Please come home for Christmas

The first semester is over and done with!

The weeks after my friends left is when I started counting down, not because I wanted to leave Spain, but because I was craving some typical Belgian things... like family and friends :)

The two courses I had were winding down to some small tests and writing papers. A walk in the park compared to what Lessius demands of its students.

We had also gotten into the habbit of organising movie nights in the house. Just the flatmates, with some snacks and drinks.

All the movies were Christmas related, since we had to make up for Alcala's lack of holiday spirit.

The sun is shining, the trees still have most of their leaves...

For one of my classes the teacher onganised some extra time to watch a movie. In Belgium there's no way students would leave their home to come watch a movie in school, but this teacher is amazing. He is truly one of the best teachers I've ever had. "Bring the popcorns and McDonalds!" is what he said, so that's what we did!

It was a fun way of making something educative interesting.

The first semester marks the end of many things. Everybody's gone home for the holidays, and when they come back, it'll be two weeks of studying and then they're off home for good. Thankfully plenty students in Alcala are there on a year-long contract as well.

Coming back to Belgium was such a relief. Eating my favorite foods, seeing my favorite people.

I'll be here three weeks, working, studying, have some fun and than it's back to Alcala for sunny spring!

I finally got some pictures from when Kristiaan was here!

Girlfriends, Glühwein and can't come up with a third word.

I had already forgotten I posted about my brother coming,

if I had written it again, I'm sure I would have told you a whole set of other things!

But another exciting week has past.

On Thursday two of my friends were coming, and the days before that were merely preparation.

I had to sort out a way to let them stay in the house and agreed with my roommates that I would sleep on the living room couch. All illegal-ness according to my contract - but as long as my roommates were fine with it...

I had a few classes on Thursday so I couldn't pick Florence and Sanne up from the airport, but I instructed them on the easiest possible way to get from the airport to my "hood". The airport is right between Alcala and Madrid, by taxi it takes you 15mins and by public transport an hour and a half so I seriously feel sorry for all my guests who opt for the cheaper option.

I expected them to share my exhaustedness by mid-day so we only went for a small walk around Alcala and a warming tea break. We were all enjoying the wonderful Alcala autumn weather. In the evening we would go out in Alcala. Our first stop was the Erasmus-regular club Gabbana. Total fail this one, either you stand outside because this place is so crouded or you share the dancefloor with two other people. Tonight was one of the latter. Thankfully we had already poored some drinks at home, because here, the tequila tasted like water and we needed some liquid distraction from pushy Mexicans. Although I didn't mind talking some Spanish, and I admired their courage to come and talk to us. I even took a spin on the dancefloor with one of them. I'm glad to say his "latin rhythm" was as horrible as mine :D

After a while we continued our journey to ManaMana, escorted by the Mexicans. This place was pleasantly packed, I even saw some friends from class which was refreshing. We drank some more and danced some more until my friends were nearing a coma, so we went back home.

The next morning we embarked on a Madrid adventure.

I took them to Xanadú, Madrid largest shopping center, where we shopped till we dropped. Literally. On the back seat of the bus. That night we cooked a good spaghetti with enough leftover to feed an army of Marjans. :)

And on Saturday we went back to Madrid, this time for some sightseeing. I took them round to see Sol, the Palacio Real and the Plaza Mayor.
Also this weird street artist thing that's a glitter monster and a goat all at the same time. I haven't figured that one out yet...

We had some churros at the famous San Gines, walked through some shops and ended up at, you guessed it, the louboutin store!

Lastly, we took a stroll through Retiro, which was even busier this time, and filled with Mickey Mouses and dancing SpongeBobs.

 

That evening I was a complete wreck. I had a nasty cold and some lingering stomach flu. All bad timing since we were celebrating my roommate's birthday and I wouldn't have the living room to myself until all the guests had left.

All week long, everybody had been preparing for this big party. Anna-Lena's grandma had sent us homemade cookies, Julia had baked a cake, muffins, chocolate mousse and Jessica a delicious spinach quiche. They had also stocked up on bottles of gluhwein to give it a traditional German christmas twist.

