The House We Live In

Nothing very exiting happened today: I went to class, came home to have lunch, then went to the beach! The first class of the morning is with the teacher from America, who we call DZ. So far we've read the play Bodas de Sangre (Blood Wedding) by Federico Garcia Lorca, which is about an angsty bride whose antics cause her two lovers to kill each other. The second class is longer, and we learn about Spanish culture and geography. We've gone over all the major cities in the comunidades that make up Spain, and some things making up their culture. Speaking of culture, Alicante has really calmed down since the Hogueras of San Juan have ended! No more music until five in the morning, and there seem to be about half the number of people. It's still interesting how many shops are closed from 2 to 5 in the afternoon for siesta, and most people start dinner as late as 10:30 or 11. Writing this at midnight I can still hear people sitting outside at the cafes down the street. Since I haven't taken any pictures today, I'm going to include some pictures of the house I've been living in! Note: mi madre espanola, Carmen, does have a bedroom. I just didn't take a picture of it!

 This is my room, while Lindsey was taking a nap :) The window opens up to the street.

 This is the bathroom, which is a quick right when I leave the door to my room. Yes that is a bidet. We wash our feet in it.

 This is Lindsey's room. It's a lot smaller than mine but it does have the nice perk of an air conditioning unit.

This is the living room, which does have a nice-sized television, but nobody ever really watches it.

This is the terrace outside the kitchen window. Sometimes we eat breakfast here and it has a clothesline. Carmen reads out here quite often.

This is the view of the kitchen from the doorway. There's a fridge to the left out of the picture, and a window opening to the sunroom to the right of the table. We eat most of our meals here; my chair is the one farthest on the right.










This is a just a sign on the wall of the hostel in Valencia. I thought it was funny and makes me feel better when the locals have zero patience with my baby Spanish :)

Weekend in Valencia

This past weekend almost all of the kids on the trip decided to visit Valencia together! The others stayed in a hostel both nights of the weekend, but Lindsey and I decided to wake up early Saturday to catch a train, and leave Sunday evening. Two of my roommates were a couple from Australia who dropped everything at home and have been backpacking through Europe for the past few months. Valencia is beautiful, as per usual for Spain. Also typical of Spain, there was a lot of walking involved with it. Some people visited the aquarium in the 'City of Arts and Sciences,' but mostly I just walked around to see the sights. Unfortunately the ratio between time spent sleeping and time spent on activities has been way off this weekend, so I apologize for the generic tone of my post tonight. Valencia really is an amazing city--I'll just let my pictures say it for me!

 This was the street right near our hostel.

 A nice-looking building in the Plaza de la Virgen.

 A fountain in the Plaza de la Virgen. I assume the female statues are the virgins the name refers to.

 The type of street we were walking through this weekend.

 A view of the city visible from the top of one of the grand entrance ways to Valencia left over from older times. I only know that because we briefly hijacked a tour group.

 This was one of the first buildings we saw while walking to the City of Arts and Sciences. This is the music building.

 This seemed to be some sort of halfway enclosed garden.

 This is only part of a giant shallow pool in the 'City.' In another part they had big plastic hamster balls people could rent.

 Another view of the pools.

 This was our room, complete with a tired Lindsey. All the rooms had the birdcage decals on the walls. It was clean and cheap!

 People standing around.

 I'm not sure what this building was. There were buildings aesthetically similar to this one all over the place.

This is one of Valencia's train stations (the one we used, of course).

The Beach of San Juan

Today was a holiday in Alicante, so we had today off but tomorrow is our first day of school! Since it was our last totally free day, a group of us went to la playa de San Juan, which is purported to be much better than Costa Blanca, the beach near where we all live. Getting there required only a 20 minute bus ride and about three euro. This beach wasn't nearly as crowded, but it wasn't lacking any of Spain's topless charm. The sand was hot and the water was crystal clear. Spanish-speaking-ability-update: I successfully bought water from a Spanish-speaking man and told him that no I did not want a receipt, wooo!
Shout out to my grandpa who's 85 years old today! Sorry I can't make it to your party this weekend Pappap: Feliz cumpleanos y ten una fiesta buena!

Gratuitous panoramic view of the Mediterranean during my run this morning.

 This was the beach of San Juan looking straight out over the water.

 And to the left you'll spot a beautiful view of the mountains.

This is my friend Aaron. Today Aaron fulfilled a dream he didn't realize he had for our amusement.

