I apologize.

I have not posted in 20 days. That is three weeks! I realize that this is borderline unacceptable, but I've been really busy. I'll try to make this sort of a sparknotes version as to not bore you all to tears but, uh, no promises.

Shall we? We shall.

Week One: Hannah!

That's right, people, my best friend HANNAH FREAKING BITTNER showed up in Alicante, making me one heck of a happy girl!! It was so good to have her here. I'm pretty sure we were just talking constantly the entire 5 or 6 days that we were together, and we still didn't get everything out. Having to translate was an interesting experience. Haha, but I think I did a pretty good job.

Basically all we did was walk around the city and chat. I showed her the major points, we went shopping (and somehow ended up buying me a super cute black dress...). One night we went out with Zoe and Harley and Kali...ha! Quite the experience! We had a lot of fun though. Then we went to Valencia for a couple of days and enjoyed exploring the city. By then it was quite cold (or so I thought before I came to Italy...BRR!), but we still had fun! Then we came back to Alicante, and I had to leave eeaarrly in the morning for ITALY. Saying goodbye to Hannah suuucked, I wanted her to stay forever. She ended up staying with my hostfamily, which I think is sort of funny, but I'm sure they were just thrilled to have her because she's lovely.

Week Two: ITALY, mom, grandparents, and so much more!
Eeeearly in the morning Zoe and I headed out, Italy-bound! We had to go through London, which is weird, but eventually we ended up in Italy, greeted by my grandma and mother!!! (And Valter, my great uncle) My grandpa was there too, but there wasn't room in the car for him to go to the airport. :) We then began the craziest whirlwind of meeting my 30+ relatives here...which was absolutely amazing! Only three or four of my cousins speak English, so communication was interesting, but when my grandma is around she's the best translator there is! :)

We went to Venice one day (which was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. I officially love Venice. It was FREEZING cold [and I didn't have my new snazzy coat yet] but the city was just extremely charming! Zoe and I also just fell in love with Patrizia and Valter, my grandma's sister and sister's husband. I would love to go back to Venice when I'm not so freezing that I think I might freeze on the spot and never be able to move again), went to Marostica (even though it was foggy and we couldn't see much), had a lot of meals with a lot of loud Italians (which I spent mostly trying to figure out who's-who and how they're related to me...Zoe was better at that than I was), had one lunch that took five hours (!! I'm not kidding!!), and tried to squeeze in as much study time as we could, because we had a big final the day after we got back to Alicante!!!

Leaving was hard. It was SO awesome to see my grandma and grandpa and mom again!! I had really, really missed them. And it was really awesome that I got to meet my great grandma in Italy!!! Overall, it was an amazing trip but it seriously FLEW by. I could have lived like that another week and probably just started to feel ready to go back to my life in Alicante.

Week Three: THE EXAM, and the return to Italy
Guys, I cannot explain to you how much Zoe and I studied for our STUPID history test. I'm telling you, we were little hermits with our nose in our notes the entire time. It was not a pretty sight. The test was on Tuesday and I've gotta say...I feel pretty good about it. As in, I think I probably passed. Not my usual "I think I passed" and I end up getting an A, but more of an "I think I passed" and I'm hoping I got a C or, if I'm really lucky, a B. Hahaha. But either way...I'll just be pumped if I pass.

After the test, I was literally just exhausted. I almost fell asleep at dinner. All the excitement from people being here, travelling to Italy, studying way too much, and then spitting out a six page outline for the test, along with being sick :(, just completely wiped me out. Zoe and I had plans to go out to celebrate that everything was done, but we just ended up sleeping. Hahaha. We made up for it by going out the next night, though. :)

The weirdest thing of the week for me was having our goodbye lunch and saying goodbye to everybody else in the program! I can't imagine going home now. I have learned a ton, but I still have so much more to learn and experience! I wouldn't be ready to go home yet. I love it in Alicante way too much.

Then I had to pack my bags and wake up WAY too early (gosh, this is a theme...I always book early flights because they're cheaper...and then I have to wake up. Good one, Kieks) and head back to Italy!!! I'm here with some family (two girls that speak English pretty well, thank God) until the 27th. :) My aunt Gabriella is seriously crazy, hahaha, she speaks no English and she always talks in really loud, really fast Italian at me and then gets all worked up that we can't communicate with each other. I wish I knew some Italian so I could communicate with her better!!! Haha! It's an experience, though. ;)

So far I'm having a wonderful time here! I love it. PLUS they have a dog named Maya who is just precious!! I play with her a lot. :) Hahaha.

Wow...if you made it through this post, good work.

Next on the to-do list: spend Christmas with my Italian family, jet off to Florence on the 27th, and spend a week and a half with the boyfriend!! I guess you could say I'm JUST A LITTLE BIT EXCITED!

Miss everyone at home and am wishing you the happiest of holidays!! Enjoy family time and celebrating Jesus and new beginnings! <3

The most un-exciting weekend ever

This week/weekend has been pretty low key. Tutoring was awesome with Paula, as always, I just adore her. I went out to tea with Roberto and Paula (my brother and sister here) and that was fun. It's been nice weather, but I've been stuck inside....why? Because I have to study, that's why! Ugh.

Anyway, highlights of the week:

1) It's been pretty cold, and my hostfamily is pretty worried that I'm going to freeze or something, even though I've really been pretty okay. The other day, my mom came in and was like "here, for if you get cold, it's this really awesome blanket that has sleeves so that you can still do your homework!!" ...yes, guys. My hostmother gifted my a snuggie.

2) Skyping with my mom and the boy yesterday, with the promise of skyping Miche and Hannah and Tyler (again) today! YAY! Always love those study breaks...

3) I got my Blackberry finally! Yay, more distraction, ALL THE TIME!

4) HANNAH COMES IN LIKE TWO DAYS!


That's all. Back to studying. Hope life is treating you well, wherever it finds you! <3

Paris!

