Alicante :)

Hola Amigos!!

Things have finally settled down and I don't feel like I'm running around with my head cut off anymore. :D I also got my luggage about three days ago, so that was quite a relief! I guess there are a lot of people suing the airlines because of everything that happened. It will be interesting to see what happens!

Here is a pic of the street I live on (Avenida Frederico Soto). I live on the right side of the road. :)

I am able to get around the city without a map now. Hehe. (I still have it in my backpack tho just in case :D ). The other day I went and got churros and chocolate with some friends - this is very popular in Spain. It was really good, but very different than the churros you think of back in the States. The one's here aren't drenched in cinnamon and sugar. :( But they were still very good. :) After the churros and chocolate, I figured I should probably go for a run. I went for a run on the beach - it was sooooo peaceful, relaxing, and beautiful!! I live about 5 minutes from the beach, so I think I'm going to make that a habit! Nonetheless, I can't wait 'til it gets a lil warmer and I can lay out!!

Every minute here is an experience, their culture is so much different than ours. Although nothing that we can't handle. :) I'd say the hardest part is going from eating breakfast at 7am to eating lunch at 3pm (this puts how difficult life is here into perspective for you. hehe). Another thing I'm not quite used to is that all the shops close from 2pm to 5pm. The other day I wanted to go shopping, and I couldn't!! I guess it's probably for the better. :D My favorite thing about their culture so far is the way they greet people. They don't shake your hand, they give you two kisses... one on each cheek. Expect me to greet you that way from now on. Hehe. :) Puri and I went to her daughters house for lunch the other day; Puri has two very cute granddaughters (ages 4 and 9). The four year old is quite a handful - she doesn't stop talking, moving, running.... It's hard sometimes to understand what she is saying - I think she has better Spanish than I do! Hehe. It's kind of embarrassing, but I guess she's been around it for four years.... :)

I am going to Granada this weekend. I am pretty excited. We are going to see cave people, Flamencos, churches, and some other places of interest. I will let you know, how it is. :)

I bought the book Twilight in Spanish yesterday. I say this because I don't even read English books. I guess it's just my style. :)

Obama is the talk of the town here. Spain is really excited for him to be President. I didn't realize how much other countries depend on the U.S. 'til now, but Spain/Europe/the entire world depends on us!! They're all hoping Obama "saves" us all. When someone finds out that I'm American (they first look at me like I'm gold) and then they talk about Obama. I love it here, but I'm proud to be an American. :)

Above is a picture of Alicante's castle (no king and queen live there), instead they built this "Castillo de San Juan" to protect Spain. Since Spain is surrounded by water, they built this so they could see if anyone was comng to attack them. At the top of the castle they have cannons!! Me and my friend walked up there on Sunday. It is gorgeous. Here are some of the views. :)