Livin' la vida Espanola

January 25th 2013

Trains, planes, buses, boats. Doesn't matter the mode of transportation, it is tricky to plan. At least in terms of how to link them all together. I have been trying to plan trips all week long, stalking Skyscanner and seeing what discounts I can get with my Carne Joven. There is just so much to see here, and in such little time. And having class M-F definitely doesn't help in trying to make weekend trips either.

I have been a hermit all this week in terms of going out. I come home, do homework, eat, go climb, and then usually just relax until I zonk out at about 10pm. It's hard to go out when I know I have to be up at 6:30am. Oh well, on the flip side, I have been making friends with a lot of people at the rocodromo, and have plans to climb outside both Saturday (bouldering in Elche) and Sunday (sport in Sella).

The wind this week has been out of this world. Consistent and strong all day. I bundle up every day and look like I'm about to tackle Antarctica just to protect myself from the chills. The forecast is looking more promising with each passing day. Soon, the beach will be utilized.

As a side note, congratulations to my friends Mike and Mara on their two newest additions to the already incredible Syring family: Prana and Tesla :) I wish I was home to meet them with everyone; the pictures are great!

January 28th, 2013

I love being a climber. Less than one month in Spain and I have already been to a bunch of beautiful places because of climbing. It's hard for me to think of what I would do here if climbing wasn't so imperative to my existence.

I went to two different places this weekend: bouldering in Crevillent and sport climbing in Sella. It is definitely obvious in my climbing that I have been only bouldering for quite some time. While I sent a few climbs that translate to a V3-V4 grade, my sport climbing was more in the 5.10c range, and it was HARD. My endurance definitely needs work, but that's why I'm here!

I would like to now take some time to jot down some of the fun little differences I've noticed in terms of customs.

Climbing:

• -Everyone keeps their harness inside the little bag that it comes in after purchase.
• -Climbers bring a big bowl of pasta with additions like tuna, peppers, carrots, etc to feed 3-4 people on a climbing trip.
• -Everyone and their mother uses a Gri-gri.

General:

• -Crackers and coffee are as normal a breakfast as cereal is in the states.
• -They weren't kidding about the excess of tapas and bread for meals here.
• -It is impolite to take off your shoes in your own house.
• -When receiving a compliment on clothes, shoes, etc, you are supposed to reply with "Oh this old thing? Nah." instead of "Thank you!"
• -No one actually sleeps during the siesta. It is actually meant to be a 20 minute break on the sofa.
• -There is no such thing as peanut butter here. But there is Nutella out the hoo-ha.
• -The word "estupido" is actually much more vulgar than the English equivalent, "stupid," so don't use it lightly.

My brain was on overload the entire weekend from trying to comprehend all of the Spanish. I probably spoke and practiced more Spanish on Saturday alone than I do in the entire week during class. I can feel the mechanisms in my head come to a screeching halt when a sentence is over 8 words long. I am getting better, no doubt. It is just time at the point. But all the people I've met here have been very patient with me, so that helps a lot ^_^

Barcelona is booked, Fontainebleau is in the works, along with Croatia and Slovenia. More to come!

Pictures:

The Crag Ferret.  He even had a leash.

This is the van I want to travel the US with.  Complete with kitchenette, bed, seats for friends, and plenty of space for activities.

Sella

Bundled and ready to go learn some Spanish!

The single greatest thing I've eaten in Spain so far.

Awesome sunset after the rain.  There is actually a vertical rainbow too, but my camera isn't good enough to show it very well.

Bouldering in Crevillente

Granada

January 14th 2013

Yesterday, I made my first trip out of Alicante. I was adopted by a group of climbers to go to Guadalest for the day. It was extremely beautiful :) There is a church on the mountainside that is absolutely breathtaking, and the drive up there was it's own sight-seeing adventure. It was the first day I was on nice, untagged rock as well. I think the hardest thing I got on was about a 6b/c(?) or something around a 5.10d (I'll figure out this grading scale eventually). Unfortunately, I didn't have the forethought to take a picture when it was lighter outside :/

The people I went with were beyond great. Despite my lack of Spanish, which inevitably leads me to be even more timid and quiet than usual, they made a huge effort to include me in conversations and were very open to helping me understand things they were saying in Spanish. I learned one very silly saying in Spanish, too:

"Estoy en mi salsa: --> Basically means "I'm comfortable," but when translated literally makes no sense. I'm in my salsa teehee.

They even made me feel special in saying they want me to climb with them more because I give them motivation to try harder things ^_^

January 17th 2013

Note to self: Do not expect to be able to wake up for an 8am class after losing 3 games of beer pong, taking 2 shots of tequila back to back, and chasing it with sangria. It doesn't work.

Only the study abroad kids go out during the week, so two bars on the main strip have a beer pong tournament every Tuesday night starting at 12 or 1am. Upon entry, competitors get to enjoy an open bar of beer and sangria. Makes me wish that I was in the afternoon beginning Spanish class. That and the fact that I suck at Spanish.