Wow, my life has been crazy and is about to get even crazier! I'm trying to be good about updating you all, but other things just seem so much more fun than writing a blog post...haha.

Let's see. Last week on the school front, I had a final paper and a final presentation due. Yikes! It went pretty smoothly now, so that means I'm down to one class: yay! The bad news? It's a history class and the final is going to HURT. We're only learning 3 main themes this whole semester and then for the final he's going to give us one of the topics at random, and we have to write for two hours straight, everything we know about that topic. Ouch. Talk about me being buried in my notes for the next three weeks until my final...too bad my BEST FRIEND is coming in ONE WEEK and then right after that I'm going to ITALY! to see my MOM! and GRANDPARENTS!

Studying? What's that?

So, the 22nd was Thanksgiving. First Thanksgiving really away from family, in another country. It was sort of bizarre. We had a "Thanksgiving dinner" with the program, which consisted of tapas (uhhh), and then some sweet turkey, mashed potatoes with mashed pumpkin (????), sweet gravy, and some weird stuffing-esque (okay, not like stuffing at ALL, more like ground up guts) stuff. Basically, everything was sweet. It was a nice attempt, Spain, but didn't quite meet the 'delicious Thanksgiving dinner' requirements. It was a lot of fun though, and it was nice that they did something for us. Besides, these people are like my family here, so it was nice to all be together enjoying each other's company and being thankful for our experience that we're having here. It was a good Thanksgiving. ...not that they celebrate it here, but whatever. :)

Thennn Friday I took off to Paris with Zoe (and we met up with Diane there). Wooohoooo, Paris!

If you want the short of it: Paris is a beautiful city, but I am glad to be back in Spain.

Now the long of it: Friday we got into Paris in the evening (after taking a train, the tram, a plane, a bus, and then a taxi...) and Diane met us at our hotel. We grabbed some lunch and rushed to the Louvre because it is free on Friday nights for students!! We're all about free stuff! We only got about an hour and little bit in the Louvre, but it's so HUGE that we were overwhelmed anyway. Our mission was to see dear old Mona (you know, Mona Lisa), and we accomplished that, so we were happy. After that, we made plans to meet up Saturday and went to bed. Hahaha.

My beautiful friends Diane and Zoe judging this painting.

Little Mona

Saturday was the day that we discovered that the metro makes it ABSURDLY easy to see a lot of stuff in Paris in a REALLY short amount of time. Go figure! We met up at the Arc de Triomphe and meandered our way down the Champs Elysees and sort of window shopped/people watched for a while. Then we hit a Christmas fair extravaganza thingy. Really, still not sure what it was, but tons of little booths (with outrageously priced things...), an ice skating rink, and Christmasy decorations. Even Christmas music playing! In English! Hahahaha. :)

Our first view of the Arc. :)

CHRISTMAS?

Santa jammin', Frosty chillin', and an elephant...?

After that, meandered our way along the Seine. It is SO beautiful, and all the fall colors were absolutely gorgeous. I almost felt like I was back in Corvallis...until I realized all the buildings around me were WAY more gorgeous and historic than Corvallis, and that the people around me were all speaking French. Momentary nostalgia: broken. Anyway, we meandered our way to the Notre Dame Cathedral, where all I could think about was talking gargoyles and Quasimodo and Esmerelda. Uhhh...my life is a Disney movie? "God help the outcasts...."

The love locks on a bridge on the Seine

After that, we metro-ed our way to the Luxembourg Gardens where we watched a little kid terrorize the birds. Which for some reason got me mentally singing "Feed the Birds...Tuppence a bag..." Again, this weekend...in movie quotes and songs.

The little bird terrorist.

From the gardens, after the yummiest lunch and tart and tea everrr (sandwiches...always sandwiches with us...) we headed over to the Eiffel Tower. It is pretty dang impressive, I'm not going to lie. We waltzed around for a bit and took some pictures...then headed back to the Christmas bazaar and Champs Elysees and just sort of killed some time...enjoyed the city. We headed back to the Eiffel Tower that night for some champagne and to see it all lit up, which was pretty cool...really cool actually. We had altogether too many giggles and good times. Good company, those two.

The tower by day.

The tower by night, all lit up and having a seizure, aka twinkly lights every hour on the hour.

On Sunday, we hit up Diane's neck of the woods, which meant the Moulin Rouge, the Sacre Cours, and various other sights to see around that area. It was really neat! Then Diane had to leave us, and we headed back to the Arc de Triomphe and found out we could climb it for free since we're students in the EU. NEAT! I'm all for free stuff. Really neat view up there, too.

"It was not, as my father had said, 'A VILLAGE OF SIN!'" was all that was going on in my head.
Also, it's like 200 euro for dinner and a show here. Uhhhh....no.

On top of the Arc de Triomphe, with the Tower in the background

Then we met with my mom's friend, Tammy. She was so nice, and it was neat to meet here and visit for a little while! Afterwards, we did a little souvenir shopping and gift-getting and whatnot, got some yummy desserts and headed back to the hotel.

Tammy and I

On our way home, we had an 8 hour layover in Barcelona. Not fun. Not fun at all. I started to go a little stir crazy, not gonna lie.

This one's a gem...

Overall, everything in Paris was absolutely fabulous but I'd honestly prefer to return to Madrid or Granada. Something about it just wasn't that amazing to me. I'm definitely glad I went, Paris is gorgeous and has tons of history and really awesome things to see, and I enjoyed myself a ton. Maybe the language barrier got to me? Or I had too high of expectations??

Anyway, it was a good weekend. Now, on to a week full of studying. Loooooooovely.

MADRID!

Wow, it's been a while since I posted. Oops!

