oh HAIL no.

Well I have been in España for about three weeks now, so naturally its time for the homesickness to set in. I could tell you all of the serious things I miss about home, (my mom, bean and cheese burritos, always being able to communicate without giving it much thought….ect) Instead, here is a list of more trivial things I miss about Los Estados Unidos. Enjoy.

The Things I Miss the Most

Edition 1

5. Crushed Ice. Donde esta el hielo (ice)?

Its not in Europe that’s for sure, and it is most definitely NOT in Spain. Unless you count the HAIL (yes Hail! In the Mediterranean!) that has come down on us sporadically for the past two days, which I do not.. I will admit however when I saw the little ice pebbles in piles all along the streets and on my window I couldn’t help but wish I could slip some into my pocket and save it for later. They were glistening in their crushed icy perfection, just taunting me from the sidewalk. I am not sure why this simple, easy to make, crushed ice delicacy isn’t readily available here, but I would love to add some to a vast majority of my beverages. Which also is a segue into number 2….

4. Soda

I am not even a crazy soda person, but I do crave it every so often. Moreso when it is not readily available. You may be interested to know that diet coke, is called coke light here. You may also be interested to know that it is expensive, and when you do buy it, it is in a glass bottle, that holds less soda than a can does. Unless you go to burger king or Mcdonalds and cheat, like I have done exactly twice. I should also point out, my cola of choice is not the Coca, kind. It is the Dr. Pepper kind, which doesn’t even exist here! I miss those 21 flavors, along with the added sugar they provide to my diet. Sure I am drinking a lot of water, but I need the caffine since I wake up so early! (Plus its not like I can drink coffee here, 1. Coffee here is weird and very strong and would give me the shakes 2. I don’t like coffee all that much and if I do drink it, I like it very sweet and heavily diluted. Like 99.9 percent sugar and milk, and 1 percent coffee. Which again is problematic because of number 1.

3. Fabric Softener/Dryers.

Clothes are so much nicer and softer after they have come out of the dryer as opposed to hanging on a line. The fabric softener also aids this process. I actually miss that creepy little “Snuggle” bear. Also dryers allow one to do laundry even when it is raining, or hailing, another plus since we have had a lot of that lately.

2. Proper Deodorant/Cologne Use

I have concluded that Spanish men fall into two categories, Those that think women love their natural aroma, especially while in very close proximity to their armpits (ie on a stuffy bus) and therefore do not wear any deodorant or cologne, ever. These types smell so bad it makes me nauseous and lightheaded and I want to pass out. Then there are also those who seem to believe women like to have their sent organs, (aka noses) obliterated by the overpowering scent of their body completely covered with an entire bottle (a full liter at least) of cologne on a daily basis. These types make me feel lightheaded and nauseous and I want to pass out. I really couldn’t tell you which one is more favorable because with both I can’t breathe and am unconscious. I have become better at holding my breath for long periods of time though, for example a 40 minutes bus ride home from school, in attempts to acclimate myself to the culture. I have yet to be successful. In most cases making a girl weak at the knees is a good thing. But, in this case, I would have to disagree.

1, The trash collectors

Never before have I longed for the trash collectors in little ol’ San Dimas more than I do right now. Never again will I complain that they woke me up at 8am on a summer day when I wanted to sleep in, because hey at least they aren’t Spanish trash collectors who are the NOISIEST trash collectors in the world. And the angriest I am guessing by the way they slam things around. But hey I would be angry too if I collected trash at 3 in the morning!!!! Yep that’s right, they parade down the streets with their gigante monster truck at approximately 3am talking, yelling, banging on metal, and yes collecting garbage occasionally every night just when I am about to enter my REM cycle. Add this with the paper thin windows and walls that are installed in all Spanish apartments and you have a very LOUD wakeup call. I understand they are just doing their job but whose idea was this? Por favor Dios! Make it stop.

Would you like some cheese with that WINE?

Yesterday I went on a field trip to a winery, or bodega, in Spanish. Let me just say this was the best school field trip I have ever had the pleasure of attending. First of all, I ate the most delicious grapes ever. Just shoved them in my mouth like a little chipmunk.

The only bad thing about these grapes is that they aren’t seedless!

I learned a lot about vino. How its made, the different types of grapes, the length it is stored to bring it to the peak of flavor…. There are 4 types of grapes, peti verdot, frances, cabernet soviergn, and garnacha. Also did you know the color of the wine is determined by the skin. The longer you keep the wine with the grape skins, the darker it will be!

Las Uvas. These ones are called Montrestrell.

Here are fermenting grapes. I will warn you it isn’t the best smell. Kind of smells like a night after you have had too much to drink, and wake up not feeling so great the next morning.

I love the smell of fermentation in the morning! Not.

They uses these barrels to house the wine while they ripen. Mo is in for 4 months, Puerto for 12, Mira for 14 and Salinas for a full 20!

