Every day I miss my friends and family and my home and the familiarity it affords me, but the homesick isn't incapacitating. It's more like a dull ache I live with every day and often forget it's there. I had one really bad day last week where I was really close to changing my ticket to come home sooner. I missed fall weather. I missed my mom. I missed my own bed. I missed my friends. I missed my boyfriend so much it felt sick. I get really frustrated when I KNOW I'm excited to be somewhere but my body doesn't match up with how I think I should be feeling. Also, I have a lot of trouble being okay with the decision I make. Every decision. It doesn't matter if it's what restaurant I go to, or how I cut my hair, or where I decide to live for 4 months. I agonize over every decision I make. So on this awful day I was convinced that I had chosen the Complete Worst City Ever to live in. I don't feel that way any more. On that day I wasn't rational. I ate a whole package of cookies.
I think there are a lot of little things I like about Alicante that I don't recognize right away as being awesome. I think that I sometimes forget that not every day is vacation, so I feel like when I'm not hiking in the mountains or eating paella every day or going on cultural excursions I'm living in a boring city. But how could I possibly stretch vacation time into 4 months? I can't. Part of studying abroad is getting into the rhythm of living somewhere else. It's not like Alicantinos are constantly visiting castles. I'd say my rhythm's pretty okay by now.
I like lists a lot. I will give you a list of little things I really like about ALC/studying abroad:
- My host mom, Juani. She calls me "hija". Whenever I look even slightly depressed she makes me sundaes. She's conversational and motherly while still giving me a large degree of independence
- The fusion of Valencian/Spanish. Valencian is the other official language of Alicante. No one really speaks it conversationally, but a lot of posters and ads are written in Valencian, and there's even a news channel. It sounds like chewed-up Spanish, but it makes me feel kinda smug that I can essentially understand another language.
- The fact that I'm wearing summer dresses and it's almost October.
- How I can walk to the Mediterranean coast. And swim. I am never, ever in a bad mood when I swim in the ocean. The water is so clear and cool and clean and it makes you feel weightless. I have no worries when I'm in the ocean. The waves never cease to calm me and amuse me.
- My four-year-old host nephew, Adrián. Last night we played fútbol in the house. He's endlessly amused by silly games, like hiding behind the table to make me think that he disappeared.
- Practicing my Spanish
- How it is expected by an entire culture that I will take a nap every single day
Went to a winery where they had a zoo! Well, kind of. A patron bought a lot of wine and didn't have standard currency to pay the winery, so he gave them animals! There were these little reindeer (my favorites), ostriches, goats, pigs, sheep, and horses. I was going to upload more pictures but it's a pain to upload them here. I'll show you all when I get home
The world cup trophy came to Alicante! I touched that thing that tons of countries battled on those beautiful green pitches for. I waited 2 and a half hours in line to see it, but it was cool anyway
This is Adrián eating natilla, one of my new comfort foods (made by Juani, on the right). Natilla is custard with cinnamon and graham crackers. I hate, like, four bowls in two days. It was awesome.
There are still some things that make me really homesick, and frustrate me, but it's been a month and I'm still kicking! Except I think I have an ear infection from swimming yesterday. Oh well!
Hasta luego,
Maren
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