hola! ?Que tal?


How is everyone, I heard something about 2 feet of snow?! That is crazy, I tried to tell mi familia here about the snow, but they have never seen snow, and I didn't know what feet is in Spanish so they probably think I am crazy because I was point to my feet and describing frozen water... muy comico!
So tomorrow I take my final exam for my first class, the two week intensivo class. It's basically an exam over everything I have ever learned in Spanish, but with much more difficult vocab words. After I am done with this post, mi madre said she would make me some coffee, and I am going to study until I can't study any more.
These past couple days have been quite fun. I met a Spaniard, Vicky, who is studying to become an English teacher, so when I can't understand what she is saying she can just switch to English, it's quite nice. We are going to start meeting a couple times a week for coffee, and she invited me to go watch a futbol game with her and her friends!
Yesterday, we climed the castle! Alicante is famous for this particular castle, even though there is a castle in nearly every Spanish city. We had a Spanish tour guide who explained the history of the castle as well as all the famous people who once lived inside. We started climbing an hour before sunset, so by the time we got to the top, the sun was setting, beautiful for pictures. I loved the canyons at the top, and all the birds who were gliding because it's just so windy!
Today I went on a run with the university running club! We ran a 9k in around 40 minutes, and I have no idea how fast that is but it sure felt near to impossible. I am going to train with them every Tuesday and Thursday. My friends Mallory and Annie and I are going to run in two half marathons, one near Alicante on February 22nd and one in Libson, Portugal on March 22nd! I am stoked because it's so easy to train here, all the gorgeousness around me when I run is plenty to distract me from the actual workout!

Sunday Afternoon

Hola! Here are the pictures from my Sunday afternoon walk, these are all the things I run past every day when I go for a jog : ) makes working out a bit easier. I LIVE HERE!! ahhh!

Today there was a gorgeous sunset, because of that fire on the mountain, and something about the mixture of the oxygen and an upcoming storm front, etc. The sky was pink, yellow, orange, purple, blue, dark blue, and cloudy all at the same time.. I didn't have my camera, but I will be sure to bring it with me the next time I go to the beach for a sunset!

Hasta!

HOLA!
Well, I officially survived my first natural disaster in Spain. I woke up this morning to palm trees blowing so much that the palm leaves were touching the ground... and these trees are taller than the eight story building I live in. I can see the sea from my house, and the water was crazy, rocking boats everywhere. There was a sandstorm and hurricane like conditions right outside my house. It was weird, I could feel the wind through the walls and windows of our apartment, even though nothing was open. It was so strong it was somehow coming through, but somehow things in the apartment were blowing around. I think that the conditions were probably the worst where we live, because we live basically on the ocean.

So, I decided to venture into the storm, being the adventurous girl that I am. I took a trip to the post office, and got lost, mostly because the air was blowing in my face so much and it was so windy I could not stop crying. Plus, I kept getting hit on my legs by palm tree leaves. I finally got to the post office and realized that it was a place where they handle money orders. It is called " Correos" which means "mail" but I went in and there were no stamps, no envelops, so sorry everyone, no postcards quite yet.

I headed back to our apartment, where I was supposed to leave with mi madre and head to her daughter and her husbands house, the people with the adorable kids, Kay and Claudia. I just recently found out that her name is not Gloria, but instead Claudia.. if you say them out loud with a thick spanish accent you will understand why I thought it was Gloria. Maria-Carmen was a little late to pick us up, due to the viento (wind) and all the debris everywhere. When we got to their house we had an awesome lunch of roasted chicken and potatoes, with pan (bread) and fresh veggies all put together in a salad. I spent the afternoon doing a 1000 piece puzzle with Maria-Carmen and Frank, while the kids and mi madre napped. It was very relaxing, especially because we were working on the puzzle next to a window with an outstanding view. We were able to see Benidorm, Villajoisa, Playa San Juan, and tallest mountain in all of Alicante. The kids eventually woke up from their naps, and Frank made us all crepes with nutella!! All of a sudden Claudia ran to the window and started saying (in Spanish of course), look at that mountain, it´s all red. So we all ran over to the window and looked outside. At this point, the sun had set and sure enough we saw a bright red, glowing mountain in the distance. We turned on the news and found out that the mountain was on fire, probably from someone throwing a cigarrette bud on the ground and the wind picking it up. Frank explained how Alicante has not had rain in a month, so these dry and windy conditions are just right for forest fires. We looked with binoculars and were able to see all the firetrucks and people at the bottom, who were obviously not able to do much to help the fire from spreading.
On the way home, I saw all the branches from the palm trees, and all the trash that had blown everywhere. It is kind of sad looking right now. I asked Frank if it is common to see this bad of wind storms here and he said in the past 12 years he has lived here, there has only been one worst than this, and a hurricane actually touched down.
At this point at night the winds have died down, and I am very thankful that I never felt unsafe. I miss and love everyone! Have a great day!

