A Grain of Spain

Hola. I am a past Rotary Youth Exchange Student from Melbourne, Australia who lived in Alicante, Spain for one year. 

[agrainofspain]

I'm back ?!

Sooo, an update in the life of a RYE rebound student. What have I been up to? Well, returning from exchange in January 2016 is one of the hardest things I had to do as an exchange student. Saying goodbye to people is never fun but it was particularly hard to say goodbye to my friends and family who had taken me under their wing for a year and guided me and cared for me throughout this crazy time in my life. I will forever cherish the memories, knowledge and experience I have gained through my time in Spain and I will always look back on my year abroad with a fond smile and a longing to return. Speaking of returning, Spain only managed to keep me away for 12 months before I found myself venturing home. In 2016 I returned to Australia and completed my final year of schooling (year 12), and once I had finished my exams I decided that there was no better time in my life to travel around Europe and head back to Spain. So, I packed my bag and off I went. I spent a month in Europe staying in hostels before heading back to Spain at the end of December. I will be in Spain for about a month, reconnecting with my friends and family and meeting the new exchange students who are living in Alicante. The question I get the most - what's it like being back? Well, I'm not going to school so that's different but, just like when I returned to Australia, nothing in Spain has really changed that much and it feels like I never really left. It's awesome seeing my host family again and some of the American and Canadian exchange students also visited Alicante at the same time as me so it was awesome catching up with them! Exchange really did give me an entirely new definition of the word independence and a new view of the world where I just want to travel and meet new people and learn lots of languages. While solo travelling seems daunting to most, exchange made me realise that if I want something I need to grasp it with my own two hands and make the most of all the opportunities that arise, and that is how I find myself in Europe having been travelling for nearly two months alone. Solo travel is potentially the best thing I have ever done - and you are never truly alone as you meet lots of people in the hostels and there are always friendly faces out and about. I couldn't recommend solo travel more highly and I also can vouch for the fact that going on exchange truly has changed my life for the better! So if the opportunity ever presents itself to travel alone, do it! And if you ever find yourself tossing up between going on exchange or not, stop questioning it and apply, I promise you won't regret it! As for me, I'm just loving being back home in Spain!

[agrainofspain]

Class Dinner and El Barrio

And my finally quick update, on Friday night my class all decided to go to 100 Montaditos (100 mini sandwiches) for dinner before all going out to El Barrio together. It was an incredible night, lots and lots of fun, but very sad as it will be one of the last times that I go out in Spain, and that I hang out with my class. 

After partying until 4am, Cristina, Diana and I headed back to Ana’s house to spend the night. We talked for a while before all falling asleep mid conversation. In the morning, we had crepes for breakfast, before all making our way home.

It was a very fun and eventful night, definitely one of my stranger experiences in El Barrio, but there were soooo many people who went out this weekend as school is nearly over for the Christmas holidays and so it was heaps of fun!

Tomorrow (Monday) will be my last day of school and I can guarantee there will be tears. On Thursday we did Secret Santa/Kris Kringle/Amigo Invisible (I received some delicious homemade red capsicum jam and a scarf) and I wrote a card to my class thanking them for the past four months together and inviting them to visit me in Australia, and before I even managed to finish reading ‘Dear Classmates’ I was in tears and had to ask a friend to read out the card. My class at the end all gave me a hug and said how cute it was that I was crying and when I come back I can stay in their houses for as long as I want. It was super emotional. Even the people I hardly spoke to this year were giving me hugs and telling me how lovely it was to meet me, and it was super sad. Farewells will always be the hardest part of exchange and life. 

Again, many thanks to my class for the past four months. They have been incredible and it has been an honour getting to know you all and talking to you all. I hope you have all learnt a little bit about Australia (yes kangaroos are real, no they’re not found in my city apartment backyard, yes koalas are real, no I have never held one, no Sydney isn’t the only city in Australia, it’s pronounced Melbin, Australian’s have a weird accent and we use some weird slang but it’s what makes us special, the temperature is more or less the same as in Spain - less snow, more rain! - we don’t all surf but I do live up to that stereotype, and Australian isn’t a language... we speak English!!!!) Good luck for everything!

[agrainofspain]

My family and I went for a big lunch at a restaurant in the mountains near Alcoy. At this restaurant, you only order drinks, and then they bring out lots and lots of food (that you don’t order or chose, they just have a set menu for the day). 