Well, basically last weekend I didn't do much, and last week was uneventful. The one exciting thing was that on the 14th there was a huelga general, or 'general strike' all across Spain. (I wasn't aware at the time, but apparently it was all over Europe too.) It was a general strike, which means it affected everything and every business sector and whatnot. Like, they called for people not to go to school, not to go to work, not to buy anything, not to use public transport, not to buy gas, not to use their cell phones (yeah right nobody followed that one), and everything. There were HUGE manifestations all over the country. The one in Alicante wasn't as big as the ones in Madrid or Barcelona or Valencia (clearly, Alicante is smaller), but judging by some pictures and videos my friends took (I stayed home all day, haha), it looked like there was a pretty good turnout. We didn't have class, which was nice. And it was interesting to talk to my host family about it. There was some violence and stuff in the bigger cities, but overall it was pretty peaceful. It just seems bizarre, because they're just sort of telling the government that they're not happy with all the cuts that have been made, but I'm not exactly sure if they're even sure of what they want. Everyone just wants things to be better, I guess. It's interesting to me that we don't really do strikes in the states like they do here. Hmm...

Well, Friday I was off to Madrid with Zoe and her grandma! It was such a fabulous weekend, and Madrid is SUCH a fabulous city! I absolutely loved it there. It was busy, busy, busy, and there were TONS of people, and I wouldn't want to spend toooo much time there, but it was definitely GORGEOUS and lots of fun.

We got there on Friday and just walked around a bit, saw Puerta del Sol where there were TONS of people, made our way over to Plaza Mayor where there were a bunch of street performers (well, really they were all over...), and then toured the Royal Palace of Madrid. It was so beautiful, inside and out. I decided that I wouldn't want to reside there, though. Way too many rooms. Actually, the moral of this trip was basically that I don't particularly want to be a queen. Go figure.

Palacio Real de Madrid

That night, we somehow managed to find our way to this restaurant that was FULL of Spanish people, we were definitely the only tourists, I'm not sure how we managed to find a place like that but there ya have it! We had pinchos (basically toasted bread with different things on it...like cheese and ham, or bacon and mushrooms, or shrimpies, or other things) and sangria, and it was oh so good. Ohhh so good. I was happy.

People, people everywhere!

Saturday we visited Museo del Prado which was really, really...big. Hahaha. Very impressive, but seriously huge. And there I discovered that I have rather dark and morbid taste in art. The cheery pictures didn't really do much for me, but the dark and somewhat creepy or slightly depressing ones were SO interesting to me. Would I ever want one in my house? No. Would I love to just look at them forever and wonder what in the world was going on in the painter's mind? Possibly.

After that, we walked through the botanical garden and oohed and aahed over the fall colors. Guys, it was gorgeous. I was so happy.

FALL!

Then we took a tourist bus thingy all around Madrid and really got to enjoy the scenery and the BEAUTIFUL old buildings and all of that good stuff. :) Gosh, I loved it there. We shopped for a little while (well, walked around the stores haha). For dinner, we had paella in this really awesome little place where we were like the only ones there (because there was a soccer game that night...the waitress said that usually on Saturday nights they're packed). The waitress was really nice, the paella was really good, the wine was fabulous, and the conversation was lovely. We dined for a couple of hours and it was loooooovely. Seriously. What a life I'm living here!


 Sunday we went to el Museo de la Reina Sofia which I really, really liked. It was a bit more modern stuff, which is much more interesting to me. Although some of it is dumb and I'm pretty sure I could do it. Whaaatever. We also saw Guernica by Picasso, which was pretty stinking impressive. Then we went to El Rastro, which is basically a HUGE area of flea market-y stuff. Lots of stuff. Little touristy things at a few places, bracelets, clothes of all sorts, tablecloths, pans, scarves, you name it. It was really neat and I'm really glad we went. Then after some tea, it was time to come home, how sad! I would have loved to have more time in Madrid, but it's also good to be back in Alicante. My home away from home away from home. :)

In a museum full of some of the most famous painters ever, this is what strikes me. Go figure.

On the school front...today I had a final exam in my Social and Cultural Realities class, and I have a presentation and 5ish page paper due on Wednesday that I haven't started yet. Uh, oops? And my history exam is in a month?!? I'm blown away by how quickly this is all coming down. My best friend comes in 2 weeks, I see my mom and grandparents in 23ish days, and my boy in 38 days! This weekend I'll be in Paris (yay!) and then everything is just going so fast! Some of the people in my program are leaving this week and it is making me extremely thankful that I'm here a full year. I just haven't had enough time to soak in everything and be ready to go home yet! (Although I miss you all more than I can put into words!!)

:)

Happy Saturday :)

You guys, I could get REAL used to this whole 4 day weekend every week thing, let me tell you. It's doing HORRIBLE things for my productivity. Ha, as if I've been very productive at any point during my time here. I mean, I'm here to speak Spanish, right...not to do homework. ;)

(Just kidding, mom. I'm doing my homework, I promise.)

Anyway, this week has been lovely, but oh so rainy! I was joking with my family here that everyone had told me that it never rains here and I was so excited, but it's been rainy and gloomy for so long! They laughed along with me and commented on how weird the weather has been lately and how utterly not typical it is. But guys, it's been COLD and rainy here. Okay, I got really used to the idea of it being warm almost the whole time I'm here, so I wasn't prepared for cold and it hasn't been like THAT cold...but there's something about the cold here that just gets straight down into your bones...I'm going to die when I go up north to France and Italy...yikes.

Homework and classes and stuff are really starting to stack up on me. I have so much to do but all I want to do is explore the city or talk to my family, especially when my Tio Jose is here...he's SO RAD. He's this bald guy who is just so funny. Last night when I got home, he and his wife Aurora were home and invited me to sit around and talk. So there I was with my hostpadres and host-tios. Haha. Even though I was tired, they do a really good job of talking to me and explaining things that I don't understand, so it wasn't hard for me to hop right into the conversation. Especially because Tio Jose actually asks me questions about my life, about what I like and what foods I miss from the US (ha, that was a weirdly difficult question). Anyway, today is their 39th wedding anniversary so they're here again. Hahaha and Tio Jose always says things like "Oh, I'm pretty sure Kiersten wants to do blah blah blah...trust me. She's my niece. I know her." Hahaha he kills me...

