Los Sueños Hecho Realidad

This entry is so incredibly overdue. I apologize. I guess I could say it is because I have so much to do but that is not quite true. I have never been good at riding in diaries but I do love the idea of this blog because I do not have to repeat my stories a hundred different times… and I can actually remember them! So I will try to be better about posting! No promises though. :)





Alicante vs. Valencia

Anyways, after our trip to Guadalest I went to my first professional soccer game. The fans were so intense. It was between Alicante and Valencia. I live in Alicante and Valencia is just to the north. Alicante is actually in the “state” of Valencia. Needless to say it was a very big rivalry. I was hoping to somehow advance my Spanish at the game, but that was a silly idea because all I heard were swear words! I did find out that soccer is not as boring as I originally thought. I would love to go to another game if given the chance, but they are not cheap. Alicante lost by one goal and it was pretty intense. In the last few minutes we had numerous opportunities to capitalize, but it just did not happen. I am going to say it is because this is the first season that Alicante is in the big leagues. Overall the game was enjoyable, and because we were in the top of the stadium, we saw a beautiful panoramic view of Alicante. 

Dream come true! :)



The next weekend Jamie and I went to Benidorm. Benidorm is equivalent to the Hamptons, I guess. It is an hour and 10 minute tram ride to the north and it is where all the Europeans come to vacation. There are tons of hotels and attractions. Jamie and I went to the waterpark (Aqualandia) and sea world type park (Mundomar). We had a blast. Aqualandia was so much fun. It reminded me of going to company picnics at the waterpark and hanging out with my sister all day. They had 2 slides that were black and you ride two people in a tube. They were so much fun! It is completely dark and the first time we went we did not know that right away there is, what feels like, a five foot vertical drop. It caught us by surprise but because of it we laughed the whole way down. We then went to some slides that neither of us liked very much, partly because we turned half way around. Not fun. Then we went to a place where they had different obstacles you could do. One was a rope net and you would cross it like monkey bars and others were slides that would drop you into the water. Then there was the zip line… That one gave me problems, and almost ruined my day. I am scared of heights but I always wanted to try a zip line. What better of a place then one that goes into the water!!! My fear of heights is not exactly a fear of heights; it is a fear of things falling from heights. If I imagine myself or some other object falling, it scares me and I get anxious. Well this zip line, you hold on to the bar and jump from the platform and slowly go to the bottom. The first time, I guess I did not go off the platform fast enough so I was slowly going down the line. Eventually I just let go about 8 feet up because I have very little upper body strength and I felt my hands getting blisters. Jamie wanted me to try again because it was kind of week. Well I wasn’t going to make the same mistake again. I threw myself off the platform so hard but there was tension in the rope so the zip line was not going at the same speed my body was. As soon as I was away from the platform my body swung so far my hands lost grip and I fell about 15 feet into the water on my back. I am losing my breath just reliving it! It was so painful and I could not move my back. I ended up being fine but I was in so much pain for a little while I did not want to do anything else. We ended up finding some amazing slides that you ride down face first while holding onto a mat. The last fun thing we found were the rapids which had different levels of small pools, which you would either fly right down, or get caught in the wrong current and be stuck in the pool for a while. It was so much fun to see all the people enjoying the ride as much as I did. I learned that laughter is the same in any language and suddenly the world did not seem so big.

Mundomar was the next fabulous place on our list. The best part of the park was the creative shows. There was a very fun and creative sea lion show, and an exciting parrot show. Ever since I first went to Sea World I have always wanted to swim with dolphins. No, I did not actually swim with dolphins, but I got to touch one and take a picture with it!! I was soooooo incredibly happy for weeks after because I actually got to be close to the happiest creature on earth! The show was amazing too! I have been to Sea World twice, and they have never changed their dolphin show. It was nice to see something different. They also had about 12 dolphins participating at once! One of the trainers caught my eye also. Now, he was cute, but I was enchanted by the happiness he portrayed while doing his job. The dolphin show was fantastic, but I caught myself watching him every now and then and being amazed by the fact that someone loved their job as much as he did. The other trainers had smiles, but they looked like smiles that were just for the audience, they smiled because they had too. This guy was truly happy, and he wanted to smile. I think everyone should be just as happy doing their job as he was. Granted we cannot all be dolphin trainers, but we all deserve to be happy J



