Alicante y la Pijamada

I started off the morning with no concrete plans other than that Sandy and I wanted to go on a daytrip. Plans for Cieza (and some UNESCO World Heritage cave paintings) fell through. We talked about Lorca. Lorca planning got complicated, then Sandy got into contact with her long-time best friend Rosi from Orihuela (the town where the two grew up together). We hopped on a train to Orihuela to meet Rosi and her girlfriend Encarni.

We changed our minds from Elche to Alicante...so the day was full of spontaneity and me never knowing exactly what we might do next. I've finally gotten accustomed to flying by the seat of my pants and really letting whatever happens happen. In Spain, at least as a study abroad student, you really feel as if you have been stripped of control. Whatever artificial control you thought you might have had is usually bogged down by bureaucracy, Spanish time customs (think siesta), or other weird things happening that you never would have expected. I'm finally learning to go with the flow.

Upon arrival in Alicante, we took some photos of the beach and went on a bathroom search. I used yet another toilet-seat-less bathroom that didn't even have a holder where toilet paper might go. Another great cultural difference..

We even got to go to a castle! The view of the beach was pretty neat and the weather was perfect--a tad on the cloudy side, but thankfully not too hot. It felt like we were on top of the worrrld!

Me, Rosi and Encarni

How I feel about Alicante

cactus with little cacti growing on it

Alas, sweet, sweet McDonalds...

After we filled our tummies with some health food, we stopped by Rosi's house to grab sleepover gear. It was a really neat experience to get to see another Spanish home.

Outside were a host of pet peacocks (including a white one), terrifying (but chained) dogs, some chickens, and other various animals. Their mini-farm was nestled at the foot of a mountain in a relatively rural setting. I took the video just to show what it sounded like outside-->

Inside on the couch sat Rosi's mother, aunt, and grandmother; multi-generational, friendly, and very Spanish! Catholic candles and other effects accented the living room. On the TV was some intense, very bizarre Spanish show where a doctor pulled out some unwilling guy's teeth. The room was bursting with family photos and memorabilia.

Just a huge flower arrangement on the kitchen table (Bowl of fresh apples: not pictured)

 I asked if it would be appropriate for me to take a photo of this altar. Rosi's brother had recently passed away so I wanted to make sure it wouldn't upset the family.

An altar dedicated to those family members who have passed away.
To me, it was both sad and beautiful; definitely Catholic.

Some orange trees and various potted plants

I can't resist you, flowers!

Me and my chiqui  with our flores!

We came back to my place for my first Spanish "pijamada" or sleepover! Rosi and Encarni cooked us some delicious fajitas (Cinco de Mayo?) and mixed us some fun Spanish drinks that I'd never heard of.

So dang tasty

Having trouble...

As if I didn't already think Spaniards were crazy...then this whipped out this bad boy.

With a little liquid courage, I began to ask about the Spanish government and current economic situation. I learned so many interesting things and it was great to get the view of young people who seemed to be so knowledgeable!

Here is what I gathered*:

• Spain's government is technically a  monarchy, but the rey does little more than represent the Spanish people symbolically (think: Queen of England). Sandy called it "marketing." 
• There is also a parliament and a president. The current political party is PP or Partido Popular and is rivaled by the PSOE or Partido Socialista Obrero Español. The former (current) government is conservative right. The latter is liberal left. 
• Elections took place in November of last year, but the new government began in January 2012. 
• The Republic is an idea that many Spanish would like to see replace the monarchy. It is symbolized by a flag similar to the actual one, but with a purple stripe:

She's carrying the flag of la Segunda Reublica Española
source: http://pcastell.blogspot.com.es/2011/04/la-ii-republica-espanola-mas-que-una.html

•  One reason the people are upset is because the current Presidente del Gobierno has failed to fulfill the promises he made in his campaign (among others: not to make budget cuts on the two most important things--health and education).
• They also explained the change from pesetas to euros in 2001. Apparently everyday items like bread and milk nearly tripled in price! 

It seems as if there is quite a bit of political/social unrest here in Spain right now, though all that I have seen has been totally nonviolent. I'm curious to see how the situation develops (and I'm hopeful for Spain)!  *What I gathered is not guaranteed to be right, or really even represent what the people actually think. This could be entirely misinterpreted.

Fiestas de Letras

I am currently very happy, due to some great news just received from my Geografía Humana profesor.

Sally and I went to him to see if we could be given some sort of extra project en lugar de todas las practicas. He just sent us an email telling us that we can translate some academic research articles into Spanish! Instead of having to spend hours trying to figure out the practicas, we each only have to translate 13 pages. Although that will be a task in itself, it will be a much easier task! I'm so, so deeply grateful. One seriously heavy thing has been taken off my plate. I still have ten history practicas (~three pages each), a ten minute presentation for Técnicas de Comunicación, and several practicas for Turismo Sostenible, but this is monumental.

I'm going to head to the library tomorrow in attempts of printing out the articles so that I can bring them with me and work on them over Spring Break. Sooo great!

In more exciting news for readers, I have recently returned from las Fiestas de Letras! Because I have two Geography classes, I am part of this Facultad...not that that really matters because students from all Escuelas and Facultades come to the Fiestas.

Me, Sally, Kayla (it's just coke) & Natalia

Last week I bought the pulsera for three euros; it includes six cerveza tickets and a bocadillo. As much as I thought I would be able to fill my stomach with Spanish beer, I only drank three, and wasted the other half of my tickets. Oh well, at least I prevented myself from getting sick but was still able to have a fun time.

Like the Fiesta de Derecho, it was crazy. I kept thinking, "for real? This is a school event?" You can probably see in the picture below how many people there were. The whole plaza was full of people dancing, run around, drinking heavily. I wonder if this was what college was like for my parents...?

We gathered up the courage to talk to some of the students in our Geography (+History) classes. We noticed that Spanish students tend to become much more friendly under the influence of alcohol. How novel!

The folks in blue are from our geo/history classes! Sandy is next to me in red.

I talked to some Tourism students that I had never talked to, ever; they were so excited when they found out I was from the US. (I think the US is pretty great too) I also found it hilarious that the Spanish DJ played several American classic rock songs (like, Twist & Shout and Living on a Prayer). The Spanish students sang aloud as excitedly as we would have!

Enfrente de la Universidad

After we were sufficiently exhausted (of course not Sandy, because she is Spanish and therefore hardcore), we went to Come Come (pronounced Co-may Co-may; eat eat) so that Natalia, Kayla, and Sally could try pastel de carne (a pastry with meat, egg, cheese, etc). As usual, it was delicious!

As always with Sandy, we had some wonderful culture exchange conversations about school, drinking, daily schedules (when people eat, sleep, work), siesta, and more.

The first picture of me and Sandy!