Also, my mom is making this delicious looking lemon meringue pie looking thing. WIN.

The other day, my mom made this dessert that's called "Tocino del Cielo" which basically means Bacon of Heaven. You guys, it was weird. It was basically egg yolks and sugar, and it just tasted like sweet eggs. Which is weird. And it was sort of a texture mix between flan and jello. WEIRD? Yes. Weird. My hostbrother LOVES it though, along with Pepe, so they ate my share. Hahaha.

WINES OF ALICANTE!

So, uh, Thursday night my gastronomy class was wine tasting. It was so much fun! Although I'm still lost about what people said they were smelling in the wine. "This one smells fruity, like wet earth, a little bit dark." Uhhh, right. It smells like wine and I'd like to drink it now, please, if you don't mind.

Wow, this is thrilling, can I drink it now?

But it was still really fun. Some of the wines were absurdly good. And some of them were really not good, at all. And the red wines were way better than the white wines. At least I thought so. :)

My beautiful friend Shauna contemplating her wines.

Also, I may have been that girl who knocked over her wine glass, which then SHATTERED and sent red wine FLYING all over the white walls of our little cubicle things we were in. Guys, it looked like a murder scene, it was so weird. I don't know how the wine possibly exploded like that. And it scared Harley (the guy next to me) so bad that he ended up spilling his wine everywhere too, haha. Good one, Kieks. Oh well. "No pasa nada", right? :)

Me with my broken wine glass...

Oops...

Yesterday Shauna and I went shopping, that was fun. She really wants to talk in Spanish more so it was nice to actually spend almost a whole day just speaking Spanish. And today I'm making apple crisp with my friend Saki who is Japanese, so the only way we can communicate is in Spanish...haha my brain is getting tired, but in the best way possible!

Also, right now I am watching Moulin Rouge in Spanish. Guys, it's the best of both worlds. The songs are normal and in English, but the dialogue is in Spanish. Spanish in my brain + Ewan McGregor's sexy singing voice? Can't go wrong.

Miss you all!!!

Morocco!

Hello, people! What a weekend I've had!

It all began Thursday night. :) Zoe and I caught an 11:59 pm bus (that time just cracked me up) to Sevilla. Let me tell you, getting on a bus at midnight and knowing that that's your future for the next ten and a half hours is a really bizarre thing. Luckily there were few enough people (is that anywhere near grammatically correct?) that we each basically got our own seat, so we could sort of stretch out and I managed to get some sleep. Haha...some sleep. Not a whole lot. But better than none!

We got in to Sevilla at like 10:30 or something and had time to kill until 4:30 when we were supposed to meet at a bus stop to head with the group to Morocco. We were a little bit baffled about what to do with that much time. We meandered our way into Sevilla and managed to find our way to our bus stop (eventually...after walking around the park in every direction except the one we needed like 6 times. Go us). We also decided that we're going to go on The Amazing Race as a team because we're FREAKING AWESOME at traveling together and we balance each other out really well. Anyways. There was a cool Festival of Nations thing going on so we got 'burritos' that really weren't amazing and didn't have beans (dumb, I just want some freaking good Mexican food) and meandered our way about for a bit. We went and found our hostel, too, so that was pretty nice that we wouldn't have to be searching for it when we got back to Sevilla in a few days...

Anyway, eventually 4:30 rolled around and we made our way onto the buses along with 100ish other young people. Lovely. Nothing like traveling in a pack. But really, as much as I don't really love big groups, I was thankful for it in Morocco. It made me feel safer for some reason. Hahaha.

Anyway, we got to our hotel that night and didn't really do much. We were EXHAUSTED after the 10 hour bus ride, so much killed time in Sevilla, a 3ish hour bus ride to the ferry, a ferry ride (that I have no idea how long it was because I freaking CONKED OUT. Something about the rocking motion just put me to sleep and I slept hardddd), and another shorter bus ride...so we slept REALLY well haha.

We got up on Saturday far too early and made our way to Tangier where we rode some camels for like mayybe two minutes haha, and then went to some caves where freaking HERCULES supposedly lived. Guys, HERCULES. Hahaha. Needless to say, it was pretty rad.  Then we went to see this lighthouse that was where the Mediterranean met the Atlantic. Pretty cool! It reminded me of when I was in Puerto Rico and saw where the Caribbean met the Atlantic...except this time I was in Africa. Cool!

After that, we went to Assila and had time to walk around and explore. It was a beautiful little city, white and blue and full of shops and people just begging you to give them your money in exchange for some cheapo little thing. :) There was actually some cool stuff there. I bought some neat-o Moroccan things and we had some of the BEST mint tea I've ever had in my entire life. Guys, it was so good. I wish I could ship it to the US so you all could try it. Mmm. I want some more, please.

On Sunday we went to Tetouan (not to be confused with Tatooine) just to see a palace...uh okay? And then we went to Chefchaouen and had lunch and walked around and whatnot. The city is like a maze, I have no idea how people do it! So pretty, though! And then we shopped around a little bit there, but everything was sort of late and we didn't have much time because we had to catch the ferry back to Spain! Which I, of course, fell asleep on again...

