Woah... Culture.

I decided to take this cultural seminar about living in Alicante and Spain in general while adapting to the culture and learning to be more accepting of a culture so different from what I am used to. At first, only one student had signed up, but after arriving, I became much more interested about actually learning Spanish as a second language and learning about this new culture I am living in, so I rounded up 4 more kids so we could have the class. It has been a really helpful thing for me to just sit and talk with other kids and our program director about the challenges of life here and the questions going through our minds on a daily basis.

After going to a school with predominantly white kids for my entire life, it isn't that I was sheltered or unwilling to accept something different from what I am used to, it is just hard to all of a sudden 1-live somewhere halfway across the world with only one person you knew before and have only known for 2 years, 2-not know the language and struggle to communicate and understand basics of daily life, and 3-try to navigate a foreign city being unable to ask for directions or understand a response.. There is a lot to adjust to knowing this isn't just a two week vacation to a beach where we can relax and get by without trying to assimilate into the culture- we really have to try to learn so many new things to make this experience manageable and successful.

I have realized that having the motivation to actually become a part of something so new is a struggle sometimes. After a long day of speaking Spanish, my brain actually hurts. We have this contract we all signed to promise to only speak Spanish in our language classes. That means, in side conversations, when we don't understand something, when we say anything at all, it has to be in Spanish. We get one warning if we speak in English for the whole semester, and then we break the contract.. This conscious effort is frustrating sometimes. It's hard to think of different ways to ask a question when our teacher doesn't understand what we are saying. And at 9 am, it makes it even worse! But it's good for me, and we are all working together and help each other in class, so that is nice.

We have been finding ourselves still speaking Spanish to people when they start speaking english to us even! We get so excited when someone says, "hi, I speak English, what would you like?" at a restaurant but then we just order in Spanish anyways because it almost seems easier now I guess.. I didn't think I would really get to the point of going automatically to Spanish first but after only 6 weeks in a city where very few people speak English, I guess it does that to you.

This weekend we went to London and I was so excited to get out of Spain for a moment and head somewhere a little more similar to home.. Not to mention the familiar faces of old friends and family there, but being able to read signs, have conversations with strangers, and find food we are used to sounded like a dream for us.. After arriving in the London airport, we still felt like we should be speaking Spanish! It was weird having conversations and knowing now that everyone understands you. We are used to being able to talk about whatever we want and no one around us has any idea what we are saying!

If going from Spain to london seemed like being home and we already faced the struggles of being thrown from one culture to the next, i can only imagine how going home in may is going to feel.. I guess it is safe to say i am becoming a Spaniard! It's kind of cool to take a step back and see how my habits and views on the world have already changed. I can't wait to see how I feel after traveling to Germany, France, Switzerland, Hungary, and the Canary islands in a few short weeks! We're all getting travel fever.. Hopefully the bank account can handle these adventures because this has already been the trip of a lifetime and I can only imagine what's to come!

Until next time,

-k

the homestay experience

Well it's been a roller coaster of feelings about living in a Spanish home. After 5 weeks, I think it's safe to say I'm adjusted to the differences in daily life and living with someone that I can't really talk to that much or say what I mean most of the time. Talking to the other kids about their homestay stories is always hilarious.. We all come everyday with something new that we did that was dumb, or something funny that we've noticed. Here are just a few of the funny stories I've had with my cute little old madre, Juani..

Dryers?

So they said they didn't have dryers in the homestays in Spain, and I had seen all of the neighbors and every other apartment with clothes hanging from balconies or clothes lines... But never saw ours in use for anything other than tablecloths. After three weeks of having freshly washed and dried clothes on my bed when I got home from school, I still couldn't figure out where these clothes were being dried! With my array of undergarments, I kind of hoped she had a secret dryer somewhere so the neighbors didn't see my laundry and think it was my 67 year old mothers.. When she left the other day, I searched everywhere for this dryer. Genius me forgot about the upstairs to the terrace we have. I had been up there the day I moved in but totally forgotten about it! So it turns out my delicates are indeed on display for the 5 high rise apartment buildings surrounding our one story little house :) great.

steamed vegetables don't exist here..