Sanne and Florence were invited as well so we enjoyed the rich buffet that was displayed in the kitchen. Even some of the guests had made some incredible apple pies and cakes. 

Like traditional Spaniards, the party didn't start until way late and by that time I had a fever, migraine and everything in between. At twelve, the girls went to sleep, and I tried as well, on my yogamat, on the floor...

After and hour I woke up feeling sick, despite the fact that I hadn't eaten to keep my stomach calm. The party was still going strong so I put on ALL my clothes and went for a walk, which ended up being relatively pleasant at 2 in the morning so I made it quite a long walk.

When I came back I sat in the kitchen for awhile, until guests started to leave. By three o'clock, I could finally lay my head down on the couch. But just for an hour, since I had to get up for the girls to leave for the airport.

Eventhough I was sick to the core, and that night felt like it would never end, I was so glad I got to see my friends, have a lot of fun and explore more Alcala nightlife.

When I finally laid my head down in my own bed at 5 in the morning, I vowed not to get up EVER again... 

until my class on Monday morning.

Muchísimas gracias

I would like to dedicate this post to all my readers.

Whether you're a one timer or a regular, I truly appreciate everyone taking out the time to read about my adventures.
I never considered myself to be a good writer, but I've always prefered to write in English.
There are many more ways to describe emotions in English than there are in Dutch.
Anyone can be a poet in English :)

I do promise, to myself and my readers, that soon, I'll have a lot more to write about.

A big thanks to all the people who've posted a response.
Also, those of you who haven't posted a response yet, you still have 7 more months to do so!

Baby it's cold outside!

This is the second time I've managed to lock myself out of the house. Unfortunately, it's much colder now and I wasn't prepared.
Me and Julia were just on the patio, cutting her hair, and this normal affair quickly turned into a fit of utter panic.
We waited for almost 45mins and when someone finally showed up, it was like seeing water after walking in the dessert for days. Eureka!!

The past week was the busiest one since I got here.
I was so happy when my brother and his girlfriend arrived. I was excited to show what Alcala had to offer and also the opportunity to finally visit Madrid's diamonds.
The first day was already colored by the massive national strike. I definitely think Madrid saw the worst of it. In Alcala we had a preview of what was yet to come.
Earlier in the morning, my class was cancelled and they had barricaded the door to the school. Thankfully, everything was still open, so we visited Alcala's cathedral, my school and the Cervantes Museum. And then the Alcala tour was pretty much over. :)


We walked to my house (due to the lack of busses), a nice place I was proud to show off.
Later, after we managed to get a bus to Madrid, we went to visit the Royal Palace of Madrid. A mini version of Versailles really, and a place I'm definitely revisiting with a guide. Who knew my visitors were more of the in-and-out kind of people :)
Madrid was a mad house, throughout the day, we saw some pretty extreme expressions of anger. Anyone or anything that didn't go on strike had to suffer. There were stickers everywhere, on all the busses, cash-machines, restaurant windows. An ugly side to the strike, which poisoned the purpose of the whole thing really. I later learned some massive fighting broke out also, not far from where we were. I could write a book about what I think about this whole strike thing...

Tourist-wise I saw a whole other side to Madrid - still in awe of all the older, left over culture, I also saw a more modern side. The restaurants and rich mansions reminded me of why I like London so much: the exclusivity of it all.
In the evening we met up with a friend of Kristiaan's. After walking all day, I wasn't really capable of doing anything else but sitting down anyway.
The next day, we continued our tour past the Banco de España, the Prado museum, through the botanical gardens (no less beautiful during autumn) all the way up to the Retiro park. Which I must say was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life.
It looked so unreal, it might as well have been photoshopped. The trees covered every color in the fall spectrum, with areas so cozy, just like the movies. I could've sat there all day.
And so many other people were enjoying the park as well, joggers, cyclists, couples walking, rowing a boat, people walking there dog. It was impossible not to feel genuinely happy in that moment.

