"A por ellos..."

Well, I must say that my first weekend in Alicante was successful! Saturday night we went to the Alicante soccer game! It was really fun. The cheapest tickets were 10 Euro, however, the prices were a little more expensive than usual because they donated their ticket sales revenue to Haiti. Alicante is in the second division of "La Liga." This means they don´t play teams like Real Madrid or Barcelona. However, they are in first place currently. If at the end of the season, they have won the division, they will move up and play the bigger teams, including players like Cristiano Ronaldo, my personal favorite. :) It is my goal while I am here to try and go to a Madrid game!

Anyways, even though Alicante is a smaller team and it wasn´t a huge game, there were so many people there! The stadium holds 30,000 people and it was almost full. It was amazing. There were so many little boys with their dads, decked out in their gear. It reminded me of a Chiefs football game, you know, back when they were good. The Alicante team is actually called Hercules and their fans, the Herculegans, are crazy! Every play, every call, people were on their feet, screaming and cheering at the refs. Then, the Herculegans would beat their drums and blast their music. Their theme song was, "¡A por ellos, Oé!" It means something along the lines of, "Let´s do it for them!" Alicante won 1-0 and even though it was kind of cold, it was really fun and I can´t wait to go back. Afterwards, we went to dinner at this Italian type place. It was delicious! Another place that I need to go back to soon!

On Sunday, Tracy and I met up to walk around the beach. We quickly learned that Sunday mornings are the time to dress in your best and walk around town. We stuck out in our leggings and jackets. On the boardwalk, there are vendors selling all sorts of things on Sundays. From knock-off designer bags to DVDs and CDs, it was fun to people watch.

My daily routine has been about the same this week. Wake up early, go to class, go to Cynthia´s office with the day´s list of questions and concerns (she must think we are all so annoying!), walk around town running errands, then, go home for lunch, nap, go to the gym, come back home to do homework, skype with the parents, sisters and friends, eat dinner, then go to bed about midnight.

Monday I had my first little round of homesickness. It was Kelsey Martin´s birthday and I was sad I coudn´t be there to celebrate with her. But, Aurora could tell I was sad and she made me some hot tea. Such a sweetheart. Then, I went to bed kind of early and woke up Tuesday morning feeling much better! During the day, Erin and I finalized all of our Valencia plans. Erin, Tracy and I leave tomorrow, I am very excited for our very first self-planned adventure! So, on Tuesday, we booked our hostel, bought our train tickets and reserved a tour of the Lladro Muesum right outside of Valencia. Tuesday night we went to Dos Gringos for a drink and some free guacamole! It was awesome. On Tuesdays, they have beer pong tournements starting at 11. I am pretty sure that they market to Americans! Ha, their menu is full of burgers, fries, ect. Sangria and free guacamole - Needless to say, I think I may become a Tuesday night regular!

Wednesday was more of the same. However, I did have the best meal that I have had since coming here, FAJITAS. Aurora had never made them before, and they were awesome. I told her she had to make them again and even had them for dinner tonight! I need to figure out how to say "yummy" in spanish because I think I said it 20 times while I was eating them! After lunch, I caught up on some TV shows. I watched The Bachelor and Keeping up with the Kardashians during siesta time! Then, I attended my very first Spanish exercise class! I went to a spinning class! It was very hard, but I liked it and am definitely going to go again. I couldn´t really understand a word the instructor was saying, so I just copied everyone around me. At the gym, I like to think that no one knows that I am not a local who has lived in Spain my entire life. Except, tonight, one of the trainers said something to me, and I looked at him like an idiot, asking him to repeat what he had said. Cover officially blown.

Tonight, Aurora went to a movie with a friend so I had the apartment to myself for awhile. It was really nice to be able to relax and just lounge around. Tomorrow, our train leaves at 7:30 for Valencia. We will get there about 9:30 and walk 10 minutes to our hostel. Then, at 3:30, we have our tour of the muesum.

This weekend, I will be very jealous that Granny and Pop are visiting the family in KC. Plus, they get to meet Thursman... Not fair!! Oh well, my time will come and I will be the favorite cousin in no time. Hehe.

Next week, I start actual university classes on Monday and have my final for this first Spanish class on Friday. No more waking up at 6:30! Yay!! I will have class Mondays and Wednesdays 9-11 but that is the earliest I will have to be at the university, I think.

I will update after Valencia! Hopefully, my computer will be here by Monday so I will be able to upload all of my pictures! I love you and miss you all!

Love, Me!