The food was absolutely delicious, though there were massive amounts! It was a really lovely afternoon at the restaurant, and every hour the waitresses and cooking staff would come out into the sitting area and perform a simple dance. The customers would all clap along and it was really cool to see everyone who works at the restaurant and cooks your food, and for them to have a quick break from constantly working.

[agrainofspain]

Anniversary Party

The following night it was the party to celebrate my host parent’s 25th Wedding Anniversary. The party was held at a restaurant near San Juan, and was themed ‘All You Need Is Love’ with love music playing and my host sisters had created a few powerpoint presentations of the 25 years of their parent’s marriage.

At the party was both Mages’ and Alberto’s family and friends, many of whom I met in my first weeks in Spain and so they all greeted me with an, “Oh not long left! Wow you’re Spanish has improved! How are you liking Spain? Are you ready to go home now or do you want to stay?” Many of these people I do not remember meeting, but thanks alright, as Rotary says ... smile and nod!

We stayed at the party until 4am, dancing, singing, eating, chatting, and hanging out. It was a lovely evening, and a massive congratulations to my host parents on 25 years together, and heres to many, many more, and hopefully a holiday to Australia!

~Ángela and I ready to fiesta~

My host cousin, Elena, Ángela and I, chilling out at the restaurant.

[agrainofspain]

Diana’s Birthday

In early November it was the 16th birthday of a good friend of mine from school, Diana. On Friday night, a bunch of girls from school met up near school and headed to a pizza restaurant, which is owned by the dad of one of the girls. We ordered three pizzas to be shared between twelve of us, which I was a bit sceptical how three pizzas would feed so many pizzas, but they were huuuuuge! They were super delicious too, excluding the pizzas I ate in Italy, and the pizza I ate at one Italian restaurant in Spain (owned by Italians), it was the best pizza I have ever eaten! Generously, the dad gave us the food and drinks free (well, he paid) which was super lovely!

After dinner, we were all planning on heading to El Barrio, but after admitting that we were all really tired, we instead walked one of the girls home, before hanging out in the small plaza/square for an hour or so, laughing and chatting. Later, we went back to Diana’s house, where we were all staying the night! Unfortunately, Diana has four cats, and being allergic to cats this was a bit of a nightmare for my eyes and throat. However, Olivia, Cristina, and I (the allergy group) all managed to survive the night, despite the cats yelling during the night and climbing all over the couches and beds. At Diana’s house, we talked for hours and were laughing at ridiculous things. It was such a fun night, and I really enjoyed becoming even closer with my school friends!

In the morning, we had crepes for breakfast before playing some ‘Just Dance’ and karaoke. It was a lovely night, and my first sleep over with my Spanish friends in Spain (it’s not really something they do here, instead going out to El Barrio together until late, but returning to your own house).

At the front is the birthday girl, Diana. Feliz cumpleaños. Left side: Ana, Jessica, Manuela, Nieves, and Diana’s younger sister. Right side: Diana’s cousin, Cristina, Me, Lucía, Camila, Olivia.

[agrainofspain]

Halloween

Hey everyone, it has been an incredibly long time since I have posted about my exchange in Spain, so to catch you all up on the past couple of months I thought I would do a few highlights posts. Obviously these won’t include all of the small details from exchange like moments at school that were really funny or the days I went shopping for Christmas presents etc, but it will be of a couple of things that have happened recently that I really enjoyed!! First up, we have halloween! Halloween is an American tradition that is widely celebrated in the USA, Canada, Latin America. Other parts of the world occasionally celebrate Halloween, but definitely not to the same extent as Americans. In Spain, the locals don’t go out on the streets ‘Trick or Treat’ing, and they rarely dress up in festive costumes when they go out to El Barrio. FOr those that do dress up, there is definitely a scary theme, and not just a random costume theme like in other parts of the world (for instance in Australia/USA/Canada people often go as a sailor, cupid, nurse, pilot etc). For Halloween this year, I went to my Summer house in San Juan with Ángela and her friends. Here, we ate dinner, watched horror films, played sing star, and a couple of board games. We had a really fun night, and it was hilarious when everyone who wasn’t singing began reenacting the dancers or performing dances that they learnt in their classes. 