La Noche de las Hogueras de San Juan

In the morning it rained, which apparently is unprecedented for this part of Spain in the summer, and made newscasters very worried that the hogueras would be too wet to burn. It also prevented us from going to the beach before lunch! That was solved by waiting until the afternoon :) The burning of the hogueras starts at midnight, and the first one to go is the big one in town square. To signal the beginning, three fireworks are exploded in the air. To light the structures, gasoline is poured all over it and fireworks are lit from among its base. It creates a spectacular show that I found terrifying. The hoguera is gone within minutes and then spectators can run to the next one! To make sure we got a good spot behind the fence, my group waited at the pink bird hoguera near my apartment. When it was almost time to start, the firemen (bomberos) were sure to warn us that fire is hot and that water is wet. Resigned to this, we proceeded to loudly chant AGUA until they sprayed us with their hoses. After some effort on the part of los bomberos (the fireworks not being entirely successful) the birds were on fire! To keep the buildings and trees safe and the audience entertained, a copious amount of water is sprayed around the burning figure. I had the most fun I've had in a long time!

 This was my view of a larger hoguera burning. When I wrote about that spectacular show that terrified me, this was it. Fireworks were literally going off just a few dozen yards in front of me and debris definitely hit me in the face.

 This is the before picture of the pink birds about to meet their fiery demise. The blue-shirted people standing near its base are from the 'neighborhood' I currently live in (and where these birds were located), and presumably its sponsors.

 Los bomberos preparing for the fire. Side-note: to fit in the city streets the firetrucks are much smaller and cuter than in America. What you see in the picture is just a van. Another side-note: Spanish law enforcers are more attractive than they are in America, especially the police officers. For whatever reason their pants are quite tight and it works well for them.

These are the birds post-burning! The red fences are the same ones we were told to stay behind earlier.

Una Hoguera en la Playa

There isn't too much to report from yesterday and today. There was plenty of beach-going and siesta-taking. I didn't think I would want to sleep but the sun is so hot it makes me tired! Lindsey and I did some unintentional exploration of Alicante today because we got lost on the way to the Spanish equivalent of a department store, Corte Ingles. On a serendipitous note, we now have an idea of where the train station and post office are located thanks to our venture. Note to file: apparently cortisone cream isn't widely sold, so avoid getting a rash on the day all the pharmacies are closed for no obvious reason. Tonight we met our classmates on the beach for una hoguera (that's right, a bonfire!). Of the many fires on the beach, ours was really the only one remotely deserving of the prefix 'bon.' Apparently the Spanish were impressed, because many asked to take pictures of it or even with it. By the time we were ready to go, the walkway behind the beach (like a boardwalk, but made of stone) was packed! We struggled through the crowd to one of the churro stands, and I got one filled with chocolate pudding. That's about all I'd like to share today, hasta luego!

 This man is playing a didgeridoo on the promenade and I felt inclined to take a picture.

By our best guess this is the St. John the festival (Las Hogueras de San Juan) is honoring. It's hard to see, but he has a single tear running down his right cheek.

 This is the church directly to the right of the San Juan figure above. The red and white shapes are all flowers that have been carefully arranged. This is the final destination of the flower-carrying girls in the parades.

 This boy had cotton candy as big as he was.

 These ladies are all dressed up to prepare for a big parade that took place today. Also included in the parade: bands and decorated floats.

 This is una hoguera that I had previously not seen before.

 I don't speak horse but I think this one was down to be friends.

 This fountain is on one of the main roads in Alicante.

Another hoguera that I previously had not seen.












Some members of my group around the fire. I realize our fire isn't as impressive as I might have made it sound, but it was better than others', I promise. I give sole credit to the girl standing up.