Eventually we made it back to Spain (about 2am), meandered our way to where we were staying for the night (which was freaking nice for how much we paid for it), stayed up talking for far too long (I felt like I was back in the dorms my freshman year!), and finally conked out. We got up on Monday at like 11ish and just sort of meandered our way around Spain. We went and saw the Cathedral and somehow managed to meander our way to Plaza Nueva, pick up a free map, and find the DiscoverSevilla office. They didn't have any money to change back our dirham (dangit), but they did give us a tshirt and a calendar (from 2011...that has all the tour guides pictures mostly naked and lookin' all sexy. Bizarre. Hahaha, but funny.) They also were nice enough to let us drop our stuff there, YES!, and then Dani (our tourguide who was really nice) walked with us for a little while and told us what we really ought to do. :) So then we ended up visiting the Plaza de Espana, walking around some more, getting completely lost in some little streets and managing to find our way back, and having a really pleasant day in Sevilla! Even though we didn't get to see Benni, our other tourguide, again...which was a bummer but I think we'll live. :) Eventually we made our way to the bus station and took another overnighter back home. What a trip! Overall, I'd say it was a fantastic weekend, but I'm glad that this weekend I'm laying low and staying in Alicante. I need some time to recover! Hahaha

I hope everything is going well back in the states!!! Happy election day :)

Happy Halloween!

Happy Wednesday, Happy Halloween, I hope all is well back in the states! The news about the hurricane has been aaaalllllll over the place here, so crazy! I have a ton of new east coast friends here, too. Praying for everyone !

Let's see...what have I been up to? Well, last Friday was my final, it went well. :) I got a good grade in the class, so I'm happy. I already miss all of my classmates but I'm also absurdly glad that I don't have to go to grammar class 3 hours a day, 5 days a week any more. Haha.

Then Friday night Zoe, Andrew, Saki, Tsunako, and I went to Elche. There was the coolest little Medieval Market thing and some really good tapas! We enjoyed some wine and tapas and explored a little bit. It was fun, but by the end was I tiiiiii-iiiiiiiii-iiiiiiiiiii-iiiiiiiiiired!

I woke up on Saturday excited for the international luncheon thing with all the girls from my class, but I just was NOT feeling up for it. My throat hurt, my body ached...basically, the two months of go-go-go had caught up to me and I needed a rest. I ended up sleeping until noon and then taking a 3 hour nap later...sheesh! Ya think I needed some sleep?! I ended up the weekend feeling a lottttt better. Didn't really do much but I was a-okay with that. Lord knows I needed some rest. Sunday we went to the MARQ (an archaeological museum) and really there's not much to say about that...not exactly thrilling.

Monday we had our cooking class and we made tapas and then ate more than one EVER needs to eat...and it was absolutely lovely. Zoe and I made a freaking bomb ensaladilla rusa, no biggie, it was the hit of the night...

Then yesterday we had a party at a high school, teaching the high schoolers some stuff about halloween. It was a lot of fun! Zoe put it on, she's such a stud. And I was a green crayon...easiest halloween costume ever.


Interesting Spanish language fact (do not read if you don't speak Spanish):

My host mother just told me that I use the verb 'deber' too much and that I should be using 'tener que'. She said everyone from the states always uses deber ('puedo imprimirlo aqui, o debo ir a la universidad?') when we should be using tener que ('puedo imprimirlo, o tengo que ir a la universidad?'). I feel like this is bizarre and sounds weird. However...when in Spain...

GRANADA! (And more!)

Woooooooooah, this weekend/week has been CRAZY, so I haven't really been able to get around to posting much here...sorry!

Let's seeeeeee...Friday, we went to an almaraza, which is basically a place where they grow olives and make olive oil. The guy there was really passionate about his olives, it was sort of bizarre. But I mean, more power to him. The olive oil was freaking GOOD and I am baffled why we don't use more olive oil instead of butter in the United States...according to every Spaniard I've ever met in my entire life, it's way healthier than butter. So, uh...yeah. Anyway, at the end we got to try a bunch of different olive oils, which basically meant stuffing myself with bread, tomatoes, and olive oil. Can't really complain there...it was delicious.

Saturday we went to Granada. YOU GUYS. Granada is literally my new favorite place in the world (I'm sure that might change again, but really...amazing.) Want to know why? Here's why: 1) The city is absolutely beautiful. 2) There are mountains (SNOW CAPPED MOUNTAINS) and green and FALL COLORS (okay, I know, there aren't ALWAYS fall colors but I mean, there aren't any fall colors in Alicante and it's fall here!). 3) There's such an awesome mix of Spanish culture and Arabic culture down there. It's so cool! 4) Their accent is freaking awesome. I wish I was an Andalucian.

Me, Clara (our program director's [adorable] daughter), and Zoe

Granadaaaaaaaaaa

La Alhambra

Green, blue sky, snowy mountains.

In Granada, Zoe and I spent most of our time with Pepa (our program director), Clara (her daughter), and Ana (our tourguide)...because we are THAT cool, guys. I'm not kidding. We got kebabs (DURUM), bought genie pants, drank tea, saw the tomb of the Reyes Catolicos y Juana la Loca (who I'm minorly obsessed with and not sure why), visited a catedral, visited la Alhambra, saw a Flamenco show, walked more than our little feet could handle, and had a lovely time. It was a short visit, we came back on Sunday, but it was so worth it and I hope we go back next semester because there is so much more to explore!! :)

Then Monday we had our cooking class again, and we made PAELLA! Guys, paella is so good. I'm so excited to come home and make it for everyone (aka make it for myself...and share). Anyway, we all got to see how it's made and chop up the vegetables and stuff, and then they served it with sangria, obviously, because everything is better with sangria. And one glass in, Zoe and I were already dizzy. I'm not sure if we're lightweights or it was really strong...or both (I choose to believe both), but we both felt silly about the fact that it was a Monday. But you know...when in Spain...?

The rest of the week has been normal. Haha :) Tomorrow I'm going to Elche because they have this tapas thing and a Medieval Festival or something...so rad. I'll be sure to update you all. And then on Saturday we're having a party with everyone from my class, and we're all bringing a dish that's typical from our country...I'm thinking apple crisp or my peanut butter cookies? Or both! Because apple crisp says America to me...and so does peanut butter. Who knows, though :)

Tomorrow I have my final for my grammar class. Grossssssssssssssssssssssssss! HOWEVER, despues de esto no voy a tener clase los jueves no los viernes! WOOH! 4 day weekends for the rest of the semester! I think that calls for a celebration. :)

Joooolines

I can't believe it's only Thursday...and I can't believe it's already Thursday.

