Life Update

I am about to go on a two and half week vacation (longest spring break ever!) so I will not be writing for probably about three weeks! I felt like before I go, I should catch everyone up on the smaller things that have been happening around here.
Two weeks ago, before Jo and I went to Brussels, we had a pie party with the Japanese girls! Brynn the brilliant baker made chocolate and strawberry pies for the girls to try. They had never had real pie made the American way before! That was a fun night, and it just happened to fall on March 13th, the day before Pi day (March 14th = 3.14...) That night, the Pope was chosen, so the bells of a Catholic church nearby started ringing for several minutes and we turned on the T.V. to watch it. Suddenly it occurred to me that it was nighttime in the Vatican on T.V., and it was night time in Spain.... because we are in the same time zone! Crazy to think that we are really not that far away!

Last week I went over to Julie's apartment to eat french food! She and some of the other French students cooked an authentic meal from their part of France! It was delicious.

This past weekend, Hayley's parents came to visit her, so we enjoyed getting to see them for a little bit! They brought us Reeses, marshmallows, and rice crispy treats from America! We went over to the apartment where they were staying and had a little 'Merica party! Unbeknownst to Johanna, an extra guest was coming to the party with Asaf! The girl could hardly move when she saw her boyfriend, Rusty, walk through the door! Rusty has been studying abroad in Austria this semester, and he wanted to surprise her by coming to Alicante for the weekend! We were all so happy that we had been able to keep it a secret from her for A MONTH AND A HALF! It was hard! Her reaction was so worth it though! We loved having Rusty with us for the weekend and showing him around the city.

A few days ago, our OBU gang went to Dominos pizza (YES they have one here) for another little piece of 'Merica! Brynn had gotten a package with a bottle of Ranch sauce in it, so we slathered our (slightly different tasting) Dominos pizza with it and yelled 'MERICA! It was a small piece of home, but it was delicious.

This week started Semana Santa-- holy week-- here in Spain. This is a week of processions and celebrations leading up to Easter Sunday. I was pretty excited to see everything that happens during the week, but now I think I am just ready for it to be over. I had no idea it was possible to take something so full of light and hope and make it so dark. The focus here is much more on the death of Jesus. Every day, throughout the city, there are processions of robed people with funny hats (honestly, they look exactly like the KKK) carrying around big altars with plaster saints on top. A band follows them playing music and their is a consistent drum beat that sounds like a death march. People from the community can walk with the procession too. On Sunday (when they celebrate the day of the Via Dolorosa) we saw them carry out a big plaster Jesus on the cross from a church and parade it through the streets. It is so dark, so centered on death. One of our neighbors told us that now, the robed people have started handing out candy to the children so that they won't be as scared of the processions! It will be interesting to see what they do on Easter Sunday.

We have already had to say goodbye to some of the friends we have made here! Yesterday night, we had a farewell dinner with two of the Japanese girls who have finished their time in Spain. Jo and I also went over to our French friend, Julie's house to have one more pancake night before she leaves to go back to France this weekend! It is unbelievable to me that we are almost to the end. Its a bittersweet feeling to say goodbye to the friends we have made here. Its neat to realize just how many great friends we have been able to make during our time here, but so sad to say goodbye without knowing if we will ever see them again.

On a more positive note-- my parents get here tomorrow!! They will come to Alicante for a few days, and then we will go to Granada and Barcelona! I am so excited to be able to show them around Alicante and share the Spanish culture with them! We have planned this trip for a long time now and I can't believe that it is already here!!

After they leave next week, I will fly from Barcelona to London to meet up with Johanna, Karissa, and Brenna (a new friend we made here) and basically backpack through the UK! I seriously can't believe we are going to do that. I remember being in high school dreaming about taking a trip through the UK when I am older, and now here I am, about to do it! We will spend several days in London, Edinburgh, Galway, and Belfast, which means we will hit England, Scotland, and Ireland! What is even more fun is talking to our Scottish friend, Sarah, who lives an hour away from Edinburgh and getting advice from her about traveling through the UK! Its been so fun to talk to her about it!

After the break, we will return for about three weeks of classes in Spain, and then jet back to the good ole U.S. of A!
AH!! It is all coming too quickly!


Once again, thank you for keeping up with my life! I can't wait to write about my coming adventures in a few weeks!