Random Thoughts

It's amazing how much I can post in my blog when I want to procrastinate. Technically my test isn't until June 1st and it's only May 19th...plenty of time to study! I just wanted to post a few pictures from this past week. Burbuja, our puppy, has been growing like a weed and now he is finally walking...everywhere! Last night a terrified Ariadna rushed into my room asking if I had seen him. I was skyping with Maggie at the time and said no but that I would help her search for him. Just then, she let out a sigh of relief as she found him in my tennis shoe. I think he likes my room/me because he always, somehow, ends up at the bottom of my feet when I least expect it. Compare this picture with the one in the post titled "Vacations and Puppies."

On Tuesday, May 17th, our program rented us a Catamaran for 2 hours. We left from the port of Alicante and drove around the coast of the city where we were able to stop and swim in the water for awhile. Unfortunately, it was mostly cloudy and windy during our voyage so although I swam, I payed the price of being cold after. It was fun to have the group all together one last time before we went our separate ways. The professors and all of the CIEE staff joined us as well which was hysterical and fun. They kept trying to get us to dance to Katy Perry with them. The picture below is before we set sail: Ari, Natalie, Me and Casey.

Below is a picture of the Santa Barbara Castle from the Port. I'm in love with the Castle if you couldn't tell by now.

Calp: Where Seagulls Attack

I realized I failed to write about a hiking experience I did a few months ago. One of the reasons I love Alicante is the geographical diversity of the province. Yes, the beach is great but I also love the backdrop of the mountains and the opportunities to participate in outdoor activities. The last weekend in March, my friends, Casey, Sara, Allison and I decided to venture about an hour north of Alicante (by Tram) to climb a trail our friend Cristina had told us about. We were surprised when we arrived that we were actually climbing a cliff located right on the edge of the beach called "Ilfach" in the town of Calp (pronounced Cal-pae). Here is a picture of it:

Apparently after the tunnel it was "muy peligroso" (very dangerous)

The day was perfect: sunny, nice breeze and about 60 degrees. It was also Sara's 21st birthday and it was fun to celebrate with a picnic on top of the summit.

Although we were about 3o minutes late back to Alicante for Sara's b-day dinner, the day was fun, but pretty uneventful. This past Sunday, after riding in the limo Saturday night, we decided to go again. This time is was supposed to be me, Casey, Sara and Lindsay. However, Casey didn't wake up on time, which leads into my next story. If you haven't read the previous post, it is necessary to understand what I am about to write. After arriving home around 5:30 AM, I didn't end up falling asleep until around 6 and woke up at 9:15 to meet everyone at the train station. I was feeling the effects of the previous night/morning but surprisingly I wasn't that tired. I was the first one to be at Renfe and I was 5 minutes late. Upon arriving I call Sara to find out she woke up late but she's on her way. She told me to go ahead to the Tram station which is another 5-8 minute walk and purchase our tickets, that way we wouldn't waste time doing that and we could catch the 10:11 AM Tram. It was important we caught this one because it only comes every half hour and it takes a while to get to Calp. My phone is on the verge of death due to the fact I forgot to charge it the night before and I'm trying to call Lindsay to tell her that I will call her when we are on the Tram. She was getting on at the next stop. After just barely making on to the first Tram, Sara and I were ecstatic. We literally ran onto the Tram, threw our hands up and high-fived. At the next stop which is Mercado, we were supposed to meet Lindsay. Unfortunately, our phones didn't work underground so we couldn't call her to tell her we were on the Tram. At the stop, Sara stood in the doors while I jumped out to look for Lindsay. I spotted her on the escalator about half way up and screamed, "Lindsay RUN!!" She starts taking off down the stairs, trying to squeeze through some people and the Tram doors start closing, with Sara in them. She jumps out but starts banging on the doors to try and let us in. It worked! And we got back on the Tram. Everyone was staring at us like who are these girls? And the US Embassy probably hated us for how American we were acting.

