La Chica Culturada :)

Well, I have officially knocked off my tenth city in Spain and feel all too cultured:
-Madrid
-Alicante
-Segovia
-Avila
-Barcelona
-Toledo
-Valencia
-Altea
-Benidorm
-Granada

Are you proud? Four of them were in the last week... I am running out of things to say because I suck at keeping up with this blog, but rest assured I have seen plenty.
About a week and a half ago a friend of a friend arrived, which commenced one of the craziest weekends in Spain. We saw Palmeral and the beach and the castle and elsewhere with her, but the best explanation is that three nights in a row people got split up---staying in hostels in our own city, going to gay bars and free shots, getting a job and ripping pants, and of course just plain having fun. So much fun that Jackie and her didn't make it out of bed to hop the train to Valencia...

It's hard to believe that 30 years ago mamasita was studying here in Spain (in Valencia) and a week ago I was standing in her path, in the doorway to the University, and in the history she saw decades ago, the same history. It was a good trip, and it's hard to believe that we saw literally everything in Valencia and had time for a 3 course Paella lunch in our 6 hours there! But we're starting believe we are crummy tourists, hehe. In any case, possibly the most gorgeous city in all of Spain.

Altea and Benidorm were covered last week with Alvin before he left to return to London (I refuse to say any more about it or dwell). And This weekend was Granada. The best slogan to represent the trip: "All's Well that Ends Well"... Bad idea to jump the 2:30am bus to Granada, with Morrocans bothering us and keeping us from sleep. Bad start at the hostel too. But after all of that, we saw the Alhambra, the Cathedral and Chapel (and where Isabel/Fernando were buried, if you have any clue who they are and how amazingly famous they are in Spain!) I got my Granada Tapas and saw my Granada things, and we even got to see spectacles---after a LONG siesta we left to explore and ran smack dab into the middle of a procession for Semana Santa outside the door of the hostel! Very neat... as well as the authentic Flamenco, in it's birthplace as well---so believe me when I say I am cultured :)

I can't believe in 4 days my entire life's dream will be over. That is another thing I am not willing to talk about right now.

Tomorrow we are going to see a movie that was filmed here in Alicante!
That's it for the update, give me time. Sorry I'm a lame blogger.

St. Patricks, with the Leprachauns.

Yes, I went to Dublin for St. Patrick's Day. It was a GREAT idea.

We began by getting on the flight seated next to a couple guys from Chile---after about a half hour of talking they decided they were buying wine for the whole lot of us. And that is when we began celebrating the biggest holiday for Ireland, on our way out to Ireland :) I couldn't believe it, but wow what a day! I got a cider and a shot of Jameson Whiskey to commence Dublin, but the best part of the night was Hungry Harry's, a random hole in the wall restaurant we found next to temple bar! I do not remember the last time I orgasmed eating garlic cheese fries :) All in all, the first night was pretty uneventful and best explained by a bunch of random wandering in the new city. Fitzsimmons, a club we went to, was a lot of fun, but Temple Bar, the place Dublin is known for, was impossible to navegate. I retired after that, to eat my fries! A good decision overall, I'd have to admit.

Saturday we were smart enough to outsmart Ireland: we took a tour bus around the city instead of trying to conquer it ourselves. It was a hop on hop off kind of thing and we got to see everything, and I mean everything, that I had hoped to see---Trinity College, Dublin Castle, Doors of Dublin, St. Stephen's Green, Grafton Street, Guinness Factory and old Jameson Distillery, the Liffey River, and whatever else was there that I forgot the names to or didn't have enough interest in! Another interesting night topped off my St. Patty's Day weekend. But I enjoyed being able to watch friends, scrubs, and the office, in our hotel room, in english!

Speaking of hotel, that was the most interesting part of the entire weekend. Let's just say they were counting heads, and we had one too many Chelsea's trying to check in! What a crazy turn of events. You don't want the actual story.

I am glad to be done with Ryanair flights. As we bounced coming into the landing strip I thanked god to not ever have to do that again. And now, Alicante. Wow, what luck. I hope you are keeping up with it all. I'll tell you more about it when I am not tired and stressed out about a broken camera, BAH.

Yes, I'm still alive.

