It's hard to believe it, but my first week in Alicante is officially complete! So much has happened this week that it's hard to even think of a way to process it all, but I will do my best to break it down in a somewhat coherent manner.
Monday through Friday I had my two Spanish language classes at the University of Alicante. Although four hours of Spanish class sounded daunting on paper, the classes have really flown by! I think this is partly because of the heavily conversational bent of the classes, which invites constant participation and interaction from students. This alone helps the classes to run smoothly, though we are learning so much in the meantime. Probably my favorite classroom moment thus far was discussing culture shock in my Conversation class. It was so interesting to see what things in my culture shocks or even horrifies those of other countries! For example, one of my classmates seemed somewhat appalled by earrings on babies, and another couldn't fathom the idea of "fangirling" a celebrity. So besides teaching me so much about the Spanish language, I'm also gaining an appreciation for the diversity of culture in our world! Things that seem normal to me might be shocking to others, just as an entire leg of a pig hanging from a store ceiling was shocking to me when I visited Valencia. See picture below.
Speaking of Valencia, my Spanish Studies Abroad program visited there this past Saturday. We visited el Mercado Central, which is where I was greeted by the full legs of ham (el jamón in Spanish) in many vendor shops. It was an interesting experience! One could compare it to an indoor farmer's market. There were lush, fresh vegetables and fruits of all sorts, meats, horchata freshly made (which I still have yet to try!), and even candy of varieties I had never seen before.
We also visited the Fine Arts Museum, where we saw paintings from gothic style to Renaissance style, and to even a few modern tastes.
We also visited the City of Arts and Sciences, which was a fun walk around, though we didn't actually go inside any of the buildings.
We also visited the Valencia Cathedral, which was built in the 13th century, and is still used for church services today! Besides all the amazing design work inside, the Cathedral also boasts a few interesting and sacred relics. One of them is the Holy Grail, which is supposed to be the cup that Jesus used at the Last Supper. It is pictured below.
The Cathedral also boasts the arm of Saint Vincent, the martyred patron saint of Valencia. The arm is considered a sacred relic because the fact that it remains in the flesh though it was not preserved by men, which presumedly shows the holiness of the saint.
Here are a few other pictures from around Valencia:
This is a pillar from Llotja de la Seda, a mercantile center in the 15th century.
You might say the streets are a little narrower and the buildings a little closer than those in the U.S.
This week I also visited El Castillo de Santa Barbara, which is a major historical attraction in Alicante. It was built in the 9th century and has been maintained and renovated over time. Legend has it that Alicante received its name from the sad tale of two thwarted lovers: Ali and Princess Cántara, who committed suicide off the side of the mountain because of their broken hearts. Combine Ali + Cántara, and you end up with something like Alicante! Here are a few gorgeous pictures from the castle:
That about sums up my first week here in Alicante! I still can't believe I've been here for a week, but I'm excited for the remainder of my time here. Once again, thank you for checking out my blog!
God bless,
Laurel
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