29 July 2014

El Comienzo

About four weeks from now, I will be on my way to study in Spain at the Universidad de Alicante for a semester.  This is a huge undertaking when one considers that I've never spoken Spanish as my primary language.  One of the greatest failings of the United States education system, in my opinion, is that it does not encourage students to learn another language.  It's a crucial step in the education system, and we have, for some reason, talked ourselves out of (I'll write an editorial about that later).  I spent the past six or seven years, depending on how you count, studying Spanish without the benefit of a child's natural ability to acquire new language skills.  I am sure my communication once I get to Spain will be full of terrible mistakes and awkward speechless moments (I have trouble memorizing nouns, and often mix them up with humorous results), but this wasn't an opportunity to pass up, nope!

This blog almost didn't happen.  It seemed like a good idea at first, then the initial deadline passed and I hadn't written anything, so I sighed and went back to my Star Trek marathons.  A deadline extension gave me a second chance at this blogging thing, and it should be much easier now that most of the formatting is done.  The next few months will be full of complimentary trivia facts and lame humor attempts, and maybe also some interesting information about my experiences in Spain and other places.

The itinerary for this trip is weird and sure to change at random intervals, but here is the general idea:
  • August 25th: depart from the United States at oh-dark-thirty in the morning (seriously nothing should be alive this early)
  • August 26th: arrive in Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • August 26-30: Amsterdam
    • This period of time is unplanned, because I like living life on the edge.  I am also lazy.  Maybe I'll visit the Anne Frank House.  That would be cool.  Also, some things are legal in Amsterdam that remain stubbornly illegal in the United States.  Opportunities abound, if you know what I mean!
    • I have hostel reservations for four nights, for which I paid a little over $120.  It's a six-bed women's dorm room.  I am somewhat wary of stalkers over the interwebs, so I will hold off talking about that in more detail until I arrive in Amsterdam.
  • August 30: flight from Amsterdam to Alicante, Spain
    • This flight gets in at 16:30, then I have to get to my homestay location and magically get to a CCCS-sponsored social function by, like, 20:00.  I will sacrifice regularly to the Gods of the Airport and Airplane Travel so that I have enough time to complete the aforementioned tasks in a timely manner.
  • August 31: Integrated Studies program begins
  • December 20: Final day at the CCCS!  I will fly from Alicante to Lisbon, Portugal for a few days in that dashing country
    • While I do not celebrate Christmas (as such), I will be spending that time in Lisbon, where I have heard that the festivities and decorations are beautiful.  More on that as I do further research.  Most places are likely to be closed Christmas day, though, so I'll probably be spending the day in my hostel sleeping and eating whatever non-perishable food I managed to stockpile beforehand.
  • December 26: Fly out from Lisbon, via Amsterdam, back to the United States
A bit of housekeeping and an explanation about the current blog format...
  • The Title: I suck at coming up with titles, but I do enjoy alliteration.  There, that's your literary term education of the day.  Anyway, I picked up a Spanish dictionary and found a cool word in the A section and used it.
  • Background:  Rest assured that the stock background photo will soon be banished in favour of something a little nicer.
  • Top Banner:  The photos I used are from a recent backpacking trip in the Pecos Mountains of New Mexico.  No, they're not from Spain.  They're a place holder.  Since I (tragically) can't travel into the future and bring back photos, that'll all have to wait until I'm actually there
  • Comments Section: You can comment on this blog, and I would love to hear from you!  Unfortunately, I do have to take some precautions based on my experience with the comments section on my other blog.  You will NEVER have to input a CAPTCHA (these are annoying and I hate them and I am sure you do too), but all comments will be put into a moderation queue.  Do not worry, this is usual, and I should allow them to be published within a day or so.
  • Advertising:  I will never advertise on this blog, however I will try to give mentions to things that I tried of my own volition and thought were awesome enough to share.
  • Reviews:  This goes along with advertising, to some degree, but part of my purpose here is to try things out and tell you whether or not you should try them too.  This is ideally going to include goods, services, hostels, tourist attractions, non-tourist attractions, donuts, ostriches, and many other things.
  • Language:  I want this blog to be accessible to as many people as possible.  I will probably transition to writing primarily in Spanish, but I will also translate everything into English for non-Spanish speakers.  Other languages I'll handle as I encounter them--Spanish and English are the only two languages I really know, though.
  • Other links on the right-hand sidebar: These are things that I like, not necessarily related to Spain or Alicante.  They make me laugh, or think, or possibly both.  A lot of them are webcomics, but there are also photography blogs and art blogs.  All of them are run by extremely talented people and are worth a look.
  • What is to come?  This blog will detail my experiences in Europe, particularly Spain.  I have some good music lists, Spanish-language videos and movies, and Spanish literature that I'd like to talk about before the conclusion of this blog on or around 26 December..  The right-hand sidebar will eventually include links to things about Spain, though that idea is still in the development stage.  
What else would you like to see?  Talk to me in the comments section!  As for me, these Star Trek episodes aren't going to watch themselves.