It was also impossible not to feel genuinely happy looking through the Louboutin display, even my brother was impressed. It's sort of a cult thing for any person I guess...
I was also glad to see another neighbourhood of Madrid called Chueca. Informally the 'gay' side of town, this side was full of life, night or day, with fashion boutiques all over, second hand stores and retro bars by the dozens. For dinner we had the most delicious Mexican food in Alcala!

These two days of Madrid had already given me so much, I decided to let my brother have the other two days he had left to discover Madrid on their own.
I want to keep some secrets undiscovered until other friends visit. But it's made me all the more excited!

I don't think I've ever been this impressed by autumn. It's just warm enough here to actually enjoy this season. I feel like here in Spain, people would give anything to be outside, while in Belgium it's the other way.
I'm curious to see what winter brings...

Shoulda Woulda Coulda

So the elections are over, but they are far from erased from my mind.
The election night was absolutely amazing!

First thing, with my personal invitation and ID I waited in line for the metal detector along with other partygoers in chic suits and dresses. I instantly felt so important!
At the entrance we received a whole package of stuff,
pins with Obama and Romney's face on it, a Spanish/American flag pin, background profile about the candidates, a student badge, information about the ambassador and the party.

Of the two other Alcala students I knew only one, and once I found them we basically chased the ambassador for half an hour to get a picture and squeeze in a question.
I actually got to bond for a minute with the first lady ambassador - over lipstick of all things!

There were carton cut-outs of Obama and Romney, already it was pretty obvious which candidate was most popular. Lets just say, Romney stood lonely in a corner for most of the night...
We saw a lot of Obama pins, and the 15% of Romney fans were too afraid to wear theirs :)
There were about 300 guests of which 50 American students and 50 students from all over Spain. The ambassador prided himself on that. He wanted the night to be all about the future, so inviting students seemed logical.

We got vouchers for drinks and a sandwich and there was a popcorn stand. Everything was America themed, plastic cups in red/white/blue, typical popcorn cups, flags for all the States, etc.

Dozens of tv and radio crew walked around the room all night to interview both Americans and Spanish on their ideas. I tactically avoided interviews, I think my Spanish would've completely ruined it.

I knew I wouldn't be staying until 6am but after my schoolmates left at 12 I decided to stay a bit longer. Unfortunately my feet were already killing me so I'd have to try and socialize sitting down.
Which I have to say, worked pretty well. The first question everybody there asked was: who do you think's gonna win? - there were a lot of shrugging shoulders on that one.
So it came to no surprise when a Spanish reporter asked me that same question. We got talking and it turned out he once studied in Leuven for a year and he had a lot to say about Belgium. Small world...

Later, I made contact with 4 all-American guys, also students in Madrid. Pretty quickly I felt very comfortable and we had a good time.
Suddenly a Spanish lady walked up to me, asking me where I was from and what I do. She wanted to introduce one of her students so we could pick up a conversation. Apparently she was going around coupling her students with strangers. That way, I started talking with a Mexican fellow who gave me my portion of Spanish convo for the night. He immediately invited me to come join him and his friends for a Mexican dinner some time.

In the mean time, large screens would project the progress in the election results, and the ambassador would interject a speech now and again, in Spanish, with a beautiful American accent. He gave it a good shot though :)

When I left I took a taxi, then a night bus to Alcala, which took 45mins, and then another taxi from the station to my house. My next class started in 5 hours 34mins, 33mins, 32mins... zzzzz...

If I had worn different shoes, I might have stayed longer. If I didn't have class the next day, I would've stayed longer. If I had stayed longer, I would've met a lot more people. If I brought a camera, I could've taken some good pictures...

But all in all I had a really great time - I really have an itch for the corporate world which was even more obvious tonight!

Election Time!

So in a few hours I will be leaving for Madrid to "assist" in the American election night.
Tonight, students and oficials from all over the country are invited to follow the results closely, while in the meantime Tweeting and Facebooking about it.
I do not have a smartphone however, a small detail I overlooked when I requested my invitation - that's right, requested. Apparently it's been quite the battlefield getting hold of invitations.
Luckily my teacher has connections :)

The evening will be hosted in a fancy hotel with food and drinks and government oficials in formal attire. I'm so exiiiited, and I just can't hiiiide it!
Did I mention this could be a stepping stone for my future carreer?

