It has been a while since I posted, but so much has been happening, and I haven't had a chance to sit down and put it all together! Last weekend in Alicante, March 1st, was Carnaval! Carnaval is something I have always wanted to experience, and I was really excited to finally get the opportunity! Carnaval is a huge celebration, and if you don't know what it is, I encourage you to look it up! It was crazy here, and I am so happy I got the chance to be a part of it. Everyone dresses up in costumes like we do for Halloween, and there are parades and concerts and just a bunch of activities going on throughout the entire city. 

          On Thursday 5 of us from CMU met up on campus to meet with our adviser. He had arranged for some of his students to meet up with us so we could get to know them and they would take us out for Carnaval. We met several Spanish students, and at the end of the day we each got paired up with one of them and exchanged information so we could figure out our costumes and plans for Saturday night. I got paired up with a really nice girl named Mireia. She told me that she and her friends are going to be dressing up as Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc. We made plans to meet up later that night to buy my costume so I could go out with them.

           We went to a few costume stores and I ended up buying a Mike Wazowski costume as well. On Saturday night, I met up with Mireia and her friend, and we walked to one of her other friend's houses and I met a few more of their friends. We all ate dinner and got ready together, and then we put our costumes on and headed out into the city. The thing about Spain is that their "night life" doesn't start until at least 12am. So we didn't leave until 12:30am, and the streets were crazy!

          We walked to this place in Alicante called La Explanada, which is this pathway along the beach, and there were thousands of teenagers there in their costumes all hanging out and having a good time. Mireia explained to me that this was called a "botellon," which is what they call it when a large group of people get together to drink and party. We hung out there for a few hours, but what I haven't mentioned yet is that Sunday morning at 8am I had to be on a bus to a different city to run a 10k with Amanda and her host family. So that was terrible planning on our part. Around 3:30am I met up with Amanda and we walked back to her host mom's apartment and went to bed. Carnaval was really an exciting experience and I hope I get the chance to celebrate it again someday!

          Sunday morning we had to wake up at 7:30 and get ready for our race. It was torture getting only 4 hours of sleep, but we made it to the bus stop and got on the bus. We ended up taking the bus to the end of the line because we didn't know what stop to get off at, and her host mom's son had to come find us in his car and we were late for the start of the race. It ended up being more of a hike than a race because it was in the mountains, and the whole thing was really challenging but really fun at the same time. After the race, I was incredibly tired, so I went home and showered and went to sleep for a few hours. 

          The next week at school went by pretty quickly, and then Friday morning Zach, Ali and I left for Valencia. For those of you who don't know, Spain is divided into provinces instead of states like the United States, and Alicante is a part of the Valencia province. Valencia, as you can guess, is the capital of this province, and the third largest city in Spain. We left on Friday morning and spent all day Friday walking around and exploring the city. We did a tour of the cathedral and an art museum, and then found our hostel and had some dinner. 

          Valencia is also the home of Europe's largest aquarium, and I am a total sucker for aquariums. We decided to spend the day Saturday at the aquarium, and that was by far the most exciting part of the trip for me. We got a dual ticket and were able to see a 3D movie about the fallas in Valencia. The fallas is another thing you should look up if you're unfamiliar with it. It is another giant celebration where the poeple spend all year building these figures out of wood and Styrofoam, and it is seriously just the craziest and coolest thing you'll see. Then during the celebration, all of these figures are burned and the whole city is on fire. It is incredible, and I wish I was going to be there for the actual celebration! We did get to see them putting some of the figures together though, because the fallas festival started yesterday! 

          Also in Valencia is a giant park that used to be a river, but they turned the whole thing into a huge and beautiful park. After the aquarium trip on Saturday, I decided to take a run through the park and it was so pretty and peaceful. Then Saturday night we walked around some more and had dinner. 

          Sunday was quite the day. We went to the beach and it was just as beautiful as the beach in Alicante. Our train home was supposed to leave at 3:20, and around 1:45 we decided to get lunch. We ended up missing the train, and had to buy a new ticket. None of us were really happy about it, and we were all pretty tired and crabby, so it was nice to finally get home and relax. 

