And here's a little preview of my day trip to
Granada :)
Sunday, November 23, 2014
One Month to Go
Wow. I only have a month left in Alicante. It's crazy to think about. I can't believe I'm almost done. All that I've got left to do is write a few essays, take some exams and I'm done. Of course, in between all that I will be visiting the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean (December 5-8) and hopefully making a trip to Madrid the last weekend I'm here. So stay tuned to see what I get up to next.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
What They Didn't Tell You About Packing for Spain
I'm back with more advice today! It was really stressful for me to figure out what to bring to Spain because I definitely could not bring my whole closet, but I'd be gone for four months! How do you balance that?! Well, I have some solutions.
First things first, look at the weather of where you're going. I added Alicante to my weather app about as soon as I knew that I'd be going so that I could figure out what kind of temperatures and climate I would be dealing with. Alicante is in the south of the peninsula, so on the whole it's warmer than what I'm used to. But there are parts of Spain that have snow right now and places not far from here that have Michigan type temperatures. So, that's the first thing I would do, check into the weather of the region you're travelling to because you might be surprised by what you find.
Now, the good part, what to bring. I'm obviously here in the fall so it's cooling down while I'm here, but it did not start off that way. I wish someone would have told me how hot it would get here because I was not prepared. I know that Alicante is mostly a spring program so the weather is probably opposite to what I've experienced, but I don't think I had enough information to help me not melt when I got here. Alicante is the lowest place in Spain, it's right on the Mediterranean. That being said, it's relatively close to Africa so it gets warmth from there but it's a very humid heat the heat has to travel over the Mediterranean to get here. When I arrived here it was a good 90 degrees most days and very, very humid so I was perpetually moist. Not fun. I had only brought two pairs of shorts and a couple of skirts and dresses--all that I had heard and researched about what people wear here is that they wear pants all the time. This is not completely true. At all. From what I've seen and experienced, the people here dress about the same as we do. So when it was 90 degrees there were shorts galore, skirts, crop tops, the whole nine yards. So, if you're coming in the spring, make sure to pack some clothes that are appropriate for heat. If you're coming in the fall, I would say pack enough warm weather clothes that can last for a month because that was about how long the heat spell lasted.
The weather now is quite different from what it was like when I got here. Clearly it's November and going into winter so it's colder. That translates into a range of mid 60's to low 70's in terms of temperature. While that sounds lovely compared to the snow that Michigan has, it's not what it seems like. The best way that I can think of to describe this is what it's like in the spring when the snow is just starting to melt but it's still cold outside. It's a deceptive sort of heat. It's warm in the sun but really chilly in the shade. Alicante is also pretty windy because it's right on the sea so that factors into the temperature as well. This cold is kind of humid as well, thanks again to the sea, so it's more clingy. What should you pack? Bring a jacket of some kind. It might sound silly, but it really is necessary, especially in the mornings and the evenings when the temperature can drop into the 40's. Bring things that you can layer as well, so that if you have class early you're warm but if it gets hot in the afternoon you don't burn up. It might not be a bad idea to bring a hat or scarf or something as well to keep the chill away. The difference in temperature might not be a whole lot, but how it feels is very different.
Most of what I brought was a lot of very plain clothing- solid colored shirts, nondescript jeans, lots and lots of scarves. I brought things that I could wear repeatedly but that I wouldn't get sick of. With plain clothes like these you can wear them a lot of different ways without feeling like you've worn the same shirt 6 weeks in a row. This also helps to keep the weight low in your suitcase because you don't necessarily need to bring as much with you if you have a lot of versatile clothing.
I hope that this helps for anyone looking at coming to Spain in the future. I was told some of these things, but I didn't believe it until I found myself mall-walking to class to keep my hands from stinging in the cold. I'm headed to Granada this weekend so my next blog will be more exciting than the last few. And it will have lots of pictures, yay! Until next time.
