Alicante – GW Blogs from Abroad

The News-Spanish Style

AdminJanuary 30, 2014December 14, 2018

In the US, I love to keep up with the news especially politics. I am studying politics at GW but it also has been a passion of mine for a long time. But the United States has this little problem with being selfish and thinking it’s the center of the universe. Our news is just a product of that. The local news is mostly stories of robbery, fires and rapes; in short, straight up depressing. The “world news” is sound bites of the biggest international stories, and updates about what is happening in Washington. And let’s not forget the nation’s obsession and personally, my biggest guilty pleasure; celebrity news. I cannot lie to you, if I don’t check Perez Hilton or People.com at least 3 times a day, I get a little restless.

Here are 5 things I have learned though the news here.

1. US pop culture has taken over

For example, this weekend is the 50^th anniversary of Kennedy’s assassination and the Spanish news is having a special all afternoon. When is the last time, the United State did a full length special celebrating a famous figure from other country? Here, I get US celebrity and political news and it’s surprisingly un-bias. Sure, at times, the US has had a less than stellar reputation abroad, but through my own experience, people here generally love Americans and are super interested in learning more about our culture.

2. Spain’s political problems

Spain is a parliamentary monarchy, meaning that there is a monarchy but also a prime minister, who is the head of government. Since the 1990s, there have been two major political parties. There is the Spanish Social Worker’s Party, which is more to the left of the spectrum (liberal for those who “don’t do politics”) and the People’s party, which is more conservative, and who are currently the heads of state. Just like in the US, there is corruption and those are just trying to do what’s right. Spain also has problems with autonomy, with the region of Catalonia (where Barcelona is) and Basque Country wanting to separate themselves. These problems are so interesting but yet something I have never discussed in any world history or international politics course. Spain’s history is very interesting and I’m so happy I’ve had the opportunity to learn about here.

3. Does local news always have to sad?

Here’s a similarity between the US and España. Since I’ve been here, the major story has been about these parents who are being accused of murdering their little girl who was adopted from China. Such a depressing story and we hear about every little development everyday. Then there are the fires, robberies, murders; the list goes on and on. Not that these stories aren’t important but why do people want to hear these things every single day? Communication/ Psych majors, where you at?

4. The newscasters are beautiful.

This is just proving my “Spanish women are perfectly beautiful” theory even more. Like perfect, youthful, never a hair out of place, the cutest clothes, not to mention their bodies, despite eating bread and drinking at every meal. Sure, the US newscasters are generally good-looking, but this is just a whole other level. It just straight up aggravating.

5. They know the meaning of international news

They talk about the news in the UK, France, Italy, Russia, the Middle East, China…I could go on and on. Sure the US and Spain get the most attention, but it’s a nice smorgasbord of news.

I’ve decided to do my final Spanish project on the role of American pop culture in Spain using some actual sources and not just the strong opinions and observations of Sahara Lake. Such a huge part of going abroad is learning about another culture and I’m so #blessed to have had the opportunity to do.

As for the following weeks, I have a plethora of papers, presentations and tests, Thanksgiving dinner (If there is not Mac&Cheese or stuffing, I might have spend another night crying with Tay-Tay Swift) and my much-anticipated trip to Morocco.

Until next time loyal followers. Paz, Amor and Beyoncé.

Lists on Lists on Lists

AdminNovember 11, 2013December 14, 2018

By stlake

parablog So I’ve been majorly slacking on the blog posts as of late, so I’m going try to catch everyone up in a organized fashion. For those of you who know me well, you know I am the queen of post-it notes and to-do lists. Now I know laundry lists aren't the most interesting things to read but I promise to try to keep some humor. The extreme wit will return this week, I promise. So List #1: Things I’ve neglected to write about/probably should have gotten their own post but didn’t.

My trip eg of my fall break. I got to see one of my high school best friends KC and we spent plenty of time catching up, eating AMAZING food and sight-seeing. I would define our tourism however as lazy, which can be defined as people watching and going to more local spots than museums. But it was still a beautiful city nonetheless.
My 21^st Birthday- It was really cool that I got to spend my 21^st abroad. So, while I might not have had the typical “American” experience, I was on the beach on October 14^th, hanging out with some the coolest people I have ever met.
The Education Strike here in Spain- About two weeks ago now, the Spanish government made huge budget and scholarship cuts to the education system, which caused the students and families at the University to go on strike and protest in the streets. The entire thing fascinated me, and being the political nerd I am, I looked more into the political systems here. I’m feeling quite inspired about this topic, so stay tuned for a individual post!
Halloween Spanish style- While a few years ago, Halloween might have not been popular, with the growing number of abroad students here in Alicante as well as the increasing popularity of American pop culture, Halloween has definitely found it’s niche. I pulled a typical American girl move and dressed up as a black cat, while the Spanish people went for more a scary, scratch that, TERRIFYING approach to Halloween. I had an absolute blast with the all my friends. I'm definitely starting to think about how fast time is going by and cherishing every moment with my new friends.

