"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.

Waka Waka,'Cause this is AFRICA

I think it is high time I wrote in this thing again. The truth is, March has been pretty routine (except the whole being in Spain thing) so I will sharea few stories from my Morocco trip at the end of February. For those that were unaware of my excitement, I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to the northern coast of AFRICA. I can now check a fourth continent off my list of travels. Me and almost the same group of girls that went to Madrid, minus Jodi, went on this trip through DiscoverSevilla, a tour agency aimed at students studying abroad out of Sevilla, Spain. Now, I'm usually not the one to hop on board the planned excursions (you can thank my mother for ruining this experience for me when she made me go snorkeling literally three days in a row during one spring break) and would rather explore independently and "do my own thing." However, after reading about recent riots/protests in Morocco and honestly not knowing a lot about how to travel within the country, I decided for my safety and other's peace of mind, I would shell out a few extra Euro to have an organized itinerary. And actually we did have a lot of free time! We arrived in Sevilla on Friday morning and had from about 10 AM until 2:30 PM, when the bus left, to walk around and sightsee. Sevilla is absolutely stunning. It's a picturesque landscape of what most people imagine Spain to look like. We went to the Plaza de España and luckily it was early enough in the morning that there were no crowds. The pictures are in the wrong order so scroll down to the last one, which is the Plaza de España.

Cristobal Columbus's tomb inside the Cathedral en Sevilla

In Plaza de España with the police officers. They asked each of us to get a picture with them!

Plaza de España

After our rapid tour of Sevilla, which honestly, we did get to see all the main points and had time to stop at Starbucks, we headed towards the Consulate de Portugal where we met the rest of our group, about 50 students from surrounding cities in Spain, and our four tour guides. Now, I expected these guys to be older but they were all in their mid to late 20s and really cool! Benni, the hot one, as all of us girls called him, was on our bus and he's from Portugal, lives in Sevilla, and speaks fluent English, Portuguese and Spanish. Another guide, I can't remember his name, is from Alabama! How random! He is teaching English to high school students for the year and works for DiscoverSevilla on the side. What a life! They also plan trips to Portugal, another trip to Morocco for 5 days in the Sahara Desert and other European destinations. Anyway, enough of my promotion for them, basically we could not have asked for better "guides." They informed us, kept us safe but also let us have our own experience. It was about a 2 hour bus ride to Tarifa, the southernmost tip of Spain that is blanketed with rolling, green hills and windmills everywhere you look. And you can see Morocco from here! Our ferry ride across the Strait of Gilbratrar took another hour and then we finally stepped out onto the African soil...well, more like concrete. After exchanging Euros to Dirhams (the currency here) we jumped back on the bus and headed to Hotel Kabila. During this time, we also met our guide for the weekend who was a women from Morocco. She spoke pretty good English and taught us Arabic words like "Waha" which means "OK." It was interesting to start a conversation with people here because it was a hit or miss if they were going to understand you. They spoke either French, Spanish, English, or Arabic or a mixture of these. It was fun experimenting which language to bust out.

Our meal that evening was chicken, vegetables and couscous. It was absolutely amazing, and very filling. My table of four couldn't finished the entire thing! I love Moroccan cuisine.

The first town we traveled to was Tétouan. Our guides spoke broken English, amazing Arabic and decent Spanish. Like I said, it was a big language interpreting weekend but fun at the same time! I learned that the Moroccan flag, which has a 5 point star, represents the number of times in the day for prayer (5). We toured the Medina which is an old, Jewish quarter. Below in a picture of the opening, and once you are in, the streets become narrower the deeper into the medina you wander. It's a very cool sight. There is about 5 feet in between the walls and you have women shopping, kids on their way to school and donkeys with carts trying to get through. It's quite the sight! There are people selling everything from fruits and vegetables (oh, how I wish I could have bought some! They looked delicious and fresh!), to Nike shoes. Many people never leave the Medina. It's where they live, work, eat and play.

The two photos above are from the spice shop where I received a Moroccan massage, green-tea leaves, hair oil, anti-strees oil (3 bottles) and Saffron, which apparently is incredibly expensive in the States and Spain.