There's not really much to say about this week. I've been really worn down and kind of nauseous all week...I feel like I've been on the edge of being sick all week (my host mom keeps saying any day now I'm going to come down with the flu...) but I haven't really felt that sick, just uncomfortable. I felt better today though, so I'm hoping that by tomorrow I'll be back to 100%!

A couple stories from my week:

1) I absolutely adore everyone in my grammar class and, honestly, I wish I was able to keep taking grammar classes the next few months with them. Yes, I just said that I wish I were able to keep taking a 3 hour a day grammar class, 5 days a week. What is wrong with me? It's just that I love my classmates so much! We're having an 'international dinner' next weekend, ha! Everyone is bringing something 'typical' of their country...guys, I'm stumped. What do I bring?! I was thinking apple crisp or something...not too difficult to make and pretty typical, right? Or is that just me wanting fall treats? Anyway, I'm hoping that I stay in contact with them. They're all so awesome. And it's nice that they don't speak English, so we have no choice but to speak in Spanish (although Mariana speaks English and some of the Japanese students know some English). But yeah, I'm psyched for next weekend.

2) Yesterday I met the SWEETEST little Jehovah's Witness ever. Seriously. She stopped me in the street to talk to me. Her name is Maria Salud and she's like 80 years old, I swear. She was the nicest lady ever, and she wants to get together some time and talk (about religion...lovely). I can't decide if I want to, because I don't really know very much about what Jehovah's Witnesses believe, and I already feel like I can't communicate my thoughts very well in Spanish...I can't imagine trying to express my beliefs. I mean, I can, and I have, but I wouldn't want to say something wrongly, you know? I guess if my intention is good then that's that. I don't know, I want to see her again, she seriously was the kindest, sweetest little Spanish lady I've ever met in my entire life. Hahaha.

3) So I have these (super cute) flats that have beads on the toe area, and a couple beads had fallen off a couple weeks ago. My mom saw them when she was cleaning my room, and asked what they were for, and I had told her they were from my shoes, and that was that. Or so I thought. Today, I wore them again for the first time, and when I went into the kitchen my host mom was like "Did you see that I sewed the bead back on your shoes?! I even found clear string that I had so you can't even tell that I did it! Don't they look good?!" You guys. Seriously. It was precious. In that moment my love for her, like, DOUBLED. I don't even know if that's possible, but I seriously get spoiled every day by how much I'm cared for and I feel so loved here.

In other news, I have been craving candy corn and Moulin Rouge. No surprise there, really...

This weekend the group is going to Granada...should be fun! I'll update again at the end of this weekend...or beginning of next week, maybe. :) Miss everyone at home and wish you could send some of the WONDERFUL Oregon fall weather my way...I'm missin' me some cold weather and rain over here! It's been cooling off here, enough to wear pants and my jean jacket in the morning (although I feel a liiittle warm in that), but by the middle of the day it's like 80 still. Which is fine in pants and a tank top, but carrying around the jacket is sort of annoying. Uh, first world problems? Also, I don't know what has happened to me that I'm like "Huh, it's going to be eighty degrees today, sounds like I'm gonna be wearing pants." Gosh, going back to Oregon's cold weather will be rough. At least I'm coming back in the summer? Hahaha

<3

Guadalest

This week was so rad, with only three days of school and whatnot. Yay for random Spanish holidays! :)

Wednesday and Thursday were just school days...nothing very exciting.

Then yesterday was another holiday, and my family took Zoe and I to a pueblecito que se llama Guadalest. It was a cute tiny little pueblo with a little castle and a bunch of little shops. And they had a museum of miniatures...like tiny little things sculpted on a grain of sand and stuff. It was pretty crazy. And the view from the top of where we climbed up was absolutely gorgeous. I'm definitely missing all the colors of Corvallis and McMinnville (the valley in general) though...there was more green but it's definitely more desert-y here, it reminds me of Eastern Oregon. Which isn't as pretty, in my opinion. I was imagining all the trees, how beautiful the views from Lookout Point or Bald Hill are in Corvallis, and all the different fall colors that I absolutely love...made me miss it! But there is a different kind of beauty here that I love too. :) And it's still hot as heck, so you know, that's a plus sometimes. (Although I do love me some boots and jackets.)

Blue! Green! I like colors!

The castle up thurrr

On our way there, we stopped at a store to search for candy corn. Seriously, guys, my family is adorable. I mentioned candy corn and asked if they had it and they had never heard of anything like it, so we made a special trip at this store that supposedly has a bunch of stuff from other countries and whatnot, just so I could look for candy corn. Unfortunately, there is no candy corn here. Which is a shame.

On the way back from Guadalest, we stopped in a tiny little town called Polop. It was cute and quaint! And there was this one high point that we hiked up to and the view was sooooooo pretty. However...there were some scary black clouds on the horizon and we heard some very menacing thunder, so I was glad we didn't stay for too long. :P Then we went to the Plaza de Chorros there which had like a bajillion fountains. Okay, I think the actual number is closer to like 70, but it is seriously a ton! And the coolest thing is that the water from the fountains is good to drink! People can drink from them or fill up their water bottles or whatever, which I think is pretty rad.

All the little fountains!

The cute little streets of Polop

Then, on the way home and when we got home, it rained. And I was one happy little Oregonian.

We got back and booked our tickets to Venice...it's official, Italy, HERE WE COME! Planning and booking trips is a pain, but I know it's going to be worth it. Tonight our mission is booking tickets to Paris. Wish us luck!!!

Miss you all! <3

Thoughts from the beach.