Now apart from all that, I wanted to share my personal opinion on the race to the oval office.
First of all, I was quite disappointed when Mitrom announced his candidacy, especially after his 47% remark. I feel the republicans are poisoning their image with this guy. The debates didn't do them any good. Mitrom had solid point, we just never got to hear them. He never really elaborated on how exactly he was going to help the American people, ALL of them...
If I were American, I'd tend to be more democratic. Though this year, I wouldn't gladly vote for Obama either. He's walking on his toes not to make a mistake and it's made him way to careful in this campaign.
Altough I must commend him on all the things that have gone right in the past 4 years, you can't expect progress to happen overnight anyway.
Obama has lost my sympathy in that he's the president of Hollywood. As most of you know, I follow the American tabloids and "boekskes" every day. I'm telling you, there's not a single concert, talk show, Hollywood event that he hasn't gone to.
I don't think a president's rightful place is in Jay Leno's chair, or Michele doing push ups with Ellen Degeneres. I think it has stripped him from credibility.

I understand that Hollywood's money is as good as any to fund a campaign. And I see how celebrities can easily reach and influence voters. I just don't think they portray 'the American people'.

I am honestly not convinced of either one's victory tonight, it could go either way. 
But if I could vote, I'd go green.
That's right, Obama and Mitrom aren't the only people running for president...

Little America in Madrid

So the other day I went to Madrid to see a political debate in the American embassy.
But this day was interesting because of other things as well.
First I planned on going to the movies but went to a Belgian bar instead.
I was really craving some Belgian fries you know... and I had some!
A Stella beer, belgian fries, a curryworst special and of course some real Belgian mayonaise.
Afterwards I did some more walking around Madrid, through a neighbourhood I hadn't seen before. Clearly, since I'd only seen shopping streets so far :)
To get to the American embassy, you walk through the most beautiful part of Madrid, the Plaza de Cibeles with the surrounding Palace of Communication (or City Hall)

This building is truly magnificent!
But so was the Casa de America...
I must say walking into the building was an experience all on its own.

One of my teachers was the moderator for the debate, which was held between two Americans with hispanic origins. You got that right, the whole thing was in Spanish - something my teacher forgot to mention. I understood most of it, however my concentration failed me every 10mins or so. It was very energetic and entertaining, even though I don't like debates in general I found it very informative. I think 80% of the debate depends on the speaker's charisma, which in this case, the democratic candidate had plenty of :)

I forgot to mention some other fun things that have happened lately!
Me and my housemates had some very nice times. We once organized a pizza/girls night with a Beyonce dvd, which gets everybody in the mood for fun! We also had a wonderful Sunday brunch with everything homemade: apple pie, smoothies, pancakes, eggs, yogurt,... and watching some good old Cinderella! It's safe to say we're spending a good amount of time together, which I like.

Yesterday, Jessica and I went to a zumba and body pump class. Very unplanned, but obviously needed since I'm incredibly sore right now!

Also, I'm looking forward to some friends and family visiting me soon!

1 month anniversary!

Wooohoo! I've been in Alcala exactly a month now, the same amount of time I was on the camino.
It's strange how both occasions have a completely different time concept though.

The past week was culture overload. Alcala celebrated their local holiday, the birthday of Miguel de Cervantes, who was born in Alcala and is represented all over, whether it be streetnames, statues, buildings, squares, parks,...
To celebrate, Alcala held a week long Mercado de Don Quijote. A medieval festival with a market that spread all over the city, the stalls were all medieval themed, arabic, artisanal, etc. All the shopkeepers were even dressed in typical medieval fashion. All the products were devine, handmade jewelry, kitchen stuff, toys, accessories, cheese, bread, chips. A vintage, hand operated carousel; a little farm, birds and snakes! Even some traditional barbecues. I went back to the centre a few times this week, just because there was so much to discover!

