Carnaval

Last night was carnaval. Here the young people celebrate by dressing up in costumes and going out to the streets to party all night long. The city sets up decorations, organizes live music, and plans events. The main streets of Alicante were flooded with people in every costume imaginable. Many American football players, some Dharma initiative employees from lost, cows, you name it. Everyone was packed shoulder to shoulder on this dock that goes out into the water, spilling onto the beach and the rambla, and overtaking one of the main plazas. It was quite an event

School is done differently here. There are almost no textbooks; instead, students go to the copisterias, which are little cramped rooms that smell like ink and have a group of xeroxes, and buy notebooks with all the course material. However, the copisterias all have books for random classes and are located in random buildings. For my literature class I hand to find out that the copisteria in the science building was where I needed to go, after waiting in lines at three other copisterias. Somehow, the university can still function and all the students get there books. The next task is to find where I can buy the obscure latin american novels i need for that same class...

GRANADA & school business

This past weekend we went to Granada. We all signed up for this program called QUIJOTES where we agreed to only speak Spanish for the 5 months, but it can't really be enforced outside of the earshot of our professors. The trip was more trying because we actually had to follow the contract, at least when we were in a group. Granada is full of young people because of the university and full of tourists because of the alhambra and also the chapel where Ferdinand and Isabel are buried. Aside from giving Columbus the funds to search for a shorter route to India, they are known for driving the Moorish armies out of Spain and expelling the Jews. Granada was the last Moorish stronghold, and the alhambra is one of the best preserved monuments of Muslim architecture in Spain because the last emperor agreed to surrender if the kings would keep the city intact. There's a saying in Spanish that translates to "There's no greater tragedy than to be blind in Granada," and it becomes apparent when one visits the city and sees the ancient neighborhoods that at different times were home to Jews, Muslims, and Christians. The arabic influence is everywhere, from the accent to the food. Parts of the city feel almost like Morocco. Tapas are huge here; you get a free one with each drink. If you last long enough, you can eat dinner for free!

activism, communism, and the explanada d'espanya

Visit to Villajoyosa

Villajoyosa is a small coastal town north of Alicante. Every street in the old town is an impossibly narrow and winding maze. It's known for the brightly painted houses; it was said that fishermen could thus locate their houses from sea, but that is a myth. The tradition arose more out of a sense of ownership of property. Valor chocolate has its factory nearby. Their cafe sin the city serve the best hot chocolate in spain.