Today is a holiday...there was a parade and everything! Zoe and I had fun. Then, we went to the beach. And here, I would like to present to you, my list of six things I may never understand about Spain.


 1) Nudity. Topless ladies, mainly. I mean, I'm all for it, you know, whatever floats your boat. It's just sort of bizarre and frankly, sometimes boobs are not very pretty things.

I am aware that baby butts hardly count as nudity, but isn't it cute?

My tactful picture of a topless lady. Good one, eh?

2. Bikinis. At the beach, everyone is in a bikini. Are you 23 and slim? Bikini. 87 and a little pudgy? Bikini. 50 and reeeally overweight? Bikini.

I like to think this is going to be me and my best friend some day. Older, in Spain, not caring that we're a little overweight, WORKIN' our bikinis.

3. This guy's speedo. You guys, I don't know if you can see it, but it had a drawstring. A DRAWSTRING?! On a speedo?

The abundance of speedos, in general, is alarming.

 4. How Zoe is so beautiful. Yeah, she's rad.

My friend is gorgeous, be jealous.

5. PDA. Seriously. There are always people like maaaaaking out in the streets and on the beach. This couple right here...they were making out literally the entire 2ish hours we were at the beach. On top of each other, next to each other, leg wrapped around each other, hands wandering, everything...I do not understand it.

Yeah, I'm that creeper taking a picture of the couple making out. I  just had to share with everyone at home, y'know?

6. Almost everything in this picture, at least under the umbrella.

Doesn't look so bad, does it?

Okay. You might have to click on the picture to see it better...but you see that lady there under the umbrella in the head wrap? Yeah, that blue scarf over her head. That lade was pregnant, VERY pregnant. And wearing a bikini. With thong bottoms. And head a tramp stamp. I'm not kidding, Zoe and I waited around for a few extra minutes because we desperately wanted a picture of her. I just realized that girl on the very left under the umbrella is topless, woops. And the lady lounging in the front in the pink bikini? I'm not exactly positive what happened, but all of a sudden all I heard out of her mouth were a bunch of cuss words. I don't even know who she was yelling at, but pretty much any cuss word I've learned thus far here, I heard. Everyone was looking. Even the couple making out stopped to stare. I think he even got off from on top of her to look. I'm not kidding.


Never a dull moment at the beach.

First week of October...what?!

Oh gosh. I really need to start writing twice a week.

Well, let's start with last Sunday and work our way to today, shall we? Last Sunday, I tried out a church here in Alicante...it's called La Iglesia Cristo Vive. It was amazing to be in a place of worship again with other people who love Jesus, but it was also sort of overwhelming...lots of people, lots of Spanish, a 3ish hour service, a pastor who sort of yelled sometimes and made me uncomfortable. They definitely love Jesus but I wasn't as comfortable as I would have liked. This week I didn't go to church. Next week I may try out a different one. We'll see. :)

I cannot believe that the first week of October is already over!!! My new grammar class started last week, which is actually a lot more fun than the last one, but also more difficult. (I got my grade from the last class and I got an A, so that was nice.) I'm the only American in my new class (and my professor was shocked that I was an American because apparently estadounidenses don't usually get to such an advanced grammar level...go figure). Besides me, there are my friends from the last semester (3 from Japan and 1 from Algeria), and two Chinese girls, and a Chilean girl from Switzerland. It's a ton of fun! We played tabu (Taboo) on Friday, talk about slang all the time, and have a lot of fun. There is a lot of time to practice speaking, which is like my favorite thing ever. And Laura, the professor, is really nice. She teaches my other new class, too. Social and Cultural Realities of Spain. Not thrilling. Not much to say about it.


Tuesday and Thursday I had tutoring again with Paula...seriously, I have the best job ever. Who can say that they get paid to paint nails, do each other's makeup (you shoulda seen my face...), sing songs, play Simon Says, and dance...?! Me, that's who.

Thursday I went out with Andres, Zoe, and Zoe's speaking partner Javier. Our plan was to go out for tapas, which ended up with us at a bar until 2 am. Not exactly my usual plan of attack for a Thursday night with school the next day but, you know, that's the Spanish way I guess. Haha. I actually had a ton of fun! Zoe and I were giggly and talking about all sorts of things while the guys talked about the economic crisis in Spain...you know, normal stuff.

Then Friday I went out with Kenta (Japanese), Tsunako (Japanese), Andres, and Zoe. We were only out until like 130ish probably, but I had a lot of fun! There are some funny moments when we're all together, though, and trying to communicate. Like trying to explain the word "wimp" or "pussy." ...it just is way more difficult (and amusing) than it sounds.

Saturday was pretty chill. I slept in...a lot...and then Zoe and I went shopping. After that I just sort of lazied around, skyped a bunch of people I love, put of my homework, didn't write my blog even though I told myself I would...

And then yesterdayyyy Zoe and I got up and went to the beach (it was freaking hot...and beautiful, as always) and hung out for a few hours. Then I came back and we had lunch and my hostmom was like "Huh, you wanna go somewhere? Like...wanna go to Benidorm?" "Uhh...sure?!" So after we ate, I had like half an hour to rest, and then off went my hostdad, hostbrother, and I to Benidorm! (My host sister was sick, and my hostmom's ankles were really hurting her and she didn't feel up to walking around Benidorm.) Benidorm is like an hourish away by car (Well, by my hostdad driving. Seriously. I'm going to feel so safe when I get back to driving in the states.). There's really not much to Benidorm...a really pretty beach, a beautiful little lookout area to go out and see the sea all around you, it's really breathtaking, some old houses, and a tonnn of tourist-y shops. Benidorm is much more city-like than Alicante...lots of skyscrapers and big buildings and McDonalds and whatnot. And TONS of extranjeros (foreigners), like, tons. But it was pretty. Then I came back and finished my wonderful day up by skyping my boy and my bros (Jeb and Tyty...sadly, not Daniel this time) and catching up with people back in the states. I love weekends for that reason!

