It's been a while...

This is going to be a very long post with many pictures because so much has happened and I have not updated! Oops, sorry friends! Let's see, I left off at Thursday, June 23. That was a great day! I slept in until one because we had been out looking at everything all night. I quickly threw on a pair of shorts then headed into the blazing sun to watch the mascletás which were, once again, incredible. Rachel didn't have class, so she came along for the first time. I think she was impressed! After comida (lunch), I headed out to the beach with some friends. It was so relaxing! Later that night I watched some of a 4-hour parade, then headed to the beach at midnight. It is tradition during Las Hogueras that people build bonfires on the beach (illegal, but the cops look the other way... they seem to do that a lot during this festival...). They take a piece of paper that has things they dislike in their life, throw it in the fire, and jump over it seven times. Next they throw a list of dreams/desires into the water and jump in it seven times. I participated, and it was awesome!

Burning the bad...

Jumping in the water!

Friday is the biggest day of Las Hogueras... it is when they finally burn the building-sized statues! That was by far the most incredible thing I have ever experienced in my life. We waited for over an hour for it to start. Suddenly fireworks were shot off (I think from the castle) and they were right above us. After the fireworks, a small fire is started (a smaller hoguera next to the large one is burned). Suddenly, crazy fireworks go off, ending in the lighting of the gigantic hoguera. Firefighters hosed down the surrounding buildings the whole time (probably to prevent them from catching fire). When the fire got so large and hot that we could not handle it, the crowd began to chant "Agua, agua" (water, water). Eventually the firefighters hosed US down! There was music playing and water spraying as we all danced around a building-sized bonfire. Wow! Afterwards some friends and I hung out on the beach! What a great night!

This is when it had only begun. Let it burn!

Mojada! (wet)

On Saturday morning Paqui, Jose, Rachel, and I headed out to the country house again. It was amazing! I always enjoy sleeping on the hamacas (hammocks), but I appreciated it even more after the exhausting week of Hogueras. We made sangria after lunch, then headed to the beach! When we got home, we waited up for two other foreign students Ayaka and Manami to come (they are from Japan). The next morning Paqui, Rachel, and I headed to another beach to go for a several mile walk along the beach. It was incredible, and there were few people there. When we got back to the house, Paqui taught us four girls how to make paella. We relaxed more in the evening, then booked it back to Alicante after supper to catch the second night of fireworks on the beach (they had them Sat-Wed). What a great weekend!

A beautiful beach! LOVED it!

Mmm... paella: the finished product!

On Monday everyone was exhausted in class! I chilled for the day. I am pretty sure I slept all afternoon! It was a good thing I did, because while I was eating supper, Paqui told us we should probably watch the fireworks from the roof if we are going to leave for Madrid by one. What?! I thought she was kidding. She didn't laugh. I took a five second shower (okay, longer), met my friends for ice cream, watched the fireworks, then slept in the car for the night.

We finally stepped out of the car and into Madrid on Tuesday morning around 9:30. Rachel and I took the metro to meet her mom (from the U.S.!) for breakfast. We spent the rest of the morning in the Prado looking at gorgeous works of art. Wow! After grabbing a quick bite to eat, we headed to the Palacio Real (Real Palace). What an impressive building! The whole city was made up of beautiful, old buildings. After a relaxing water break, Rachel and I left her mother to meet up with Paqui for home. I slept the whole way home, then went right to bed when I got back!

Goya and me outside the Prado

Me outside the palace

Wednesday was another day of rest. I took the afternoon to catch up on sleep and do my homework. It was the last night of fireworks on the beach, and they were truly incredible! What a great way to end Las Hogueras!

By the time Thursday came around, I was wiped. Although the town was back to normal from Hogueras, I was not in a routine yet. I came home and tutored Paula for an hour before lunch. She really likes singing "skidda marinky dinky dink," and I really enjoy hearing her sing it in her sweet little accent! After siesta I met up with Carlos, my intercambio (a student from the University who is learning English) for tea. We had a great discussion! When I got home I quickly grabbed my dance shoes and headed off to salsa lessons. When we returned, Paqui had a special dinner prepared in honor of Rachel's mom's visit. It was delicious, and a good time was had by all!

On Friday morning I took my final exam for my class. I felt like it went pretty well! I then went with most of our group to have a drink at the cafeteria. I enjoyed a sandia granizado (frozen watermelon) while we all sat around and chatted. Our program then treated us to lunch at one of my favorite restaurants here, 100 Monteditos. They serve the most delicious mini sandwhiches! We then enjoyed a few hours on the beach followed by a last night out with those in our group who were only here for Term 1 (July). I will miss them dearly, but we are gaining new people!

Hang in there, I am almost done! :D

Paqui, Jose, and I went shopping all around Alicante on Saturday because this month is Rebajas (kind of like our Black Friday, but less violent). I bought a coffee maker and some coffee to use in the States. Mmm! I took a long siesta, then went out to eat dinner with incoming group of students. After a brief tour of the city, we chatted for a while on the beach. We topped off the day with some dancing at Havanna!

Today, Sunday, I took the tram with some friends to Benidorm, a cute city with an incredible beach. We passed most of the day there, but I got back in time to meet my new neighbors from our program. Now I am ready for bed because tomorrow starts my next term. I am taking a grammar class, continuing my dance class, and beginning a windsurfing class this month!

A pretty view at Benidorm

Woah!