The Bullfight

Today was a fairly restful day. We woke up around 10AM and ate breakfast with Carmen. (I promise I'll post pictures of this house soon, it's so cute!) Lindsey and I went to the beach, where we were treated to the nudity of small children and the chests of women of all ages. Don't take my sarcasm for disapproval--I think the fact that grandma and grandson can spend time together in this way is great. I realize that sentence was also fairly sarcastic, but really I think the acceptance they have of their bodies is impressive. And yes, Mom, if I decide to go topless I will remember the sunscreen. After spending enough time on the beach to burn my back, we returned for a lunch of ham and potatoes (jabon y patatas). By that time it was time to meet our classmates for the bullfight! If there's one thing I would criticize about Spanish culture this is it. During the bullfight numerous men in tight sparkly costumes (those I like, by the way) hold brightly colored curtains in front of confused and enraged bulls, then hide behind walls. Bulls don't see color very well, which explains why they usually charge only at the curtains. After the matador's helpers exhaust and stick the bulls with some kind of decorative, barbed hook, the matador faces it. Initially he uses a red curtain to taunt the bull and show off his skills. When he's ready he prepares to drive a sword deep into the bull's back while a reverent hush falls over the crowd. The crowd erupts into aplauso as the bull falls to its knees and the matador kills it by destroying its brain with some type of pin. For this I have to give them credit for knowing consistently where a bull's brain is precisely. I can't explain here how much the local spectators enjoyed the show. I have to wonder if they have some subconscious need to subjugate that's being misdirected towards the bulls. Should I call Freud? That's taking it a bit too far, but as an American I viewed it as the torture and killing of six bewildered animals who were very likely mistreated long before the fight itself. But, as I said before, this is the only thing I feel inclined to truly criticize about the culture.

Before the action began, there was a lot of fanfare, including this band! This picture goes out to the brother in the marching band. Tim, they could hardly keep their rows together, but musically they were pretty good.

 I included this picture because the man in the middle might have actually been crazy. Thanks to his antics my classmates and I have seen both the front and the back of his body completely without clothes. Neither side was particularly impressive. Grandma, I hope you're reading this.

 Back to the intended entertainment: this bull is dead. He's dead because that man killed him. This same scenario ensued five more times.

 Each kill ended with the removal of the bull's ears (some of which were thrown to the audience, yay). Horses then dragged the body around and out of the ring, where each would be cut up for meat.

This is the first portion of the process, during which the assistant matadors confuse the bull.

 The main matador is showing off his skills by playing with the bull. It did make for a fairly cool picture.

A somewhat-shoddily taken panorama of the ring

 While we were walking home from the fight, our path was blocked by this parade! Each part of Alicante elects a queen and her court, who carry flowers to wooden holders while wearing those pretty dresses.

First Day in Actual Alicante

Today involved less walking than yesterday, but it was even more exciting! We said adios to our guide Arancha, the Tryp Gran Via, and Madrid and set off on the five hour car ride to Alicante! The Spanish countryside is amazing, like seemingly everything else in the country. We initially arrived at Alicante University, where we had lunch and met our parents. Lindsey and I have one parent: Mari Carmen, but we just call her Carmen. Her Spanish-speaking ability is about equivalent to my English-speaking ability and vice-versa. Needless to say it has been a struggle. She is a very nice lady who showed us all around her charming home and parts of Alicante. A special festival in they have here is called "Los Fuegos de San Juan," or the Fires of St. John. They build large figures out of cardboard and plaster of paris only to burn them at the end of the week. It's very lively and draws many visitors. That means much excitement on my behalf, but also for the other people of Alicante. It's partially because of Spain's culture, but even at 1AM (as I sit here typing) I can hear people out in the streets and loud music playing. It's not conducive to sleep, but it's one way to brush up on my Spanish pop music!

During the drive to Alicante there was a section of highway that must have has at least a hundred of these wind turbines.

 One of the structures to be burned during the festival. I think Carmen said it would be the first to go, but she was speaking Spanish, so she might have said something completely different.

 One of the decorated streets in Alicante, complete with our guide and mama Carmen.

 Este es el calle donde estamos viviendo! This is the street where we're living. We live on the top floor of the tan apartment near the back of the picture. Lindsey's room has the balcony and mine has the two windows.

 This is one of my favorite hogueras, which is what the structures to be burned are called. Appropriately the word means 'bonfires' in English.

As proof of how involved the hogueras get, these figures were below in the picture above this one, but not shown. And they still had more to set up!

Another hoguera on the streets on Alicante. This one had people forming the shapes of brains (the olive-looking things at the top).

Carmen said that some of the hogueras poke fun at actual issues in Spain. This seems to be about political figures, but another that I haven't included was commenting about the abysmal state of the Spanish economy. But as long as the Spanish have their fiestas, I don't think they could care less about money.



P.S. Lindsey and I couldn't sleep because of the music from the streets, so we decided we might as well join it! We've returned, it's now 3:42AM, and with no sign of it stopping soon they're playing music from Grease! :)