I also got to do some wine tasting! I have always liked the taste of wine in small sips, it was my favorite part of church when I was younger… And I have had wine on other occasions, but never any particularly good wine. So I was very excited to try some out, and the ones were sampled were fresh from 2004. Along with this tasting were also the most wonderful olives in the world, as well as potato chips, and assorted nuts. I have obviously never been wine tasting before, since it is illegal for one more year in los estados unidos, so I may have gotten a little carried away…. A couple of us decided we should finish the open bottles, we couldn’t let it go to waste! =) That made the ride home a lot more fun.

¡Salud!

The group of us enjoying our vino.

Anyways, I had a fabulous time and learned a lot. I even bought two bottles of wine to take home. They sold them to us for 3 euros, instead of the normal 20. I also took a fantastic almost three hour nap once I got home.

Mission accomplished.

My favorite picture of the day! We were so happy about our wine!

The Rain in Spain. La lluvia en España.

To make up for lost time, I am publishing a couple blogs today. I wrote them over the past week and a half, but never put them up. So Surprise! You get three in one day!

This is where I live! Alicante! Its called the explanada, or the promenade. Its along the coast.

Everyone on my program is really nice, and I am enjoying getting to know them. Orientation is always a little awkward, but the longer I spend with everyone, the more I like them. Alicante is known for its beautiful weather, but right now we are in the middle of a huge tormenta! It has been raining every day. I like the rain, but this city is definitely not made for it. Many of the sidewalks here are made of marble or tile, which is extremely slippery when wet. Over the weekend I was at the beach until a storm hit. I had to make a run for it with my compadres. We took shelter in a hotel sauna. We snuck in for about an hour until it was safe to run home!

Here comes the Storm! Very foreboding hovering over the Castillo de Santa Barbara.

Needless to say, we still were soaked! It was like a hurricane!

*interesting fact about Spain. The street names are not on signs like they are at home. They are on little plaques in the corner of buildings. THIS IS VERY CONFUSING. It took me three days before I could get home from the bus without getting lost. I am getting pretty good now, I don't even carry my map around!

Also over the Weekend, we went on a little trip around the Alicante province. We stopped off in the towns of Guadalest and Alcala. Guadalest is a tiny town centered around a huge house. It was a fortress in the 17th century. Alcala is a beachy town with a lot of Stairs! Both were really beautiful.

We reached the top of Alcala!

Sarah, Me, and Kandace overlooking the water in Guatalest. It was so blue, it looked like Kool Aid!

Model Status. Also in Guatalest. I have to recruit people to take pictures of me since I still don't have my camera charger... jaja

The entire group in Guatalest.

Trecking up to the top of Alcala. I should have gotten a picture of the stairs... There were a million!

Before the storms hit, I also took a trip to San Juan. The Mediternanean is so warm! Its wonderful to swim in! Also, the stories are true about europeanean beaches. I have see a LOT of toplessness going on…. I would be afraid to do that. 1 because I would feel naked, and 2, what if I got sunburned nipples or something!?! That would hurt.

La Playa. Oh how I love that fanny pack. Fanny is a vulgar word in Australia, or so I am told.

My school is simply beautiful. The architecture is very modern, and there are lots of trees and plants and fountains. It is pretty big, bigger than Santa Clara for sure. Over 30,000 students attend Universidad de Alicante. That is about 6 times as big as SC. I tested into the Advanced section of my program with the placement test, but I am debating whether or not to switch into the other program that is more advanced than mine. My Spanish class has been pretty easy so far, I kind of want more of a challenge. I am meeting with my advisor tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes.

Here are some pictures of the campus. Woop Woop!

In Spain drinking is a very social activity. When you go out at night here, you don’t leave your casa until after 11, and stay out as late (or as early) as you please. I have stayed out till 4:45 am, which is considered lame to some Spaniards. I will have to work up to 7am I suppose! I have been enjoying going out with the people on my program. We went to a concert on Saturday, and other nights we hit “el barrio” which is basically the hangout for los jovenes (young people) at nighttime. We go dancing and fiesta-ing all around, mingling with Spaniards and other international students from all over the world. It is a blast. My Spanish parents also let me sleep in as late as I want after a night out! Its ideal. =)

reggae concert in the sand

mmm sangria

my group is into interpretative dance. It started as just me and tyler, but everyone wanted in on the acton! (p.s. we are in the barrio I mentioned)

Kandace, Elena (the coolest Spainish student helper in all of Spain) and me, hanging out in the barrio.

Life Lessons

The view from our balcony window at the Hotel Preciados in Madrid! Que Bonita!

Here is a brief overview of things that have happened so far, such as:

• not going to the best club in the world (supposedly), because they are closed on sundays.... oops!
• almost getting locked in the madrid train station because we didn't know what time it was=(
• having to pay 300 EUROS, (approx. 500 USD) to get my luggage to alicante
• eating the best mushrooms OF MY LIFE
• eating more bread than I have ever eaten IN MY LIFE
• Forgetting my camera charger at home like a ninny, and not being able to take pictures... At least I am here for 4 months, and the charger is on its way!
• Getting lost and needing a map every single time I try to walk to the store, the train, bus, beach, bar, home, the kitchen, ect....
• Wearing my fanny pack when I go out dancing so that I have full mobility! And both hands to wave in the air!
• Going to the beach the past 4 out of 4 days
• Sneaking into a hotel and taking full advantage of their sauna to escape the rain!

