My Alicante rant post, because every blog needs one

Don't get me wrong this place is great. Actually, it's not just great, it's amazing. However, you can kind of compare studying abroad to being in a relationship. In the beginning of a relationship, you're in lust, awe, and see no flaws in the other person. After dealing with the same person for awhile, small things might start to annoy you, but you learn to deal with them because you love the person anyway.

Studying abroad is kind of like that. I still love this place, but there are definitely some differences in culture I'm beginning to notice a lot more. I also miss having certain things that only being at home could provide, which I have listed below. 

1. Common courtesy

Not that people are intentionally being rude here, but it's just part of their culture to not say "excuse me/pardon me" in public. The only time I hear anyone say "excuse me" is when they accidentally bump into someone else. People just kind of squeeze by or push you out of the way. And on the street, people just don't get out of your way. It's also not super common for people to say "thank you" if you open the door for them, or pick up their dropped papers, or anything of the nature. It may come across as rude to us, but I just think that's the norm here and they think nothing of it.

2. Junk food

Never thought I would say this, but being away from salty, fatty snacks creates this indescribable craving that you can't get rid of. I splurged on a hostess-style brownie the other day from the vending machine--and then to my surprise, thought it was disgusting and felt horrible afterward. Weird, weird, weird. I want it, but can't even enjoy it anymore. Even the delicious looking croissant below gave me a stomach ache for nearly 8 hours. 

3. HUGE coffees 

A normal size coffee here is literally a cup. No, not a coffee cup, but like a measuring cup size. If you want an "american sized" coffee, the only place you can find them is at McDonald's (and even then, their sizes are smaller and cost the same).

Coffee and Nutella-filled croissant, which can be found at any café. This coffee was actually a bit larger than at most other cafés, but still not enough to satisfy my coffee addiction.

4. Normal dinner time

Dinner in Spain is optional, or something very small (like a plate of steamed vegetables or bread and cheese). Since the main meal, lunch, is at 2 p.m., you have to eat quite a bit to hold yourself over. If you do eat dinner, it's at 9 p.m. which is a 7-hour gap between the meals. Tough.

5. Free water

Fresh water is a lot more scarce here, so if you go out to eat or are out and about, you have to actually buy water, which can add up. One tiny water bottle is 1 euro. To satisfy my thirst (due to all the heat and sweating) I would have to buy like 5 waters per day. And then if you decide to have a drink or two at the bar, you can't re-hydrate between drinks unless you want to pay the price. I decided to buy a large water bottle that I could just fill at home to bring with me to class and such.

6. Long, hot showers

Like I said, water is scarce. Don't leave the water running, ever. Also, the shower stays hot for about 2 minutes, so I prefer to turn the water off while I'm lathering so I can rinse with hot water before it runs out mid-shower. Showers here are not to enjoy and relax, they're to get yourself clean. 

7. Accessible bathrooms in public

Restaurants and fast food joints won't let you use the bathroom unless you buy something. I've only found one place that I've been able to get away with using their bathroom without a purchase and that's at 100 Montaditos. And then many times, there's no soap and toilet paper and the guy/girl bathrooms are combined. Blasphemy! 

8. Last but not least: A car

Public transportation is great for the environment and usually pretty darn convenient, but there's so much walking involved everywhere. I can't just hop in a car and be somewhere instantly. And then there's still places that the tram doesn't reach, so you don't always have that option. I better lose some weight from all this walking, that's all I have to say! 

So, there you have it. It's not always butterflies and rainbows here, but I can manage to give up these few American conveniences to experience Alicante's rich culture, friendly people, sight-seeing, diverse shops and restaurants, beaches, perfect weather and healthy lifestyle!

Week 2 in Alicante: The start of classes and meeting people

So much has happened since my last blog post, but I'll try to keep it quick and to the point. I'm going to divide the following sections by topic.

PUNCTUALITY: Our first classes started on the 10th, but apparently the first week of class is optional for some professors. Out of four that I went to, only two professors actually showed up. And one of the two was a half hour late. The culture is a bit different here.

CLASSES: I have decided to "try out" five classes, but I need to drop the two I decide I don't want. It's extremely difficult to try and translate in my head while also understanding material. Fortunately, the directors here are offering an advanced Spanish grammar course that is tailor-made for our group. They are bilingual in English and Spanish so it's helpful that they understand the struggle.

Another beautiful image of the campus

In addition, they don't offer as much flexibility when choosing your classes. My schedule is basically all over the place with huge gaps and class Monday-Friday. Also, the classes here are two days a week but two hours per class, so actually for the same amount of credits, I'm going to class for 4 hours extra per week.

PEOPLE: We also sat in a couple of classes of Spanish students trying to learn English. Many of them were very shy but very interested in learning about American culture. It's amazing how much people know about U.S.A. here. Many of them are fascinated with our culture and our music and movies. When asking many students' favorite movie, many of them told me an American movie. Odd.

DIVERSITY: It's super easy and cheap to travel on this side of the world, so there's a ton of people from all over. I've met some Irish people, Belgian people, English people, French people, Russian people and Algerian people.

Our new Irish friends. We watched soccer at their apartment

FOOD: There's different kinds of food for different areas of Spain, but one plate that is authentic to Alicante is patatas bravas (potatoes with a barbecue-like sauce). Tapas and monteditos are also EVERYWHERE. It's like fast food for Spaniards. Tapas are small appetizer plates that are meant to be shared. They can literally be anything. Montaditos are tiny sandwiches that are about 2-3 inches.

Sharing tapas in Villena

Montaditos

The one thing I really miss though is junk food. They eat super healthy here and eat fruit with EVERY meal. My host mom got mad at me one day when I didn't eat fruit after lunch because I was already too full. So she made me eat twice as much the next day. They also drink coffee which I was afraid they wouldn't have, but it's all mostly espresso.