Benidorm!

Part of the view from the viewpoint...imagine that you look more to your left and there's sea, sea, sea, sea, and then finally, the coast line from that first picture. And so sunny and beautiful!

Today, we had class, which was meh...but tomorrow's a holiday! YAY!

My hostfamily was baffled that I had school today. Here in Spain, when there's a holiday on a Tuesday or a Thursday or something, the people do something called "hacer puente" (literally "making a bridge"). Basically, un puente is when you have a holiday on Tuesday so you take off Monday too. That way, you have a 4 day weekend (Saturday, Sunday, Monday=puente, Tuesday=holiday). Or, if you have a Thursday holiday, then you take Friday off, too. My hostdad had puente today...but me, no. Oh well, no school tomorrow makes up for it, I guess. :)


Miss you all! <3 I'll try to write more often...haha, sorry :) Mas vale tarde que nunca?

Weekend windup

Well hello there, everybody that I love! Happy Saturday!

This week was, well, long. Haha. But now it's over, so all is well!! :)

The biggest thing that happened this week: I am officially (I think?) an Alicantina!! :) At least temporarily. I had the lovely pleasure of going early two mornings in a row to basically ensure that I'm here legally (ha), dealing with the police and other government agencies, waiting in line unnecessarily for 3 hours, applying for my "I'm a foreigner staying here in Spain for a year" ID card, and all that good stuff. It was sort of a pain, and I missed a little bit of class for it, but at least now it's done. And I wasn't alone, I always had at least a couple other students and sometimes even Pepa, our program director. Even though we sort of felt like we were fed to the sharks a little bit, I am so thankful for the help that Pepa and Marisa give us. There are some people that we've met here that are just here, on their own, with no help, no program, just going to school. I cannot IMAGINE. Things are so confusing as it is half of the time!!


On Thursday, when I worked with Paula, she gave me a bracelet. And we put chalk on our faces and we were "payaso indios" ...yes, Indian Clowns. We paraded around the house chanting "I am an Indian! I am and Indian!" She is the funniest little thing I have ever met. I just adore her. I have the best job ever. AND, the mom of one of her friends called me and wants me to tutor her daughters, ages 4 and 7, in English too. I'm not sure how I'm going to make it fit into my schedule, but I absolutely LOVE working with Paula so I'm sure it'll be the same! Plus...can't complain about getting paid to do basically nothing. :P

Me with my new bracelet from Paula! All the colorful stars :)

Then on Friday, DUN-DUN-DUN...my FINAL EXAM for my grammar class! Haha, which I (of course) did not study for until midnight on Thursday night, would anybody expect anything different than that? Of course not. :) But it went alright, I didn't feel bad about it overall, and now that class is over and I'm excited to have something new in October! PLUS! Good news: I was supposed to have class at 8am but it turns out that my class isn't until noon, which conflicted with another class, but I have enough credits that I could drop that class without any problem! So my schedule in October is lighter now, and later. I'm so glad I can still sleep in.

Speaking of October, I've been here for a month. When did that happen?!

After my exam yesterday, I took a nap. Haha. And then my host brother and sister took me out to a tea place, but they were celebrating a year anniversary or something, so everything was free (nice!) and it was CROWDED (not nice) and HOT. It was damp and hot and sweaty. However, Zoe and I had a good time anyway. :) Then, after trying to figure out more Morocco stuff (haha, story of our lives), my hostsiblings took us out to a Chinese restaurant! It was...weird, and the portions were HUGE, but it was good! It's sort of funny to me that they like Chinese food here, but whatever. :)

OH! It RAINED yesterday! Like, rain-rained. It never rains here. I even used an umbrella (guys, don't judge me, it was really the only way.) I was one happy little Oregonian. :)

Today, I had my first foods class, we went to el mercado central (the central market) and just sort of looked around. It's not exactly like a store in the states...see look:

Rabbits. Quite ugly without hair.

Pig heads! Pig skin! Pig face!

Pig skin. Pig balls (yum?). Pig hooves. Pig liver. Pig heart. Pig tongue. 

OFFER! Pig kidneys: 3 kilograms for 4 euros! Yum. Just try to ignore those little pig heads lookin' at us there.

This, my friends, is horse meat. See that up there on the right in the bag trying to hide behind the glare? Horse brain. That strange, darker meat hiding in that same corner? Horse liver. Cool.

Mmmm, lovely, huh? Don't worry, there are some normal things at the market, too! Like this:

Pretty flowers!

Fruit and ... dried peppers maybe?

Oranges. I had my first orange today. It was delicious.
Also, these oranges are .60 euro (roughly a dollar) for a kilogram...which  is like 2.2 pounds.  And they are delicious.

LA FRUTA!

Hahaha, sorry, I kind of went picture overload there. This post is getting long. I should be writing two a week. Oops. :)

Anyway, after we went to el mercado central, we trekked our way to a flea market-esque market, which was really cool! And I had a really yummy orange that cost me 30 euro cents and was SO WORTH IT.

Anyway, the rest of this weekend should be pretty chill. Weekends are always fun to catch up with you guys back in the states! :) This weekend shall henceforth be named "The Weekend of Planning" also, because I feel like that's all that's been on my mind -- planning my trip to Morocco, trying to plan a trip to Paris, planning my December trip with Tyler, planning a day in Sevilla, looking up cheap flights to ANYWHERE and everywhere, figuring out the cheapest way to get places, and basically just trying to stretch what little money I have here as far as it'll go! Any suggestions or places I just CAN'T miss? Let me know!

Also! I found a church pretty close that I think I'm going to check out tomorrow. Wish me luck ;)

And, because I'm so excited that I figured out how to post pictures, here's one of Zoe and I from today:

Ignore the fact that my head is huge.

Love and miss everyone!! <3