Verde, verde, verde.

Hola amores! What a weekend! After four beautiful, yet long days in Asturias in the north of Spain, I have returned to the unbearable heat of central Spain with a new appreciation for the beauty of our Earth (and a cold).
Asturias is one of the sections of Spain, equivalent to states in America, that runs along the northern coast of Spain right under Great Britian. Because it is in the north, it experiences more precipitation, none of which we saw, than central Spain where Alcala is. It was slightly colder and MUCH greener and mountainous than flat, brown Alcala. On our never-ending 8 hour bus drive up Thursday morning, the only GOOD part of the drive was the marvelous views of the Pyrenees Mountains we experienced as we entered Asturias. Other than that, the drive was long, uncomfortable and of course, I felt sick for all eight hours. In Spain I am not sure they even know what speed limits are and spanish drivers are what Americas would call "balls to the wall"; they are CRAZY. Jose Luis, our driver for the next for months, took hair pin turns in, up and around the mountains at what seemed like 80 mph....

FINALLY able to get off the bus, we arrived in Oviedo, the capitol of Asturias. As we began to venture around the city, the architecture is light years different and more beautiful than American cities. With old, hand built and well preserved buildings the city was flawless. We sat down for lunch and embarked on a feast of carne (steak, chicken, lamb and pork), mariscos (fish, clams, and shrimp), patatas (potatoes) and SIDRA (the local drink of choice, a cross between wine and cider). Unfortunately our stay in Oviedo was only for a brief few hours but nonetheless was perfect! Here is what one of the streets was like!

We then continued our journey to Gijon, a coastal surfing city in Asturias, where we stayed the weekend! Literally a beach within a city, Gijon was a perfect combination of everything, beach and city, relaxation and activity. It had EVERYTHING. With bottles of Sidra in hand, we embarked on a night on the town.

Friday morning we joined Jose Luis back on the bus, and headed to Ribadesella, or as I'd prefer to refer to it, paradise. Mom - you would have DIED. A breathtaking coastal vacation town east of Gijon, Ribadesella had the brightest aqua and clear water I have EVER seen. It was amazing. The green mountains and cliffs went right up to the ocean and dropped off, disappearing into the ocean. With gorgeous Spanish architecture the hotels and restaurants were marvelous. It was a picture perfect place that I vowed I would one day return to. Having to leave and get back on the dreaded bus, which was growing to become the enemy, brought tears to my eyes. Here are a few pics of the landscape and ME!

Unfortunately, the rest of the day Friday was subpar to say the very least. After many more painful hours of travel on the bus, we arrived in Llanes. The afternoon was filled with educational (yuck) information on the Spanish civil war, a VERY late lunch (4pm - which none of us Americans are used to) and a three and a half hour lecture in Spanish which not one of us paid attention to. Finally, at 11, we had DINNER and got back on the bus (again) to return to Gijon.
Thankfully, Saturday was a 180 from Friday. In the morning, we traveled to los Picos de Europa! In the Pyrenees, Los Picos are a group of mountains that have beautiful glacier lakes on the tops. At the base, there was a 19th century Basilica and una cueva (cave) which contained a mass area. After walking around and taking some photos we boarded smaller buses (8 people each) and began our ascent to the top! Again, the driving had my stomach flipping and palms sweaty but the views made every second worth it. Never have I seen more natural cows, tall mountains and vast views. The lakes were gorgeous and every place we stopped looked as though it was straight out of post cards. Because we were almost 3000 feet up, it was misty and foggy, but here is a picture of the Basilica and a lake!