This weekend, the entire CIEE crew went to Sevilla, Spain for a weekend trip. I had such a great time, which leads me to List #2: The best things about Sevilla

1. It’s the perfect place for artsy photos. Here are a few examples, kudos of Chloe-the candid photo master. Everything was just so beautiful, I just had to show you guys.

2. The architecture was just perfect. It is extremely influenced by the Muslims, who ruled the city for a very long time. The Cathedral, which is the largest Gothic cathedral and 3rd largest church in the world was beautiful. But my favorite building by far was the Plaza de España. Fun fact, Star Wars Attack of Clones was filmed there!

3. Flamenco Dance- I have seen Flamenco Dance before, about 5 years ago but it definitely stuck with me more this time around. I am extremely fascinated by this dance. The guitar is extremely complex and beautiful. The dancers are so strong and powerful, yet it is extremely beautiful and tells such a sweet love story. The guttural singing kind of caught me by surprise but it adds to the passion of the whole art form.

I promise to continue to write weekly (maybe even bi-weekly if I get inspired) for my last 5 weeks here in Alicante. Thank you for all the continued support and love you all have given me throughout my Alicante Adventure. I hope to finish strong!

Paz, Amor y Beyoncé.

72 Hours of Solitude

AdminOctober 1, 2013December 14, 2018

By stlake

This weekend was pretty quiet here in Alicante. The frat boys of Denison were off dominating Oktoberfest and Chloe, Al and Audrey took the opportunity to travel as well. So I used the weekend to mostly run errands and write postcards. Family, you’ll be getting them soon. Lovers and friends, you guys will be the next batch, not to worry. But, the weekend wasn’t really spent in solitude. By now, y’all know I love a good cultural reference/play on words. I really just wanted to give my boy Gabriel Garcia Marquez a shout-out because I brought the book “100 Years of Solitude (Cien años de soledad)” today and I’m going try reading it in Spanish, wish me luck! So here are the two highlights of the weekend aka the hours not spent in solitude:

Saturday night, the remainder of the crew, Kelly, Evan, Becky and I went to get some tapas. While the food wasn’t great and me and Kelly’s mojitos tasted like soap, there was live music! They played some good ol’ Spanish guitar and salsa, which was very cool. But the cherry on top was when the band started to play “Play that Funky Music”. Just hearing the man sing, “Play that funky music white boyyy” in a Spanish accent and watching all the Spaniards bust a move like it was 1985 was amazing. That song is definitely a staple for a Lake Family dance party and always reminds me of my dad and brother. #itsthelittlethings
Sunday, Kelly, Evan and I headed to Tabarca, an island about an hour off the coast of Alicante. We were excited for a day of relaxation and snorkeling. The ferry seemed to be crawling rather than cruising across the Mediterranean but we got there as the clouds began to cover the bright sun. But the lack of sun did not take away from the beauty of the island at all. The coast was rocky, with underwater caves and the buildings were small, and quaint. As soon as we got there, we walked all the way down into the pueblo (town), in search of snorkel gear. We found the mask and the snorkel, but could not find the flippers. But, not to fear because we found water shoes…or so I thought. About 1 minute into my first venture snorkeling, I stepped on a sea urchin. The needles went through the water shoe and into my heel. I spent the next 20 minutes trying to pull the needles out of my foot. I don’t have a very high pain tolerance but I tried to be a big girl; I got most of the needles out except for one. And in a fit of rage, I threw the water shoes into the ocean…6 euros down the drain. I apologize to the environment for polluting the beautiful ocean blue, but I was bleeding and angry. While at home, I would have let an injury like this stop me, I decided to go back out into the water. And, I was so happy I did because it was like Finding Nemo down there; fish of every color, swimming past rock and coral. The goggles were pretty much junk too, seeing as they filled with salt water that burnt my eyes every 5 minutes, but don’t worry, I didn’t through those into the ocean. We ended the day with a very fishy paella and watching the sunset. It was great day and Tabarca is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life!

