tomorrow. The first day I went and I was the only one there besides the professor! It was really weird. But he said for my final paper I can write about Texas and how the petroleum industry has affected health or how immigrants affect the health system. I'm pretty passionate about both topics so I'm excited for the class!
GRANADA- I went to Granada this weekend with the University (about 50 of us in a bus) and it was AMAZING. The city has such an interesting history because it was the last part of the Moorish empire. We saw La Alhambra which is a gorgeous mini-town designed by the Moors and then added to (and destroyed) by the Christian Spaniards. I walked through most of the city- the architecture is really interesting because it's from almost every period (baroque, classical...). Some gypsies read my palm (I have the exact same future as my friend) and we saw the inside of the Cathedral there. It was gorgeous. There are tons of paintings, a massive organ, beautiful stained glass windows, and guilded columns everywhere. We ate dinner at some traditional places where you order a drink and they bring you a tapa too! In one we got to choose all our tapas which was really cool (and delicious). The other place we ate we ordered a few things a la cart because we wanted to try all the delicious fish. (Fish here is sooo fresh- I love it!) I also went to a teteria where they have a million types of tea, hookah and other drinks. I loved the atmosphere, and it was fun because I went with some people from my group, the tour guide (who is about our age), and a some girls from Italy and France. I now have a friend from Rome! I loved Granada, but I was glad to come back to Alicante. (It was already kinda cold there!)
Anyways, that's already a lot to read and I'm going to a latin dance class in a bit! I hope everyone is doing super awesomely well. I love and miss all of you!
Un besazo!
Juleeyah
So many exciting adventures! Haha to you having the same future as your friend, although I hope you the future with many friends. I am jealous of you going to a tapas bar...I want tapas.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the word Spaniard made me giggle b/c it reminded me of how earlier today I was at my club meeting and we were doing a getting-to-know each other activity (out new president is really in to those) where we talked to one person and then told everyone else about them. Anyway, one guy said that the girl he talked to had two Spaniards, and I don't think anyone noticed his error until he corrected himself and said and said spaniels. I am way to amused by malapropisms.