Another long bus ride down the mountains and we arrived in Covadonga, another beach, very similar to Ribadesella where we spent the duration of the afternoon playing in the waves and laying on the beach :) As you assumed, I was in heaven.
Finally, Sunday arrived and we had to depart but not after a 4 hour kayak trip up the Ria Sella (which ends in Ribadesella...) Two people per kayak, Maggie and I were very hesitant for this activity BUT with open minds we made it! One of the cleanest rivers in the world, Ria Sella's water was drinkable (yes I tried it) and was crystal clear, as you could see tens of feet down to the bottom the whole time. About 2/3 of the way through we stopped at a cliff area and you could only guess what we did... CLIFF JUMPING! Never in my life did I think I would jump off a 30 foot cliff into the river below, but with the help of a little peer pressure and the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity I jumped twice! It was the most thrilling experience ever! Unfortunately, no one brought their cameras on the kayak trip for obvious reason but it was spectacular! Between the perfect water, cliff diving and wild horses along the banks, the strain of the ride on my weak body somehow disappeared. At 4 o'clock when we finally  made it to the end, we embarked on our bus ride home which I slept about 5 hours of, very unusual. All in all, the weekend was a blast! The breath taking landscape of Asturias is one that has no competition in America thus far and is a place I suggest all you nature lovers get to! I am thoroughly exhausted at this point so that's all for now! Hasta luego!
112TJP.

Lo siento, no habla espanol

Hi everyone! So, over the last few days, I have learned a lot about Spain! Yesterday, we received our first lecture about drinking in Spain... basically we were told that American's who are 21, are equivalent to 15 year olds in Spain (which means they just drink to get drunk). Maria Jose explained to us that in order to fit in here in Alcala, and anywhere in Spain or Europe, we must learn to drink casually and responsibly, something many of us are not used to. However, fitting in is something we are struggling to do. In America, when there are large groups of Spaniards walking around speaking only Spanish, I tend to stop and stare at them and how they stand out. Basically, I am the the Spaniards now. Everywhere we go, as a group of 21 American students or just 3 of us, we stick out like VERY sore thumbs. Between my blonde hair (La rubia, my new nickname..), our english, or lack of spanish, and shorts (spaniards aparently did not know these existed), we look like a bunch of lunatics walking around the Plaza in Alcala. At one point, a man was basically cursing us out in Spanish and another man standing by kindly translated what the jerk was saying. So while some people are mesmerized by our "foreign"-ness, others seem to wish we were not here. It is taking some getting used to, but slowly, we are learning the proper etiquette here in Alcala.
We have spent a majority of the last 2 days just walking around, getting familiar with the area, and now I can successfully get from my home to the Plaza and class! Very exciting. My spanish is slowing but surely improving and i find myself more involved in each conversation I have, picking up more words and phrases each time! It is crazy how quick we are all picking it up!

Calle Mayor

La Plaza de Cervantes

Escuela! (school)

Tomorrow morning we are venturing to Asturias in the north, so I'll let you know how it goes! Hugs and kisses for everyone! 119TJP. Talk to you soon!

Bienvenidos a Espana!

I'm here! After many long months of anticipation (and a long flight delay), I have arrived safely to Alcala! I am very excited to be here, however, am missing a certain someone back in Pennsylvania VERY much... It has been a rough last few days leaving my family, friends and boyfriend behind for the next four months and I must say, I am more homesick than I thought I would be. However, now that I am finally here, I am excited for what is to come!
After going through customs and experiencing international travel ALONE and for the very first time, I was a little overwhelmed with everything! There are so many different rules for all different places! However, the most intense and overwhelming aspect so far obviously is living with a host family (they only speak spanish)... the parents are great though, very welcoming and friendly and wanting to make me feel right at home, which so far I am doing alright with. But the communication barrier is horrible! I thought I would be able to motion and act out certain things that I didnt know how to say but even that is difficult! It is really amazing how two cultures and languages can be so far apart geographically and mentally from each other! Slowly but surely my Spanish is coming back to me and with each conversation I find myself remembering more words and phrases than the last. I know it is definitely going to take some time to not look like a deer-in-the-headlights every time they ask me something, but I think I'll be alright!

As for everything else, we start classes Sept 2 and are going to the north shore of Spain to Asturias from Thursday-Sunday which should be exciting! Other than that I dont have much else to say right now except that I am EXHAUSTED physically and emotionally. Family - I miss you so much and will see you sooner than we all know it and Ty - I miss you more than words and wish you could be right next to me holding my hand through all of this, 121. Love you!
I'll put up pictures soon so everyone can see! Adios ;)