Life is picking up!
Life here has picked up quite a bit here these last two weeks. I have been interning at the M.A.R.Q. museum two days a week, doing various tasks. I put ancient pottery back together, properly document and store artifacts, assist in constructing the exhibit decorations, and overall understanding the ins-and-outs of the museum. It’s been a lot of fun and easy work, something I can definitely see myself doing in the future!
School has also quickened its pace- more homework every day and more advanced Spanish grammar and vocabulary. My Spanish has definitely improved since when I first arrived, and is constantly getting better. I talk to my host family a lot, during meals or when watching movies together, and go out with them a lot as well. I love going to the gym with my host sister Olga. She is so sweet and funny, and tries practicing her English with me. Last weekend, we went shopping together and designed our outfits for Carnival, which is one of Spain’s biggest festivals. It’s a weeklong celebration, filled with beautiful and fun costumes, lights and decorations, and fun activities and concerts. People prepare for this celebration weeks in advanced. My host sisters already had their outfits planned out back in January. Olga and her friends were to be butterflies, and Idoia and her friends were all going to be Pippy Longstocking. Basically, it was Spain’s massive Halloween celebration, and the buildup to the weekend got me pumped. I decided to go as a Can-Can girl since my host family already had the costume. The big Carnival celebration took place on that Saturday, and it was the biggest group of people I had ever seen outside in which everyone, and I mean EVERYONE was dressed up. Every costume you could imagine was there, from giant Leggo Men, to Smurfs, pirates, movie stars, animals, and more… you name it, and it was there. Most of the people in the streets were young adults, and there were thousands of them, all drinking, listening to music, and enjoying each other’s company and costumes. I went with my host sisters first, to see how the Spaniards celebrated, and eventually met up with my American friends later. We went to the concerts, which mainly played American oldies from the 80s, and of course, to the food stands. It was an absolute blast, and I stayed out until 8 am the next morning! I couldn’t believe I didn’t collapse from exhaustion, but there were so many people and excitement that I couldn’t leave until the city decided to sleep. On Sunday, I slept well into the day, and spent the end of it relaxing on the beach with friends, reminiscing about how crazy the night before was.
I got to work with ancient bones in the museum this week, which was incredibly cool. I also met some South Saharan immigrants living in Alicante, who live here to avoid the political turmoil in Africa, as well as learn Spanish and English. It was really interesting hearing their stories, and having them feed me and some other students their typical food from their country.
This weekend was a little more relaxed, as compared to Carnival. My friends and I spent a lot of time at the beach, playing volleyball and socializing. On Saturday, we went to a small city near Alicante, called Murcia. When I originally told my host family I was going there for a day trip, they cringed at first and asked why. I told them because I wanted to see it and it was close enough for a day trip. Ten of my friends and I went that Saturday morning around 11 am, arrived at noon, and started exploring right away. I realized right away why my family all cringed- there wasn’t much in Murcia. There was a cool Cathedral and old Moroccan themed casino, but not much else than that hahaha. We all had lunch near the river that runs through Murcia, and later we all got ice cream and hung out around the city. We stayed until about 6 pm, walking around and exploring, and returned around 8 pm. Surprisingly, for not having done too much, we were all tired and spent the rest of that night at home with our families.The next day I watched Avatar with my host sister and her boyfriend, Tony, all in Spanish. It was easy enough to understand everything, and I learned a few new words as well.
On Monday, after school and my internship, I met my intercambio Alberto. He is a Spaniard I am assigned with to converse in English and Spanish, allowing us both to improve in our speaking abilities. He is 24 years old, and is studying law and finances at the university in Elche. We went to a little coffee shop with cupcakes, and talked for about two hours. He is a very sweet guy, and interesting too. He loves surfing and playing water sports, and wants to learn English so he can eventually move to the states. It was fun talking with him, and I plan to meet with him next week to talk more.
I am really excited for this weekend- the USAC program put together a trip to Granada for all the students. My host family says it’s one of their favorite cities, and one of my good friends is studying abroad there, so I am excited to see what it has to offer! Updates to come!
Hasta luego amigos!
Ryann