Alicante: La Ciudad de las Palmeras



Park in Alicante

This weekend was quite long and eventful. Technically my weekend started early. On Thursday morning, I had to go to Alicante for a mandatory meeting. I figured that since I had to be in Alicante, I might as well make the most of it and spend some time with two of the Fulbrighters there. It was also my intent to finally apply for my Tarjeta de Identidad, or my Spanish identity card. Fortunately, Olivia, the director of studies at my school also had to go to the meeting, so I rode with her. We got lost on the way there, so we were about 45 minutes late to the meeting but I don’t think that we missed much. Honestly, I really didn’t understand the purpose of the meeting, I felt like what was said could have been written in an email but the meeting was a good opportunity to meet some of the other Auxiliares de Conversacion, the other people teaching in Spain through the Spanish ministry of Education. While in the meeting, I found out that there was another person living in Jávea teaching through the other program. As soon as the meeting was over I searched for her. We met and exchanged numbers. I was definitely very happy.



Taking a Break

After the meeting, I grabbed my book bag from Olivia’s car and said goodbye to her. I then headed out with the other Americans. Two of the girls are current Fulbright ETAs living in Alicante. Another one was a Fulbright ETA last year and she has come back to Spain to teach through the other teaching program; so she definitely knows all of the ins and outs of Spain. After the meeting, we went to this very beautiful park. It was so serene and colorful. That seems to be how most things are here, especially in the areas along the coast. After walking through the park, we went to a restaurant for lunch and spent the rest of the day running errands and things. On Thursday night we went to the movie theater to see Los Tres Mosqueteros, or The Three Musketeers. That’s when we realized that movies are so much more entertaining when they are dubbed in Spanish.

On Friday morning I attempted to apply for my NIE. One of the most important things that I needed for the NIE was a “Certificado de Empadronamiento” which is a letter verifying that you live at the address in which you have stated. In order to get the Certificado you must have proof from your landlord that you stay at your address. You then bring that proof (a letter, copy of a bill and a copy of his identification) to an office that issues you the Certificado. After stressing out for a while, my landlord sent me everything I needed on Thursday night. On Friday morning, I planned to go to the office in Alicante that issues the Certificados and then to the NIE office afterwards to apply for my Tarjeta. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way.

Alcoholic Cider

The lady at the Certificado office would not issue me the certificate because I apparently had to get it done in Jávea. I really didn’t understand that, especially since Jávea is located in the providence of Alicante, but she was not really listening to my excuses. Although I knew that I needed to have the Certifcado in order to apply for my NIE, I figured that I was already in Alicante, so why not see if they would accept what I had? Well to make a long story short, they didn’t. The people at the office told me not to worry and to come back once I got what I needed, so I really wasn’t that worried. I decided to enjoy the rest of my trip and hang out with the girls.

Dinner

On Friday, we went to the mall. I bought a couple of winter items from H&M. That night, we walked around town and went to this really nice restaurant that serves some kind of alcoholic cider. The cider was really fun to try (we had two bottles) and the food was really good. Afterwards, we went to a gelato shop (my first time eating gelato) and sat outside someone’s doorstep eating gelato (because it’s a very Spanish thing to do).



Oh Benidorm…



Benidorm (La Costa Blanca)

On Saturday morning, we took the train to Benidorm. Benidorm is another city in the Costa Blanca that is often called “The Las Vegas of the Costa Blanca.” To get there from Alicante, you can take a 35-40 minute train ride and it only costs about 6 euros for a round trip. We went earlier that morning so that we could enjoy a day there. Once we arrived, we had a small breakfast (café con leche and a croissant for me) and waited for another one of the girls to get there. She had been to Benidorm several times last year so she was basically our tour guide. We went to several little shops (I think that we were all looking to find some shoes) and enjoyed the scenery. Benidorm is very beautiful. The water is so gorgeous, but then again that is one of the reasons why Benidorm, as well as Jávea, Altea and many other towns form the Costa Blanca, or “white coast” in English. While looking for shoes, we came across a store called lefties that had a lot of cute clothes. I think that all of us except for one person bought something. I bought a really pretty one-shoulder dress. We ate a really good lunch in Benidorm. Each of us had Paella (it was very good), as well as another dish, and we shared a bottle of tinto (red wine).

After dinner, we walked along the beach intending to go British part of town. While walking along the beach, we came across an American bar that was crowded with British people eating, drinking, and singing very loudly to a rock song that was being sung by a guy with a microphone. When the people saw us staring at them from the beach they started shouting for us to join them. I guess you can say that it was a warning for what was to come.

It was very obvious to realize that we had made it to the British part of town because we started seeing pubs with lunch specials of “fish and chips,” British flags hanging up, and British street names, such as the “Calle de Londres.” As we walked, we came across lots of gift shops and pubs, and passed by many people speaking English. The gift shops were filled with lots of inappropriate things, but that didn’t shock us. What did shock us however was the woman who decided she wanted to lift up her shirt and flash everyone who was walking along the streets from her balcony. Seconds later, we were shocked once again as we came across a bar that was advertising a live sex show. Next to the advertisement was a very graphic picture of a lady and a man having sex. This was a pretty busy street, where men and women walk by with their children, so we were a little surprised by that. After the day that we spent In Benidorm and the things that we saw, we were pretty worn out by the time we got back to Alicante.

Churros con Chocolate

Ever Since I’d been to Spain people had been talking about how much they loved Chocolate con Churros, a much-loved Spanish treat. Unfortunately, in most places it is only served on weekend mornings, so the girls thought that Sunday morning would be the perfect time to introduce me to it. And perfect it was. We went to Valor, one of the most well-known chocolate factories in Spain, so I knew that their churros con chocolate were going to be very authentic. The churros con chocolate were so great. The churros were hot and fresh. They were crunchy and soft at the same time, and also sweet. The chocolate was so intense; it’s nothing like the Swiss Miss hot chocolate they sell in America. It was the real deal. I couldn’t even drink half of it because I just wasn’t accustomed to drinking that much rich chocolate. But it was very good and I was definitely very satisfied.

Lucentum: Roman Ruins



After breakfast, we headed to see the Roman Ruins in Alicante. One of the girls had heard many times that the ruins were right behind her school, but she didn’t realize that they were indeed directly behind her school until we got there. The ruins were very interesting. I love looking at very old things so that I can try to picture what life must have been like during those times. Seeing the Roman Ruins was a great end to my wonderful and busy weekend in Alicante.