I have now been living in Alicante for over a week and I think I just may be nearly adapted. It was a long process requiring definite patience but I'm glad I went through it. A week ago these were the thoughts going through my head:

"The family is nothing compared to Sabine and Elena. Carlos, my host dad, is an amazing guy and I love him oodles! However, Bibi, the mom, is so rude... always interrupting Carlos when he's telling stories and never making time for us... We have a dutch girl living with us and her name is Ani and she is OBVIOUSLY Bibi's favorite, she is so enthusiastic about her and speaks to her all the time and completely leaves us out of it (unless Carlos addresses us)... so it's uncomfortable and we feel like a paycheck. I wouldn't mind moving."

"I am enjoying the new city but getting homesick without internet for keeping in touch, and counting down the days until Marty comes and I start yet another new adventure! I think I am just ready to be done, as much as I hate to wish this experience away. This is not easy."

"I love it here but life is very very slow. I don´t know what to do with all my free time."

"We were sitting anxiously on the bus when I heard a rapping on the window..Sabine actually came to the bus station to say goodbye! It was something that I never expected out of my host mom and it made me want to cry and pout and get the heck off that bus and back to that apartment. I already miss Madrid and my friends and family there. I am sick of this lifestyle. I want to go home, or somewhere else for sure."

So now that I finally got the internet problem fixed I am settled in and ready to tell you about my life. And by that I mean bore you, I haven't really had one here. We spend literally half of the time on the beach and have spent the remainder at school, or exploring the local castle (yes you heard me right!), or walking around town, or whatever. But a majority of it, at the beach... needless to say, I'm content. Skinny dipping in the middle of March, not too bad if you ask me.

School is amazing, still class from 9-12:30 every day but now instead of grammar we are learning Literature and History of Spain so I am asctually interested for once. Hehe, and I am reading the text on the side as well as my Harry Potter... And we went to Dublin this weekend. But I have to give my fingers a rest before I tell you stories from that!

As for now, I am headed to the beach yet again. Feel free to begin the jealousy, now. Hasta luego.

Besos,
Kristy

Carmen!

Well, another highlight from my time here... finally able to see the opera, and flamenco all at once. This was definitely not what I was expecting with my background information of this particular show, but what an incredible spectacle! Dramatic lighting and sets. She made a point to only use the colors black, white, and red. So it worked well. And they used shawls and capes and fans in the dance, it all just came together so well. But I can't do it justice, all I can tell you is that I was sitting at the edge of my seat in this one.

Today I took my exam and passed out of Sampere Madrid, Saturday I move to Alicante for the last month! It's definitely a bittersweet goodbye, I am very accustomed to such the beautiful city, and I am going to miss my family, my friends, my professors, so much. Besides which, I just met a girl who came here last week... an Alpha Chi Omega from Florida! Small world. Sad to move on, but with so much to look forward to! Asun, the director, corrected my exam and simply said GENIAL I was proud when she looked through the entire two paragraphs I wrote about the future with the sole mistake of one missing accent mark :) You have no idea.

Anyway, I am cooking a casserole for Sabine and Elena right now! Look at me go! I hope all is well with you, especially my loyal fan Rebecca, shout out to you and thank you so much for the read and the comments! You have made it worth writing, sending my love from overseas.

London

I had a great weekend with Amanda, but I'm sure you won't even be able to keep your head on straight when I go down the line. We seriously saw everything in London: Tower of London, "the Monument", Tower Bridge, London Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral (w/streets like "Paul's Walk" and "Peter's Way" which I took pictures of and I know Dad will be into), Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Millennium Foot Bridge (site in Love Actually) the Aquarium, the London Eye, Big Ben and Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Chinatown, Leicester Square (theatre district), Green Park, Buckingham Palace, and to the King's Head for Fish and Chips and Cider for dinner... that was Day 1.

Day 2 was Camden Street and Camden Market, Regent's Park, Oxford Street, Amanda's School, Selfridges (all designer, holy whoa!), and the Harry Potter sites: Leaky Cauldron, Platform 9 3/4, and the Train station. I am glad we didn't go out last night because we were so worn down! I'll have you know that our movie night consisted of While you were Sleeping :) what a great night. Any questions? hehe.

I don't feel like telling stories. That is my lame update. Have a great day, love you and miss you!