First things first, look at the weather of where you're going. I added Alicante to my weather app about as soon as I knew that I'd be going so that I could figure out what kind of temperatures and climate I would be dealing with. Alicante is in the south of the peninsula, so on the whole it's warmer than what I'm used to. But there are parts of Spain that have snow right now and places not far from here that have Michigan type temperatures. So, that's the first thing I would do, check into the weather of the region you're travelling to because you might be surprised by what you find.
Now, the good part, what to bring. I'm obviously here in the fall so it's cooling down while I'm here, but it did not start off that way. I wish someone would have told me how hot it would get here because I was not prepared. I know that Alicante is mostly a spring program so the weather is probably opposite to what I've experienced, but I don't think I had enough information to help me not melt when I got here. Alicante is the lowest place in Spain, it's right on the Mediterranean. That being said, it's relatively close to Africa so it gets warmth from there but it's a very humid heat the heat has to travel over the Mediterranean to get here. When I arrived here it was a good 90 degrees most days and very, very humid so I was perpetually moist. Not fun. I had only brought two pairs of shorts and a couple of skirts and dresses--all that I had heard and researched about what people wear here is that they wear pants all the time. This is not completely true. At all. From what I've seen and experienced, the people here dress about the same as we do. So when it was 90 degrees there were shorts galore, skirts, crop tops, the whole nine yards. So, if you're coming in the spring, make sure to pack some clothes that are appropriate for heat. If you're coming in the fall, I would say pack enough warm weather clothes that can last for a month because that was about how long the heat spell lasted.
The weather now is quite different from what it was like when I got here. Clearly it's November and going into winter so it's colder. That translates into a range of mid 60's to low 70's in terms of temperature. While that sounds lovely compared to the snow that Michigan has, it's not what it seems like. The best way that I can think of to describe this is what it's like in the spring when the snow is just starting to melt but it's still cold outside. It's a deceptive sort of heat. It's warm in the sun but really chilly in the shade. Alicante is also pretty windy because it's right on the sea so that factors into the temperature as well. This cold is kind of humid as well, thanks again to the sea, so it's more clingy. What should you pack? Bring a jacket of some kind. It might sound silly, but it really is necessary, especially in the mornings and the evenings when the temperature can drop into the 40's. Bring things that you can layer as well, so that if you have class early you're warm but if it gets hot in the afternoon you don't burn up. It might not be a bad idea to bring a hat or scarf or something as well to keep the chill away. The difference in temperature might not be a whole lot, but how it feels is very different.
Most of what I brought was a lot of very plain clothing- solid colored shirts, nondescript jeans, lots and lots of scarves. I brought things that I could wear repeatedly but that I wouldn't get sick of. With plain clothes like these you can wear them a lot of different ways without feeling like you've worn the same shirt 6 weeks in a row. This also helps to keep the weight low in your suitcase because you don't necessarily need to bring as much with you if you have a lot of versatile clothing.
I hope that this helps for anyone looking at coming to Spain in the future. I was told some of these things, but I didn't believe it until I found myself mall-walking to class to keep my hands from stinging in the cold. I'm headed to Granada this weekend so my next blog will be more exciting than the last few. And it will have lots of pictures, yay! Until next time.
.jpg) |
| This is what I wore today and it was about 70 degrees. |
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Proper Prior Planning
This blog is going to be about travel and planning because this week I've gained some knowledge that I think would be helpful to share. This weekend I was supposed to go to Madrid with some friends, but the plans were very loose until this weekend. What made things worse is that we all had a presentation today in one of our classes so it was hard to plan when putting together getting ready to present to the class. In the end we decided we would try to go to Madrid later in the semester, so we have more time to figure this out. So, a couple of things I've learned from this misadventure...
1) Figure out a plan as early as possible. I know that this might seem really obvious and cliche, but it really helps. Since we were all really flexible about the plans we didn't end up having anything to go off of when we needed to figure out when we would be leaving, where we would be staying, what we wanted to do, etc. No one took the initiative to step up and give a definitive plan for what we would be doing either. This lack of planning was the ultimate reason why we decided to cancel our trip to Madrid (besides all of the homework and reading we need to do).
