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"Well Hey there!"
You respond
"How are you?"
You Respond
"Great!"

So I've not done a post for last week, and that's purely because nothing that exciting has occurred other than my folks came to Ali-Alicante para visitarme. So this will probably be a short and sweet post.

Firstly, last weeks events. Last week I started to go off my vegan diet, which some of you will be happy about. I seriously was missing meat too much. I caved. Sorry. I am a carnivore. I have also to the end of my two weeks of non alcoholic beverages, and started on the Beer and Tequila again when I go out con mis amigos. I also found a tandem partner in the form of a Spanish guy from my Translation class, so I will start Spanish Speaking sessions with him soon. Very excited. I beached a fair amount last week, the weather was however a bit dull towards the end of the week and I'm starting to feel the temperature drop a bit, which is disappointing as I came here for sun. Mi Madre y mi Padre were also here last week and we made a short trip to Benidorm, which was a nightmare travel wise. The tram took an age and was annoying as the tram station is nowhere near the sea front which was the location my parents wanted. So as you can imagine my mother was annoyed about this... which was fantastic... Dad was equally annoyed... woop. bonus. Although that all went away when we arrived at the front and we had a grand time. All in all, I believe my parents had a nice time in Alicante.

Secondly, today. A) Erasmus Grant is in my account. I'm buzzing. Literally soo happy that I can start travelling and seeing a bit more of Spain and maybe, just maybe go to Geneva/Lausanne to Toby (a mate of mine on Erasmus there from Bangor).  B) Miss Holly Charlesworth, is OFFICIALLY coming to visit moi in about 3 weeks time! Again, Buzzing! Soo happy to finally see someone from Bangor-land in the flesh and not just skype and Facebook. I'm hoping she's feeling equally excited! (check out her blog @  http://hollyseuropeanadventures.blogspot.co.uk/). C) I started my beginners course in Catalan today. Which I thoroughly enjoyed, despite the fact I had to get up at 6am just I could get the bus for 7am, as the lecture started at 8am. 7am I have decided is a disgusting hour to be in Uni and should not be allowed in any EU country. The lesson, nevertheless, was brillant and I hope I can get the hang of it, it's going to hard though I think... There are a lot of elements from Spanish, French and Italian, all of which I use regularly and also Galician, which I have knowledge of, so I can I see myself 1) getting confused and 2) speaking one of the 4 aforementioned languages. D) We still have no Internet. I'm livid.

And Finally, I just wanted to send people the news of that my next post will be in Spanish, however I will provide a transcript.

TTFN!

Barcelona, Insurance, Vegan.

Ok, it's been a while since I've done anything on the blog recently so I have a lot to tell you Reader! It's a long one so bare with me. I would also like to just say a quick apology to my parents and grandparents who are reading this for my use of swear words in previous posts! Sorry! Lo Siento! Désolée! Tá bron orm! ;)

So firstly, I'm going to start with my trip to Barcelona, Catalonia, con uno de mis amigas mejores, Rachel. After the sudden shock of my laptop being stolen was good to get away from Alicante and see some more of España and more of a chance to practice my Spanish... the latter however was not the case. I was pleasantly and also unpleasantly surprised to discover that Spanish is hardly used in Barcelona (or at least it was in our experience) I found myself having to rely on my knowledge of French, Spanish, Galician and Italian to decipher the street signs and notices, however I got by and it made me look forward to learning Catalan to which I start in two weeks. Marvellous.

Rachel at Park Güell

Me outside La Sagrada Familia

The sights of Barcelona were fantastically breathe-taking! Of course for Rachel and I the main attractions were all the Gaudì archictecture as we have both studied him in School. We saw pretty much everything in regards to Gaudì but I must admit that my favourite was La Sagrada Familia and Park Güell, they were just superb, and the views were wonderful. Whilst we were in Barcelona, there was a famous festival going on throughout the city called La Mercè, which is a catalan word meaning Our Lady, and this festival is a celebration that has been going on since the Middle ages, there is music and dancing and loads of culturally catalan things to see, to which we saw plenty. There were music events going on in every plaça and square! Among other things we saw, we went to see the Picasso museum which gave me a new view on Picasso and I´ve decided that I quite like his work actually. We also started to a journey to the Castle Montjuïc, but did not get there as the cable car workers were on strike and we didn't fancy the walk all the way to the top. We stayed in a great little hostel which Rachel found and the staff were really friendly and it was very clean, which I didn't expect as I'd never stayed in a hostel before now, so Lukas can now add to his list of life experiences "Stayed in a Hostel". Overall the trip was marvellous and I would definitely recommend Barcelona to anyone.