I’m sure you are all waiting with bated breath to hear what happened to the last sea urchin needle. Well, after we finished snorkeling, we met up with other CIEE Alicante students who tried to help my bloody foot. First, they burned my skin in order to sanitize it and then tried to scrape out the needle with a credit card. It sounds a lot worse than it was, as many of you know, I can be a bit dramatic. Thanks for the help Ryan and Ali!

But, later than night, after a failed attempt to pull it out with tweezers, the battle of the sea urchin needle continued. And while I was trying to be a big girl, I caved back into my old ways and whined to my mom on the phone that night. She suggested I tape a potato to my foot and leave it overnight because the enzymes in the potato can break down whatever is still in my skin. But, I didn’t want to have to tell Mama Dominga because she can be a bit over dramatic when it comes to my health. I probably would have ended up in the emergency room with her by my side in tears. So late that night, I crept into the kitchen on the hunt for a potato but to no avail. So the little needle is still stuck in my heel-I’ve decided to keep it there as a memory of the good times in Tabarca.

Also, apologies Ev for not using the genius title “A Taste of Tabarca”. I just needed a more encompassing title for the weekend, ja feel? Hopefully no hard feelings, it was still a stroke of genius.

Up next: My fall break extravaganza! Going to the South of France with my friend Madeline from GW and then off to Rome and Florence to visit my friends Carolyn and KC from high school! I will try to make a few posts that week about my travels so stay tuned!

Peace, love and Beyoncé. (I know this week’s post wasn’t about Queen B, but let’s face it, everyday is about Queen B.)

All girls love Beyonce

AdminSeptember 24, 2013December 14, 2018

By stlake

Before I get into this post, I want to apologize for the amount of typos in last week’s post. I was so excited to tell y’all about my Barcelona adventures, I did not proofread as much as I normally do. I also want to correct one of my extremely witty pop culture references; the quote “the rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain” is from My Fair Lady with Audrey Hepburn not Funny Girl with Barbara Streisand. Got two of my favorite divas mixed up, my sincerest apologized. Now onto this week’s post involving another one of celeb idols.

As many of you reading my blog know, I have been dancing my whole life. I did not think I would continue through college, but I have now started to study it through an academic and performance lens, and I couldn’t be happier. However, when looking for study abroad programs, I did not look for a program with dance. I thought I could use a semester off and did not think I would miss it as much as I do. But, I do feel like a part of my day is missing because I’m so used to rushing from class, work and rehearsal. Yes, I know jam packing my schedule is not sticking with my new “go with the flow” mindset, but something’s got to give. So when my friend Audrey found a dance class at a local gym, I jumped at the opportunity to join her. But hey, that was a YOLO moment right? So I am kind of sticking to my new mindset-cut me some slack ok?

Back to my story. Running late, I rush into the studio and see Audrey surrounded by a group of teenage girls wearing regular street clothes. I was wearing sneakers, leggings and my trusty Beyoncé concert t-shirt; ready to bust a move. They looked me up and down (something I have gotten so used to here in Spain, but that’s another blog post.) and the teacher laughs and asks me if I was ready for another class. At this point, Audrey and I are nervously laughing, wondering what to expect. The teacher then says he normally teaches “Dancehall hip hop”. The combination we learned was to “Shell it down” by T.O.K; I definitely recommend it for a prime dance party. So needless to say, there was a lot of poppin, lockin and twerkin. The girls in the class were so nice and we had a great time. Then at the end of class, after admiring my t-shirt, one of the girls ask me if I wanted to see a dance they learned a few weeks ago to a Beyoncé song. Of course, I was thrilled to see their combination to “Upgrade You” and wished that was the class I went to. Our mutual love for Queen B led us to having a conversation about what to do around Alicante and more information about their dance company.

The class wasn’t particularly challenging or unique. So at first, I couldn’t quite understand why it made me so happy. And then it dawned on me; during a week where I was feeling a little bit of homesickness and FOMO (fear of missing out), it was extremely comforting to realize that many things are universal. Dance is a language in and of itself. I could understand exactly what the teacher meant even though I did not understand all the Spanish vocabulary. Although I don’t think I will attend the class again, it did get me back in a dance state of mind. Now I am on the hunt for a challenging modern dance class either at the university or at another studio in Alicante.

Until next time, peace, love and Beyoncé.