Juani is a great cook and makes always tries to make me feel at home :) the fruit and vegetables are so fresh here and I love that, until the veggies are cooked.. Spanish food has so much oil in it and everything is fried, sometimes multiple times even. I'm not a big fan of fried stuff like that, unless it's chicken strips or French fries, but I didn't want to insult her by asking for something different since it is a cultural thing too. So finally, after feeling crummy for a few weeks now, I spotted the cauliflower sitting in the pan after being boiled and I bit the bullet and said something.. In Spanish of course, because she knows literally no English.. After looking at me like, you want those like that? Really? I said, yes, that's my favorite! And from now on she's made me yummy steamed vegetables :) I told her the oil hurts my stomach, so she even drains my plate when she makes me fish or something so it's not just sitting in a huge plate of olive oil.. She's so sweet! Its the little things that help us deal with living in such a foreign place...

once again, nicest lady ever.

This lady must have done some research on me before I got here because she had peanut butter waiting for me when I moved in! They warned us that if you say you like something, you'll have it for every meal because they'll know it's something you'll like, but of course I kind of forgot about that the first day with so much running through my head.. Every morning since, the peanut butter is on the table waiting for me to dig in to :) I've just about gone through a small jar already.. yum. I also told her I liked black olives once when she asked if I ate olives and she got a jar specifically for me! I have them with just about every salad now too. They do taste a little different though.. even from the ones I used to have from Papa's martini that were soaked in Gin..

Brie please!

My friend Kim here is obsessed with cheese. Brie is really cheap here, 1 euro for a chunk of it, so she eats it like crazy. (She also doesn't eat meat, so cheese is her burger I guess..) I wanted to buy some, but I had to keep in in the fridge, so I showed Juani that I bought brie! She looked at me a little confused and says, that's not brie! That's (some other kind of cheese I've never heard of).. I was bummed! I was looking forward to that brie so much.. She said something like, you can return it tomorrow! But I had gotten it when I went to the mall (there's a grocery store connected), and didn't want to walk back there since it was night time.. We have a smaller grocery store right down the street I could've gone to also. She said something I didn't understand, put on her jacket and left. 20 minutes later, she came back with a chunck of Brie, more apples, and spreadable Brie :) She said, you can ask me for something that you like and I'll get it at the store for you! How nice :) I didn't want to ask for anything but it was so thoughtful of her to go out and get some just for me so I could take it the next day on our trip to Madrid :)

Picnic?

Many times CIEE has told us to ask our madres for a "picnic" (aka, sack lunch) when we go on trips or if we have class and can't go home for lunch. Most kids get a "bocadillo" (sandwich on french loaf bread, a wonder bread style is more expensive I think), and some kind of muffin or banana or orange. Without deli meat, I wasn't sure what to ask for in my picnic because I don't know what the norm is really.. Other than jamón, which I was hoping she would not suggest.. Juani, being the precious woman that she is, told me I could have anything! Haha bad idea to do that to me.. I said, well how about fruit and a small sandwich? She said, is that all? What would you like on your sandwich? I had no idea, so I said the go-to from the first day she made me one: scrambled egg sort of thing. Not only was my lunch the most gourmet out of everyone's "bocadillo's", she peeled and cut up all sorts of fruit! It was sooo good. The other kids were jealous they had muffins or oranges with seeds :) lucky me.

-k

boyfriend found. his name is Madrid :)

I. Love. Madrid.

We were there for the weekend with CIEE, so it was our entire group plus the other two programs they have in Alicante (about 100 kids).We stayed at a really nice hotel in the middle of everything and I could have mistaken it for heaven.. A shower that has hot water for the whole thing, a room with heat!, and the best omelette bar for breakfast I've ever had. Plus churros with chocolate. yummm. Even better than Dobbs at Mizzou.. and that's saying a lot :) We saw the Prado, one of the biggest art museums in the world, full of paintings from people I studied in an art appreciation class I never thought would come in handy. #thankyoumizzou. 

the hotel :) 

Madrid street

It was kind of like a Spanish version of London I thought.. Cool old buildings lining the streets with parks in the middle and great plazas (fountains in the middle of a roundabout). And people actually spoke English there. That's "Best Thing About Madrid" number seventy-five for that place. I'm liking the language a lot more now that I'm able to speak a lot better and understand finally. We would speak Spanish in restaurants and to cab drivers and everyone and they would respond in English. Haha we tried at least! 

sight seeing day 1, not sure what that is in the background..? oops

And once again, I got the "rubia!" comment about fifty times.. That means "blonde!". Apparently there aren't blonde people in the biggest city in Spain either.. Cool. My hair did get us into a sweet private party at the craziest club in Madrid though. It's called Kapital, and has 7 stories of crazy music, dancing, (and dancers..), and people from all over the world. We wandered around like kids in a candy store just looking at the wild place and people. 

