My last week in Spain and my last university classes EVER

I don't even think this is going to hit me until I finally make it back home, but I have spent 4 entire months in Spain. I just have this weekend left--5 days--and then I'm leaving Alicante forever (okay, hopefully not forever).

It's hard to believe I've been here this long, because it felt like just yesterday that I got off the plane in Valencia, exhausted and completely lost trying to find the bus station from the airport. Since that first day forward, Alicante has become my home away from home. I have really enjoyed myself and accepted my situation here, even if that meant struggling with difficult classes and (some) difficult people for 4 months. 

I am very excited to come home to see my amazing family again, and of course my wonderful best friends and for all of us to celebrate together at the annual Komblevicz Christmas Eve Bash, but it's very bittersweet to say goodbye to Spain. 

After study abroad, I have a feeling Michigan is going to seem pretty dull and I'm going to forever have an unquenchable thirst to travel. I won't even be returning to a routine of classes and work since I just graduated with the Class of 2014! (which is possibly the best Christmas present ever)

No more university, no more studying, no more exams--just cracking down and working. If I could make it through college packing my schedule to the rim with full-time classes, 30 hours per work week, a part time internship, and was able to make time for PRSSA meetings and PR Central, then I think I can handle just working. Life may not be easy past this point, but I sure know it will be less stressful. I made it! 

In this last week of reminiscing of my study abroad experience, I'm going to share a recap of some of my favorite and memorable moments of Spain, but of course this blog would be 100 pages long if I shared it all. Hopefully this inspires some people to travel! 

Taking the bus from the Valencian Airport to Alicante and seeing the mountains for the first time!

Meeting the Josés, our directors at UA. 

Visiting the beach and the Explanada for the first time.

Meeting the entire U.S. crew! 

Trying my host mom's healthy cooking 

Looking out my bedroom window and seeing the beautiful landscape 

Seeing the Festival de los Moros y los Cristianos 

Studying at the most beautiful campus 

Visiting Alcoy with my new friend Jorge 

Halloween in Barcelona! (My favorite city I visited in Spain, by the way) 

The crazy island of Ibiza. 

Madrid 

Enjoying a drink--or two...or 10--with new friends. 

To sum it all up...I absolutely loved Spain and 4 months has definitely gone by way too fast, but that will motivate me more to return again some day!

Yesterday is but today's memory, and tomorrow is today's dream.

Week 7: Ibiza aftermath

Ibiza.

"The all-night raver, the boho-cool hippie chick, the sexiest babe on the beach – Ibiza is all this and more to those who have a soft spot for the part-loving sister of the Balearics. The cream of Europe's DJs (David Guetta, Luciano, Sven Väth et al) makes the island holy ground for clubbers. And nowhere does sunset chilling like Sant Antoni de Portmany's strip of mellow cafes." - Lonely Planet

The quote above may be the perfect in-a-nutshell description of Ibiza, if one exists. Austin Stowe and I took a nice mini-vacation two weekends ago (mine was a bit longer due to flight limitations) and we decided to book a hotel in Sant Antoni de Portmany. Like the quote says above, the sunset over the water was definitely the most beautiful I've ever seen. 

But don't get me wrong, I didn't spend 6 days in Ibiza staring at the sunsets. Ibiza has way too much to offer to do that. Being an EDM (electronic dance music) enthusiast, this tiny little stretch of an island was packed with some of the world's craziest and largest clubs. 

Night #1, Thursday, October 2: Austin and I settled into our hotel, and he quickly made friends with two English boys in the adjacent room. I did very little exploring around the hotel besides walking down the strip to buy some food. The first night, however, we decided not to waste any time. We went to Sankey's, a double-layer club with a rooftop area, which featured CUFF, Amine Edge & Dance, Been Trill, Ardalan and K-Lagane. I made it on stage with Amine Edge & Dance for a bit because I was talking to "the sound guy" and he invited me to come onto the DJ stand. Needless to say, Thursday was a blast. The only thing I wish I had was pictures to prove it!

"The strip"

Night #2, Friday, October 3: Recovery day. I slept in, relaxed and finally got back on my feet at night, when the crew decided to make our way down the Sant Antoni strip. First, we hit a karaoke bar, and it was astonishingly ALL English-speaking people inside. I went up and down the strip with another girl in our hotel I also met the previous night. Nothing crazy, but all-in-all it was a good night.