The tram ride was nice and relaxing and we didn't have a "layover" in Benidorm like before. When we got to Calp, it was raining and we were in tank tops and shorts. Luckily there is a small cafe right next to the Tram station that we hung out in for about an hour and waited for the rain to leave. As we were sitting there, discussing life and crazy things that have happened to us in Alicante, including things to do with Carpe Diem and rooftops :) (Sorry Sar, had to throw that in there so I can remember all the stories), we legit got "SHHHH-ed" by the bartender! Yes we were talking and maybe laughing a little too loud but seriously? You couldn't say, "hey keep it down or you guys are being a little loud." No, he Shh-ed us at least three more times. After the third time and it being really awkward, we decided to venture down to the rock. There is a bus you can take but the rain had let up and we felt like being outdoors. So many inside, hilarious jokes happened this day that I will only share a few of them. Basically that was our walk to the rock: Sara and Lindsay discussing living the Spanish lifestyle when they returned home, including sipping wine during la comida (lunch) and me telling them about how I delivered a baby in Ecuador. We finally reached the bottom of the cliff and began the assent. Although it was a bit misty and cloudy out, the views were just as breathtaking as the first time. This was Lindsay's first time and even with a hurt foot, she was enjoying the hike. After the tunnel is where things got interesting/terrifying. About 3/4 of the way up, Sara notice's a baby seagull. After "oooo-ing" and "ahhh-ing" for a good 5 minutes we continued. All of a sudden a seagull dove at me! I hit the ground so fast and Sara and Lindsay were like, "What?! Oh my gosh what happened?" I was like, "That seagull legit just dive bombed me." They started cracking up, and basically telling me to stop being dramatic. No more than 2 minutes later I hear behind me, "Holy crap!" One had just dove at them. We decided to go back down to safe ground which was like 20 feet below us. When I looked up I saw literally an army of seagulls flying around the cliff and swooping down at people. I was like oh hell no I am not about to climb to the top like this. We decided that we would settle, sadly, for not reaching the summit because we were not about to get our eyes or brains pecked out. Just then a man came by us and we were like, "are you going to the top?" He gave us a confused look, "Yea, why not?" Umm sir, have you seen the killer seagulls?! He laughed and said they are "harmless" and that we could follow him to the top if we wanted. Well Sara thought that this sounded like the best idea since sliced bread so we continued our journey. And continued to literally get attacked by seagulls. At one point I had to stop, take off my back pack and carry it over my head. For a visual, imagine this sandaled-Norweigen man scrambling up these steep rocks, Sara pretty close behind him and Lindsay and I about 15 feet behind her screaming, trying to yell for her to wait up. Sara goes, "I don't want to lose him! Sir, SIR can you please wait for us? My friends are a little scared." This dude had to be thinking, "Oh my gosh, what did i get myself into." We FINALLY reached the top and the seagulls seemed to be laying off. I was starving and exhausted so I whipped out my bocadillo. Just then two seagulls swooped down at all of us. Sara shrieked, "Hilary can we PLEASE go?!" Mouth full of turkey, cheese and bread I couldn't help but laugh as we scampered down the mountain. And the seagulls were mad. We tried to get down as fast as we could when we hear Lindsay scream, "GUYS! One just shit on me!" I yelled back, "Well keep going because we can't do anything now!" Sara and I are dying laughing while also trying to dodge seagull attacks as we finally make it to what we think is a safe-place. Lindsay emerges from the brush with seagull poo all over her shirt. I felt so bad for her but it was also extremely hilarious. I gave her some kleenexes I had in my backpack and she finally ended up taking off her shirt. We decided to deal with how we were going to get her another shirt after we got out of this dangerous territory. The climb down was better as the seagulls didn't see us as a threat to their young anymore. But we approached a nest and all of a sudden the mother started shrieking! "She's sounding the alarm!" we screamed and while Lindsay and I are trying to get out of there as fast as we can, Sara stops to take a PICTURE of the babies! I'm surprised she didn't die. After making it back to the tunnel, we decided to sit inside and eat our sandwiches to avoid any more possible attacks.

We almost made it down the mountain when it started raining. The day had been so unusual and crazy that all we could do was laugh and we jogged to the bus stop to try and get out of the storm. The bus brought us back to the Tram station where we had to wait 45 for our Tram to get back to Alicante. Where do we go? Oh yes, the café that shhhh-ed us and probably hates Americans. We sat in there and watched "Forrest Gump" (in Spanish of course) and treated ourselves to a glass of wine. Luckily I had brought my beach towel with me because I thought we would swim if it was nice out and I gave it to Lindsay to wrap up in. It also was my Hello Kitty one from Japan so she didn't stick out at all. After trying to stay quiet for 45+ minutes, we caught the tram back home and relived our entire adventure of the day. Despite arriving home around 8:30 and being completely wiped, we ventured over to Lindsay's house to watch "Vickie Cristina Barcelona" which is a fantastic movie. It features Scarlett Johansen, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem. It was cool to understand the context of the film since we had visited Barcelona in February. Also, the picture below is one of the few I took on our 2nd hike up Ilfach because I was too scared to get my camera out in the middle of seagull attacks.

Me, Lindsay and Sara before the attack of the seagulls

"What is our life?!"