I went to the rock gym, or "rocodromo" as it is called here, on Tuesday. There are no set routes, just holds in nearly every bolt. Going there is essentially one big game of add-on for the group of people there. I definitely will get stronger there, because while the holds may not be super difficult, climbing with guys who like long, dynamic, muscly moves make it a bit more challenging. It's gonna be fuuuuun!

January 21, 2013

Granada. It's pretty cool.

Recap:

I originally was going to skip out on this Granada trip, seeing that it was extra to go and I felt that I could do the trip for cheaper. However, turns out that nearly everyone in the program decided to participate, so I saw it as a good networking opportunity with the kids in my program. And, upon further research, I learned that going on my own would save me a negligible amount.

The beginning of the trip emulated a scenario quite like one you would find in a low-budget horror film. The bus broke down for near an hour in a small deserted dark town, where we had to wait for a replacement. It begins raining like crazy (as it was most of the weekend) and we come to learn that the new bus does not have functioning windshield wipers. Essentially no visibility. On a mountain pass. Going uphill. In the dark. Pouring rain.

Don't worry, we survived. Our hotel was right next to the Alhambra, an old fortress that was turned into an Islamic palace in the 14th century. We also visited the Cathedral of Granada, the Generalife, the Capilla Real, the Plaza de Santa Fe, and the a town built in caves that looked a lot like Hobbiton. So much history crammed into one weekend!

Aside from the planned excursions, the unplanned exploring of Granada was an adventure of its own.  Here is a list:

-Encountered a man in a pig suit at the discoteca.
-Arrived in Granada during a trash strike, meaning there was trash EVERYWHERE.
-Got lost in the rain at 3am walking back to the hotel.
-Dodged gypsies near the cathedral.
-Enjoyed a free tapa.
-Actually reached the end of the rainbow, no joke
-Ate churros with chocolate at the best chocolateria in town.
-Took my first solo adventure at night, seeing as I was the only person unwilling to pay 30€ for a flamenco show.
-Watched Pitch Perfect.
-Drove through snow :D

End recap

Overall, a very fun trip. I could go into detail for paragraphs upon paragraphs, but I figure I'll stick to the main highlights. Also, pictures are worth a thousand words, so here is a couple thousand more words about the trip:

1.  The ever popular thumbs up

2.  Four of my favorite things:  Beer, Chocolate, Churros, and Peanuts.

3.  Just a pig's leg on the street.  Trash strikes.

4.  Pigman at the discoteca.

5.  Rocodromo.

6.  Climbing in Guadalest.

7.  Ladies!

8.  Illegal cathedral photo.

9.  Granada from the top of the Alhambra.

Culture Shock

January 8th 2013

I went climbing today!!!1111!1!!! I have officially climbed in Spain, and no one can take that away from me. And what's more? I sent everything I got on. Sure, nothing was probably over a 5.10a, but who's keeping track?

We actually walked to the mountain from Alicante. Unfortunately, the rock was tagged all over the place, which took away some of the allure of my first climbing in Spain. But that aside, all the climbs were extremely fun. Marcos and Johannes were very good company as we switched between Spanish and English the entire day. We even found a small rock climbing gym on the way back into town that is only 2 euros per visit.

And boy, is it nice to go out for a beer after climbing and not have it matter that I'm under 21 :3

January 9th 2013

This 8am class is a little taxing on me, but my ambition got the best of me. I've decided that I would be cheating myself if I demoted myself to the easier Spanish class. Fingers crossed that this isn't a mistake.

Honestly, I cannot find a single store that sells a spiral notebook. I walked around all day yesterday, and all I can find is graph paper notebooks. Additionally, they ran out of the books I need for my class, so all of my notes are written in the margins of the few handouts I've received.

This just in: My host mom gave me notebook paper :D Hooray!

January 12, 2013

I'm definitely starting to feel the culture shock here. It's difficult and a little bit frustrating living somewhere that functions on a different language.  I find myself struggling to communicate even the simplest of things, and even if I am able to choke out a coherent sentence, I am no match for understanding the response.  My reading and writing in Spanish are decent, but my speaking hearing need much improvement. I can tell I have gotten exponentially better since my arrival, but my impatience is getting the best of me. Everyone keeps saying "Don't worry, it gets easier" and "you've only been here a little over a week, give it time," but I can complain about it now. It's my blog and I do what I want. Dena ne na.

I did, however, finally find a notebook! I also bought myself some fancy warm boots in case I go north at all traveling. I don't think the Converse will cut it in below freezing temperatures. In contrast, I officially polished off the rest of my PB pretzels and am on the last leg of my Trader Joes dark chocolate D:

Turns out that I can be done with classes as early as May 3rd if I so choose. If I decide to pursue more Spanish courses I will finish May 19th. The extra 2 weeks is very enticing in terms of traveling, and I'm already considering extending my stay past the June 9th return date because no one will be home for my birthday anyway, so may as well continue the adventure. Everything is still up in the air, though.