At about 3am, we all crashed and fell asleep on the floor in the lounge room. We all then woke up early and had chocolate croissants, cake, and pastries for breakfast. We all then helped to clean up the house before making our way back to the centre.

Halloween was a really fun night, and as I am not really a fun of halloween, it was nice to spend it chilling and hanging out with a lovely bunch Ángela’s friends. I really enjoy spending time with Ángela and her friends, despite them being a year younger than me, they’re all really fun, super nice, and more than happy to explain things in over and over again until I understand.

[agrainofspain]

Paris Attacks

In light of the attacks on Paris two weeks ago, I wanted to post a message to say that I am devastated not only for all of the victims, but their families, friends and all of the lives this tragedy has touched. Not only am I thinking of the city and people of Paris, but of the people in the Middle East who face these tragedies every day. I am thinking of the victims of the attacks that don’t make it to the newspaper because they are ‘normal’ occurrences, because they aren’t important enough, aren’t ‘western’ enough. To the people all around the world who wake up every day, uncertain if they will be one of the unlucky ones. My heart aches for the devastation that occurs each and every single day because certain people aren’t able to love, aren’t able to view humanity is one, aren’t able to view each other as equals. My heart aches for all of the innocent people who are blamed for this devastation.

When I signed up for this year abroad, I was told one of the aims of exchange was to bring about world peace. I never really understood how a few thousand teenagers living overseas for a year could bring about world peace until I read the reports from Paris. Until I heard my class discussing the attacks, hearing the people in my class claim “I’m scared” and hearing them express that they are going to constantly second guess anyone who looks different or looks “suspicious”. It wasn’t until I saw a muslim girl from my school crying because her front fence had been graffitied with abuse, people telling her to “go back to where you’re from” and blaming her and her family for the actions of certain individuals. Now I realise the value of exchange, the value of learning that we are all the same. Though we may speak different languages, eat different foods, wear different clothes, or greet people differently, we are all the same. The value of exchange is understanding that the key to world peace is talking to each other, loving each other, and showing interest in each other. We are all scared of the unknown, whether that be the bottom of the ocean, outer space, an unpredictable event (a year abroad, exam results, change in schools etc), or people. That is why it is so important to communicate with each other and show interest in each other’s culture and background. It is so important to support each other, to not blame each other, to not turn our backs on each other, and to not treat people like an outsider. We are all unique, but we are all the same. 

My class had a lengthy discussion during philosophy regarding the events in Paris, and the amount of times the finger was pointed at a religion, a country, or a particular group was astounding. Alicante has a large Muslim and Arab community and the amount of people saying that these people could no longer be trusted, that these people were probably already planning something in Alicante, that these people were evil...I was, and still am, absolutely speechless. What makes these people any more to blame than me? Or you? I am heartbroken that this is the world we live in, that this is the world I am growing up in. I really hope, little by little, we can all learn to love again and all learn to stand together. Loving people doesn’t have to be expressed with the words ‘I Love You’, with a hug, or with a kiss. Love can be shown by helping someone onto the bus, offering your seat on the train to someone, working in a homeless shelter (cooking and serving food), donating blood, teaching classes of your native language to people from abroad, or offering to buy a coffee to someone who can’t afford it. Love can be shown in so many ways and there is no excuse for all of this hatred, bitterness and blame.

Last week, I recommended an exchange to my whole class and told them that it was unbelievably important to learn that we are all uniquely the same, and that “we all smile in the same language”. Today, I am doing the same thing. And for anyone who is going to claim that they are too old to do an exchange, I say, travel not to see places but to meet people, to know people and to learn about people. Together, let’s rebuild the world, because I for one am heartbroken.

[agrainofspain]

Road Trip, Day 6: Madrid to Alicante

We all had a sleep in on our last day of our road trip, before heading to the shopping centre for brunch and a quick shop at the large department stores. Afterwards, we began our four hour drive back to Alicante, and back to reality! 

I really enjoyed exploring Spain, especially the beautiful, green and diverse north. This trip will always be some of my fondest memories of Spain and my exchange year as I got to know Ángela more and spend lots of time with my host family. I really enjoyed learning more about the history of Spain, even though it’s incredibly hard to comprehend and piece together when it all dates back to the first century!!! I definitely recommend travelling to Santiago, León and Madrid, and if you get the chance, Salamanca too! All the cities in Spain are very unique and have their own character about them, which I completely love. 

