Thursday 6/16 - Saturday 6/19
Thursday
So that eclipse that everyone was talking about was definitely a dud! I stayed out on the beach last night extra long to catch the eclipse that was supposed to happen at 8. Then we found out that it was a lunar eclipse and was supposedly going from 930-1. Then 930 came and went and still no eclipse (we couldn’t even see the moon). So finally around 1015 I had to go home to get dinner. I hope the eclipse came eventually though, because a lot of people were waiting for it (some had big telescopes and everything). It wasn’t a total bust though because we met some people from Kansas who go to Pitt State (in Kansas).
Today work was frustrating because I didn’t get the revisions I had hoped for. However, I did send all my brochures to the boss for him to review Friday when I had the day off. I’ve been spending a lot of time trying to figure out travels and weekend trips, so I guess that has kept me pretty busy. After work I went to David and Pepi’s place and we just hung out and talked about different festivals and stuff around Spain so that was a lot of fun.
Thursday night I thought I was gonna go out with some friends, but I found out after I was downtown that the one guy I was gonna meet decided to stay in. That’s the problem with having pay-as-you-go phones, you never wanna call people and coordinating stuff is much more difficult. I waited around awkwardly on the street for a little bit before realizing everyone I knew decided to stay home that night. I didn’t really mind though because I just went walking down to the port and explored the labyrinth of restaurants behind the gaudy city casino that I never knew existed. Even though it was only Thursday and around midnight, the whole city was alive with huge groups of people walking to bars, eating outside restaurants, selling stuff on the streets, etc. On my way back I really wanted ice cream but I was able to hold back until I saw this thing called a Gosfre that looked delicious. It was a fried waffle with cinnamon and sugar and I added hot fudge type chocolate to mine so it was like manna from Heaven, but prolly a lot less healthy!
Friday
I slept in a bit and then went to run some errands: recharging my cell phone, reloading my tram/bus pass, buying bus and train tickets, and restocking my toiletries. I even found these tostada cracker cookies that I had loved in Granada in the store (instant purchase)! The bad thing about all these errands though was that they all cost money. Getting the train and bus tickets was an especially huge and incredibly annoying hassle. For some ridiculous reason the websites would not accept my debit card so I had to go to the stations across town to buy the tickets. When I got to the train station I was trying to get the tickets for my trip from Madrid at the price of 23 Euros each that I had seen on the Web. The guy tried to charge me 60 Euros. When I protested he said that was the only price. Finally, he told me that the web has special discount offers sometimes and I must’ve seen that price. So I had him void my transaction and then tried to pick out the train for the second half of my round trip I bought to and from Madrid. Now I was under the impression that the initial 60 E I paid to get here from Madrid covered both ways, but no! Getting a roundtrip ticket only allows you to get the return ticket for 40% off. What a scam! He also tried to get me to pay 36 E for that when I had seen that trip for 23 E online too. So I left empty handed. My luck at the bus station was almost as bad. Although I had no trouble getting the tickets for a Valencia day-trip this Sunday for the right price once I went to the station I found out when I got home that he gave me the wrong time. I wanted the 4:30am departure so I said 4:30 (maybe I said en la mañana), I definitely did not say 16:30 (all tickets and schedules are in military time) like my ticket said!
Fortunately, my morning adventures were not all negative. I found an art exhibit in a random building that I checked out for a while and then visited La Casa de Brujas (an old famous house in the city that David and Pepi told me about). I also stopped by the Mercado Central (just as I had that first day in Alicante when touring with Armando) to experience it again at its busiest and survey all the crazy foods. There are tons of booths in different sections (bread, seafood, fruits and veggies, and meat) and with all of them selling the same stuff I wonder how they make money and how people decided where to go. I actually ran into some American friends there. Back at school I’m used to running into people I know all the time and it’s kinda strange to not have that luxury here.
When I was back home I still wanted to buy the train tickets ASAP because they said those cheap online tickets sell fast. Since my credit card worked at the station I assumed that one would work online, but I was disappointed again. And so the adventure continues! I went back to the train station and waited til I could get the one guy who spoke English (he said he spoke English, but I think he should use that term loosely). The language difference complicates everything. Sometimes people think I don’t understand when really I just don’t like what they are saying so I’m trying to argue with them. The ticket guy said the website wasn’t working for me because I had to buy a ticket with my card at the station first to get the information in the system and then it would be able to buy tickets online. This seemed ridiculous (especially since I think I bought a train ticket with my card in Madrid already when I arrived), but I went along with it and paid 13 extra Euros to get one of the tickets. I feel like the whole train ticket system has nonsensical policies that just make it a ridiculous hassle for foreigners and are messing me over big time. My card still hasn’t worked on the site and if I have to go back again I’m talking to the manager (M)! After this I paid another visit to the bus station to change my ticket and then I was finally able to go to the beach and relax. Sorry most of this day’s post has been me complaining (E), but that’s how I spent half my day.
