We’ll be comin’ round the mountain…if we make it there

First day of class, and I didn’t fall asleep until 2:00 am…way to plan, Julia.  But it was a really interesting, but ultimately rewarding night.  We headed out around 11:00, after much ado about where and when to meet up.  We picked up Rosie, because she lives in the thick of the party district, and set out to find a bar with a TV.  The Confederate Cup game began at midnight, but after not being able to find a bar with enough room to seat us all, we headed to a Jaegermeister bar and got a few drinks.  Standing in the middle of the barrio was pretty cool amidst all the avid fútbol fans.  While we didn’t actually watch the game, but the atmosphere was full of excitement and enthusiasm, much like back home with my beloved Pack.  I miss football.  Bad.  Anyway, after talking for a while, we headed back to our homestays.  On the way we met a group of guys studying abroad from Baltimore, and I must say it was nice to hear a bit of English for a while.  This morning I got a pleasant surprise from my host mom! A crossaint with CHOCOLATE inside.  Apparently its customary to have chocolate with breakfast…again, another aspect of Spain I can fully comply with.  After breakfast, it was time for class.  Although Jessica and I were a little late, it was fun to hear stories about the other students’ experiences in Spain so far.  Once class ended I headed to the supermarket for the first time to pick up a few things.  It was definitely packed, and while I didn’t know where anything was, I made it out with my bananas, water, and crackers in one piece, and only down 4 euros.  For lunch I finally got to try the infamous “tortilla española”.  Basically it’s like an omelette or quiche with potatoes and onions.  How could something so simple be so amazing you ask? Answer: I have no idea…but it was!!  I was able to siesta a little bit after lunch, which was probably a good thing, considering today was the day we had to hike up the mountain in Alicante to the Castillo de Santa Barbara.  Yes, I Julia Shariff, was going to climb a mountain.  I had no idea what to expect, but let me tell you, it was worth the long trek.  We all sweat through our clothes and worked our legs till they shook, but c’mon, for this view? I’d do it all over again J 

 After the hike, Rosie and I grabbed some Spanish ice cream.  I got a cone made from “turrón” which is like an almond brittle.  It was pretty epic, especially after being overheated for two and a half hours.  We then headed over to El Corte Inglés, which is kind of like a Macy’s and Walmart on steroids.  Seriously, this place is massive!  One of the other funny and strange aspects of my day involved, oddly, a black and white striped sweater.  I first caught a glimpse of it this morning as I was leaving for school.  By the end of the day at Corte Inglés, I had seen at least 15 women with the SAME EXACT SWEATER.  Need I remind you that it’s around 75 and 80 degrees every day here.  Yeah, I don’t have an explanation either.  Anyways, here are three of said women with their beloved sweaters.  Which begs the question, was I being punked? 

For dinner tonight, my host dad made steaks with an amazing garlic sauce! We also had bread with a light tomato salsa and tomato marmalade (yum).  After skyping with my Mom (and my BBF Lindsey earlier), I am pooped.  Unfortunately, I’m not done yet…I am in school you know.  I have a reading to do before tomorrow and have only kind of sort of started.  Oh well, its 1:00 am.  The night is young…in Spain that is! I’m off to do some reading and nurse my aching legs, so keep calm and walk it out! (now walk it out)