Catherdal of the Holy Cross
and Santa Eulalia, Barcelona.

We arrived back in Alicante a few days later, and Rachel stayed with me and my flatmates in our spare room. The weather was great for her first day here and so we took this opportunity to go to see La Castilla Santa Barbara, which is the castle that oversees all of Alicante and swamps the skyline. The views from the top were amazing and awesome. You could see for miles, and see all the mountains, the sea, the town, even my apartment building. The clear skys made the view even more magnificent. Unfortunately these clear skys did not stay... As you've probably heard in the news some people died in Spain this week due to flooding, and some of you may have heard Alicante was flooded... Well Alicante wasn't flooded but we did certainly have some rain and it poured... and poured... and poured some more. The first rain I'd seen in a month. And it was bloody horrible. So due to this fact, Rachel and I didn't get any beach time which is sooo sad but I'm sure she got over it quickly. And so Rachel went home after 3 days and I'm back to my normal life.

Well not really... Insurance matters where the next of my priorities to sort out. A nightmare to start with, but I would like to thank my great pals, Domino and Simie for letting me use their computers and Printer/scanner for these purposes. All forms have now been sent off and I'm presently just waiting for the check to come in now! Which I can't wait for, I've missed my Laptop and Camera! However, on the news of laptops... Nora (my German flatmate/mi compañera alemana) has TWO laptops with her in Alicante and has lent me one until I can get my hands on my own. Danke Schön Nora! What's quite amusing about this is that the Laptop is in German to which I have absolutely ZERO knowledge of, it looks like this could be fun... I am however learning some German from it, but nothing of use, only things like "to copy" or "click here"... nevertheless I am grateful I have a laptop! However we do still have no internet... but Shhh!! We are presently stealing some from somewhere, no idea where it's coming from but it has no password and very slow... better than nothing.

Now finally, you may all be wondering why on earth it says "Vegan" in the title of this post. Well... I've come to the decision that I'm going Vegan for a month with Nora in an effort to loss weight and be healthier. Now I know what you're all thinking, "you need protein and dairy", which is correct and I don't plan to keep on being Vegan for the rest of my life, just this month as detox and will still eat diary and meat when I go out for meals and when my parents visit, so fear not I will get protein into my system somehow... I'm just a bit gutted that I can't get Cheese (the most staple part of my diet) I'm really missing that. Fortunately, I can still eat Marmite, HALLELUJAH! I'm also back to running again, which I haven't done since I left Britain and it's really nice to go running along to beach when the sun comes up.

Rachel and Gaudì had a great little chat about Moderisme.

Anyway Reader, more later :) Hasta Luego!

Disaster.

A very sad turn of events I'm afraid reader!

Last night when I returned from University, I discovered that my Laptop, my Camera and my USB stick had been stolen from my apartment in Alicante. My flatmates had also had there personal belongings stolen too.

As you can imagine guys, I'm distraught. I have the worse luck with Laptop's clearly, this being the second laptop problem that I've had this year.

Thankfully Bangor University Insurance have been grand, as well as helpful, and I'm arranging insurance matters as we speak.

In other news, I arrived in Barcelona this morning to begin crossing locations off my Visiting Checklist. I'm meeting up with una amiga from Britain, Rachel, she has yet to arrive though and I'm currently in the Hostel just chilling on their computer typing to you people.

Barcelona so far has been beautiful. I took the Aerobus from the, you guessed it, Airport, which took me along a really nice route through Barcelona and saw some great looking architecture. Unfortunately, I can't show you these, due to my loss of Camera :(, however I will try and get some photos taken for you on Rachel's camera when she arrives.