Me and one of the Brazilian guys attempted to climb the Alcala mountains, which was once again a failure.  We asked around a bit and it turnes out, Alcala people don't know their city, since we walked about 12kms to finally find the entrance to the park, and by then we had lost interest. It was a nice walk though with good company. Turned out we had been very close at one point until someone pointed us in the wrong direction.
Next time, I'm taking the bus.

One evening Jessica, a friend and me went to a latin bar where people practice their latin dance skills.
I am no longer a latin dance virgin! This does not mean I am any good at it though. I was mostly there to watch, so I did feel bad for all the men that asked me to dance. I can't even tell what dance it is by the music, so I figured it best to walk before I run!
Also, I am not good at following :)
Since the hiphop class is probably a no-go, I will start a quest for the perfect latin mix dance class to get my feet wet!

Later we went to an Erasmus party which was pretty busy. It think there's going to be some fun times ahead at these parties. 

This week I also got my bachelor-paper options. But since only one option applies to my field of study I don't really have a choice and it isn't all that interesting. Thankfully I have my friends in Belgium to advise.

No more complaining about the weather! It is my perfect temperature now, around the 20s - and it seems it will stay like that for a little while longer.

This week I sadly have to give in to Madrid temptation once more. One of my teachers is moderating a American debate between a republican and democrat in Madrid which I'm really interested in attending, I'll let you know how that goes.
Since I'm in Madrid I might as well catch a movie; whether it'll be an original or a horribly dubbed film (to practice my Spanish) I have yet to dedice :)

Untill next time!

Alcala Impressions

Erasmus has finally begun!

The past week has been a week of impression-overload;
I could finally restrain myself from going to Madrid every five seconds and start discovering Alcala.

I am now completely engaged in the two courses I'm following, and I'm glad to say that I enjoy both of them very much which is a far cry from my classes in Belgium.
Even though these two classes have different people in them, and I only see them 3hours a week, I'm still trying to make a connection.

Me and Jessica decided to take dance classes together, with some very "anti-crisis prices" as they call it here. It turned out their turn out was also very crisis-esque - the class is cancelled until they have enough members. There goes that attempt at being sportive...

On the other hand, I found the best way to really experience a place is on foot, so I put on my work-out gear and walked 10kms to a 'centro comercial' nearby, centros comerciales are pretty self-explanatory but there's a movie theatre, two supermarkets, a bowling, a Media Markt, a Decathlon, etc. Obviously there are plenty of busses that go there, which I took advantage of on the way back - there was no way I was walking the same route home...

Alcala also has a mountain area with the remains of the original Alcala setting, this whole area is now a park with trails and panoramic views. Yesterday I decided to go walk there, but by the time I got to the foot of the mountain I was already so exhausted I went back home. Next time I will take the bus there :)

This week also meant the beginning of erasmus activities. The erasmus office here has apparently been in some sort of coma, since the schoolyear started over 4 weeks ago but they're catching up.
We had a welcome dinner, over 200 students showed up, which was totally crazy but very exciting!
I went with Jessica and my german roommate Anna Lena but we consciously tried to socialize with other people as well.
We met some Mexicans and a group of Brazilian guys, and later we joined them to the local erasmus club and had our first dance session of the year. Much needed by the way!

I was planning on going on an organized erasmus trip to Toledo but the list filled up too quickly so I went walking instead. Later that evening me and Jessica met up with the Brazalian guys at a Mexican restaurant. My first time eating Mexican food, in Spain, and it was delicious! Later, we went back to the erasmus club, which was completely empty but we still managed to have a great time.
Also, for once I felt threatened in the dance department - these latin-americans... phuuu!
It is clear that we Northern-Europeans lack some sort of elegance and style, I have no idea how to dance in pairs!

The boys were kind enough to walk me and Jessica home (a 2.6km walk I might add, quite chivalrous people those Brazilians)
Communication proved rather difficult though, they don't speak English, nor Spanish, so the conversations rely mostly on hand gestures, which are easily miss-interpreted and caused some rather akward moments...
One of them has kindly offered to join me on my mountain hike so to diminish my fear of getting attacked by things one might find hiding in the bushes :D

On a more sad note, seeing the crisis' effect on Spain leaves a deep impact on me, I think about it almost daily. I see people like myself begging on the street, 50% of shops have shut down, people without jobs, adds on every lantern post offering simple things like cleaning your car. There was a massive strike in Madrid on two occasions that I went there, thousands of people crying and angry.
But seeing the massive turnout on Alcala's town square on a Saturday night is truly touching - people come there for no other reason than to be together, and forget about the troubles they're in.