I really should have wrote this immediately after the events of last weekend so bear with me as I try to hash out as many details as I can remember. I'll start with Saturday. My friend Casey, probably my best friend here, and I woke up early (for once) and headed to Playa San Juan which is the nice beach here in Alicante. Basically it's nicer because it's HUGE and the sand and water are cleaner than Postiguet, the beach closer to downtown and my house. We arrived around 10:15 AM, posted up in a quiet spot by the water and passed out for 3 hours. When I finally woke up I realized it was 1 PM and I was sweating. My friend Olivia who was also there, and I swam for about 10 minutes and then I passed out again...until 4 PM. There is nothing more peaceful than falling asleep in the sun, listening to the waves crash on the shore. We finally decided to wake up and head home since we were starving and realized we had been sleeping literally all day. After lunch and quick nap, my friend Sara asked me if I wanted to go out to dinner with her and her Spanish friends around 10 at one of my favorite restaurants "100 Montaditos." It serves "montaditos" which are mini-sandwiches and they have my favorite drink, a jar of tinto de verano. Sara, Casey, Natalie and I headed there around 10 and met her friends, 3 girls and a guy, who were extremely welcoming and personable. I really enjoyed practicing my Spanish with them and then seemed really interested in us as well. They taught us some Spanish slang which I enjoy learning, it helps me blend in with the Spanish youth. One of my favorite parts of the conversation was when Stefanie said, "I want to go to the US because you guys have more famous people, like Katy Perry." They had just purchased tickets to a concert in Madrid for another musical group and said that a lot of famous people don't come through Spain. I was like, "Yea, but you have Shakira!" They all stopped and stared at me. I started nerviously laughing and asked, "Don't you like Shakira?" To which they replied, "Yes she is okay." It was so funny. We also taught them how to shotgun a beer but the word for "shotgun" in Spanish is "pistola" which sounded hilarious to them. Speaking of guns, we had a big discussion on the difference in gun control laws in Spain and the U.S. It is impossible, or almost, for a young person to get their hands on guns in Spain because carrying firearms is illegal and people just don't do it. Contrary to the US where people think they have a right to carry an arm to defend themselves. Why is it then that innocent people end of up getting hurt? I don't know the logistics of it, but last night I found out from my brother that a high school student committed suicide in Winterset. Hunter ran cross country with him and apparently he didn't seem like the kid who would do that, then again, they never do. My first thought was how did he get the weapon? Thankfully no one else was hurt. I am a full-blooded American and believe in the Constitution, however, something has to be done to prevent young people from getting their hands on firearms and using them to do harm. A school shooting is in the news for a few days and then we forget about it or everyone thinks "that would never happen here." It's time to stop being naive and start facing the facts.

After our intense discussion about differences between the States and Spain, the Spanish students left to go home because they had exams this week. Sara, Sylive- who came to meet us later- and I had just finished exams so we were looking forward to going out. After dos besos to all the Spaniards, we headed to our favorite bar, Goa. We know the bartenders here, Sergio and Claudio, but unfortunately we d0n't get any free drinks. Thankfully, everything is literally 1 Euro. Sylvie and I are tired so we decide not to drink because I am going hiking with Sara, Casey and Lindsay the next day. We move on to Havanna Barrio which is another one of our favorite hang outs. However, this night all we wanted to do was use their bathroom (it's nice and actually has toliet paper). Walking out was the second time Sylive and I looked at each other and said, 'We should probably head home soon." Just then, a woman asked us if we wanted to ride in a limo. We asked, "¿Cómo?" She tried speaking in broken English which was actually harder to understand her than Spanish. She said they were promoting a new magazine, gave us wrist bands and told us to go stand out in front of KFC to wait for the limo. Sara was like, "OK!" I was like, "Eh this is sketchy but we'll check it out." And Sylvie said, "Guys, no this is weird and sketch." Just then Sara saw her "friend" Pierre who I guess she met literally one time before that. She was convinced it would be fine since she knew him and he was working for this campaign as well. Before heading out of the barrio to find our limo, we were asked to get a picture with the mascot bunny. See below:

Sure enough after about 20 minutes of waiting and meeting new Spanish friends who assured us it was safe, we were in the limo with an open bar. It was awesome! We drove around Alicante for about 45 minutes saying out loud, "What is our life?!"