Allison, Kim, and me at Kapital

Getting ready for the evening, night #1

view from the 2nd or 3rd story

After staying out until the wee hours of the morning, we were up and at 'em for day 2 of sight seeing and it was a wonderful morning...

One of the foods that Madrid is known for is fried calamari sandwiches, so naturally Abby and I thought we needed a carb-o-load of one of those. It was pretty good I have to say..

We also got to tour the Real Madrid fútbol stadium! It was really cool to see all of the trophy rooms, locker rooms, press room, and presidents box and be on the field.

Amanda and me next to one of the important cups

Allison, me, and Amanda

Christiano Ronaldo, I'm still looking for you :)

We walked around a beautiful park that reminded me on Central Park in New York. There was also a huge lake where you can rent a little row boat and ride around. It was cute :)

And I found another anchor! That makes number 2 for Spain. woo hoo

miss you DG!

Another huge sculpture just chillin in the middle of this park..

This post wouldn't be complete if I didn't mention one of the foods I've missed the most since I've been here.. Mexican. As much as you may think Spanish food and Mexican food are the same, they are most definitely not.. "Salsa" means "sauce" here.. So asking for any kind of chunky Old El Paso Salsa is unheard of.. Until you find the 24 hour store across from the hotel with Doritos brand Salsa. Abby and I definitely snatched that up at 6 am with our Nacho Doritos before heading back to the hotel. We have been wanting it for so long, and when they said how much it was we almost put it back.. 5 euro. That's like $8.00.... ya really expensive salsa but our craving was met so we're much better now :)

yep, there it is..

Sunday morning brought us to another tour of a castle/palace one of the Kings of Spain lived in during the summer. It's a huge huge structure but he only lived in about 3 rooms! It was beautiful but obviously, with no heat, FREEZING. Story of my life.. We couldn't take pictures inside, but the woodwork was so pretty. They didn't use any paint, glue, nails, or screws to keep it together and decorate the doorways and they were masterpieces. I wish I could've taken a picture.. Spaniards are talented.

the outdoor gardens

sarah and me inside

We also saw the crypts where the kings and queens of spain for many years were buried. That was incredible but semi-creepy.. Lots of gold leafed coffins and carvings with statues and all. Oh, about that no picture thing, we snuck a few in the hallway :)

Abby and Sarah

Finally, we ended up at this temple, called the Templo. It was really small and outside, (once again, freezing), but cool with carvings in the rock inside. We could take pictures here, so.. here's a few.

Note the frozen pond..

Abby and I outside

no comment..

Well that about sums up our great weekend in Madrid! It was so nice to take a break from Alicante and all be together. We had a lot of free time to explore, CIEE staff really trusts us a lot I thought. Oh, and there was also STARBUCKS! We don't have one here, so everyone was going crazy over it. They didn't have any of the specialty drinks though, like white chocolate mochas or those salted caramel things (abby was bummed about that..) but still, a little taste of home :)

Big week of another grammar test and Carnaval in Alicante this weekend! One of their biggest festivals of the year, everyone dresses up in costumes like halloween so I need to put one together..

-k

the fifth week begins!

It was a great Monday morning for this girl! Despite being zombie-like from our wild weekend in Madrid, I enjoyed an apple and brie for breakfast with my usual café, (their version of coffee which is basically espresso it's so strong). Surprisingly, I now prefer coffee black with sugar, weird.. With Spanish news in one ear and American news about the Grammys on my iPad, it was a good morning to be alive in Spain :)

Started my human resources management course today through the international business school here! It is going to be a great class! Abby is in it with me along with 4 other Americans, kids from Scotland, Germany, Finland, Holland, and Poland! Not to mention a really cool teacher who happens to be the Dean of the business school here of over 7,000 students.. Connections?- check that off the list. And better yet, he has been to Mizzou's campus! I'm going to ask him tomorrow who he knows there. It's got to be someone connected to CLP, so hopefully I'll know them! And I thought the US was a "small world"...

