Thursday, November 29, 2012

DAD VISITS SPAIN !!!!

IT'S REAL. HE WAS HERE. PICTURES BELOW FOR PROOF. 
Sunday morning Carmen and Angel drove me to the airport and anxiously awaited his on-time arrival. We had lunch with them and then headed for the hotel. 
Since I had class this week, and it happened to be my busiest week yet, dad had to fend for himself most of the time.
Monday he climbed the castle and wandered around Alicante.

Tuesday I skipped class (hehe) and we went to the city of Murcia! It's a short trip, about an hour bus ride full of beautiful mountains. We went to a small museum about holy week, ate lunch in the plaza, and wandered around all day. 


I think dad just explored Alicante on Wednesday. For dinner we had tapas (with Martha, of course)! 
And this morning I sent him on his way back to the states. A short, but packed trip. So glad he could make it and fill me up with family time to hold me over until I get home ;). 

Saturday, November 24, 2012

end of november from spain....!

hello all! and welcome to a cross-cultural thanksgiving experience. 
i had a normal day of class and then a pretty normal afternoon. martha and i went to a friend's apartment at about 6. she was hosting a thanksgiving dinner for pretty much anyone, including american students, other foreign students, spanish people, and one american girl's family. we visited with them and ate lots of cookies. before they were sitting down for dinner, our friend will arrived and needed help carrying his food over. so martha and i volunteered to help. our walk to and from will's was perfect. 
i consider martha and him my closest friends here, so it was really nice to get to spend a few minutes together. we competed with coming up the most things we were thankful for (i think i won).! then martha went home to talk to her family and i came back here to a full swing thanksgiving dinner cooking kitchen. i started the mashed potatoes and got so nervous about messing up. then alex (the american girl that lives with my host family's sister) and her friend hannah arrived to help me. 
we had a full thanksgiving dinner; turkey, stuffing, green beans, corn, mashed potatoes, and some cranberry toppings (close to cranberry sauce or whatever we usually have) !!!
it was really awesome. then i went to martha's house for the night because neither of us wanted our night to be over. that is where i talked with most of you! i wish i could have seen you, but it was still fun and comforting to be in contact. 
also, you'll see they let me hold a knife and drink wine at the same time. .. DANGEROUS. 




Alright so then today martha, will and i went to elche, a city near alicante. there was a food festival going on, so of course we went. also, elche has one of the biggest palm tree parks in the world (i think). 
my day included catching the 11 am train to elche. wandering through palm trees, talking with ducks, watching babies feed swans, eating cupcakes and truffles, drinking wine, and other good things. 
it was a blast to spend the day with martha and will. usually i have such a good time with both separately, so it was double the excitement to have them together. 



^^ my life with two cute red heads. 
i hope that you can watch this video. we missed our original train home so i went walking and found this cool glass box full of old people dancing. of course i collected these two and we went to check it out. they are literally the best. <333 
miss you all. heading to bed so i can be up and ready for dad tomorrow! 

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

THANKSGIVING DAY PREP

MY HOST MOM BOUGHT A GIANT TURKEY THAT HAS A HEAD.
WE ARE JUST GETTING STARTED.
IT STILL HAS FEATHERS ON IT. YIKESS.
SHE DANCED IT AROUND THE ENTIRE APARTMENT.
<3333

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

HIKING IN ALICANTE

I know it's Wednesday and I'm just blogging about my weekend... don't be mad. 
Saturday my group from school organized a hiking trip not far from the city. Obviously, I went. We boarded up the bus at 9:00 am and the windows were fogged by 9:10 ;) .                                                     >> This is a home we saw in the mountains. I want to live there. LIKE REALLY< IM CHECKING OUT THE REALTY>  

Anyway, the hike was absolutely beautiful and impossible. When I hike, I take my time; walking, looking, ENJOYING. It seems that some people took this experience as a marathon or a nascar race. Anyway, there were several of us that wanted (NEEDED) to slow down. We hiked up for about 1.5 hr. and then camped out to eat our packed lunches. I chowed down on my peanut butter sandwich and everyone else's leftovers. Coming down was a blast. Now people wanted to run and I could keep up. We practically just threw our bodies down the mountain. 

Then we went to some caves that everyone was impressed with, but they were just like Meramec Caverns, so I was over it real quick and started imagining the stalactites as bacon. People caught on and we really let our imaginations run with it.  




<Friends on the mountain. ME* ERIC* MARTHA* CAitlin (Martha's friend from high school) 






Sunday night I caught both of these rascals with nothing to do but talk to me on the computer. WHATTA DREAM> ?!?!!! So much fun, can't wait to be together again ;)) 
All is well. Today is a general strike, maybe you've heard about it. I haven't left my apartment yet so I don't know what kind of crazy activity is going on in the streets, but I'm headed out real soon. Don't worry, I'm sure it's peaceful, everything in Spain is peaceful (my teacher told me so). 
I'm getting ready for dad's visit, well I mean not really doing anything to prepare, but getting excited for him and maybe some beef jerky (HINT HINT (NOT SPICY)) One month left. I know it will go so fast. I'm talking more with the family, still eating everything in the house and loving it. My grades are good (no worries folks). 
MISS> LOVE> LOVE> MISS> <333 

Monday, November 5, 2012

A REALLY GOOD WEEKend

Hello all! I just had a rough Monday after an amazing four-day weekend. Bear with me as I try to capture the majority of my re-energizing, yet exhausting weekend. 