The beach was warm, the sun was shining, the water was cool, the soccer was sandy, and the volleyball was a bit embarrassing (we played the local pros 2 v. 2, ha). However, I did find some people who wanted to go to Valencia with me (I was planning on going alone because none of the Mizzou guys wanted to go). Hopefully they won’t bail and can get the tickets in time. I also told my Italian friend Domé that I would be visiting his hometown of Milan in August after my program so he said we could meet up. That’s gonna be cool because of how my flights worked out that I booked the other day I’m planning on traveling through Milan and Florence on my way to meet up with a group of Mizzou friends in Rome. After everyone went home for dinner I ran along the beach a bit. I find that very enjoyable and more interesting than regular running.
Edward Scissorhands went to the beach today. I don't think he's gonna get a good tan with all those clothes on. I've also seen a white statue mime and a robot.
Friday night we were going to go on a pub crawl, but then decided to go meet the student managers of our program who had just arrived to prepare for the coming of the rest of the students in 2 weeks. We introduced them to the rocks and it was a fun night.
Saturday
Saturday was a fairly relaxed day of sleeping in, visiting the beach, and getting dominated by the local pros in 2v2 v-ball. Then the parade started. It was a gigantic parade of only people and no floats. Each neighborhood where a hoguera is built has a band and a group of people who dress up in the traditional Valencian (the region Alicante is in) clothing. There were guys in intricate vests, high stockings, knee-breeches, cloth sandal shoes, and sometimes even bright purple or cyan colored blazers. The girls donned gorgeous dresses with ornate patterns, wide poofy skirts, lace veils, and hair pulled back in the same swirly bun. There were adorable little boys and girls dressed the same way and walking in pairs in front of their grown-up counterparts (there is an ‘infantil’ division for the hogueras). As much as I liked seeing all the costumes and hearing the bands (much like our marching bands, but smaller, some made entirely of this very annoying mini-clarinet/recorder), that really was all that was all they had in the parade. So after about an hour and a half of that Quinten and I decided to go split a liter of horchata granizada b/c he had never tried the delicious Valencian specialty. Even though you don’t have to tip here they get you in other ways when you buy a number of food items. We had to pay .40 for the cup the horchata was in and you often have to pay for plastic bags at the grocery store. That’s why you see all the old ladies rolling around their suitcases full of food after their morning trips to the market. That night when some of the guys joined us we went out to the rocks and watched some fireworks go off over the city. After introducing some of the guys to my delicious gofre desert I went home early in order to get a bit of sleep before my excursion to Valencia in the early morning.
A brief description of Hogueras:
Festival de Hogueras is the numero uno festival in Alicante and always happens in late June. It’s hard to say when it starts exactly, but I think the official kickoff is Saturday when they have the parade some ceremonies. The next week is full of festivities and parties. During the festival the town booms and you cannot find an open hotel/hostel room anywhere. They say that people march through the streets making tons of noise and waking everyone up at 8 am. This combined with the fireworks at night and late night partying and visiting hogueras means everyone in the city is sleep-deprived all week. Next Friday will be the big night when all the hogueras are set aflame in the different parts of the city creating a series of huge bonfires. At one point a maiden in traditional dress representing each neighborhood/hoguera will process to the main church where they lay flowers in a big mountain under the statue of the Virgin Mary. Then out of these women there is one chosen as the most beautiful or something and she is offered up as a sacrifice on the central hoguera in the Ayuntamiento to signal the start of the burnings (ok, I made that sacrifice part up, haha). Finally, the week following the festival there is a contest between the neighborhoods to see who can set off the best fireworks show just like there is a contest the week before to see who can make the loudest explosions. Spain is just a bunch of pyros!
Here are some unfinished hogueras. Most have deeper meanings...
Here are some unfinished hogueras. Most have deeper meanings...
This one in front of the mercado central has the horoscope.
The streets are decorated with overhead lights. Half the street is closed and what doesn't have the hogueras has food souvenir tents.
This is also the week when all the bull fights happen. I am very excited to go to one on Wednesday. Some people say it’s a great Spanish tradition, some say it’s animal torture, and I hear you either love it or hate it. I even ran into a protest of the bullfights one night marching down the street. It was a popular night for demonstrations because right after that I came across a group of the communist party in the streets.
The banners call for "Hogueras without sangre"
Their chants said the torture is neither tradition or culture.
The Communist demonstration.
I’m super pumped to experience all of the festival. I feel sorry for my classmates who arrive a week to late. I’m also really glad that I have a place to stay during the festival and don’t have to worry about driving anywhere because with all the street closings and extra cars traffic is a mess.
They even graffitied their city seal. I don't think Europeans have much respect for their government. Our French friend was surprised that we would never let a US flag touch the ground and said that didn't matter at all in France.
They have several of these huge trees in important spots throughout the city. The were imported from South America and they look great for climbing!
statue at the end of the main boardwalk.
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