FIXED COMPUTER

Hola! Que pasa?

I am very happy, my computer is FINALLY fixed! Which means I can communicate better with everyone. Today my Spanish family met my real family on the web cam... I was so happy that they were able to see each other.
This week has been very busy... I have midterms this next week, so I have been trying to master all these irregular verb forms and when to use them. I do not know who decided it would be smart to have to choose between 3 different tenses when you want to say something in the past, and 3 different tenses when you want to say something that could maybe happen. Ah, so much information en mi cabeza! Then throw in having to learn all the musical instruments... I could label a full band and orchestra in Spanish (which might become useful in future Music Travel trips). All this Spanish is making my English horrible. Today I said "wroted" instead instead of "wrote" when talking to my Mom. Originally I was thinking I would come home speaking two languages, but now I realize I will come home not being able to speak. I guess I'll just have to act things out, and all my friends know I am so great at charades.
Things here are better than they were 2 months ago. Two months ago things were great, which means now they are really great. I haven't gotten lost in awhile. I am now brave enough to carry on a conversation with the homeless people who live outside my apartment. I know that I might as well order a coke in a restaurant, because water is never gonna be free. I have learned that I have to act like a Real Madrid fan, unless I want my family to not speak to me. I am ok with accidentally swallowing a fish bone or two, cause at least I didn't accidentally eat the skull. All in all, I am learning more about another culture than I knew was possible. This beats all the sociology classes I have taken in the past.
This past weekend was fun, more family time! On Friday, a couple friends and I went to Elche, a little city about a half hour train ride away from Alicante. It is a pretty town, most famous for having the largest palm tree park in all of Europe. There were so many Palm trees, most of them taller than the ones here in Alicante, which are double the size of the ones in Florida; so that puts it in perspective. On Saturday I spent the day with Kim and her family because they were throwing Kim's seven year old sister, Ariadna, a birthday party. Her parents own a bar here so they simply closed it for the day to host the party. We spent the morning blowing up balloons, setting up the decorations, etc. After an interesting tuna, bacon, and egg pasta dish for lunch and a long walk on the beach, we headed back to the bar and the kids (and their parents too) started showing up. Before we knew it, the bar was full with around 20 kids and 20 parents, running around and screaming. Ariadna was gooning the whole day... it was a fun experience.
Sunday was an absolutly gorgeous day. The sun never went behind the clouds. I went on a 5 mile run to start off my morning, and then spent the day with my family at the beach and their country house. I saw another slaying of a rabbit. I met about 7 more relatives. I love huge families. I miss mine! I feel blessed to have a huge family both here and there!
I am very happy, I finally found a cafe here that doesn't leave my clothes smelling like smoke. I have been going there for a little bit each day to study for my midterms. I have two huge exams and a paper due tomorrow. So, although I do spend most of my time running, going to the beach, exploring new towns, I do spend time studying, occasionally.
This coming weekend is my last weekend here in Alicante ( I think) for the rest of the semester! I am headed to explore northern and southern Spain, meet family in London, and hit up a few more places in Europe. It's so much to look forward to, and I am trying to focus more on the day to day verses constantly thinking about all the exciting things that I have planned.
This next week there is another festival close to Alicante, in Valencia. It's called las fallas and it's basically the whole town getting together to have a parade and then burn down the floats afterward. I am really excited about that!
I hope that things in Los Estados Unidos are looking more spring like and less blizzard like! Hopefully, with my newly fixed computer, I can blog more!
hasta luego!