The past week, I aso found myself thinking of the Camino often, I really miss it. Who would have thought, you could miss waking up at 5.30am but with a solid purpose, feeling proud and fit every day, thankful for every conversation. That's probably the reason why I've been walking here, to re-create the feeling.
But I'm sure erasmus will have given me plenty more beautiful memories by the end of the year!

Birthday goodness

I've known for a few years now that having your birthday in the first month of the schoolyear is not ideal once you start university...
Every time I start at a new school it only gives me a week or two to make friends with whom I can celebrate - this year would be no different.

There was the possibility that my roommates and I would go out, but I wasn't counting on it.
One of my friends from home had a surprise planned the day before my birthday so I made sure I stayed at the appartment to accept the delivery or whatever it would be.
I had many things in mind: either she'd send me a cake, flowers, a pair of Louboutins, a Birkin even?
The fact that she would be the one arriving in my mailbox I could only dream of!
I'd been waiting for three hours before delivery time, with all my windows open, jumping at every sound. Finally I heared a car, and when I looked out the window I saw my friend Martha in the back seat of a taxi.
I can hardly describe what came over me - my heart jumping out of my chest is an understatement.
I basically ran down the stairs in my pyjamas to welcome her!

The fact that there are people in the world who would do this for me gets me rather emotional...

It took us a few hours to decide the plan of action for the day, simply because we couldn't stop chatting! We finally managed to take a bus to Madrid, there we explored the Golden Mile, a shopping area I would only dare to go with my best clothes on - and high heels of course!
We checked out some half naked men at Abercrombie and had a wonderful dinner.
The next day, we had another wonderful lunch before I saw her off at the airport.

That evening I must admit I was too lazy to go do anything else. My roommates were all busy anyway so I spend my birthday with my greatest love: the laptop.

A few days before that, I had spend another day windowshopping, travelling an hour and a half to get to this massive mall just for Primark :D - to discover on my way back that there was a direct line from Alcala that would get me there in 15mins.

This week I also decided to drop one of my classes that is basically a repetition from wat I've seen in Belgium - and since I'll only have 2 classes this semester, I'm starting dance classes this week! Belly dancing and hiphop... (you're never too old is what I think)

I'm also getting involved in some Erasmus activities the coming week, there is a dinner planned, and a trip to Toledo - update will folow!

Alcala adventures

Today was dramatic to say the least...
I couldn't sleep until 2:30am so I was basically a zombie throughout my first class.
The class in itself was great, it studies American cultural politics through articles written about it.
The professor's Spanish was abysmal, I knew this was to be expected but I didn't think it would be this bad. It was almost impossible to understand him - half of the time he didn't know what words to use.

Thankfully we had a guestlecture by an American who kept things comprehensible.

My next class was disappointing, the teacher's English was better but the class was pure chaos. The title "communicational strategies" was not appropriate. The teacher spent two hours explaining the course outline - apparently she did the same thing last week.
She was enthousiastic and passionate but whatever she did get to say about the course content seemed nothing new to me.
If there are other options left I might opt out of this one...

I had lend my house key to Jessica, my housemate and that resulted in me standing in front of the gate for half an hour, pushing the intercom button like a madman with no response.
Until our neighbour was getting suspicious and texted one of my other housemates to say their was a random girl in front of the gate that kept pushing her bell.
Save to say I was near desperation at this point trying to think of ways I could gracefully trespass on my own property.

Before that I'd taken yet another trip, this time to El Corte Ingles, which is pretty much the Belgian Inno but way cooler. This store was gargantuan.
Next to it, the supermarket from my dreams - they had Guylian chocolate.