As many of you probably know, lunch is the biggest meal of the day (during siesta) where everyone comes home, eats together, and everything is closed between about 2-5. Then dinner is optional or they eat something small around 9 p.m.

OVERALL: I really enjoy Spain. It's different, it's beautiful, and the people are super friendly. I also have a beach in walking distance. There's never a dull moment (unless I chose to sit at home and relax). I'm still trying to get used to taking public transportation and walking everywhere, which does eat up a lot of time, but it's pretty darn convenient to get around. My host mom is nice, I've been making friends and have gotten closer with my CMU group.  Now, all I need to focus on is passing these classes and trying to make the most of my time here!

They have "American parties" here! I had no idea that was a real thing.  

City landscape near the beach

Downtown is just gorgeous

Week 1 in Alicante: Festivals, shopping, cafés and more!

I can't believe a whole week has already passed! This place is so different and full of adventure that I feel like the time is flying by.

I found out that I basically live in the center of everything. The center of the downtown area is called "Plaza Luceros" and it only takes me 5 minutes to walk there. The other day, our whole group went to "La Festival de Los Moros y Cristianos" or the Festival of the Moors and Christians in a city pretty close to Alicante. It was a religious parade, but also a party in the entire street in the city of Villena. 

Some pictures from the festival:

These were my favorite costumes! (They can cost $1000!)

The streets of Villena

Moors

The next day, Kris, Damaris and I traveled to San Juan Beach (which was about 45 minutes on the tram) and had tapas and cañas and talked politics for a few hours. The water is SO extremely warm, it's amazing!

Saturday night, Damaris, Katie and I looked around and went up and down streets by the beach. One very well known spot in Alicante is La Explanalda, which is their colorful riverfront: 

La Explanalda

My favorite park, Gabriel Miró, in walking distance and the Fuenta La Aguadora

Interesting graffiti (notice it's in English)

A funny misspelling on one of the "American Diner" menus

Today, we finally started classes and I think it's going to go smoothly. The directors of this program are incredible! Not only are they directors, but also guides and friends. They took us for our first tour, and also one of them is teaching a class we all have together. I thought I would be way more lost here, but I've felt comfortable and safe the entire time! 

Jose Calvo-Ferrer even helped me get my SIM card for my phone (so I can have a Spanish number and call people in my group without insane roaming charges). Thank god he was with me because I don't understand technical terms in Spanish (yet). A plan for 20 SMS/ 20 minutes/ 600 mB cost 10 euro and you can "recharge" it whenever you run out. Not bad, but I'll be using a lot of Wifi as to not go over. So for tonight, I'm going to buy some school supplies and relax for the rest of the day!

Some interesting things I found out about Spain:

• They use the word "conducir" instead of "manejar" for drive (manejar is Mexican)
• They use the word "coche" instead of "carro" for car (carros is also Mexican)
• It hasn't rained in Alicante for almost a year
• You can buy beer at the cafeteria on campus
• They also don't enforce the drinking age (I saw drunk kids at the festival last week!)
• It's easier to take public transportation than drive
• No one here knows what a longboard is. Good thing I didn't bring mine
• The word for "coffee" actually means espresso. If you want a regular coffee its called "cafe americano"
• Locks on the doors are extremely difficult
• It's VERY safe to walk around alone
• There's shops called "tiendas chinas" (chinese stores) that are extremely cheap
• All of the food here is extremely healthy. My host mom doesn't eat ANY processed food. Even the tuna is fresh (and not canned).
• "Monteditos" are little sandwiches you can buy for about 1 euro

That's all for today! Thanks for reading. :) 

Day 2 in Alicante: Meeting my host mom and exploring the city

I arrived yesterday in Alicante! It was a long ride. The first flight from Detroit was in a huge plane with amazing amenities: free movies, TV, games, and music. I slept maybe two hours the whole way. My second flight flew out of Paris, where I hopped on this rickety, old plane to Valencia.  That time I slept in the entire way.

I had a few struggles getting from Valencia to Alicante. First, I read the wrong train schedule, so there was actually only three trains yesterday: one at 1 p.m., 7 p.m., and 9 p.m. My flight landed at 12:10 so I definitely wasn't going to wait until 7 p.m. to leave Valencia. Instead, I took the bus, which was actually pretty cheap, but getting lost finding the bus station put me behind about 2 hours. I finally arrived in Alicante around 6 p.m.

I was greeted by Jose and Jose, and they were very energetic and friendly! They brought me to my host mom's house, Senora Prudencia. First thing I did was give her a great big hug and tell her I was glad to make it! My host mom is great, she is older, lives by herself and is retired. She cooks and cleans and offered to do my laundry. Sometimes, I feel bad but that's the culture here. The directors explained that the host moms will feel like they're being a "bad mom" if they don't do those things for us. Many times, children don't move out of their parents house until their thirties here! It's very different.

Mi mamá

Her "piso" or apartment (It's very cute!)

My room. I don't share it but sometimes family visits she said.

The famous Castillo de Santa Barbara, which I can see right outside her window!

After the long trip yesterday, I decided to unpack and take it easy. Today, my second day here, I met up with the other CMU students and had orientation. We all took a tour of the university and,WOW, is it beautiful. We stopped at the cafe and had drinks, then we set up Wifi (very important) on our laptops. I just ate lunch, which is their main meal, and now I'm relaxing and cooling down (the sun is muy fuerte) and getting ready for dinner with the group again, and am going to buy a SIM card so I can use my phone again!

Pictures of La Universidad de Alicante (it's even more beautiful in person!):