Tabarca, looks like a challenging
puzzle



With friends at Tabarca



The third and final remarkable thing I am going to talk about was going to the Island of Tabarca. It is a very tiny island off the coast of Spain that has wonderful coves for snorkeling. We took a ferry to the island, and when we approached the item they opened up the lower levels of the boat which had underwater views. There was a ton of fish! I did not have a snorkel but I did have a mask and I spent hours exploring the waters and seeing some spectacular wildlife- mostly fish. The fish were awesome and sometimes they would swim within a foot of me. There were some rocks that I swam near and I could see hermit crabs clinging on. A couple of my friends that were in the area climbed on top of one of the mini rock mountains and discovered some crabs that were hanging out in a little pool. They tried to entice them out but it did not work. When we walked to the other side of the rock we actually saw one crab shedding his red shell. It was the weirdest and coolest thing I saw that day. He was about half way out when we found him and in just a couple of seconds he squirmed the rest of the way out! What perfect timing to see something so unique!

I can’t believe the amazing opportunities I have been giving here. I am so blessed and in case you had any doubt, dreams do come true! Thank you all for reading! J

Much love!



On the way to Tabarca



Guadalest, Fuentes del Algar, y Calpe

On top of Guadalest, Mediterannean in the background

This past weekend USAC took us on a fieldtrip to three of the most beautiful places I have seen in Spain. Guadalest is an amazing village that is perched on a hill in a deep valley surrounded by lush mountains. Although I have never been, I imagine Hawaii would be similar to this place. We climbed up to the Castell de Guadalest after our bus finally made it down the narrow winding roads. The castle was built over 1,300 years ago. It has beautiful cobblestone paths and many stairs that lead up to some of the most amazing views of the Costa Blanca. If you look to the south you can see the Mediterranean Sea. Catholicism has a large history in Spain and climbing up to the top of the castle there are the Stations of the Cross. I never heard about them but I received a quick history from some of my USAC friends. They were stunningly beautiful. There was also a little graveyard at the top. They were absolutely beautiful with pictures and flowers decorating the tombs.

The second place, Fuentes del Algar, translates to the Waterfalls of Algar. It is a breathtakingly beautiful spot hidden in the mountains. On the walk, I found my dad’s house, appropriately named Casa Gregori. We had to hike up some stairs to reach one of the upper pools. And with the dark clouds looming in the sky, we jumped in the freezing cold water anyway. It did sprinkle on us a little bit, but the cloudy skies reminded me of Portland and illuminated the beauty where the sun shone through. After changing clothes and warming up we headed down to the restaurant were USAC provided us with an amazing lunch of salad, croquets, paella, and a delicious ice cream cake like dessert. I had not eaten so much since I arrived in Spain! Even the views in the restaurant were picturesque.



Casa Gregori



From there we headed towards the beach at Calpe, an ancient fishing village. As we approached the beach you could look to the right and see houses built all up along the mountainside. What a view for them! To the left was the Rock of Ifach. This huge Rock juts out of the ocean and it is an amazing sight to behold. There is a hiking trail that you can take around it. Luis, the head of our program took us on a little walk towards the rock. Below the pathway, the water would come right up to the wall if it made it past the rocky coves. Some places even had mini geysers that when water would get far enough in, it would shoot out of one of the holes. It was simple stunning.

I am so glad USAC took us on this trip. All I had seen of Spain was the tram and bus station in Madrid and the desert from Madrid to Alicante. I was not impressed until this trip (part of that could have been a little resentment about my camera). But I feel so blessed to see God’s amazing beauty reflected in these places. It makes me wonder how much beauty waits for us in his world if he has created this in ours. Thank you to all who read my blog, and please check out my extensive pictures on facebook, because I don’t think words can do these places justice. Much Love <3

La mejor noche en Alicante

The first fountain

What started off as an ordinary night, surprisingly turned into a pretty amazing one. After being cooped up in the house all night working on homework I decided I wanted to go on a walk. Alicante is beautiful at night. The city has many water features, and at night they are usually very colorful. Jamie and I walked towards the beach and on the way there we got a little sidetracked. First, we stopped at some fountains right down the street to take pictures. Then we began taking more pictures of us and the fountains. We even managed to get some pretty sweet jumping pics.

Almost Jamie's dress

We walked down towards the beach and on the way there is a ton of wedding dress shops. Of course we love to look, so we spent about 20 minutes taking pictures of the dresses. The dresses are not typical wedding dresses; they have excellent detail, and sometimes unique styles. It was fun to critique them. Jamie began telling me about the wedding dress she has imagined for herself and her beach wedding. As we approach the last shop we could not believe the dress in the window. It was beautiful, and just like Jamie’s dream dress (with a few alterations of course). We both kind of teared up a little bit. Haha, so what we are girls.