2) Get the mode of travel figured out ASAP. Something else that we learned the hard way from this experience is that the price of travel skyrockets when you buy the train tickets, plane tickets, whatever way you want to get where you're going, close to the date you're leaving. With train tickets (or something similar), I would recommend getting them at least two weeks in advance so that you aren't spending 100€ for a round-trip ticket. That is not including paying for a hotel or hostel, food, fees for museums or other tourist attractions, souvenirs etc. Just something to keep in mind. If you're planning on flying, book as soon as you know what you want to do, especially if you're leaving the country. For international travel try and book your flight and hotel and things two months early so you don't end up paying an arm and a leg.
3) Hotels vs. hostels. Hotels are usually more expensive than hostels, so it kind of comes down to personal preference. Hostels are not necessarily trashy or creepy or scary and hotels are not automatically a luxury experience. Make sure to do your research. A good website to look at hostels is hostelworld.com (one of my friends recommended it when we were looking at places for Madrid) that allows you to look at reviews of the hostels with things like how the rooms are set up and what the hostels have to offer, like tours or classes in dance or cooking (depending on the area). The same sort of rule applies to hotels/hostels as with mode of transportation- book beforehand so it's not super expensive.
I hope this helps, at least a little bit. I'm not the best at planning things and too prone to procrastination so this experience will help me get my things in order for the next trip that I take.
1) Figure out a plan as early as possible. I know that this might seem really obvious and cliche, but it really helps. Since we were all really flexible about the plans we didn't end up having anything to go off of when we needed to figure out when we would be leaving, where we would be staying, what we wanted to do, etc. No one took the initiative to step up and give a definitive plan for what we would be doing either. This lack of planning was the ultimate reason why we decided to cancel our trip to Madrid (besides all of the homework and reading we need to do).
2) Get the mode of travel figured out ASAP. Something else that we learned the hard way from this experience is that the price of travel skyrockets when you buy the train tickets, plane tickets, whatever way you want to get where you're going, close to the date you're leaving. With train tickets (or something similar), I would recommend getting them at least two weeks in advance so that you aren't spending 100€ for a round-trip ticket. That is not including paying for a hotel or hostel, food, fees for museums or other tourist attractions, souvenirs etc. Just something to keep in mind. If you're planning on flying, book as soon as you know what you want to do, especially if you're leaving the country. For international travel try and book your flight and hotel and things two months early so you don't end up paying an arm and a leg.
3) Hotels vs. hostels. Hotels are usually more expensive than hostels, so it kind of comes down to personal preference. Hostels are not necessarily trashy or creepy or scary and hotels are not automatically a luxury experience. Make sure to do your research. A good website to look at hostels is hostelworld.com (one of my friends recommended it when we were looking at places for Madrid) that allows you to look at reviews of the hostels with things like how the rooms are set up and what the hostels have to offer, like tours or classes in dance or cooking (depending on the area). The same sort of rule applies to hotels/hostels as with mode of transportation- book beforehand so it's not super expensive.
I hope this helps, at least a little bit. I'm not the best at planning things and too prone to procrastination so this experience will help me get my things in order for the next trip that I take.
Sunday, November 2, 2014
People Watching
The homework is starting to hit me a little more now, so that's why there was a bit of a gap between this blog and my last blog. I'm gonna try to keep up this blog as much as possible though! I have some trips coming up soon (Madrid and la Alhambra later this month) so that will liven this blog up a bit.
Today's topic is about the people of Spain. It's November, I've only got a couple of months left here in Alicante, so it's safe to say that I've noticed some things about the people that live here. While they might seem closed off at first glance, they're actually really nice and accommodating. That is something that will never cease to amaze me. The first week I was here I was obviously nervous and unsure of what to do and I went to a restaurant by myself. I didn't know how things worked at all, but the waiter was really nice and helped me order what I wanted. I also had a very good experience with a lady when I was ordering flowers for a friend's birthday this past week. She was very patient with me and helpful (I had never ordered flowers before in English, so I was really proud when I could do it in Spanish). It could be argued that these people were only nice to me because they were selling things. I'd like to be optimistic and just say that they are nice people.