Night #3, Saturday, October 4: Amnesia, "the best global club of Ibiza." We went to the closing party, which started at midnight and went until 3 p.m. the following day! I couldn't believe it. The promoter who sold us our tickets advised us not to go until 6 a.m. because that's when all of the "good DJs started." We thought he was loco, but we partially took his advice and waited to go until 4 a.m. Surprisingly, we stayed until 10 a.m. dancing the night away, and I never felt so exhausted yet accomplished for lasting that long. There was a continuous line out of the door the whole night and into the next day. These people were nuts. Below is a video of one of the two rooms.We estimated that there was probably 10,000 people inside.  

The second main room, which we called "the jungle." Photo credit: Austin Stowe

Night #4, Sunday, October 5: Austin had to leave on this day, so I spent my Sunday night with the English boys and two girls I met from the U.S. who are teaching English in Barcelona. We went to Pacha, which was way less packed, way more comfortable, and had better music. Solomun was playing and he was incredible. This night was definitely my favorite. Good crew, good music, and good vibes all around! 

Night #5, Monday, October 6: It was unimaginable that we could even have energy left, but this was Ibiza. There were Closing Parties every night (end of the season parties, more or less) -- even on Mondays. We took every advantage to see it all.  By now, the English boys were gone so I hung out with the two U.S. girls, and thank God for their company! They were great. Our server at Cafe del Sol (the name is fitting; this is where we watched the sunset) suggested that we go to dc10 on the other side of the island. Not a horrible choice, but it was a hot, sweaty mess. I'd say was a concert hall more than a club. We had a good time, but getting bumped into and shoved wasn't my idea of paradise. We stayed until 7 a.m. and decided it was time to go. By Monday, Ibiza had won. I don't think I would have lasted another night even if I wanted to.

The beautiful Cafe del Sol

To sum it all up, Ibiza was a high-energy, non-stop, dance-all-night and never-sleep type of atmosphere. I'm a little disheartened that I didn't have a chance to see the cathedrals and sights in the capital of the island (also called Ibiza), but hopefully I can make the trip back when I'm a bit older. For now, I'll have to say I don't regret a single second of it. Ibiza will forever have a place in my heart and a techno beat in my soul.

Extra: If you're reading this and planning on going to Ibiza, I have a few suggestions.

 1. Go before September 30 because the (4 euro) buses stop running and after that you have to take a (15-30 euro) taxi everywhere you go. 

2. For that, I'd also recommend bringing a little bit of extra cash. 

3. Last but not least, don't miss out on the beautiful beaches and sunlight while there! This island is crazy and wild as much as it is peaceful and enchanting. Ibiza is one heck of an experience. 

Next blog: Madrid aftermath

Week 5: Planning Ibiza, Madrid and more

It's hard to believe I've already spent a whole month in Spain. I think I've been reading too much of this book my mom gave me called "Wild" by Cheryl Strayed because I'm beginning to feel like I've been hiking a nature trail for the past month--alone. In a way, I kind of am.

Right now as I'm writing this, I'm sitting in the Valencia Airport waiting ...3 hours... for my tiny 45-minute flight to Ibiza. Poor planning on my part.

Getting here, actually traveling anywhere in Spain, is kind of like hiking. You may have never been to this new place before, so you have to stop, orient yourself and try to figure out which paths to take to get to your destination.

Instead of the easy route of flying out of Alicante, I saw a cheap flight and with all the excitement and daydreaming about Ibiza, I impulsively punched in those credit card numbers and hit "buy" before checking to see that it actually flew out of Valencia, two hours away. After realizing that afterward, I had to roll with the punches, and lace up my hiking boots.

My host mom told me about this thing called "BlaBlaCar" where you can share rides and pay way less to get around. People post their start location, destination and price. It sounded like a great idea so I quickly hopped online and only found one ride from Alicante to Valencia where I wouldn't have to miss my classes. However, BlaBlaCar screwed me all up. After securing and paying, the guy messaged me saying he actually wasn't able to leave from Alicante as his post said. Thanks, guy. Since he took two days to get back to me, I decided not to wait any longer and I would take the reliable Renfe train. But, with my awesome luck, the train didn't run between 12-4 today, so I had to take the 11 a.m. one and miss my class anyway. Oh and did I mention not even an hour later, he messaged me saying "Nevermind, I can actually pick you up now." Thanks again, guy. There's no refunds for the train.

Fortunately, getting here was way too easy and I didn't get lost. I'm getting better at this public transportation deal. But now, here I am patiently waiting to check in for my flight.

Lesson learned: plan more carefully and don't impulse buy! A flight may be cheaper elsewhere but in the end, the wasted time and the extra cost for trains and subways doesn't really amount to much of a savings at all.

Anyway, I'll be in the beautiful Bealaric Islands of Spain in the Mediterranean Sea for the next 6 days. Expect lots of pictures and incredible experiences upon my return! 

Next trip: Madrid in 7 days.