30 April 2011

Oh wow! I have just finished two crazy weeks! Last week was Semana Santa, or Holy Week. Everyday, there are processions with nazarenos or brotherhoods who walk with candles, crosses, and carry a replica of a saint or Jesus. They look a little weird to American students because the hoods of the traditional outfits remind us of the KKK, but they are nothing like them at all. In fact, here in Alicante, they are a lot more laid back. Children participate in the processions, either in bands or just walking as representations from their school or church, handing out candy to the other kids standing along the side of the road. Also, women are involved in everything, which is also not traditional, but is comforting to see. Before the week was up, my spring break started. A friend wanted to go to Dublin to see a movie that will not be showing in the states, and since I have never been, I decided to tag along. We only had two days there, but we met an old old friend of hers at Trinity College and she gave us the poor man's tour of the school and some of the surrounding sites. We also just enjoyed roaming the city, especially because pretty much everything was closed on Good Friday, so there wasn't much to do. Saturday, we tried to find out about the movie, but of course it still wasn't available even though it was supposed to be opening that day. To make up for it, we went and took a tour of the Guinness Storehouse, where at the end, I got my free pint and it took me almost an hour to finish it because I am not much of a beer person, but you got more to drink for free if you got the pint than if you opted for the coke, go figure. Plus, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to drink a free Guinness. We went to see Red Riding Hood instead since we couldn't go to the movie she wanted to see. The next day, we went to Malaga, back in Spain. Our intention was to stay there for five days and explore the area, maybe go to another town for the day, all because one of our professors loves the city. Well, when I booked the hotel, I thought I had booked something within the city, or at least pretty close to the city, because I knew it wasn't actually in Malaga. So we took a taxi. Turns out, the hotel was in a pueblo an hour and 15 away from the city, so the taxi was 97 euro. Note to all who plan to travel= double check where the hotel is and transportation to the place. There was a bus but we did not know about it until too late. However, the mishap turned out fine. We enjoyed spending the five days in the pueblo, visiting caves, walking around and admiring the black sand beaches. It was beautiful. Traveling back to Alicante turned out to be a lot more stressful than anticipated, and I will spare the details on that, only noting that we did have to buy another ticket from Madrid and so stayed in the airport for around 6 hours. That was a long, long, LONG day. I was so happy to be back in Alicante. I have spent the last two days relaxing and trying to get some more stuff done before my next trip back to London with Rachel and Logan. I am looking forward to this one because I think it is a little more well-planned than this last one. But eh, you live and you learn. That is precisely why I am here after all. It is weird to think that in a month, I will be back in the states trying to adjust back into the time difference. But until then, I intend to enjoy what time I have left in Alicante, and get this project for class finished!

* If you would like to see photos from Semana Santa, Dublin, and Nerja, I will be putting them up later, as well as some video footage from the processions

7 April 2011

Here is a video from part 1 of the ascent to the top of the Eiffel Tower:

Here is a video from part 2 of the ascent to the top:

Now that I have officially finished uploading info from Paris, I figure I might as well let you know some more about what I have been experiencing here in Spain, the main theme for this blog. Well, now that I am down to just taking my university class, I have a lot more free time. I still have some reading to do, but I only have class twice a week, so since I got back from Paris during my class, I only had to go once this week. The weather here has been improving and so I spent a few hours at the beach with Rachel today. I needed that lazy time and I most definitely need the color from the sunshine (my arms and legs are totally different colors). For those of you who have never been to Europe before, like me before I came here to study abroad, the likelihood of you experiencing topless beaches is probably slim to none. We think that within the few hours we were at the beach today we saw about eleven women without the tops, quite a few in thongs, and a few men in speedos. It was definitely a different experience. The Spanish, or rather the Europeans in general, have a different idea about body exposure for sure than Americans. Be prepared when going to beaches while here. Also, make sure to note that there is a chance that you will see people completely naked, which, thank God, I have not had to deal with yet, but a few of my friends have. It surprisingly didn't bother me as much as I thought it would, but I know that it still shocks some of the other students here with me. We have such a different mindset, wondering why they do it. It is the same as I discussed in my social realities project on sexuality in Spain, it is rebellion on a minor level from the censorship of the era that the Spanish were under Franco. They feel that they should embrace their freedom; if they can do this, why shouldn't they? At least that is what I have been observing in my time here. It definitely has been making me think more about my culture and how we take advantage of our freedoms or take them for granted, etc. I still can't say that one is better than the other, but just that they are different. Just some food for thought. 

