El Principio

Today I took my first test in Spain. My class is only a month long, so we had a midterm after only two weeks! I can't believe that I have been here since the 9th of January. These have been the longest/shortest two weeks of my life! I am still trying to acclimate to the new time zone and pace of living, but feel like I have been here for months.

My flight to Alicante went surprisingly smoothly. The Madrid airport was confusing; departure boards are difficult to find and they do not post gate information until 20 minutes before the boarding time. I spent my first afternoon in Spain with Tio Carlos, Maria Eugenia, Carlitos and Esteban. That night, I met the other students in my program-- they are all really nice. None us knew anyone, so we were all in the same boat.

School is okay. The campus of la Universidad de Alicante reminds me a lot of ASU, but it is much more confusing. The building labels make no sense and everything looks the same. My grammar class runs from 8- 11 am M-F and my conversation class lasts until noon five days a week as well. It is very tiring to focus on Spanish for that long every day!

The second weekend in Spain I went on a trip to Granada with my program group. We went to the gypsy caves as well as several cathedrals and monasteries. I also got to see la Alhambra for the second time in my life. It's breathtaking every time.



The past week has been consumed with trying to settle in to my Spanish life. The bus has been my biggest challenge. I need to get a bus pass in order to transfer buses (I have to catch two different ones to get from home to school) without having to pay two fares, but I want to buy one at the discounted student rate. To get the lower price-- one bus ride normally costs 1.20 euros, while it costs about 0.45 euros for a student-- I need to have a student card. To get a student card, I have to travel to a place in the city. I have gone there almost everyday for the past two weeks and they are always out of the cards. This tarjeta de estudiante, which costs $12, literally looks like a piece of cardboard with your picture and name taped to the front. The bus is SO frustrating! I do, however, appreciate that everyone walks here. It's good thing because I have eaten so much food in the last two weeks! There are also a lot of fun exercise opportunities-- there is a mountain detrás de mi apartmamento, which is a blast to hike.

We'll see what the future holds-- hopefully my Spanish language skills will start to improve more rapidly. :)
¡Hasta luego!