Sara, Me, Sylvie and our new friend Natalie in the limo

After that, our new friends, Natalie and Stefanie invited us to come out with them. This was the 3rd time Sylvie and I tried to leave and go home, but in reality, we were having a blast and didn't want to leave. We went to a few clubs before they finally took us to one I had never been to before called "5 Avenida." It was actually on a side street on the way to my casa. We were there until about 4:30..yes, AM when Sylvie and I FINALLY decided we needed to go home, if we were going to be in any shape at all to go hiking. We literally turned around to leave the dance floor and a guy offered us two champagne glasses and a bottle. He was like, "I have too many so you guys can have this one for free!" Are you kidding me?!? How does this night keep getting better. We stayed for another half hour and finally headed home around 5, both of us laughing about the events of the night, completely in love with Alicante and the Spanish lifestyle.

The Beginning of the End

This past week I took my final exams for my CIEE classes. I think they went well although one of them was cumulative and entirely essay form. Which resulted in many hand cramps during and after the test. Although I am done with these classes and exams, I still have my direct enrollment (DE) course and exam to take on June 1st. I received a wonderful card from my grandparents in the mail a few weeks ago saying they hadn't heard much about my classes so I wanted to take a bit of a reflection on my semester (class wise) to keep you all up to speed. I believe I wrote this in an earlier post that I was enrolled in 3 classes through my program. The first class I had was Spanish Popular Culture class on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Throughout the semester I learned some useful and some crazy facts about my new home. For example, for the most part, Spaniards don't like to rent things, such as apartments (they call them houses). They like to own their homes so even though it is an apartment complex, they somehow have "bought" their own apartment. Also, unlike the States, Spaniards don't get off work until 8 or 9 at night because they have a siesta in the afternoon and then re-open their stores at 5. An example of a crazy fact is that the reason Spaniards do not have "to-go" coffee (or anything for that matter) is because they see drinking coffee or eating as a social ritual and if you don't have time for it, you don't do it. This has obviously made me analyze our fast pace lifestyle in the states but I have come to the conclusion that I like walking/driving with my 20 ounce caramel latte. Sorry Spain, you are losing this battle. We also watched about 5 movies during the semester; some were good, other's just cheesy but I did learn a lot about the culture and lifestyle during Franco (the dictator) and also the role of women in society. We learned colloquial phrases which were helpful in order to blend in with the Spanish culture and especially the youth, and we learned how to order different types of drinks. Like I said, a very useful class :)

The next class was a Women's Literature class and this was the most challenging for me, partly because of the content but partly because we had a lot of work. My professor, Debora, was a cute little lady with brown, wavy hair and glasses and extremely nice and personable. Her teaching style on the other hand, I would have liked to tweak. Sometimes it felt like she wasn't prepared for class or we would spend 2 hours discussing life, incorporated into the readings of the day. Discussion was good and a helpful part of class but sometimes I needed more clear-cut, this is what she wants us to know lecture so I could focus my studying on that. This class did help me with my Spanish writing skills as I wrote close to 10 papers throughout the semester. I also enjoyed our final project which was to choose a book, or a short story, read it and then write a 10 page analysis. When it was nice outside, she would let us sit in the grass and hold class or sometimes we would go get coffee and discuss readings, which would never happen in the States but I really liked this. I liked her laid-back style but sometimes she was too laid back, in my opinion. My third and final class was Public Health and probably the one I am the most critical. Originally, I choose the Alicante program because it offered this course and the description said that we would have guest speakers, such as doctors and nurses, and we would be visiting a local hospital or clinic. Neither of which happened, to my disappointment. I did, however, broaden not only my general Spanish vocabulary but my medical Spanish vocabulary and the book I purchased I am bringing home for future reference. What I found most intriguing about the class was the similarities and differences between Spanish healthcare and the States. Especially for someone like me who wants to pursue a career in this area, I think it is helpful to have a good understanding of different systems. We would also read articles about the latest medical topics or new vaccines which I found interesting as well.

In general, my classes were different from what I am used to in the States. I was shocked when my professors would continually be late to class or when someone didn't have their paper done and wanted to turn it in later they were okay with it. That is how the Spanish system operates. I did enjoy how personable the professors were and since my classes were small, they all knew my name and how I contributed to the class. I can not believe I am done with my program! To celebrate, they rented a catamaran for this coming Tuesday for all of us to go out on for the afternoon, professors included! There is an option of snorkeling but I think you all know that I will NOT be participating. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone one last time before we all head our separate ways. I still can't believe I arrived in January and now it's May and my time is winding down. Luckily, I still have about a month and a half left, a lot more time than most people. My classes taught me a lot about the Spanish style of teaching, education system and culture in general but I have always thought and still believe that I have learned more outside the classroom. Interacting with my family and asking their opinions on what I have learned in class has broaden my horizons and made me appreciate the Spanish lifestyle, even if I don't agree with everything. Spain, and the people, have also taught me a lot about myself. I don't know how to elaborate except that it is something internal. And thinking back to the first few months I was here, I have seen growth and progress with myself. Whenever I go abroad, I am always happy, probably the happiest I have ever been but Spain was different. I struggled the first month (to speak the language, to find friends, to find happiness) but now I feel like I did that first week in Costa Rica and my first (and entire) month in Ecuador. Spain has opened my eyes to so many wonderful things about my life and taught me that everything will be okay. I just have to learn to dance through the storm.