More climbing, traveling, and overall more exciting updates to come.  I've been sick since I've arrived and settling and finding my bearings is taking more time than initially anticipated :P

Pictures:

1:  The view from my Alicante home 

2.  What it looks like every morning on my walk to school :P

3.  Resourceful birds and their street bird bath.

Settling In

January 5th 2013

4:32 pm

Yesterday we made a valiant effort to find where the university is actually located. After about 4 hours of faulty Google directions, misleading purple signs advertising "Universidad", and entering the industrial ghetto area of the city, we finally came to the conclusion that the university is, in fact, NOT within walking distance from the hotel.

Camilla blew out the power to the entire 5th floor of the hotel with her plug adapter for the second time today, which is great because most of the rest of the kids in our program are also on this floor, so they were all talking about the outage at dinner while all three of us kept our heads down trying not to laugh.

We met the rest of the group, and went out for the first time since we arrived. Dinner isn't until 8 or 9 at night; the restaurants don't even serve until that time. There are bars literally in every other building space, and they go on well past 5am.

Today, I finally got my luggage!!! After three days in my "rock out with your chalk out" shirt, washing my delicates in the sink, and borrowing sleepwear, I finally was able to put on clean clothes :D What a feeling!

Tomorrow is also Three Kings Day here in Spain. To celebrate, the Spanish get a large cake that somewhere contains both a small present that is good luck, and a bean that represents bad luck. We celebrated today with our abroad group, and wouldn't ya know, luck seemed to be in my favor today.

January 7th 2013

I am now moved in with my host mom, Pura.  She lives in an apartment right along the beach.  It is just me and her, which is nice because it is very personal and I don't have to deal with little kids.  She does yoga, eats healthy, hikes, and is very sweet.  She is also extremely relaxed, so I don't feel pressured to talk all the time.  We can just hang out and watch tv or do our own things. 

I had my first day of school today.  Unfortunately, my class is at 8am-11am M-F, with a 20 minute walk to the bus and a 20 minute ride in the bus.  Just a little chilly in the mornings >.<  I have been placed in beginning intermediate Spanish.  I walked into class today to find out that the entire class is in Spanish O_o  I did alright, but am considering dropping down to the beginning class for the sake of solidifying my basics more.  The campus is absolutely beautiful, though their rec center rock wall is laughable :P

Speaking of, I haven't climbed in over two weeks, and it is killing me slowly.  I have spammed different community forums in Alicante about climbing partners, and finally had some replies.   So hopefully climbing stories will be in the near future  :D

My address (for those wishing to send me peanut butter, peanut butter pretzels, or a nice note) is:

Calle Virgen del Socorro
No. 47 - 2nd C
03002 Alicante, Espana

I finally feel like I'm beginning to settle in a bit.  Now it is just a question of where to go this weekend.

Pictures:

1.  A monument down one of the main avenues of Alicante. 

2.  My host mom, Pura ^^ 

3.  By the cactus garden on campus on my first day of classes.  Feels like home!

4.  The good luck charm I won in my cake.  A motorcycle, how fitting right?

5.  La Ballisca de Santa Maria, the oldest building in Alicante.  And I live right by it.

Arrival

January 3rd, 2013
1:39 pm

All settled in Alicante after quite the adventure traveling out here:

Recap:

I flew to London from PHX with Camila and Caitlyn at 9:10pm. We arrived in London and had less than 30 minutes to make our connecting flight. We all started running frantically to the flight connections, through security, and to the gates. In this frenzy, all three of us became separated, so it was every woman for herself. With less than 10 minutes to get through security and board, I not only went to the wrong gate, but left my laptop at security and had to run back and retrieve it. All whilst not wearing my shoes. Oh the looks I got...

Camila ended up missing the connection. Caitlyn was slotted to take a bus from Madrid to Alicante, so what began as a 3 person group soon became solo traveling. However, as I was waiting for my Alicante connection in Madrid, Camila had actually made a later flight and arrived in time to make the original 3rd connecting flight.

In Alicante, Iberia realized that my bag never left London. I am currently waiting on it to be sent to Porta Maris tomorrow morning. So I'll be in the same dirty clothes for 3 days :P

Camila and I arrived at the hotel near 11:30pm on the 2nd. Caitlyn eventually got there close to 5:30 in the morning, and we had no idea until after we woke up and saw her in the spare cot in the room. Turns out she was stuck at the Madrid airport for 6 hours, and had to take a midnight charter bus to Alicante.

End Recap

Today we had our first drinks of the trip at breakfast: Mimosas ^_^ We then went and hiked to the Castillo de Santa Barbara. We get to experience our first Spanish siesta, perhaps followed by a Spanish fiesta later on tonight. Already quite the adventure!

Side note: I've been sick and blowing my nose this entire time.