This is me dressed as a traditional Berber woman, an indigenous group of North Africa.

Out of order but this picture is of Chefchaouen, a mountain town in Morocco. All the buildings are blue and white; blue is supposed to keep the mosquitos away and the white reflects the sun so the houses aren't sweltering hot in the summertime.

I feel like this photo needs little explanation. We rode camels along the beach in Tangiers, where the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean meet. And no, it is not the same as the Blank Park Zoo.

Although the weekend was an adventure, I would have preferred to stay here for a few more days. The traveling was very taxing on all of us as we left Chefchaouen around 4 PM and didn't arrive back in Alicante until the next day at 10 AM. This includes all the trips by bus, ferry and airplane which was a lot to cram into one weekend. I fell in love with Morocco, the kindness of the people and beautiful, breathtaking scenery. It's definitely on my list of countries to return to.

Home Is Where People You Love the Most Are

It's currently 12:05 AM and I desperately need to go to sleep but I just wanted to write a short post telling you all how much I love you. I know my pictures and stories have covered the fact that I was struggling to find my place here in Alicante, especially with making friends, good friends. I felt, and still do feel, like I am at a different place in life than most of the kids here. 90% are juniors and some are even sophomores. They have the best year of their life coming up while I am ending mine. Now, I know what you are thinking, Hilary is super outgoing and friendly and positive. Well, yes, but so are 40 other people here and just because I want to be someone's friend doesn't mean they want to be mine. Basically my point is, today I finally realized that I am truly happy and content with my life. I have friends here, who really are great and I love hanging out with them but they will not and can not replace any of the friends I have back in the states. And that's okay; I have the BEST friends back home who care about me and support me in everything I do. And that I can still maintain relationships with them while beginning new relationships with people here. That goes the same for my family. My mom is absolutely amazing and she has been my rock throughout this entire transition. I think I have spoken with my sister more in the past month and half than all of last semester. And even Hunter let's down his "cool" guard to talk to me once in awhile. This also extends to aunts and uncles and Nan and Papa who have made it possible for me to study abroad and continue to look out and care for me.

So when you look through my pictures or read about a ridiculous story on blog, know that yes, I am having a blast, the time of my life, honestly. But also remember that I think about you all every day and every day I am so thankful and truly happy that you are apart of my life. If it wasn't for you, I would crumble.

As for a quick update on my life overseas, today I joined a gym, which I am really excited about! It's called Holiday Gym and is literally a 3 minute walk from my house. My friend, Shaina, she is studying here for the entire year, came with me tonight to register and then after we stayed for 2 classes: cyclo and dance. They both were awesome but I was exhausted afterwards...and very, VERY out of shape. Also tonight after dinner, Lidia told me we needed to fill out this questionaire from my program about how the homestay was going. It made me smile when she circled "muy bien" for how well we got along, and also put that we go out together, eat together and basically enjoy the Spanish lifestyle together. She then told me that with other students she has had to write stuff that was going wrong; for example, one student stayed in her room and slept the days she didn't have class or when she came home from class earlier. It's reassuring to hear that my family enjoys my company. Ariadna's birthday is Friday and she will be 9! I still don't know what we are doing because I don't even think she knows! There was talk about going to McDonalds, so I'm excited! I told them how when I was younger, I always wanted to eat in the play area but my mom would never let us because then I wouldn't eat! I also think we are celebrating it after the weekend. This weekend is Carnival which can be compared to Mardi Gras mixed with Halloween. I am dressing up as the devil and a girl from my class, Hannah, is going to be an Angel. Tomorrow night kicks off the weekend with a mask party in the Barrio and there are parades and a festival all weekend long. Should be fun!! Also I realize I need to catch you up to speed on my viajes (trips), like MOROCCO, AFRICA!! Which I am hoping to do soon.

Alright, it's off to bed for this girl. Thanks for taking the time to read and know that you all mean the world to me. I love you!!

paz.abrazos.besos (peace, hugs, kisses)

-Hilary