Vacations and Puppies

Besides the gorgeous weather outside making me want to do nothing except post up on the playa I have also found other ways to procrastinate i.e. joining the Twitter world and writing in my blog when I don't feel like writing my paper. (Mom, you are reading this as I AM working on my paper.) I felt like today deserved a blog entry and after what happened, procrastinating for a few minutes can not be that damaging. So today started with me waking up and pondering the recurrent thought that pops into my mind every morning when the sun is shining: class or beach, class or beach. I decided to go to class (like I always do). After my first not-so-interesting class, (it's Pop Culture and all we did was discuss/analyze a few movies...zzzzzzz), my friend Hannah and I were discussing how much work we had to do the next few days/weeks. This is our last full week of class because next Thursday, Semana Santa begins a.k.a we get two weeks off for Easter and then we have class for TWO DAYS the first week of May and then that weekend is Santa Faz, another festival in Alicante. How could I not love it here?! Ok so getting back to my awesome day. We are supposed to have a paper due this Thursday for my Lit class and then our FINAL paper due on Tuesday. Well my friend Hannah had enough courage during class to raise her hand and ask if we could just discuss the commentary that we were supposed to do for Thursday. Surprisingly our professor said YES! One paper cancelled. She also allowed us to turn in our final paper the week after Semana Santa. I felt like Charlie Sheen. WINNING! Finally, in my last class which is my direct enrollment through the University of Alicante, my professor legit asks the class, "Who is not going to come to class the week after Semana Santa?" and EVERYONE (like 30 kids) raised their hands! She nodded and said, "Vale, no hay clase." (ok, no class then). WHAAAAAAT?! So basically we have a three week spring break, from that class at least, which means a 3 week break from hearing about the dictator, Franco.

In other news, my madre, Lidia, wrapped me into a puppy-scandal this morning. Preface: I woke up late (totally normal) this morning and was rushing to the bathroom to get ready when I saw Lidia and her friend, Isabella sitting and chatting in the living room. I gave a wave and said, "Buenos dias" as I trudged into the bathroom. When I came out, Isabella was gone. I gathered up all my stuff for the day and was walking out my bedroom door as Lidia was coming down the hall whispering to me "solamente hay un perro, nada más" (there's only one puppy, no more) and put her lips to her fingers as to "shush" me. I was a little stunned, nodded and preceded to head out the door when I met another lady walking in. After dos besos, looking at Lidia and being super confused, I headed to class, all the while thinking, "I hope the puppies are okay, and did one die?" Upon my return from class/awesome news-day, I found Ariadna holding one of the puppies as Lidia had taken Lulu, the mom of the puppies, debajo (to use the doggie restroom). Although the puppy still looked like a rat, it had more hair which made me want to hold it. Ok so I, timidly, ask Ariadna what happened to the other one and she explained that the owner of the puppies' father took it. Ok, whew! It was still alive. That is what Lidia must have been telling me this morning but was confused in the manner in which she did it.

Lidia and Lulu return from the park and she thanks me for not saying anything about the puppies this morning. I said, "Oh I heard you found a good home for one." She rolls her eyes and continues: apparently the owner of the puppies' father didn't want to pay for a puppy and since Lulu had a c-section, it was very expensive. Lidia then told her that only one of the puppies had survived and if she wanted it, she would have to pay. Lidia seemed annoyed because apparently this agreement was supposed to be sorted out before the birth of the puppies. She also mentioned something about everyone in Spain, or Alicante for that matter, want to be in your business and know how much money you have, what you do for a living, ect. ect. Then she tells me Isabel had the other puppy down in the park while this lady was looking at the other one in the apartment! This was all happening while I was oblivious/getting ready for class. And it was successful. Lidia got paid and this lady got a puppy, except now we only have one left..and his eyes aren't even open! Ariadna and I had fun cuddling him before dinner tonight.