I also learned how to make Spanish tapas tonight! About ten of us went to a cooking school that CIEE organized and they taught us how to make some traditional Spanish tapas! Hey friends- if you're reading this you'll get a Spanish dinner made by me as your souvenir when I get back! (sorry, don't have room for 20 pairs of cool spanish leather boots...) And fam- Green Lake Spanish night is coming your way so get excited! It was really fun and soo good. Lots of potato things, but also this great tuna salad kind of thing, (and i don't even like tuna out of a can, but this was good), omelette type thing, and fried calamari! I'm sure the calamari here is much better than what I could find in the Midwest but it will be fun to try anyways. I go back next Wednesday for round two where we make more of a meal rather than appetizer type foods! Traditional paella and stuff. I'll take my camera that night..

This is a GIANT dish of paella (pronounced pie-ay-uh) and Alicante is known for the best paella in Spain. It's a rice or noodle dish with either seafood, vegetables, or meat/chicken. I prefer the seafood and vegetable one. I'll learn how to make this at my next cooking lesson!

Time for a busy day of class straight through from 9-4:30! I do still go to school here, despite what it may seem from reading this.. :)

-k

medieval market adventures

The time is flying! I can't believe I have already been here a month! I feel completely settled now and know the ins and outs of the bus system, campus, shopping, and the bars :) or so i hope.. It has been so eye opening experiencing such a different culture and actually living here out of only two suitcases! (I'm quickly accumulating a lot that will definitely not be making the weight limit on the way home..) 

Starting the post out with this crazy man from the market... continue reading.

Last weekend was an interesting one! We went to a medieval market in a town about an hour away called Orihuela. Some of the Spanish student helpers went with us on the train too. The pictures give you an idea of the atmosphere- it was like a renaissance festival/carnival kind of.. The streets were lined with vendors selling everything from jewelry to figurines to cheese and warm wine from a horn! The food was to die for too. 

That whole thing about me being able to be a vegetarian here- definitely not after this trip. I couldn't resist the ribs-Henry and I split them and devoured them in like 5 minutes. 

i love crepes and gofres (waffles)

little piggy!

The people were all dressed up and it was a great afternoon wandering around trying different foods and looking at all of the crafts.

tons of olives!

baking project when i get home!

that's a pig roast if i've ever seen one..

Henry with a horn of wine!


We continued our travels to give Alicante a break from us and I stayed in my first hostel in Murcia. It was actually not what I was picturing for a hostel at all- more of a small hotel. I had a room with my friend Sarah and we all had our own bathroom even! There were about 12 of us from the group who stayed and we had fun exploring a new city. Once again, the map ap I have came to the rescue as we stumbled to our hostel with all our backpacks after getting off the train. Here are a few pics of the night- Abby, the brunette, is my friend from Mizzou and the other two are girls we hang out with a lot, Kim and Sarah. We make a wild bunch that's for sure!

After thinking we had to check out at 11, we jumped out of bed to walk around in search of food. We came across this great little hole in the wall place where a woman and her mother make all homemade dishes and you pick whatever you want and can take it to go! It was soo good. Roast chicken, baked fish, roasted vegetables, and lots of potato things were what we needed on a hungover Sunday morning.

I wrapped up the weekend meeting my intercambio, Alicia! An intercambio is like a cultural partner-a Spanish person who is learning English and wants to practice with someone who is learning spanish. CIEE has this set up where students can sign up to have an intercambio from the University of Alicante and we can choose based on an interest inventory sheet they filled out. I chose Alicia because she was 23, had an "advanced" English level, liked to run, go out with friends, shop, and wanted to meet Americans. She was so nice and we had a really nice time getting to know each other at a coffee shop. It was good to meet another Spanish person to talk about the cultural differences and hopefully meet her friends soon too! (they speak English too) We have a ton in common and are going to have a lot of fun going shopping and helping each other learn a new language. My Spanish is not nearly as good as her English, so I have a feeling we will be speaking English most of the time..

Classes are going well too! I still haven't started my business class (I start that next Monday) but my Spanish class, Spanish society, and cultural adaptations class will be great. There are about 8 classes to choose from and are only for the 20 kids on our program, so all of my classes only have 7 or less kids in them! It is so different from what I am used to but really nice for a change.

Abby and I were kind of sad we missed such a big "American" weekend with the big Mizzou-KU game and the Super Bowl.. What a great time to be a tiger! And Mizzou got the number one recruit in the nation, so looks like next year sports will be even better!

Check out this video our program director made of the first weekend of our program- I'm in a few pictures if you look closely! But you can see all the other kids too. 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrKk6g3ORas


I also put a ton if pictures on Facebook so if we're friends you can check those out too!


-k