Sarah

!?Que Pasa!?

Pictures... 1. This picture is of me at the Turron factory, except the turrons, which are chocolate and other flavored truffles, no esta aqui! We toured the museum and tried some samples. Everyone here loves the candies.. I brought some home for mi madre and she gave me 20 kisses as a thank you haha.
2. This it the path I run on, if I am not running on the sidewalks by the port or the beach. The roots of the trees grow above the ground.. some of the coolest trees I have ever seen.
3. Mike Resoski made it with me to Espana, this one was taken in my room.


Well, I have officially been here for over a week and I am really starting to understand what it means when I say "I live in Alicante." This is my home for the next 4 months, so I better start getting used to all this craziness (aka things promote what they call "culture shock").
Here are a few ejemplos...

1. On top of the washing machine, next to my clean clothes and a few feet away from the kitchen counter, happens to be where my family keeps their pig. Yes, they have a dead pig, complete with hooves that chills in the laundry room and when they need meat, they chop some off.

2. All food here has eyes. If the meat does not come with eyes when you buy it, it means it's not fresh, and why even serve something without the eyes that prove it's fresh.

3. People here, NEVER use a thumbs up to mean "good." Yup, learned that one the hard way. Mi madre asked me if I liked the food, and I said, "Me gusta la comida" as I grinned and put both thumbs up. I did not know that I was really saying "Me gusta la comida" and signaling "up yours."

4. I learned this one the hard way at well... Mom and Dad, don't be mad... but mi madre if I liked wine, and of course I said yes! The next thing I new she had poured 5 glasses for me to try, of different types of wine of course! She kept asking me if I like them, and of course I did, so she told me to drink up! All of a sudden, I started feeling drunk, but what was I supposed to do? I stopped drinking, but of course all my friends found it humorous that my Mom encouraged me to drink.


5. Spaniards don't know what ground hogs are, and they will never, by any means understand why we make a day out of seeing an animal's shadow.. try explaining that one in Spanish.

6. People here, are CRAZY about Barrack Obama! way more so than I thought they would be... Today, I asked for my cambio (change) after I bought a coffee, and the people around me started chanting "Obama, Obama Obama" just because they heard the word change.


I am sure there will be many more situations like these, and I sure hope so, because laughing at my mistakes and awful Spanish skills can be almost fun. Today I opened a bank account here, and I accidentally asked the lady if it was free to use my wallet in the ATM... I meant to say my debit card.. She thought I was nuts.

I hope everyone is doing well! I would send everyone packages and gifts, but I just found out it costs 15 euros no matter the weight, so I'll go with postcards instead : )

This picture is the view I have out of my window! It's so pretty everywhere I look, even out my window. Today I started my clase intensivo, which is basically a really small class where all we do is study Spanish for 5 hours a day. I was nervous I would not understand the teacher; although she talks very fast, I manage to understand her almost perfectly.
This past weekend was so much fun! Mi madre has ten brothers and sisters so I therefore have a very grande familia, and I got to meet many of them at lunch on Sunday. The family owns a country house and a few acres of land where they grow fruits and veggies for the whole family. We spent about six hours eating and talking, which I am learning is a long process in Spain. In fact, I think that is the biggest problem I am having here. In the U.S., I normally go on a run, shower, eat quickly, go study; but in Spain, I have to make time to have a long sit down meal, no matter what time of day. But meeting all mi familia was fun, and everyone is so nice and open to conversation. I was able to follow what everyone was saying fairly well, even to the point of making and understanding jokes. I look forward to eating lunch with everyone on Sundays!
Internet is so hard to find in Alicante. Places might have it, but don't let you sit down unless you are eating, and never do they let you plug your computer into an outlet. I have internet occasionally at my house, but it comes and goes often. I guess it makes me more thankful for having internet all the time in the states, so easy to stay in touch!
Well hasta luego y buenos noches!

- Sarah

hola! que tal!