When in London: Mind the Gap and...Your Wallet

Originally, I had wanted to go to London to see the sites most people only see in pictures or experience in movies. And since I am unable to make it to the Royal Wedding, I figured this would be a good of chance as any to see/steal Prince William and/or the Royal Family. Unfortunately, the only thing stolen in this city was not a heart, but rather, a wallet. My wallet. Now I am starting this way because I do not intend to write a depressing entry but rather begin with one of the last things to happen to me during an otherwise incredibly, wonderful weekend. My friend Casey and I had just finished viewing the Arsenal stadium in the northern part of the city when we decided to put our day-trip-tube-passes to use and catch the tube (the subway) back to our hostel. We felt comfortable with the tube system by this time and routinely reached in our bags, grabbed our pass, let it slide the through entrance gate and headed for our train. Somewhere between me putting my card back in my wallet and leaving the tube station, when you have to show your card again, my entire wallet was lost. Most people could see me getting extremely upset about the situation and although I freaked out at first, I calmly collected myself as I asked a woman working there if there was a lost and found. In fact there was but it wasn't open during the weekend and at that point I knew my things were long gone. Thankfully Casey had her blackberry and allowed me to call my parents to let them know to cancel my credit and debit card. Before leaving the station, Casey asked if I had my passport and I frantically started rummaging through my purse again. Yes, I had it. Along with my Spanish cell phone, camera and ipod. So I viewed the entire situation as, it could have been worse. And even this did not change my love and addiction to this thriving metropolis.

London was so much more than what I had heard from previous travelers or had seen in the movies. It was a colorful mix of old and new, tradition and modernism that grabbed my attention as soon as we stepped off the plane. Since we flew into Gatwick, about 35 minutes by train south of the city, we took a bus to the city center where our hostel was. During the ride, I saw beautiful green meadows and old, cozy cottages, just like in the movie 'The Holiday," the snow replaced with beautiful, budding cherry blossom trees. Everything was so green and vibrant. We stayed at St. Christoher's Inn which is actually 3 hostels in 1 and we had two restaurants to choose from where we could receive discounts just for staying at this hostel. This was also just 1 block away from the famous London Bridge. Upon arriving to "our area" I felt like a kid at Disneyland. The traffic driving on the opposite side of the road, double decker red buses, those famous telephone booths and the funniest names for stores/restaurants I have ever seen (example: Sweaty Betty). Casey and I literally were jumping up and down clapping our hands together like your typical tourists. We arrived around 12 PM on Friday so after setting our backpacks down at the hostel, we headed out to explore the beauty of London.

Our first stop was the Borough Market which was suggested to us by our hostel and was across the street from our room. It is like an enhanced farmer's market with so many different types of food, drink and desserts AND the best part was free samples. The guy at the reception desk was not kidding when he said you could have a light lunch off of all the free tastings. There was German sausage, Spanish jamón, fresh fruit, vegetables, local brews and even Ostrich meat. It was a sight to see and we made sure to get up early on Saturday to take a second stroll by the venders. The people were incredible which is the main reason I am blaming the missing wallet on my own stupidity. For example, we had intended to get a fastpast for the London Eye, the giant ferris wheel constructed on the Thames River to celebrate the Millennium in 2000, but after talking to the lady she told us it wasn't busy and not worth it to buy (even though she could have easily made an extra 8 pounds off us). And any time we asked for directions, we were we always greeted with a kind, British accent, which is another characteristic that makes London so charming, especially when spoken by the male species. Rewinding, after our meandering through the market, we took the advice of the receptionist and did a walking tour along the Thames River Path. We crossed the London Bridge and walked to the London Tower and Tower Bridge. I can't even put it into words so here are few snapshots below.

We had many inside jokes during our trip and the one that always resonates in my mind is everyone's (locals and tourists) obsession with the Royal Family. The queen literally has everything named after her here and we especially found "The Queen's Walk" quite interesting because it was literally named after her because she walked down it one day. Also strung along the streets were tourist vendors selling everything from postcards to bags and hats with Prince William and Kate Middleton's faces on them. You also had the chance to buy an ornament with their names on it. I'll get to that later. Strolling along The Queen's Walk (just opposite to the Thames Path along the river) we discovered parks, many restaurants and pubs, old fisherman's wharfs and some of the most famous sights of London. We passed Shakespeare's globe, where all his plays were performed, The Tate Museum of Modern Art, St. Paul's Cathedral and many food vendors selling "hotdogs, ice cream and donuts." I mean honestly, what more could you want? ;)

We walked back and forth, via bridges, from Queen's Walk to Thames' Path taking in the glory of everything we were seeing. We finally curved around the bend to see many street performers, some singing, other's dancing, near the London Eye. This was the most expensive thing we paid for while here and it was worth every bloody British pound. Right outside this structure is also where Casey and I enjoyed a cold Dr. Pepper. Despite hearing horror stories about standing in line for hours, we received our tickets in about 15 minutes and were on the ride in 25. You could see all of London and beyond from the top and I'll post a picture so you can get the idea. My favorite was seeing Big Ben and Westminister Abbey from the top.