Anyways, some good some bad, but all exciting and new and fun! (except maybe the 300 euro luggage fiasco, but Im not going to dwell....)

I am in love with Alicante! It is magnificent. There is a very understated charm about the whole city and I absolutely adore it. Climate wise, it actually reminds me a lot of California. Its hot, a little humid, and there are a ton of palm trees! My homestay parents are the cutest little old couple in the world, named Paco y Charo. I just want to squeeze Charo's little cheeks, and lovingly pat Paco's buddah belly!

The University is absolutely beautiful. It takes 247431 minutes on the bus to get there, So I have to wake up at 7 which is earlier than I ever had had to at Santa Clara, (my first class was at the earliest 915am there, both years and there was virtually no travel time to account for!). Needless to say, I don't wake up properly until about 10 am. I started classes on Monday, and for the next two weeks I have spanish for 4 hours a day. That is equivalent to an entire quarter's worth of spanish in 10 days!

I know this update was too short, but I will get better at updating now that I have the formula down, and a more set schedule!

P.s. Here are some Photos of my weekend in Madrid! Enjoy =)

These are called "tapas." They are basically Spanish appetizers, usually eaten with cocktails. Somtimes they take the place of dinner all together! We got them at a tapas bar in Cava Baja, a trendy local hangout. Note the most delicious mushrooms ever, the spanish tortilla, and "la bomba" a mashed potato filled pastry.

Kandace and me strutting around La Plaza Mayor. There were some interesting street performers here....

Acting like the princesses we are at El Palacio Real. The King and Queen still carry out official business here from time to time in some of the 3000 rooms!

Me and Trev at a fountain in another Plaza. (There are about a million Plazas in Spain. They are a BIG deal. )Happy One Year Anniversary to us!

My first Spanish Dish. I thought I would be safe with "ensalada con pollo." To bad it tasted like ensalada con cat food =(

Hanging out on the fabulous balcony of our hotel. I thought I was cool with my first legal drink from our free mini bar. Too bad there wasn't even alcohol in it! jaja

I am less than a week away from my Spanish adventure, and I would like to take this opportunity to discuss my most prominent worries/fears for this trip. I could write about my worries about food/the language/getting lost, but those are self explanatory. These are more individual worries.

1. Internet. What if I don't have internet in my homestay!?!? I specifically requested that I was in dire need of constant internet access! Yes I know there are internet cafés and what not, so it won't be hard to communicate with people back home, but that is not why it worries me. I ALWAYS play tetris before I go to sleep; Its a ritual. I won't be able to sleep without it, and without sleep I will do poorly in school and be a cranky girl. So, I am concerned for my well being.

2. Showering. In my handbook it says Spaniards showers do not exceed 8 minutes. Now for your average shower taker, that might be possible. However, I go above and beyond when I take showers, and normally use a good 20+ minutes. I just do not see how it will be possible to get myself entirely clean in such a short span of time. I mean hello, I am american and I like to be as hairless as possible. Being hairless=shaving=long time in shower. I mean I could shave (pun intended)a couple minutes off if I rushed the whole process, but 8 minutes! probably never. Furthermore, I do all of my meditating in the shower. So this is going to be difficult.

3. the look. There is no way I am going to be able to camouflage my american-ness. As much as I would like to, it is not going to be possible. I accept this. Accepting this is not going to decrease my urge to buy a bunch of clothes over there, clothes that I do not have the money for. Also I just got my first credit card.... I need to find willpower.

I feel like there is another thing I am worried about, but I forget now. So I probably resolved that worry. Okay time to clean/start packing...

-L

4! I remember what else worries me. The fact that there is so much quality television I will be missing this quarter!!!! So you think you can dance, the office and glee! Its going to be so sad. The office and glee will probably be online, but sytycd is not! How will I vote =(.

Hi Hello! Its 3 am and I have heartburn!

Greeting and Salutations.

Now that the awkward introduction is over with I can get down to business.

1. I think that blogs are narcissistic. I am certain no one in their right mind would want to read what I have to say about anything, including my Spain experiences. But at the urging of a few very admirable people, who probably are not in their right mind (no offense), I will do it.

2. But since I am doing this, I naturally put my name in my blog title so I feel all powerful and even more important to this whole operation. It's like a job I can't get fired from or something.

3. I feel that some people are extremely bad/boring/lame bloggers. Hopefully I am not one of them.

4. Secretly I hope that I become an internet sensation, and they make movies and tv shows out of me. (i.e. julie and julia and gossip girl)

5. My cat (see above) is weird and is meowing in a creepy way. Sometimes I think she was reincarnated from like Anastasia that Russian princess. She was definitely some sort of royalty; she has a regal aura. But the meowing is just her being senile now. She thinks she caught a mouse, but no! Its a stuffed animal.

6. Leave comments so I know someone is reading. This will encourage more productive blogging!

The end (but really only the beginning)