          On Thursday 5 of us from CMU met up on campus to meet with our adviser. He had arranged for some of his students to meet up with us so we could get to know them and they would take us out for Carnaval. We met several Spanish students, and at the end of the day we each got paired up with one of them and exchanged information so we could figure out our costumes and plans for Saturday night. I got paired up with a really nice girl named Mireia. She told me that she and her friends are going to be dressing up as Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc. We made plans to meet up later that night to buy my costume so I could go out with them.

           We went to a few costume stores and I ended up buying a Mike Wazowski costume as well. On Saturday night, I met up with Mireia and her friend, and we walked to one of her other friend's houses and I met a few more of their friends. We all ate dinner and got ready together, and then we put our costumes on and headed out into the city. The thing about Spain is that their "night life" doesn't start until at least 12am. So we didn't leave until 12:30am, and the streets were crazy!

          We walked to this place in Alicante called La Explanada, which is this pathway along the beach, and there were thousands of teenagers there in their costumes all hanging out and having a good time. Mireia explained to me that this was called a "botellon," which is what they call it when a large group of people get together to drink and party. We hung out there for a few hours, but what I haven't mentioned yet is that Sunday morning at 8am I had to be on a bus to a different city to run a 10k with Amanda and her host family. So that was terrible planning on our part. Around 3:30am I met up with Amanda and we walked back to her host mom's apartment and went to bed. Carnaval was really an exciting experience and I hope I get the chance to celebrate it again someday!

          Sunday morning we had to wake up at 7:30 and get ready for our race. It was torture getting only 4 hours of sleep, but we made it to the bus stop and got on the bus. We ended up taking the bus to the end of the line because we didn't know what stop to get off at, and her host mom's son had to come find us in his car and we were late for the start of the race. It ended up being more of a hike than a race because it was in the mountains, and the whole thing was really challenging but really fun at the same time. After the race, I was incredibly tired, so I went home and showered and went to sleep for a few hours. 

          The next week at school went by pretty quickly, and then Friday morning Zach, Ali and I left for Valencia. For those of you who don't know, Spain is divided into provinces instead of states like the United States, and Alicante is a part of the Valencia province. Valencia, as you can guess, is the capital of this province, and the third largest city in Spain. We left on Friday morning and spent all day Friday walking around and exploring the city. We did a tour of the cathedral and an art museum, and then found our hostel and had some dinner. 

          Valencia is also the home of Europe's largest aquarium, and I am a total sucker for aquariums. We decided to spend the day Saturday at the aquarium, and that was by far the most exciting part of the trip for me. We got a dual ticket and were able to see a 3D movie about the fallas in Valencia. The fallas is another thing you should look up if you're unfamiliar with it. It is another giant celebration where the poeple spend all year building these figures out of wood and Styrofoam, and it is seriously just the craziest and coolest thing you'll see. Then during the celebration, all of these figures are burned and the whole city is on fire. It is incredible, and I wish I was going to be there for the actual celebration! We did get to see them putting some of the figures together though, because the fallas festival started yesterday! 

          Also in Valencia is a giant park that used to be a river, but they turned the whole thing into a huge and beautiful park. After the aquarium trip on Saturday, I decided to take a run through the park and it was so pretty and peaceful. Then Saturday night we walked around some more and had dinner. 

          Sunday was quite the day. We went to the beach and it was just as beautiful as the beach in Alicante. Our train home was supposed to leave at 3:20, and around 1:45 we decided to get lunch. We ended up missing the train, and had to buy a new ticket. None of us were really happy about it, and we were all pretty tired and crabby, so it was nice to finally get home and relax. 

          This weekend Ali and are heading to Toledo, which used to be the capital of Spain. There are a lot of attractions to see in Toledo, so I am looking forward to another fun-filled weekend! 

After we finished the 10k!

Inside the cathedral in Valencia.

                                       

Ali and I outside of the aquarium!