Posing on the bridge in front of the Eye

After marveling at the intensely detailed architecture of the Houses of Parliment (Big Ben) and Westminister, we decided to give our feet a rest and catch the tube back to our hostel. Up until this point, we hadn't met anyone who was staying in our room. In our room, there were 8 beds and when we returned we met one of our roommates. We still do not know her name but the first thing she said was, "Hey! Where are you guys from?" We said the States and her response was, "I LOVE America!" It get's better. She is from Kazakhstan, looked Chinese and spoke fluent English. I had never met anyone from this country and all I could think about was the movie Borat and "this shirt is NOT black." She was quite the chatty kathy and wanted to know what we had been up to during the day/our plans for the evening. We told her we were going to get some food and then head to a pub for a drink. Our hostel was actually connected to a pub with discounts for the guests. Score! She explained that she wanted to see some Sherlock Holmes exhibit and she would meet us there around 10 PM. Also, I was wearing a dress and she asked me where I got it. I continued, "Oh I bought it in the states at a store you probably don't know, Victoria's Secret?" Her response: "OH MY GOSH I LOVE Victoria's Secret! You look sexy." Why thank you creepy girl who still hasn't told us her name but continues to call us "sexy" for the next 10 minutes. After being polite, Casey and I headed out for some a traditional London meal: fish and chips. After eating and drinking for awhile we suddenly became exceptionally exhausted and I was literally falling asleep at the table so we headed back to the hostel vowing to make it out past 11 the next night. When we arrived we met two more of our roommates, 2 women in their 30's from Switzerland, oh, and a girl from Japan. Quite the mix of cultures! Everyone's common language (for the most part) was English so when Casey and I wan't to say something privately, we opted to speak in Spanish. It was great!

Just as we are about to pass out, Kazakhstan bursts through the door, stuffing her face with saltine crackers. As I was on the top bunk, I didn't see her at first but Casey told me she stuck her head in her bunk and asked, "Where were you guys?" For backup, I leaned over my railing to join the conversation. Startled Casey answered, "Oh hey, yea sorry we were really tired so we just came back here." Stunned Kaz couldn't believe we didn't meet up with her and explained that she had been waiting there since 10 (mind you it was only 10:45 by this time). I was like, "Yea sorry we are being lame tonight." These answers apparently did not suffice as she became ANGRY at us for not writing her a note letting her know we weren't going out. First off, we don't know your name! Second, where did you want us to leave u a note? Third off, we don't know you or your name and we are tired and want to go to sleep! She continues to stuff her face/talk to us for another 10 minutes about how we should have let her know our plans and why did we make her wait on us, blah blah blah. She finally "forgave" us and headed to bed. Just as we thought the craziness of the evening was over, 2 older women, probably in their 70s walk in and being to strip down to their underwear. Casey and I were dying laughing in our beds. What a random group of people. Where were the students that were supposed to stay in hostels? And why why why did these women (from Germany) opt to stay in a HOSTEL?! Oh so as we are cracking up, Kaz shoots us a look and asks, "Are you laughing at ME?!" Oh my gosh woman, no! WE DON'T EVEN KNOW YOU! So we spent another 10 minutes convincing her that we were not making fun of her. Thankfully, I put in my ear plugs 2 seconds later and passed out.

Our second day was full of adventure as we saw Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circle, Soho and of course, stopped at Starbucks. Unfortunately my camera died this day so Casey took a majority of the pics. I also found out that they only doing Buckingham Palace tours during the summer months BUT we were able to tour the Royal Mews, otherwise known as the Royal Stables. We saw one (of three) of the Rolls Royces the Queen uses to get around and also many of the Royal Carriages, including the one Princess Diana rode in on her way to wed Prince Charles. I had goosebumps looking at it! We were able to walk through the stables and learned that the Queen chooses each one of the horses names'. We saw the riding school, the oldest part of the Mews, which was constructed in 1764! All the horses are trained to pull a carriage for two years before they get to haul royalty around. After this amazing experience, we used our tube passes to travel all around the northern part of the city. My favorite place we visited was Camden Town which also houses the Camden Market, a bunch of booths selling food, clothing, Kate And William souvenirs and some hippie stuff. There is also a small river/stream running through this part of town with a lock and after finding Peruvian food (AMAZING!) and Hoegaarden beer, we sat along the side and watched a boat enter and exit the lock.