There is rather a lot of Catalan, of which I expected there to be seeing as I am in Catalonia... but there is more than I expected really. Many signs are in just Catalan and I'm feeling a bit apprehensive about speaking Spanish to the locals, seeing as I am in Catalonia and the aforementioned amount of Catalan. I am taking a Catalan module at Alicante but this doesn't start until 15th October.

Nothing much else to report on at the moment reader, so I will leave you for now and update you once I have returned to Alicante. ¡hasta luego todo el mundo!

Alicante.... busy

I'm Alive! Don't worry!

It's been two weeks since my last post, and I'm soo sorry about this reader. Alicante has just taken up all of my time and everything still isn't finished and I'm still not settled.
Where do I start.

The Move

My Dad and I left for Alicante from East Midlands and arrived in good time with out problem, everything was going well... until we went to rent a car. The woman was insufferable and was not helpful and basically conning us. We however eventually found a car. Next problem was getting to my apartment, we couldn't find it at all. My landlord was less than helpful and my Spanish was just as helpful as he was. We did find the apartment however and I moved everything in, paid my rent, and soon realized I hated it. My landlord had told me that my apartment was central... 45min walk to La Rambla (the central street)... not impressed as you can imagine. Anyway so I met up with some girls that I made friends with, Emma and Claire (below R-L). Had a great first night with a few bevvies and was introduced to the nightlife. My Dad and I checked out the town a bit more the following day and the day after we went to BENIDORM! I tell you it's so British it's shocking, but nevertheless we had a great day. Dad then went home on Thursday, and I won't lie I did cry a bit and feel a bit uneasy. But I felt even more uneasy when I discovered my landlord was leaving for Argentina for 3 MONTHS, he literally just told me and went, even more uneasiness, he grows Cannabis in the terrace as you can imagine, I was terrified. Thankfully my Dad did some research and discovered that it is legal to Smoke and Grow it in your own home but one cannot sell it... I avoid them. I don't even water them. Luckily, however I have somewhere new to live and I'll be moving there at the end of the month!

The University
Campus University, first impressions are very professional and well organised... but I was mistaken. So much paperwork you would not believe it, and I have to make my own timetable! Which has taken a few attempts but all done now. The University is however very nice and clean, everywhere is mapped well, there is a social club, several banks, 24 hours library with computer room and shops with a post office, so everything is very handy and very close at hand too. I met some great girls from England and Wales who live in the halls of residence here in Alicante, and they are magnificent. Clean, tidy and well equipped. The Uni is however in San Vincente which is outside of Alicante, but not to worry I just get the bus with my handy bus card and 20 mins later I'm at University ready to start my lectures. My modules are quite the miss-match but they're all taught in Spanish and I feel it improving as the days go on. I study Spanish for Erasmus Student, Catalan for Beginners, French Oral Communication and English-Spanish Direct Translation, making up nicely 22 ECTS. I'm also taking an online course in Basic Galician, which is nice and there's no exam and it's free!

The Town

Alicante is a great town, which is particularly good if you live in the city centre, which is where my new flat is.  It's fantastic and pretty much has everything, EVEN A PRIMARK! I haven't really explored yet, but I've seen a lot from the bus to Uni, e.g. Plaza del Toro and La Castilla Santa Barbara. There is a great beach, which I have spent most of my days on either before or after Uni, you can tell I have due to my horrific sunburn at the moment! La Rambla is where a lot of the main pubs and clubs are or at least it's the road where most there are loads of little alleys to loads of clubs, either way, it's rather lively and you can often find a good deal! There is a Marina with what must be billions of £/$/€'s worth of boats and yachts in it, which Simie, Dominyka (Right L-R) and I often gawp over, and leading on from the Marina/Port is La Explanada which is like a promenade of markets stands and restaurants. There is still plenty more that I need to see but I'll keep you posted with my weekly posts reader.

The People

Met some great people. A few names just for you reader. Claire, Emma, Simie, Dominyka, Farrell (left), Nora (right) etc. Plenty of Nationalities but as of yet not a lot of Spanish.

So for now that's it reader! More coming soon! Sorry for the delay, promise it won't happen again! :)

3 days to go....

Just a "Keep Calm" style picture I felt it appropriate to add. Enjoy.