Yesterday I went to Madrid yet again, this time with my housemate Jessica.
I'm happy to say I've found a potential friend :D
We have SO much in common, and in a weird way, she finishes my sentences and even after a long silence she can suddenly start talking about something that I just happened to be thinking about!

She also recognises my passion for fashion and lets me do my thing - she was a joy to go shopping with!

Also, I'm asleep more than I'm awake, this is getting out of control.

Breaking down barriers

I'm happy to say there is a lot of progress in my Alcala house,
I've proposed to have a dinner date with my housemates to get to know each other, some were more eager than others :)

This first week has been one giant panick attack really, it just seemed like everybody's Spanish was better than mine, and Spanish people being Spanish people, they don't adjust their speech and that made for some very odd and akward conversations where I would just say "sí" after every sentence.

But getting into some deeper conversations with my housemates showed me my Spanish was just a little rusty, it's been improving rapidly - and one of them even said she thought my Spanish was a lot better than hers!
I'm also glad I haven't pulled the English card on anyone yet, let's see how long that will last...

My housemate from Venezuela has kindly offered to correct my mistakes if I would teach her some English, more progress!!

School has been less eventful, I had a one-hour class, another one I couldn't find the classroom (turned out it was hosted in another Unesco castle) and another one was cancelled.

Also, some of my shoes arrived  - but they miss their siblings...

Settling in

On Sunday I finally moved into my new place.
I have to say I was quite hesitant to leave the hotel, I was liking the vacation vibe.
Immediately I met all 4 of my housemates, 2 German girls, 1 french girl and 1 from Venezuela.
They all speak Spanish, they all study Spanish -
I know this is what I wanted, but I'm already missing English...

I picked the nicer apartment over the one closest to school, and I haven't had any regrets.
One street to McDonalds, one to Burger King, one bridge to Carrefour and Mercadona, one bridge to the gym, bus to the city centre and Madrid around the corner...
Also a mall in walking distance, and the shops all over Alcala stay open until 10pm!
Basically everything is near.

Today I went to school to sort out my paperwork: I still had no clue about what classes I was in or where to go.
Sorting all that out is getting me rather excited, no school on Tuesdays and Fridays, yiiiiiihaaaaw!

Not to be complaining about the weather but it's killing me!
The heat is making me so tired, all I can do is sleep, I'm thinking this siesta thing has a purpose...
Thankfully every place has air-conditioning, except my place of course :)

Can't wait to see how my first classes go!

Madrid for beginners

How could I forget?!
Alcala has an American Food Store!!! I only fainted a little bit when I saw that...

Today I went to Madrid, I'd never been there before and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.
For some reason I thought it'd be chaos, crowded, dirty, etc.
One thing that did live up to my expectations, SHOPPING!
It reminded me of this one time in Barcelona where I actually ran towards Primark simply because I was so excited :D
Today the same happened for Louboutin.

But Madrid was many more things, the city centre is much richer in culture than I had imagined.
The buildings are beautiful, the Plaza Mayor the perfect hang-out in 35 degree weather.
I saw a bride throw her bouquet down the town hall balcony to a horde of screaming women.

Back in Alcala, my landlord once again proved to be the best landlord in the world...
He dropped off my contract in the hotel I'm staying at, took my bags and dropped them off at the new place (even carried them upstairs), he even offered to help me more tomorrow.
Also, he's very good-looking.

First day

BAAAAAA first day madness!!

After the worst night of my life, stressing over what clothes to bring,
I still ended up paying for extra kilos in the airport.
Once I arrived in Madrid I took a taxi to my hotel; immediately I felt overdressed -
it's so damn hot here! But I'm not complaining...

On a first glance, Alcala overwelmed me - it's so beautiful here!
The historical centre was right to become world heritage, my school is actually a museum!
Basically, the buildings are really old, and the Calle Mayor is the cutest street you've ever seen - filled with little boutiques and overhead lights.

Hundreds of people gather on the main square at night, old people, young people - suddenly I feel less alone.

I had planned to go sort out my paper work at school, but of course I forgot about spanish people's need to take a nap in the middle of a working day :)
So figuring out my school stuff will have to wait till Monday.

