Girl's Day Out

So, this has been a week of midterms. Hooray? Anyways, I was bummin' hcore this afternoon after getting back my Spanish test and realizing that I am still making stupid mistakes. So, after our final midterm of the day (yay!), Lauren and I decided to have a girl's day and shop a little and go explore Alicante some more!

You know, sometimes I forget that I'm like...living in Spain. I was looking at pictures of my friends all around the world and I was like -- wow, look at that. They're like, in ROME. Or in GREECE. Or MOROCCO, riding CAMELS. How legit is that!? And then I was looking around my room, around my house and was like, wait... I'm in SPAIN. I guess its that midway point, where things start feeling normal, like we've got a routine. I guess it is true that once you start living within such antiquity all the time, you start to forget to see it. Sort of like what I've realized about San Francisco and home, how much I've taken it for granted -- as soon as I get home, I want to do all of the touristy things there. I've never even walked across the Golden Gate Bridge! Or been to Alcatraz! Silly, huh?

Anyways, so I guess I sortof forgot just how cool Alicante is. But, after my walk with Lauren this afternoon, I remember!

I wish I had photos to show you, but, alas, since my camera has decided to KICK THE BUCKET, I cannot. (I know. Any and all donations to the restore-Kandace's-right-arm-and-buy-her-a-new-camera foundation can be directed to the University of Alicante, c/o Kandace. Thanks.) I suppose I will have to stun you with my witty commentary and sparkling dialogue.

After class, it was a beautiful day -- clear and still warm. We took the bus and dropped our stuff off at her house then set off for el Barrio de Santa Cruz, the ancient part of town. That's my favorite part of Alicante, because the houses are what you think of when you think of Spain: brightly-colored, with tall, thin winding streets, balconies with potted greenery, painted shutters, hanging laundry. The cobblestone streets are so old, I can just imagine them being placed stone by stone. After wandering around the streets for a couple of hours, we ended up on the beach (por supuesto!) where our friend was sunbathing. The weather was just perfect, with the water clear and sparkling and "La Cara del Moro" carved into the mountain above us. We stayed there just laying on the sand and chatting. Perfect. After, we walked around some more and wandered into a strange looking shop entitled "Taller de Ceramicas Antiguas". After some hesitation, we went in, and ended up talking to the shopowner for almost an hour! He was an old Spanish man, telling us about the history of all of the ceramics, how his son and he makes them and paints every one according to a historical piece. Midway through, his friend came in who works at a museum, and told us all about the history of the various languages of Spain and even more about the ceramics. The older man told us about how he can trace his lineage back hundreds of years -- he's a Spaniard, through and through! So proud.

In case you're wondering, Spain speaks 5 languages: Castalleano (what you think of when you think of Spanish), Catalan (in northern Spain), Euskera (the Basque language, which has no roots in any known language), Galician (in Galicia, northern Spain), and Valenciano (which is spoken in Valencia, my region). And, yes, they are all separate languages, which means they don't really understand each other. Spanish is mandatory for all, but most people speak the native language of their own region. Catalauna is especially proud of their Catalan. Crazy.

Also, we found the CUTEST puppy ever. It was all paws and love. Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you're my madre) the family who owned her was just inside the restaurant, but I made a new friend :)

Anyways, great day of much needed relaxation and fun. I'll def go back to visit that shopowner! He also told us about a pretty great panaderia on that street where they sold pan antigua. Mmmmm. I'll have to find that one!

Besos y besos.