Time to Say Goodbye....

Last night I went for a meal with a few from Secondary School, now this isn't a new thing for me, as we've been for meals before for various Birthdays over the years, however last night's meal was just so great because it was myself and two friends (L-R Milly Schmid and Alex Marchbank) whom are all leaving the UK in September for the great beyond which is Continental Europe. My friend Alex (www.eaudekoln.tumblr.com) organised the meal at Bella Italia in Milton Keynes and afterwards we moved onto Wetherspoons for dessert and a few bevvies. All I can say  is that I thoroughly enjoyed the evening, but all I can think about now is that how much I'm going to miss everyone who came last night! It was just such a great atmosphere, I haven't really thought at all about "missing" people for when I go, I mean I'll miss my family and friends, but I never miss them enough to get homesick and want to leave. However, last night and this morning, I felt like I was really going to miss them and I want them all to come with me. I know Alex will be in Cologne and Milly in Santiago, but I want everyone to come to Alicante and Mons and Florence, and just experience things with me and enjoy what I'm going to enjoy. And so when I got in last night, the only song I could think of and is now still stuck in my head is "Time to Say Goodbye".... It's now on a recurring loop on iTunes. Ultimately, I feel happy that I will be experiencing such a great opportunity this year and that my life will be will be changed as a result, but I saying Goodbye was difficult. C'est la vie. Qué Sera.

Say Hello to my little friend.

Reader, I would like to introduce to you my little friend and travelling companion for the next year, Jebediah José Jean-Michel Giulio Schildkröte, however he prefers to just be called Jeb. Jeb came to me about a year ago, in fact he was a 20th Birthday present from two great friends of mine Lauren Binley and Ryan Harper. So Jeb has been set a challenge for the year, which basically consists of the thing we all love to do when we see a camera, Photo-bomb. So his challenge for the year, with all the travelling we'll be doing, is to basically Photo-bomb as many of my photo's as he can. Let's see if he lives up to the challenge! He's particularly keen to see le Tour Eiffel, or the Eiffel Tower for non-francophonies, and La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. Jeb will so have his own page on this Blog where he can express his own thoughts and opinions about our travels and hopefully you'll all be impressed with his shenanigans.

UPDATE!
A quick update for you all, my apartment in Espana is officially ready for me to move in in September, I paid the €100 last week and I'm very excited about it now, my landlord in Spain says I can move in as soon as I arrive so that's also a bonus. Speak of when I arrive, FLIGHTS BOOKED!! Things are starting to feel extremely real now! I cannot express how excited I am. I fly to Spain early than I had anticipated and I am in  fact leaving from East Midlands airport on the 3rd September 2012, allowing me a week to get to grips with the new environment and find my way around etc. However I'm a bit nervous about my flatmates as I don't know who any of them are. I don't even know any names for them. So thus far, that is my main cause of anxiety. My Dad is accompanying me to Alicante and is staying in a Hotel to which I have no idea it is... he's paying for my transport until he leaves though, so quite happy with that! And thanks to Tracy, I have further transport once my Dad has gone, with the help of a Bus card she has sent me! Thank you Tracy!

MONEY! 
What a faff I've had with Student Finance this last week. I received in a declaration in the post for my loans for the next year, however it wasn't as simple as that, as many of you will know with Student Finance England/Wales, I shocked to see on my forms that I was going to be paying half-tuition fees (£1725) next year. I was livid. I then decided to ring them to which I got on the phone some twat who thought when I questioned him about my fees that I was a first year, and continued for 10 minutes to explain why the tuitions had changed. Once he'd finished, I correct him stated my 3rd year status, he then looked at my application and said "we've given you more money", which wasn't what I asked about, so again I explained my situation, to which he then said "It's change this year and you need to pay fees". EVERY FUCKING UNIVERSITY IN THE COUNTRY THAT HAS A MFL DEPARTMENT DOESN'T PAY FEES IN 3RD YEAR! You would think they would know this, he then asked for a letter of proof from my University. I contacted non-other than Magical Moira, who sent a letter. This is now on the way the way to Student Finance, fingers crossed this will be sorted!

More soon readers... if anyone is there??