The Arrival
where to begin...
I arrived in Alicante Spain after about 48 hours of travelling, from Phoenix to LA, to Istanbul to Valencia and finally to this small beach city. Looking back on it, I'm not sure how I arrived all in one piece! I had far too much luggage, my Spanish was average at best, and I didn't have any internet or cell service on my phone. I somehow managed to catch a bus to my AirBnB from the train station in Alicante, then promptly fell asleep in my small little room with the window open to try and catch a small breeze. I know we always say in Arizona that the heat isn't so bad because it's a "dry" heat, but I didn't fully understand how awful one could feel in the heat when it's also 70% humidity out. For anyone preparing to come to the Mediterranean, be prepared, you were warned. You've never felt so sticky and uncomfortable in your life.
Anyway, I started exploring the city the second day I got there. I grabbed myself a croissant at the bakery on the corner (there's one at least every block) and caught the bus into el centro. After walking around for a bit, I wandered over to the fantastically overcrowded beach. Even though there were far too many people there on vacation from all parts of Europe, somehow the sight of the water calmed me a bit. I had made it!
For anyone studying abroad in Spain for the fall semester, my top recommendations are booking a flight that doesn't have a million layovers; it'll be more expensive but it's so worth it to just make the trip in one or two flights. Also, I suggest arriving a couple weeks to a month before the semester actually starts. I did this and I really appreciated the chance to get settled in before the craziness of orientation began.
I arrived in Alicante Spain after about 48 hours of travelling, from Phoenix to LA, to Istanbul to Valencia and finally to this small beach city. Looking back on it, I'm not sure how I arrived all in one piece! I had far too much luggage, my Spanish was average at best, and I didn't have any internet or cell service on my phone. I somehow managed to catch a bus to my AirBnB from the train station in Alicante, then promptly fell asleep in my small little room with the window open to try and catch a small breeze. I know we always say in Arizona that the heat isn't so bad because it's a "dry" heat, but I didn't fully understand how awful one could feel in the heat when it's also 70% humidity out. For anyone preparing to come to the Mediterranean, be prepared, you were warned. You've never felt so sticky and uncomfortable in your life.
Anyway, I started exploring the city the second day I got there. I grabbed myself a croissant at the bakery on the corner (there's one at least every block) and caught the bus into el centro. After walking around for a bit, I wandered over to the fantastically overcrowded beach. Even though there were far too many people there on vacation from all parts of Europe, somehow the sight of the water calmed me a bit. I had made it!
For anyone studying abroad in Spain for the fall semester, my top recommendations are booking a flight that doesn't have a million layovers; it'll be more expensive but it's so worth it to just make the trip in one or two flights. Also, I suggest arriving a couple weeks to a month before the semester actually starts. I did this and I really appreciated the chance to get settled in before the craziness of orientation began.
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