I am in an internet cafe in Alicante. This place is so beautiful that I am constantly overwhelmed. The flight was long and I was tired, but I had no big problems getting here. Last night I got to the hotel, took a shower, and then they whisked us off to a tapas bar for dinner. Tapas are like hors d´vours, which I do not know how to spell. Lots of fish and little sandwiches and mysterious things that they don´t bother telling you what they are. Instead our guide just says, "try it, everything is good!!" After dinner I walked in the ocean for the first time ever with some other girls on my program. The Mediterranean is warm and gorgeous-- the beach is immediately behind our hotel. We went to a little bar right out on the beach and sat outside and talked. We got to bed about 12:30, just as the night life was getting started. People here usually head out at 11 or 12 and come home at 4, 5, 6, 7 am.... that´s going to be something to get used to. Today we toured this enormous castle at the top of a small mountain. From the top you could stand in the salty breezes and see the blue sea on one side and all around the rest of you was the city of Alicante, busy with buildings and people, and edged by mountains in the distance. I could not get over the beauty of it, and I´m sure my pictures won´t do it justice, but you´ll have to believe me that it was just breathtaking. I am excited about jumping into that water this afternoon. Tomorrow morning I will meet and move in with my host family, so I´m keeping my fingers crossed. It makes one nervous, because we´re not going to be a big group of 75 anymore, since we´ll be dispersed throughout this city which is much bigger than I realized. But our coordinators assure us that we´ll be within walking distance of each other, so that is a comfort. I hope my family and I get along! More exploring tonight; I´m going to have to hit the barrio sooner or later. I can´t believe I´m here.... it´s really amazing.
posted by Lindsay @ 7:21 AM