As we headed towards the beach, we saw another beautiful fountain. Of course we stopped to take pictures. Being on our wedding dress high, the park looked like a beautiful place for someone to propose. It looked like it was straight out of a fairy tale. It had these great gigantic trees that on our walking tour, Larissa (our tour guide) said they have been there so long that their root system has grown out of the ground.

One of the trees in the
fairy tale park

We finally made it to the water and it was awesome seeing the sea at night. It somehow feels smaller when it is dark. I had fun twirling in the water and walking in it. Now, on the beach they have lounge chairs you can use. At night they stack them up. In front of one of the stacks there were some boys who were calling me and Jamie, however being dark we could not see them. So I did what I do best, ignore them and keep walking.

We started heading home after that thinking our walk wasn’t going to last as long as it did. We turned the corner into a smaller street and we got about half way down before we heard someone calling. I quickly glance and turn around to keep walking. Jamie and I were sure it was just another guy trying to get our attention, and it was. However, Jamie turned around again and saw that it was Shane, another USAC student. He told us that he was looking for the club for salsa dancing, and he could not find it. We of course had no idea what he was looking for, but we decided without anything better to do we would help him find it. After asking for directions from about five people, we finally were across the street when I randomly looked across the street and said, “Oh, it is right there!” We started talking to the student at the door and he said they needed 10 people for salsa dancing and they only had 6. Now, Jamie and I were not planning on staying, but they only had 6 people! It ended up being a blast! There was no one there, so we got to dance and act like fools. When we actually started salsa dancing I was horrible! We ended up meeting some fun people and talked with them a little while after they stopped the dancing. There was one girl from Ireland and one from Germany. Finally Jamie and I headed home. Our “walk” ended up being window shopping, beach playing and salsa dancing. Best night here so far by far!

The fountain in the fairy tale park

La Primera Semana






The view from the top
of an old village.
Alicante

 


 A yummy Chocolate Napalitano found
at Pastelerias.





Below the Castle of Santa Barbara on the Mediterranean
Sea. (15 min. from my apartment)

 So I decided to take a break from my busy life to update my blog. Actually my life really is not that busy. It consists of sleeping, school, studying and on occasion, going to la playa (beach). In the past week and a half there have been a lot of ups and downs and a lot of random memories created. All of which I wish I could remember, but to be honest, my memory kind of stinks. So I will do my best :)

  

I will start with school. I am in Track IV, which is the highest they offer. However, my skills are not quite up to par. The professor is very nice, but she teaches all in Spanish. Because my vocabulary is not all there I only catch about 80% of what she says… well we will make that 70% because the Spanish lisp throws everything off. Last Thursday, I basically had a meltdown and wanted to cry during class because, well, because it was like a foreign language!! Everything she said was right way over my head. It seems to be getting better, but I guess only time will tell. I really need to work on my conjugations and speaking. Luckily, my speaking professor is awesome. She is very patient and very helpful. When we have class with her on Mondays and Wednesdays it is such a blessing because I am not as afraid to make a mistake. In class yesterday we had to say one of our fears, and as weird as it may seem, I am afraid to talk in Spanish. I am afraid I am going to make so many mistakes! I also am in a history class, Spain up until the 20^th century. I know right! Talk about a lot of history. It is a little daunting because my textbook is in Spanish. YIKESABEE! Anyways, hopefully I will survive school. After all it is what I came here for!

 

 Random thought: I was thinking yesterday how the tables have turned. Last year, I was an RA in Gabaldon dealing with many international students, and here I am now, the International Student. Crazy





The culture here in Spain is so different from anything I am used to. When I read in the orientation book, "Alicante has a great nightlife", I had no idea what that really meant. Last Thursday we kept getting flyers for parties at clubs that said, "Free entrance until 3:30 am". WHAT!? Now, in Flagstaff, when I go out I am in bed by 3:30. Here they stay out until 6 or 7 in the morning! I do not know how they do it! It must be the ciestas! Also, we took a walking tour of Alicante and on the boardwalk the government bought wooden chairs to scatter everywhere to promote the idea that Spain is a social area. It seems to be true. Jamie speaks much better Spanish than I and she will end up in conversations with Spaniards that go on forever because they just love to talk! The layout of the city is even different than what I am used to. Every shop and store is on the first level here and all above them are apartment buildings. No one really socializes in their house either, they all go out somewhere. There are a few streets that cars are not allowed on and the restaurants along there put out tables and they offer services outside. Everything here is in walking distance, and the people here love to walk! Also, they have excellent mass transportation systems here. I wish the states did also! They have a train, a tram and a great bus system. All of which I have utilized.