My classmates have also been really nice as well. In two of my classes I have group work to do and my classmates are really nice about helping out. One of the group members offered to help me with a completely different class, saying that I could use their notes from when they took it and any saying they would help me with anything I might need. In my other group, they take time out of our work time to explain some of the words and technical terms of the class so that I can understand the class more and help them with the work. I love how willing they are to help because it would be so easy to ignore me and let me flounder. This is something that I will be very conscious of when I get back to the United States. I want to pay it forward and help students that aren't from the US just as the students here have helped me.
On a related side note, the people here are also very affectionate. There is the standard greeting of kissing people on the cheek, but people are also very expressive when they speak. So if someone is speaking to you they might reach out and touch your arm or shoulder. This is new to me because that's not one of the ways that I express myself, I respect the "personal bubble", but I've gotten used to it. This kind of communication creates a lot warmer environment for talking and interacting and it makes you a lot more invested in the conversation, I think. Besides this interaction when people are talking, I've also noticed a lot more couples hold hands or are at least touching when they walk down the street. They are more public with their affection, though not necessarily in a bad way. It's so interesting to me because I don't see this (or at least I don't notice it) in the US. I've seen couple of all ages holding hands or having an arm around the shoulders of their partner as the walk down the street here, and I think it's sweet. It's something I wish there was more of in the US.
That's just a little look into what I've noticed of the people here in Alicante. It's something interesting to see and I will continue my people watching to see what other differences I can notice.
Today's topic is about the people of Spain. It's November, I've only got a couple of months left here in Alicante, so it's safe to say that I've noticed some things about the people that live here. While they might seem closed off at first glance, they're actually really nice and accommodating. That is something that will never cease to amaze me. The first week I was here I was obviously nervous and unsure of what to do and I went to a restaurant by myself. I didn't know how things worked at all, but the waiter was really nice and helped me order what I wanted. I also had a very good experience with a lady when I was ordering flowers for a friend's birthday this past week. She was very patient with me and helpful (I had never ordered flowers before in English, so I was really proud when I could do it in Spanish). It could be argued that these people were only nice to me because they were selling things. I'd like to be optimistic and just say that they are nice people.
My classmates have also been really nice as well. In two of my classes I have group work to do and my classmates are really nice about helping out. One of the group members offered to help me with a completely different class, saying that I could use their notes from when they took it and any saying they would help me with anything I might need. In my other group, they take time out of our work time to explain some of the words and technical terms of the class so that I can understand the class more and help them with the work. I love how willing they are to help because it would be so easy to ignore me and let me flounder. This is something that I will be very conscious of when I get back to the United States. I want to pay it forward and help students that aren't from the US just as the students here have helped me.
On a related side note, the people here are also very affectionate. There is the standard greeting of kissing people on the cheek, but people are also very expressive when they speak. So if someone is speaking to you they might reach out and touch your arm or shoulder. This is new to me because that's not one of the ways that I express myself, I respect the "personal bubble", but I've gotten used to it. This kind of communication creates a lot warmer environment for talking and interacting and it makes you a lot more invested in the conversation, I think. Besides this interaction when people are talking, I've also noticed a lot more couples hold hands or are at least touching when they walk down the street. They are more public with their affection, though not necessarily in a bad way. It's so interesting to me because I don't see this (or at least I don't notice it) in the US. I've seen couple of all ages holding hands or having an arm around the shoulders of their partner as the walk down the street here, and I think it's sweet. It's something I wish there was more of in the US.
That's just a little look into what I've noticed of the people here in Alicante. It's something interesting to see and I will continue my people watching to see what other differences I can notice.
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| Have a great week :D |
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