I finally have another chance to post something on here, it has been quite hectic this past week! The most exciting part was meeing my host family. Mi madre, Madolina, has 10 brothers and sisters, who all have kids, plus 4 kids of her own, and 2 grandchildren. I live with her and her son, Francisco. Every day she watches her grandchildren, Kay and Gloria, so I get so play with kids every day! Their 5th floor apartment looks over the puerto, so I can see the water, boats, and market from mi casa! I have my own room as well as my own bathroom. Madolina is a great cook... so far she has made me Paella con pollo (rice with veggies and chicken, very popular here, usually has fish), chicken and papas fritas (french fries), pasta with red sauce (not very tomatoey), and spinach salad with tuna. Everything is healthy, and made with olive oil instead of butter. Even the french fries were made in olive oil with no salt! I can communicate well with my "brothers and sisters" but my mom talks so fast... but I am sure I will understand her by the time my few months here are up!

The University of Alicante is so beautiful; it looks more like a vacation resort than a school. I am looking forward to sitting against an orange tree to study, and eating fresh oranges whenever I feel like it.

On Friday we went to Villajoyosa, in between Benidorm and Alicante. We saw an old mansion of a deceased Spaniard, which was neat because we could see what the architecture here is usually like. We went to a chocolate factory as well, one of the most famous in Spain; in the end, we got to sample the chocolate! Then a couple friends and I explored the beach area, even though the water was pretty cold! This picture is of me beating my friend Zach in a sprint race : )

So far I really like Spain, but some of the customs are very different. People are always staring at my friends and I; At first I thought it was because we stand out, but now I realize it is just because all the Spanish people like to look at each other´s outfits, and observe each other. Also, here people smoke all the time, so you are not considered a smoker unless you smoke more than 4 cigarettes a day! It´s also different how Spaniards rarely use please, thank you, or please, but instead they show their manners by greeting everyone as soon as they see them and again when they leave. I love learning all about their culture, and it´s fun to talk with locals about the difference between the U.S. and Spain.

I hope everyone is doing well! Buenos dias, tardes, y noches, because it´s night here but earlier there! hasta luego

Sarah

!primera de espana!

Hi everyone! I am finally here in Spain! My trip was long and I was feeling impatient because I had to wait for hours to get out of the Madrid airport. I later found out that it has not snowed in Madrid in 35 years so the little bit they have on the ground right now is causing major problems. The extra six hour wait ended up working out well, because I met some other students who are also here to study. When we finally made it to Alicante, I was the only one of us who's luggage actually arrived on the plane! The owner of the hostel I stayed at, Mike, was there to pick me up, and we headed back to the hostel where I was happy to email people to let them know I had made it, and had the chance to sleep!
When I woke up I got to try Valencia orange juice, probably the best orange juice I have ever had.
I managed to take a bus from the hostel to Alicante city and not get lost... if you know my record with European bus systems, you know what a huge accomplishment that is. I met some people who are also studying abroad, and we got lunch and explored together.

It was a great first day, although it feels like it's been a week since I have left! After seeing this gorgeous sunset, I went to the lobby for orientation. We then went out to each at an Italian place, and some new friends and I talked to a local Spanish guy for a long time! I found out that I need to really work on my pronunciation!!


Now this is in spanish, but it's basically the same things. Hola todos! Lo siento si mi gramatica es malo, quiero estar mejor asi que necesito escribir in espanol y ingles para este blog.
Estoy aqui, en espana! Finalemente! El vieja fue largo y aburrido a veces porque estoy esperado por siete horas para mi vuelo a Alicante de Madrid. Por ultimo, llego en Alicante. Mike, el hombre de el hostel Gran Alicante, ayuda me con mis equipajes y encontrar la pension. Duermo por siete horas y entonces comer desayuno con Mike, y hablamos sobre Alicante y los autobuses.
cosas que aprendo de Mike (Mike es el hombre de hostel Gran Alicante)
1. Que tal es mejor de como estas porque es igual a "what's up" y como estas es "how are you? por que la segunda es formale mucho.
2. Todos paises tienen personas de otras paises a hacer trabajor porque otros son mas barato.
3. compra muchos naranjas ahorra porque ellos son "clearanced".
4. Si quiere aprender alguno, aprendalo!
adios amigos!

Primero de Los Estados Unidos

Hola Amigos!

Well, here it finally is… the blog I will keep while I am in Spain. I wanted somewhere to put all the pictures I am going to take (with my awesome new camera- gracias abuelos y padres) so I figure this is the best option. Plus, it's a great way to stay in touch. Sometimes I might write in Spanish and English, or just English. But either way I can promise there will always be pictures. By the time I get settled in and get my computer working and am able to write on here, it will be a week from now. It is so crazy to think that in one week from now I will have met my host family, and explored the beautiful city of Alicante, my home for the next 5 months!

Oh and I checked and "blog" in Spanish is "blog" so even if you don't speak Spanish fluently, you now know one word : )

Buenos noches!