I would like to say a massive thank you to my host family for planning this trip, and making me fall even more in love with Spain and my year abroad. 

(My crazy Spanish host sisters and I! Os quiero un montón chicas)

[agrainofspain]

Road Trip, Day 5: Madrid

We spent our last full day of our quick Spanish road trip in Madrid, the centre of Spain. My family love Madrid and often travel here and so they were very keen to show me around and introduce me to Plaza Mayor, the exact centre point of Spain, and the Royal Palace and the gardens. I really like Madrid and think it is definitely worth visiting. I have heard many negative views of the city and people saying it isn’t worth your time but I thoroughly disagree. It is very different from Barcelona as it is situated in the middle of Spain, and it is also very hot, but the streets are incredibly gorgeous and the main shopping street used to be filled with theatres and cinemas which have now been converted to your favourite clothes shops. Its really cool going into the stores and still being able to see the clear layout for the theatre.

(I’ve touched the very centre of Spain!)

(A hotel in Madrid, used to be used for the Pilgrims, now it is very expensive and used for business men or tourists like us who just want to walk through it!)

(The statue/symbol of Madrid)

(Plaza Mayor)

[agrainofspain]

Road Trip, Day 4: León

Next, we made our way to León. Here we visited the church and cathedral, had a delicious pizza lunch, and took a photo with the architect of the cathedral, Gaudí. 

(Gaudí and the family)

(Gaudí’s Cathedral)

I really enjoyed León as it had a very relaxed and carefree vibe, and it was also nice to return to some warm weather after the couple of days of winter in Santiago!

[agrainofspain]

Road Trip, Day 2 and 3: Zamora and Santiago de Compostela

In the late morning we all jumped into the car and made our way to Zamora, a small city a couple of hours north of Salamanca. Here we had a typical rice dish for lunch (that’s from this province, like paella but less flavoursome!). After lunch, we had a wonder around the town and visited the old castle that overlooks the city.

(It was a very windy day!)

(The view from the castle, on lookout for an enemy attack in the distance!) 

After spending the afternoon in Zamora, we began our long drive to our furthest destination from Alicante, Santiago de Compostela. We all changed our clothes in the car after hearing the forecast for our destination - cold and wet!!!!! Once we arrived we checked into our hotel and were welcomed with the news of free wifi in the hotel rooms! We spent the afternoon relaxing to the gentle pattering of the rain before bravely leaving the hotel to eat dinner at a local restaurant and try the local foods. 

(Gearing up for dinner: rain jackets/scarfs/umbrellas/jeans/jumpers... the works!)

The next morning, we walked to a cafe close by and ordered churros with chocolate, and orange juice for breakfast. I can’t say I could make eating churros for breakfast a regular thing, but they are very delicious!

We then began our city tour, starting at the Santiago Cathedral. Some of you may have heard of El Camino de Santiago (The Santiago Walk), which is the long hike that begins in either France or Portugal (depending on which of the four routes you take) and ends in Santiago de Compostela, in particular the cathedral where pilgrims receive commendation for their achievements completing the walk (or parts of it). The cathedral is incredibly beautiful, and is constantly packed with people in hiking boots and a wooden walking stick with their collection of shells from the walk attached.

After a walk around the cathedral, we walked around the streets and to the university and the library before stopping for lunch, but not before trying a piece of the local cake - Tarta de Santiago (an almond cake).

With bursting stomachs, we made our way to the car and drove to the western coast of Spain. Unfortunately, with the rain, the coast wasn’t as pretty as it could have been but it was still really cool to see the Atlantic coast.

[agrainofspain]

Road Trip, Day 1 and 2: Salamanca

In the afternoon, we piled back into the van and made our way to Salamanca, a city in the west of Spain, towards the Portugal border, which is famous for the University of Salamanca and the uni student lifestyle. First, we checked into the hotel and then we went out for dinner at a small Spanish restaurant and had some local tapas dishes. 

(Martina, Lucía and I at dinner)

After dinner, we began our tour of the city, walking to the Plaza Mayor, the church, the university and the old bridge (built in the first century, and it is still standing and used by people daily).