6 April 2011

I have returned from the beautiful city of Paris as of yesterday. I had a very eventful trip. Saturday, when we left, the plane was late all in all (arriving to get us, and arriving in France). We had a little bit of difficulty navigating the Metro system when we got there, but by the end, we had it down pretty good. Rachel and I took a night bus tour of the city, seeing all of the beautiful sights of Paris lit up, including the Eiffel Tower in all of its sparkling glory. After the tour, I got us lost but we found a wonderful little crepe shop where we grabbed some dinner on our way back to the hotel. Sunday, we woke up a lot later than intended, so we didn't get a chance to visit Versailles, but, as it was the first Sunday of the month, the Louvre was free to enter and so we got to go in and see the Mona Lisa, among the other marvelous artwork (including the palace itself).
We couldn't resist some gift shopping in the carousel of the Louvre, where among other cute shops, you can find an Apple store, 2 Starbucks, a Mc Cafe, McDonald's, Swarovsky, Virgin Mobile Music and Video Library... The list of stuff just goes on and on. Monday was our last full day so we went to Notre Dame and took a peek inside the cathedral (sorry we did not see any hunchbacks) and enjoyed the craziness of the pigeons while we waited on our friend Nick to catch up with us. We then proceeded on a walk to La Sorbone (?) so that we could see Kelly, a fellow Hollins student who has been studying in Paris this semester, but before we met up with her to eat at an American themed restaurant, we located a vintage jewelry shop where we proceeded to drool over all of the classic beauty. Nick and I were sent on a mission to meet Mina, another CCCS student, at Notre Dame so that we could continue our tour of the city while Rachel and Kelly stayed behind. Of course, Nick and I got us lost, but we found the Luxembourg Gardens and so Rachel and Kelly caught up with us there. From there, we proceeded to the Eiffel Tower, where Rachel and I rode the elevators to the top and I bought some French Champagne to celebrate. It was definitely an experience. That night, Rachel and I found a quaint little French restaurant that had a 3 course meal for 10 euros. The one waiter (or co-owner, not sure) liked us so much, especially since I let him have the tulip Nick plucked for me from beside the tower. He put in in a cup of water on our table and gave us free rose wine. I tasted real French onion soup, boeuf  bourguinon (beef stew for those of us who can't pronounce that) and an apple tart. It was so delicious and we were having so much fun that I accidentally left a bag with a few little gifts behind. When we went back in the morning, and I tried my best to explain to the manager what happened in simple English, and thankfully the bag had been placed safely by the bar.

We then hurried off to the Eiffel Tower to get a few more photos with the tower, but we weren't free from harassment by the gypsies and other con-artists that flock around the tourist attractions. I fell bad for giving one any money, but I was having trouble pushing her away so gave her 3 euro and ran. Another con-artist tried 3 different languages with us but we continued to ignore him and his friend. When we got to the bus station to catch the bus to the airport they immediately went on break, which was supposed to be 10 minutes but was really pushing 20. In the mean time, the bus came and was getting ready to leave so one of the other workers caught the bus before it left so that the very angry line of customers didn't storm the cashiers. As it was, we were told to shift the lines we were in and then they still didn't open right away. It was frustrating, but we finally were on the bus, which Mina and I slept on the entire ride to the airport. The airplane was half an hour late, but we managed to get back into Alicante on time. I am very glad to be back, especially knowing that I only have one class to worry about right now, so I can take my time a lot easier now. I do have to start planning for fall term back in the states, but for now, I think this weekend I will be at the beach catching up on some articles for class. Bring on the 80 degree weather!

I have included a video of the tour sparkling for you, as well as a view of what I had to deal with to see the Monna Lisa. 

1 April 2011

Today is my last day of program classes! I have an exam at 11 am and then I am free. I just have my university class (I am in the semi-integrated program). In the afternoon, there will be a going-away coffee thing for the Spanish studies program whose last day ever is tomorrow. They will be leaving on Saturday. The international business program leaves a little later into the month of April, where as the semi-integrated and integrated students (of which I am a part of) are staying until the end of May. I am excited but also homesick. To make up for it, the weather has been beautiful the last few days with sunshine and highs in the low to mid 70s.

I just helped Rachel move into her new room (same apartment, but better room) and studied a little. We had fajitas for dinner and I was reminded of how much I miss our American food. Mmmm. We are going to Paris Saturday through Tuesday which I am excited about. I don't know French, but I am curious, plus I am in Europe so I figured, hey, why not? There will definitely be a blog post about our trip when I get back. I am sure there will be some story to be told from it.

Anyways, it is midnight, so I need to actually try to get to bed. I have a lot to get done tomorrow. Buenas noches!