Sooooo I actually wrote all this a week ago… but I was trying to figure out a couple things about my blog so I never actually posted it. Since then, I have moved into track 3, I determined I was not quite up to par to be part of level 4 and I hated going into class feeling like a complete idiot. I am very sorry for the delay! But here it is now, and I have two more spectacular things to write about. So stayed tuned…

P.S. I have decided blogger needs to be more picture friendly. Like NOW. K thanks!

El Viaje

It is currently 5:00 in the morning here in Alicante. Which means in Arizona it is 8:00 Saturday night. I have had a restful 6 hours of sleep, but now that I have woken up I can’t seem to get back to it. So here comes my second post.



The 24 hour trip went off without a hitch… almost. After a few tears were shed I walked through security at sky harbor… then cried a little bit more. My plane from Phoenix to Dulles seems like a lifetime ago. I don’t think I slept very much, except at the end of our in-flight movie, Plan B. I was able to stay awake for the whole thing, just not the ending! Go figure. The flight time ended up being about 4 hours which did not seem too bad. I had about a 3 hour layover in D.C. At the airport in Dulles I ate some subway and got myself a caramel macchiato from Starbucks, which could be my last for quite a while. Then I got myself some Euro- which in my opinion is the prettiest paper currency I have ever seen. Of course I did not think to charge my phone before I left and I had packed my charger in my checked luggage. I was able to find a seat on the floor next to an outlet and I had found my charger that I could hook up into my computer. I proceeded to do that while making some calls and before I knew it was time to board my first international flight.


Dulles to Madrid was not too bad either. I had an aisle seat on the side of the window. The girl sitting next to me was very nice. Her name was Esther. She had been back and forth to Madrid, probably a dozen times, to visit her boyfriend in the service. She was a very helpful resource when it came to my questions about Madrid. Again I did not sleep very much during the flight, I could not get comfortable. It probably also had something to do with my Starbucks drink, but it was worth it. I did not see much of anything on the way to Madrid. We did not cross over the ocean until the sun was down. We went north into Canada and then over to Madrid. So after Esther had well versed me in getting through customs, how to use the metro and where to go, I was feeling pretty confident about Madrid. Our plane ride was only going to be 6 hours and 55 minutes, but we ended up arriving early. The airport was not super impressive but Esther snapped a few pictures of me once we were waiting in line in customs. She showed me where the baggage claim was and then she left to go to her boyfriend’s apartment. I waited for the luggage and snapped a few more pictures. After what seemed like forever, I had both mine and Jamie’s luggage. Then the hard part started.


Finding the metro was a little difficult. I asked the customer service desk and she pointed me in the right direction. Then I was able to locate the signs on the ceiling directions. I was a little confused at first because the first arrow that I saw was pointing down, so I thought I had to go down a level. Which I did and realized that was not right. So I went back up and followed the down arrows straight. I was walking for quite a while with my luggage cart before I found the metro. I paid for a ticket, somewhat difficultly- it would not accept my coin- then proceeded downstairs into the subway system. This is where it went wrong. I went downstairs on the wrong side, and ended up having to go to the last 2 airport stops rather than heading straight to my first transfer. While I was waiting for the subway I took some pictures, because it was my first time on a subway. I put my camera away when the metro pulled up and climbed in with my 3 rolling suitcases. After the first stop I snatched a seat. Of course we were headed in the wrong direction, but it only added about 10 minutes of travel. As soon as I sat down, the tired really kicked in. After making it to the first stop, I got off and proceeded to follow the signs for line 6. After a long, partly uphill, partly downhill I came to a stairwell. At this point I hadn’t figured out how to use an escalator with three bags of luggage. So I carried them down the stairs. When I got to the station, a girl came up and told me my backpack was open. Crap. I am 99% sure I closed it when I put my camera away. But I had a feeling this story was not going to have a happy ending. I quickly zipped up my bag, without looking if anything was missing, I did not want to lose it in the middle of the metro. After the first couple of stops on the metro I got up the courage to look inside my bag, my camera was gone. My brand new pink cannon camera that I had bought specifically for my trip to Spain was gone! Not to mention all the pictures I had on my memory cards from the summer. My blood was boiling, but on the outside I remained calm. I reached the bus station and found a place to sit. I had 2 hours before my bus left and I just sit there starring off into space and wondering what I should have done differently. I was being super careful and I don’t even know what happened. By this time I was exhausted and upset so I just sat in the bus station irritated. It is hard but I have to remind myself that at least my passport and phone, which was in the same pocket, was still there. I think someone at the first stop saw me put my camera in my bag and decided they wanted it!!!! UGGGHHH.