(Me, Alberto, Ángela, Martina and Lucía at Plaza Mayor with a full moon, there were also university bands from each faculty that were playing music and raising money for the university, particularly their faculty)

(Church of Salamanca)

(Old bridge, constructed in the first century)

At the university, there is a wall which is filled with carved and sculpted figures and an infamous ‘Where’s Wally?’ search, where you need to find a small frog amongst the wall. My family had all been to Salamanca before and were aware of where the frog was hidden, so they brought out the stop watch to time how long it would take me. Well, after fifteen minutes of the stop watch rolling, I asked for a clue (’It’s on the right hand side of the wall’), ten minutes later, (’look at the third column with the skulls’), five minutes later, (’literally look at the skulls’), and me still not seeing the frog... we brought out my mum’s camera who could zoom in on the wall and show me the frog. It is literally so small, probably the size of your pinky finger and it is camouflaged on the top of a skull... I don’t know how people are expected to find that without some clues (nor do I understand how or why it became a thing, ‘Find the Frog’, but it’s a cool tradition!).

After walking around the city, we headed back to the hotel, and got ready for bed. Lucía, Martina, Ángela and I were sharing an apartment style hotel room while Alberto and Mages were across the corridor.

In the morning, we went out for breakfast at a local café and had toast with peach jam, and orange juice. After breakfast, we continued our self-guided tour of the city and headed back to Plaza Mayor to see it in the daylight, entered in the church and had a look around (including up stairs and on the balcony which had amazing views of the city!), to the University Library, and had a tour of the Old University and saw the old style lecture rooms - the seats were about as wide as your hand, were wooden, and looked so uncomfortable, there were no tables to put your books or lean on to write, and the rooms were incredibly cold. I have no idea how the students managed to concentrate, especially in a physics lecture…!

(Lucía, Ángela and I at Plaza Mayor)

(Streets of Salamanca)

(The church and views from the top)

[agrainofspain]

Road Trip, Day 1: Aranjuez

Our first destination was a small city, Aranjuez, which is about 40km south of Madrid (in the centre of Spain). The drive from Alicante to Aranjuez was just over four hours, which we spent singing along to music, sleeping, and snacking on pastries. We arrived in Aranjuez for lunch (at 3:30) and decided to go to an International Pub where we ordered sandwiches and chips. It was incredibly hot in Aranjuez, about 35 degrees, but dry heat for a change. After lunch, we walked around the streets of Aranjuez before making our way to the palace. The palace in Aranjuez was used by the Royal Family during the Summer months and was primarily dedicated to the Queen. The Palace was completed in the 18th century (but construction definitely began centuries prior) and it was very beautiful, though over the top with all of the gold and velvet. As my sisters all learn about Spanish history in school, they were able to explain the use of each room and exactly which Royal Couple had lived in the house and in which years. I honestly could never imagine such a fancy and Royal monument in Australia and it was very cool to walk through the lower storey, especially with my sisters explaining it all. We then had a walk through the Royal Gardens which were very beautiful and stretched on forever (almost). 

(Aranjuez drainage sign, my host mum’s aim throughout the trip was to take a photo of a drain sign in each city, to be able to distinguish photos from each city)

(I’m officially apart of the Royal Family)

(The main plaza in Aranjuez)

(Ángela, Alberto, Martina, Lucía and I in the main plaza)

(Royal Gardens)

[agrainofspain]

*Flashback* - The Ultimate Spanish Road Trip

Sooo... I have finally began to organise my photos from my trip around the North-West of Spain with my host family in August!! It has taken me over two months, but finally I am going to share a little bit about my trip.

On Sunday night (August 23) , I went with a walk with Martina along the beach and she mentioned that her dad was planning on taking some time off work so that the whole family could do some travel around Spain. No one was sure where we were going to go, or for how long, but I was very excited to be able to see some more of one of my favourite countries! On Monday night, just before eating dinner, Alberto and Mages decided that we should leave Tuesday morning for our Road Trip, and they quickly began planning where would we go. By dinner time, we knew vaguely what cities we would be sleeping in, and Alberto spent the evening on his phone trying to book hotel rooms - and being a family of six, finding two or three hotel rooms (in the same hotel) last minute, and in Summer, can be quite the challenge.

On Tuesday morning, we all got up bright and early, and walked our dog, Lucas, to my aunty’s house so that my five cousins could look after him for the week. Lucas is a very cute, snow white dog and we all made bets on what colour his fur would be when we returned on Sunday, most of us guessing blue or pink or a nice combination of the two. We then loaded the car, which was a mini van with seven seats that we had borrowed from my uncle. We were all ready to begin our adventure but first, we headed to our centre house to pack some of our warmer clothes, as we were travelling to the northwest of Spain, where the temperatures are cooler and rain is always likely. Finally, at eleven o’clock, we piled into the car, along with a couple of bags full of snacks from the bakery, and drove off, beginning our six day adventure around Spain!