In the afternoon I had an appointment to see one apartment, in the evening another.
Without any knowledge about the city, what the good areas are, how to get from one place to another, choosing an apartment is difficult. But I choose the one with the double bed!
The owner was nice enough to drive me around Alcala and show me the interesting spots (sales technique?)
I'll have to ride a bike to school though, Spain is already inspiring me to exercise!

I"m also on a restaurant quest - I will NOT sucumb to eating tapas every day!!

My spanish number for anyone who wants to gimme a call:
0034638102004

Write you later!

SKYPE ME!

Once I know my schedule and I have free time, I'll anounce the best times to contact me -
You want to call me, see my face, don't hesitate!

I'm under: Marjan Pipijn

Come to Alcala!

For anyone who would feel the sudden urge to come and visit me while I'm in Spain,
there are several options.

First of all, Ryanair offers flights to Madrid's main airport for very reasonable prices.
If you book now, you can travel to Madrid for 22euros (one way, expecting you'll never want to leave me...)
But whenever you book, Ryanair will have prices to accomodate all of your budgets!
If you leave from Charleroi there is a bus-service that takes you to and from the airport and Antwerp city centre every few hours; or you can take the train and a shuttlebus from the station.

To my foreign friends, you'll know your connecting transportation better than I do!

From Madrid there is a RENFE train to Alcala de Henares for 2.65euros, that travels every 15mins.

Alcala has many hostels for the not-so-milionairs among us:

But there are also hotels in Alcala:

http://www.booking.com/searchresults.nl.html?aid=303948;label=alcala-de-henares-FkX6kLRSz3XRWQVFqWsGugS8394610581%3Apl%3Ata%3Ap1%3Ap2%3Aac%3Aap1t1%3Aneg;sid=6d4725b406a3f0fb03c41f8ba7337114;dcid=1;city=-369777;redirected_from_city=1;src=city

If you prefer to stay in Madrid, there are plenty more options, which you can search for yourselves :)

PS: My birthday is on the 29th of September, since I do not expect to have made a lot of BFF's in 2 weeks visitors are more than welcome!

I do not EXPECT anyone to come visit me, just know that if you do, I will take good care of you!

About

About

Hi!

This is my long awaited blog for all things MJ!
My name is Marjan (MJ), I'm 22 years old
I live with my parents in Schoten, Antwerp - It's a beautiful town but I prefer the city...
Everything that interests me is situated there: fashion, bars, friends, etc.

Next year, I'll spend a whole year in the city of Alcala de Henares, Madrid!
Primarily this blogs will serve as a blog (what a surprise!) about my experiences in Alcala.

My two greatest hobbies at this time are fashion and all things TV,
so this blog will also be where I write my personal or inspired views on the newest trends, my favorite movies and reminiscing about the hot bods in True Blood's most recent episode.

I hope my blog can be an inspiration to many people, whether it be friends or strangers!

Where I'm going.

Alcala de Henares

On September 14th I am embarking on a whole other journey than my recent one along the Camino de Santiago.

I am going on Erasmus Exchange to Alcala de Henares, a town within the province of Madrid, Spain.

With its 204.000 inhabitants it is also one of the more famous towns in Madrid.

The historical centre was declared Unesco World Heritage and it was greatly affected by the 2004 Madrid subway bombings, since all the trains that carried bombs passes through Alcala.

The word Alcala comes from the Arabic word [al-qal'a] which means citadel - obviously, I'll have a lot of site-seeing to do during my first few weeks.

Alcala was not among my personal choices for Erasmus, but it is already a winner thanks to its proximity to Madrid, the fact that the Madrid-area Spanish is the best of its kind (which is only slightly important since I study Spanish), the nightlife is supposed to be amazing, and there are plenty opportunities for me to keep busy!

I have only half of my last year to complete, this means I only need to follow a few courses, this means I'll have a lot of time for all the hobbies I have in mind (dancing, choir, teaching English, working in a bar,...)

I hope my readers are just as anxious as me to see how many of those hobbies I'll have taken on by the end of the year!