Finally it was 11:30 so I went and hunted down my 12:00 bus. I was looking forward to my window seat to prop my head and take a long nap. Of course by the time I got there, there was a man already sitting in my seat and I didn’t have the heart to tell him to move so I took the aisle seat. It turned out to be good because I stretched my legs out, had my backpack in my lap, and my neck pillow to keep me comfy. After seeing all the graffiti in Madrid I decided it would be best if I just slept, so that is what I did. I slept for about an hour at a time, making the trip go by super quick. Of the scenery I did see, it was not very impressive. It was like driving through the desert, but more rocky and little splashes of dull green shrubbery. The five hour bus ride quickly came to a close after arriving in Alicante, and seeing my first view of the bright blue ocean. Jamie was there when I pulled up and it is just what I needed to see! She carried her luggage and we went to our apartment, not far from the bus stop. My roommate, Natalie, had already arrived and unfortunately her luggage was delayed.


After unpacking a little bit Jamie and I went to the grocery store to get some necessities and food for dinner. After unpacking more, Jamie made dinner. Delicious. Then we were both passing out at the dinner table watching HOUSE, so she went to bed and I jumped in the shower and washed away 48 hours of gross. I was sleeping well until I woke up so I decided to write this. I will post it as soon as we have internet. I wish we did so I could let a lot of people know I was still alive! I am very sorry if any of you have been worried!!! Much love

Numero Uno

It is officially 55 hours until I leave for Spain. The past 6 months in preparation for this has been a whirlwind and there was many times where I thought I would not be able to go. However, with the hours growing closer I can barely contain my happiness that my dreams are coming true! Although there is that linger of fear in the back of my mind.

I will be making the trip of approximately 24 hours all by myself. Now, for a girl like me that has never once stepped foot on foreign soil, the task seems a little overwhelming. (And when I say little, I mean very!) I now have everything in place though. I just bought the last part of my journey, the bus ride from Madrid to Alicante, tonight. I will be flying from Phoenix to Dulles, then from there to Madrid. Not so scary yet, but most of us have seen the movie Taken. I know the states are not the hard part. When I arrive in Madrid I will take the Metro to the bus station. Hopefully I will find the Metro and get on the right path to the bus station! Keep in mind I will be doing all of this in Spanish. YikesaB! Needless to say I am still a little worried. So if you are the praying type, feel free to send some my way for the journey. :) It is greatly appreciated!

So on to happier news. Some of the basics. I am studying in Alicante, a town that sits on the Mediterranean Sea. I will probably spend most of my time on the beach since it is a fifteen minute jaunt from my apartment. I am studying Spanish. Two of my lifelong goals were to become bilingual and travel the world. I am happy to say that I will soon be able to cross both those things off the list... well almost.

I am about half way packed and will hopefully be done tomorrow. Hopefully it will curb my dreams of showing up in Spain without any luggage! However in one of these dreams I did speak Spanish... they say that is how you know you are bilingual, but I am not going to count it. There is still MUCH more to learn!

Speaking of education, it is my main reason for going, right? So if you are wondering I will be taking Advanced Spanish I & II, Spanish Conversation, History of Spain, and Dances of Spain. This equates to a very challenging 13 credit hours (said sarcastically-I've never taken less than 15, even when I balanced 2 jobs). All of my classes will be taught in Spanish, which is a little overwhelming, but I don't think it is anything I can't handle. I have the good Lord on my side :)

That is all for now. Facebook me for questions, that is pretty much the only way I will communicate with the U.S. I do have a skype account so if you would like, skype me! Kallie.Nauertz. I will miss everyone here but I now this adventure is worth taking. And even though I may be scared out of my mind, I will have the time of my life. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. God bless

P.S. If you are wondering why I chose the title of my blog, not only is it clever but it is also mimicking my favorite tv show of all time. How appropriate. :D