[agrainofspain]

Madrid Orientation

On Friday 25th September, all of the inbounds in Spain travelled from their various cities to meet in Madrid for a weekend orientation. It was a bit strange for the exchange students from South Africa and Australia as we have been in Spain for over eight months but were only just having an orientation and being told the rules in Spain, cultural advice, language advice, exchange advice, and passport/visa advice. It was a bit frustrating to see the effort Rotary was putting into welcoming the northern hemisphere exchange students, and the southern hemisphere students didn’t receive any sort of welcome (not even an email). Nevertheless, it was fun to meet everyone, though slightly overwhelming. There was around 130 exchange students, 40 Rotex (Martina, my host sister, included) and 10 Rotary members and 3 Rotary orientation leaders. It was fun chatting to everyone about their home cities, particularly the people from countries such as Sweden, Finland, Brazil, India, South Africa, Austria, Germany, and Taiwan, which I don’t know much about.

I particularly enjoyed talking to Rotex and hearing about their experiences abroad. It was also very amusing the amount of times I was told, “I want to do another exchange in Australia”, or “Australia was my first preference but there’s not many spots!”, or “I want to go to Australia soooo bad, I’m obsessed with it!”. I hope Australia lives up to it’s expectations, though I am sure it does as it is a very beautiful and diverse country. I also met the Rotex who has just gotten back from his exchange in Newcastle, NSW. I’m still shocked at how strong his Australian accent is and his use of Australian slang was the best — a little piece of Australia from a Spaniard. I love that exchange students pick up their host country’s (or city’s) accent, like Ángela with her Tennessee accent.

During orientation we played many games and activities to try and get to know everyone, or at least say hi to everyone. We also exchange pins, and now my blazer is looking a lot more decorated which is cool! It was lovely to meet all of the exchange students, and I hope we meet again one day (hopefully Rotary Spain organises another activity before the Aussies depart). Wishing them all the very best throughout their exchange, I’m sure they will have a wonderful year in a wonderful country.

(Some of the Alicante girls while playing one of the exchange games. Yuli - Taiwan, Jade - Canada, Hannah - USA/Austria, Allie - Australia)

The 2015-2016 Inbounds, Spain. 

[agrainofspain]

A Very Happy Birthday

I woke up in the morning to the hallway outside of my bedroom decorated with ‘Feliz Cumpleaños’ banners. This year was the very first year in my life where my birthday has been during the school year (as it is always during the spring holidays in Australia) and it was really nice to see my family had gone to lots of effort to make my day special. I definitely started the day on a high, with everyone in my family wishing me a happy birthday and the wonderfully decorated hallway.

At school, my friends in my class all wished me happy birthday and gave me ‘dos besitos’ (the two cheek kisses used as a greeting in Spain). I was very emotional that my friends (who I have only known for under two weeks) remembered that it was my birthday and were very excited to wish me a happy birthday and ask if I had received any presents.

After school, I walked to Abu’s house with Jade, from Canada, and we ate salmon with a cheese sauce, and apple strudel for dessert. Jade and I then hang out at my house for a while, doing homework and chatting, before we caught up with Elijah, Emmanuel, and Hannah in the centre to go for a walk along the harbour. Two of the boys from my class also came to meet the other exchange students for a while as well. It was a really lovely evening, the perfect way to celebrate my birthday in one of my favourite places in the world.

Jade and I returned to my house before dinner and my family ordered take away sushi for dinner because they know I am a massive fan. My host Aunty also FaceTimed Alberto so that she and her five children could wish me a happy birthday, and they all sang ‘Feliz Cumpleaños’, it was very cute and special!