Catching the tube back to our hostel was where the events of the first paragraph took place but that didn't stop us from having a fun night. Despite the chilly weather, we made it out past midnight and even met some Italian men. No worries, they weren't cute and they were older but extremely nice and I learned how to say, "My name is.." in Italian.

London was by far my favorite city I have visited and I intend to return one day, hopefully next summer for the Olympics. Until then I will be minding my p's and q's as to not lose my wallet or any other important things I carry on me. Oh, rubbish.

"Ohhhh we're halfway there..."

Pues, I have now lived in Alicante for a little over 2 months and I still can not believe I have been here this long, or this short, depending on how you look at it. Last week we had our midterms which were surprisingly different from exams in the States. Unfamiliar to me was the point of memorizing essays I had already written or obscure terms that my professor had maybe mentioned once in class. All in all, it was an experience and hopefully my grades will show that it was a good one. Thankfully I only have one more set of tests, and those are in May! Since I have been here for almost half the time, I thought I would share some top ten lists. Everyday I think of things I love about Spain- and more recently- what I miss about home. I can't help but compare the two although I am aware they are distinct.

Top Ten Things I Love About Spain (in no particular order):

1) Comida (food) This probably is my #1 love in Spain. Paella is by far my favorite and you may remember me describing it in an earlier post. We ate it today for lunch, reconfirming my obsession. Also, kebaps, the best chicken wrap I have ever had. I am probably sustaining the entire company single-handedly.

2) Siesta. Honestly, the states could use this. Research has shown that a short descansa (rest) during the day improves attentiveness and overall health. Lately, I haven't napped as much as I would like but the great thing is that its scheduled into everyday. Naps aren't just for kindergartners here.

3) The People (this can be positive or negative) Spaniards are, generally, extremely friendly and want to help you out. This is a positive example, say, when you ask for directions. Negative example: when u are late for class and everyone and their mom wants to talk to you along the way.

4) La Playa (the beach). It is finally getting nice enough to start going and I spent a good 5 hours there Saturday afternoon.

5) Practicing my Spanish. I am even starting to forget words in English! I do feel like I have improved but it's always fun when I learn a new word or feel like I can understand a serious/complicated topic.

6) If you are late, no one cares! Spanish society is more relaxed in general and this characteristic definitely helps me out :)

7) My host family and the friends I have made.

8) Shopping/Fashion. Maisson Ave. is the death of me every time I have to walk home from class. Spain has the best shopping.

9) Accessible travel options. RyanAir is amazing. I flew for $16 round trip to Madrid at the beginning of February. And although I have yet to explore this option, the train is convenient as well.

10) Public plazas and parks. These- unlike the public restroom facilities- are beautiful and well cared for. People love to go to these various places and just sit- I rarely see this in the states. Seeing people in the park outside my window every morning always makes me happy.

Top Ten Things I Miss About Home:

1) Food. As much as I love Spanish cuisine, my mouth was watering when Cody told me he ate grilled chicken and shrimp for dinner. I also miss steak.

2) Food para llevar (to go) Since the Spanish love to sit and chat, this concept doesn't really exist here; which proves challenging when I am late for class and/or want coffee on my way.

3) My hairdresser, Sarah. I desperately need my ends trimmed and maybe a few highlights but I am scared to death to let anyone touch my hair. This may sound silly but I am sure every one of my girlfriends, my mom and my sister can sympathize with me.

4) Driving my car. Although I am handling all the public transportation well, I really miss my independence.

5) HEAT. This isn't so much of a concern now, but when I arrived and most of February it was not warm here. Spanish houses do not have central heating or cooling and this made for some freezing cold nights. I missed being able to wear shorts and a tank top inside even on a wintry day.

6) My family and friends, claro.

7) Wearing sweats and a sweatshirt...in public. I miss being able to go to class without appearing like I am trying to be in a European fashion show.

8) Being able to hang out a friends houses. This is one of my friend's and I's biggest issues here. Since Spanish "go out" in order to hang out, we aren't permitted to invite friends over to our home-stays. I obviously understand they don't want a bunch of strangers but sometimes I just want to watch a movie and drink wine without having to get dressed up and find a café. Some families are more tolerant of friends coming over than others, but it's still a bit awkward.

9) Long, HOT showers. I will say, I have it pretty good. I love my shower...but only if I am in it for 7-10 minutes. Otherwise, it's freezing!

10) Toilet paper in all the public restrooms. I swear they run out and no one checks again for another week. I have learned to carry kleenex with me all the time.