Spain =)

Ok so I fail at keeping up with my blog and making my posts interesting so I'm planning on making this a good one and sharing a lot of things that I've realized since I've been here since it's been about a month. For starters I can tell that I'm not gonna wanna leave when June comes around. I feel like in Boone I see the same people every single day and even though here I see alot of the same people and hang out with alot of the same people, I'm constantly meeting new ones. Everyone here is just nicer and open to new things because almost everyone is in the same position of being in a new country and just trying to make the best of it and that includes making new friends and trying new things. It's crazy how diverse my group of friends is now...besides the group of us that came from App, almost all of my other friends are from a different country, and I feel like I'm learning new things from everyone everyday.
        School here is pretty boring just like anywhere, and it makes it harder that every class is 2 hours long BUT I will be done with all but my business spanish class on April 15th.. which means I will be going to the beach and hopefully traveling as much as I can.
        Going out has been a ton of fun too.. there's so many different bars and clubs here which is also a nice change from Boone, and there's always different events going on. Monday nights there's beer pong and then other nights have open bar or themed parties. One theme party that Mulligans has was called a "Sex and Love" party which is mainly focused towards single guys and girls meeting. At the door each guy and girl picks up a piece of paper that has who they are looking for (for example I was looking for "my millionaire") and your supposed to go around looking for your match because there is a match for each guy and girl.. well it turned out that they must've mixed the guys and girls pile up bc by about 3am me and Erin realized we were eachother millionaires. hmm.. fun night anyways though!
        Also!! I found a mexican restaurant that makes me extremely happy because mexican is my favorite food and I can't go without it. The place had delicious margaritas and the waiters gave us lots of free tequilla shots and we got to wear sombreros during dinner.. so definitely my kind of place.
        Shopping here is awesome because despite what I thought.. most things are cheaper. Groceries are alot cheaper then back home and then there are alot of clothing stores with really cute stuff for super cheap. Since we all go out so much here it's essential to keep up with the dressier spanish style, and since you run out of outfits I just had to go buy some more... One thing that alot of spanish girls have are the thigh-high leather heeled boots that pretty much look like hooker boots, but I've decided that I want to get a pair just so I can wear them while I'm here.. not sure how practical they'll be back home.
        Next weekend we're going on a day trip to Elche, the next town over, to shop in the outlets and visit some musuems and parks so I'm super excited about that because even though I love Alicante, I feel like I need to start traveling outside of it more. Caitlin and Erin went to Sevilla this past weekend which I was super jealous about, but because of their last minute decision it was a little more expensive then it usually would be, but the pictures look amazing so I'm excited to start planning my trips for the future. My main goals of places I want to go are Granada, Sevilla, Barcelona, Morocco and maybeee Greece and Amsterdam.
        A few things that I've realized about my apartment are that I take having a dryer back home for granted. People in Spain don't use dryers at home at alllll... so having to hang my clothes and sheets everywhere is slightly difficult.

Yes.. those are my sheets, jeans, shirts, etc drying on my bookshelf. Another thing I've taken for granted are long, hot showers. Our shower only gives about 3 min of hot water so I never have that relaxing of a shower. But despite all that, I like my roommates alot, and my room is big, with its own bathroom (minus the shower) and a balcony, so even though I'm paying a little extra its definitely worth it. I don't have as good of a location as some people but I'm still only a 10-15 min walk from el barrio (area with nightlife) and about a 20-25 min walk from the beach... and there's nothing wrong with a little exercise. And speaking of exercise I went to the gym on campus for the first time today (which is essential if you don't want to gain weight from too much fiestas, siestas, and comida here) and it is pretty much all guys. I guess I probably would've felt a little more comfortable if I didn't go my first time alone, but that's what stepping out of your comfort zone is about. The machines are very old compared to those at home and its mostly guys just lifting weights with a few bikes and elipticals in the back corner and my gym clothes pretty much scream American with my Cary High Football tshirt (american football not futbol!)  so I defintitely got a few more stares than I would've at home.
        All in all I'm having an amazing time here, and despite a lot of cultural differences I absolutely love it. I'm missing my family and friends but atleast some will get to visit and my dad comes in less then 2 months. Oh and as a closure... my 21st birthday is in one month. Holla!!!