When the food was ready, we began eating the delicious sushi and salads, and even my host mum was willing to try some of the food despite not liking food where you’re not entirely sure what you’re eating. We chatted at dinner and had a lot of laughs. Then, they pulled out a chocolate cake with candles and everyone sang ‘Feliz Cumpleaños’. My parents then quickly ducked out of the kitchen, and my sisters and Jade sang Happy Birthday in English to fill in some time. I didn’t think anything of it but then my parents walked into the kitchen with a humungous envelope and a small bag. I opened the envelope and inside was an enormous card, filled with very beautiful messages from each of my family members. Their messages almost brought me to tears (and there may have been tears in my room later that night) as they were all about how they hope my birthday was special even though I am very far from Australia, my birth parents, and my Australian friends, but in all honesty, I couldn’t feel more at home. They were all signed with love and were addressed to their Australian daughter and sister and it was very emotional. My family definitely made my seventeenth birthday a day to remember, and definitely the best birthday of my life! They also gifted me a gorgeous bracelet which is very special, and I am incredibly grateful. After dinner and dessert, we dropped Jade off at her house, and all went to bed, ready for another day of school.

Many thanks to each and everyone who made my birthday so amazing. I couldn’t be more grateful for the effort everyone put in to making it a special and memorable day, and Lucía in response to your message on my card, this will for sure be one of the best highlights of my exchange — not for the gift or the huge card, but for the feeling of pure happiness and content in being in Spain and with my family and friends, and not for one moment thinking, ‘I wish I was in Australia’.

The banners in the hallway

Sushi (Mages, Ángela, Lucía, Me, Jade)

The following weekend the exchange students, and Gabby’s Australian brother,  Hamish, went out for dinner at an Indian restaurant - clearly I am a fan of Asian food. Once we had finished dinner, Gabby and Jade brought out a huge carrot cake with cream cheese icing (MY FAVOURITE!) and everyone sang happy birthday to me. They had also bought me a sash saying ‘Feliz Cumpleaños’ as a joke to wear to El Barrio. We then went out and celebrated and had lots of fun! Again, thank you to everyone for such an incredible birthday, you are all apart of such special memories from my exchange! This birthday I didn’t even need to make a wish (except to return!) as all my dreams and wishes have come true this year!

The carrot cake which even my family thought was delicious (they thought carrots+cake wouldn’t compliment each other!)

Birthday girl

[agrainofspain]

First week of school, moving back to the centre, hanging out with the exchange students

Unfortunately, as it is a month ago, I don’t remember all the details of my first week at school so I thought I would do a general post on the highlights of the week. 

On Monday, classes began and I was looking forward to meeting my new teachers and seeing some of my previous ones again. In particular, my economy teacher, the same from last year (Eduardo), was very exciting to see again as he could remember me from my first days in Spain to now when I was talking to him in Spanish. I sat with a girl Ana in class who has recently moved to Alicante from Salamanca, in the North-West of Spain. Our first lessons in each class was purely talking about what we were going to be studying this year (or for the next four months in my case). Most of my class spent most of the week thinking I was Spanish until the Valenciano teacher asked everyone to come up the front and introduce themselves in Valenciano (the local language). Obviously, only vaguely speaking, I don’t speak a word of Valenciano (okay I know ‘poc’ 'e’ ‘toc’ - ‘some’ ‘and’ ‘all’) so I introduced myself in Castellano (Spanish from Spain) and said I was from Australia, much to my classes shock. Then followed the obvious questions about, “What are those animals? You know... the things that jump? Are they real?” and “Are you from Sydney?” - no Melbourne - “Oh, yeah but Sydney..!” The conversation never gets old, nor does it ever get new! At recreo I hang out with my friends from the previous year and it was awesome to be reunited with them considering many of them were away throughout the holidays.

During the week, I caught up with the exchange students a lot after school in San Juan. We went to the beach and had late afternoon swims before going out for dinner. It was an awesome week and I was glad to finally have started school and be hanging out with people speaking Spanish.

On Friday, I came home after school and packed up my room in San Juan. It felt way too much like the end of my exchange, and if my suitcase was anything to judge, that’s terrifying! It was weird to see my room, which had all of my things scattered around it, go from full of life and character to completely empty and looking and feeling like a shell/skeleton, and my whole life being crammed into my suitcase, back pack and hand bag. I wasn’t looking forward to January (returning to Australia) before, and I am certainly not looking forward to it now. It’s also weird looking at how much stuff (not only clothes/makeup/jewellery but little novelty items) I have accumulated this year, and how much of that will be staying and how much will be coming back with me. You can’t bring everything, but somethings are harder than others to part with, that’s for sure!

Sunset at San Juan Beach

Streets of Alicante