As I'm sure you are all aware of, last Wednesday was the American acclaimed holiday, 'halloween'. Although traditionally Spain doesn't celebrate it, within recent years it has gained popularity because, well.. because it is a reason to dress up and have fun. fun, did someone say FUN!? of course I was willing to partake. 


 No way was I about to spend money on a costume, so early Wednesday morning I began to evaluate my closet: maybe a vine (easy all green), possibly a zombie (I can wear anything!), or Cleopatra (my specialty, jewels and make-up). Just when I was figuring things out, I went to my friend Martha's house and her host mom became involved. She didn't like any of my ideas and took it upon herself to dress me in her real daughter's clothes from every decade ever. So I squeezed into those crazy pants and topped it with a knit hat. I think officially I was 'a girl: from any decade you want'. **Ignore the sexy pirate, that's my friend Erika. ::: **






Thursday Martha and I rock climbed and hiked through a new area just up from our houses. We originally went out around noon, came home for lunch at 2:30 and returned to the mountains until near five. A beautiful day spent making ourselves stronger and laughing when we fell (HEHEHE).
Thursday night I went over to a friend's house to make dinner and he asked ME TO PEEL THE POTATOES. (Some of you are aware that years ago Uncle Jim prepared my sisters and I for this moment by gifting us with 'top-of-the-line potato peelers'. He also advised us to always have ours with us, because this special point in time would come.) Of course, I forgot my peeler in Freeburg, so I had to peel them with a knife (disgraceful). All I could think was how Uncle Jim 'told me so'. Regardless of my ill-preparedness, I had a really satisfying Thursday.

WE AREN't EVEN HALF WAY> TAKE A BREAK >

Friday I got to go sailing with Martha's host family on their big ole' sailboat. We left at ten with bags of fruit and bread, sunglasses, and jackets.
We sailed all the way out to Tabarca, the island I previously visited. I just got to lounge around pretty much the entire day (see photo below). It was an absolutely perfect day to sail. Along the way we snacked on cokes, cheese, and chorizo. Once we dropped the anchor I got to nap on the front end in the sun while I listened to Spanish adults talking and chicken being grilled. We ate salad, chicken, and fruit for lunch. I was still hungry, but no one else was, so I didn't ask for more (only complaint of the entire weekend).




On the way back to shore Juan Carlos, our captain, suggested we subirse (climb up) the mast. Of course I could not pass up this opportunity. The photos don't do the mast justice and I'm a terrible judge at heights, but know that it was VERY tall. So he strapped me in and pulleyed me up. Then I just got to sit up there and watch everything around me. The sea, some islands, the shore of Alicante, a blue sky. It was absolutely the perfect ending to a perfect day.  



Saturday I left Alicante at 9:00 am on a bus to Alcoi, a city about two hours into the mountains. Our destination was a festival in a smaller city not far from there. After a couple hours of napping and watching the beautiful scenery, we arrived! 


It was somewhat of a medieval festival so I felt right at home, in Praire Du or something like that, except that it was giant. The streets were full of vendors selling jewelry, pottery, grilled corn, cotton candy, and everything in between. Literally every corner unveiled a new street full of them. 
Most of the actual vendor people were dressed up in some sort of a costume and there were several performers around too (see photo below). I bought way too many souvenirs (some gifts!!), but had an eventful day. The whole place smelt like fall and festivals are supposed to; grilled meat and vegetables, smoke, goodness. It was a little rainy, also setting the mood for a fall day in the mountains. 





 I ate grilled corn on the cob, artisan chocolates, my packed lunch, 1/3 of the biggest cotton candy of my life, and tons of samples of fancy cheeses. The bus ride home I napped and tried to remember every detail about my day. I arrived to my host family, including the daughter and her husband, sitting around eating pumpkin pie. So of course I joined them! Such a fitting way to end a fall day in Spain. 



Because of the weather and it being November, my host family and I have been talking so much about fall/winter holidays and traditions. I've learned a lot about the different ways Spain celebrates La Noche Buena (Christmas Eve), Navidad (Duh), and La Noche Vieja (New Years Night). I still haven't figured it all out though, so don't expect me to change our traditions at home. 

It's getting colder and I'm feeling like this is my real life. I cannot believe I only have a little over one month left. There is still so much I want to do and see and learn. I'll just have to come back I suppose. 

Thanks for sticking with me through this monstrous post. Hope everyone at home is safe and lovely. MIss you all. Love you all. ALthough I don't want to leave, at least I have the best people waiting for me!!!!! !!!!! <3333