The Trek.

    Southern Spain, the area where Murcia is located, is a very dry region. I may have mentioned this in an earlier blog, but water is so scarce here that you often see artificial turf grass on medians, in parks, almost anywhere. I've actually gotten excited to see grass before! When I came home to Middletown for one night, before leaving for Hawaii, I was completely captivated by the greenness! There's a golf course behind my house, so rolling green hills, trees and reeds swaying in the wind, colorful flowers, etc. I loved it!! The point of this is that I have been dying to get back to nature.

     So, when we finally got to Hawaii, I begged Remy to take us on a hike. I got my wish, but was a little surprised at the outcome. This is a bit embarrassing, but I realized that I am more out of shape than my two twenty-something brothers (okay, that's not surprising), but also my fifty-something parents!! My mom was skipping way up ahead of me, while my Dad and Uncle lagged back to make sure I didn't fall down the mountain in exhaustion.

As you can see, there were tons of roots and other obstacles to potentially stumble over! (Pic by Josh)

     To be fair, the 'hike' up the mountain, became a climb at points...but still. I walk a ton, I just never run (because I hate running). I hope to do some more fun exercising with my best friends Devin and Erica this summer; biking the C&O canal, taking some yoga classes, and definitely more hiking, especially along the Appalachian Trail.

Josh took this picture of me!

     Back to the hike: although it was a bit strenuous, it was amazingly beautiful and well worth the sweat. The whole hike totaled about two hours, but we made it up to an incredible view of the beaches. My Dad has all the pictures on his computer :( but luckily I took some pictures on my cell phone (they're awkward sizes, but don't judge). When I get the good-quality pictures later, I will update this post!

This view is only halfway up! I was too pooped at the top to take a picture.

     This was our last day with Josh, so we headed to Ala Moana mall in Honolulu. I didn't take any pictures since I have been there before but it's, like everywhere else in Hawaii, ridiculously pretty. It's open air, meaning it's not enclosed, there's a koi pond with mini-waterfall,and tons of great shops organized by whether or not you can afford them. We didn't buy anything because Josh wanted to head to the next place to look for a gift for his wife Emily. He picked her out a super-cute dress, then we sped him off to the airport. We were sad that he had to leave so soon, but I only had about two more days anyway.

I probably should've prefaced these posts by explaining that I had no idea I was going to Hawaii until just a few days before I left! I missed the last week and a half of classes (questionable decision), flew thousands of miles and plenty of hours, and am so so so incredibly lucky and grateful for the experience. My parents are amazing for giving me this opportunity and convincing me to do all of this missing school and traveling alone. Remy is also amazing for going to school in Hawaii and giving us the opportunity to go out there and visit him. His next step is attending graduate/doctorate school at Georgia Tech--yay, a new place to visit!

If you're interested, I'll try to quickly explain my travel experiences. 

1. 4.5 hour train ride from Murcia to Madrid (after a 30 minute walk to the bus station) 
2. 15 minute connector train from Madrid Chamartin Train Station to Barajas airport
3. 8.5 hour flight from Madrid to JFK (New York)
4. 3 hour layover in JFK
5. 1.5 hour flight to BWI 
6. 1 hour-ish drive home!! I got to sleep in my own bed!
7. 1 hour drive to back to BWI the next day
8. total of 8 hour flights from BWI to San Diego and
9. San Diego to San Jose
10. we stayed the night in San Jose, so about a 30 minute drive there and back to the airport
11. 5.5 hour flight from San Jose to Honolulu!!

Apparently a panda was sitting in front of me...? I think it's a hat, btw.

In total, about 30.5 hours just driving, flying, and training...and that's only ONE WAY! On the way back, I also went to Burbank, London, and Vegas. I met a cool person, heard some interesting stories, and met some creepers (the joys of flying solo).

     Overall, it was a crazy experience. I can't believe I did so much solo traveling (I even stayed in a hotel by myself for the first time). When I got back to Murcia, I realized I have less than six weeks left!! Where has the time gone??

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.