A lazy Saturday in Alcalá

Check out my most recent slideshow of life in Alcalá de Henares. It’s so beautiful and warm here, it’s insane. (Actually not warm…everyone here keeps talking about how cold it is..but it is warmer than Ohio!)

Máchinas de ejercisio en el parque? – Exercise machines in the park?

More pictures of REAL adventures to come this weekend. We’re visiting Segovia, which Jose Luís, one of the bases in my choir, says is one of the most beautiful places in Spain…I can’t wait to see it!  Click here to check out the route from Alcalá to Segovia. Have you ever traveled to Segovia?  Or any other place in the world starting with an “S” for that matter?

Ready for takeoff…(almost!)

I can’t believe it.  This time next month I will be landing in Madrid, right outside of Alcalá.  I have no idea where I’m staying, who my host family will be, what classes I’m taking, let alone how to carry on an intelligent conversation with the native Spanish dialect.  Am I nervous?  Nope.  All that just adds to the excitement.

What will the future hold?  How many euros will it take to buy a sandwich?  How do I successfully book a flight in Spain, and what do they think about vegetarians??   Thankfully, I’m starting to understand some of the colloquiallisms and culture with my preparation to study abroad class, but the real learning comes when I get on that plane and start the four months in Spain.

Tapas, another word for delicious. I can't wait to try them!

 

Goals for “Adventures in Alcala” This blog is not all about the good times in Spain.  As a journalist and public relations specialist, I will share the facts, some culture analysis, human connections and narratives and history.  Who knows?  I might even throw in some embarrassing stories.  We’ll see as the semester gets started.  Because I will be communicating to friends, family, Spanish classes back in Bowling Green, Ohio be on the lookout for both Spanish and English posts.  In the next few days, I will be finding out how I’m paying for room and board.  I will update scholarship results over twitter and facebook…so keep reading!

My new love interest, the very handsome Don Quixote de la Mancha, is famous in Alcala.

 Resources Here are a few resources I am using to get ready to go on the adventure of a lifetime.  The college prowler site is my favorite, because it combines history and present day tips for success.

• IIEPASSPORT, study abroad connections (What to pack? Find out here)
• College Prowler Guide to Alcalá (Everything from the government to best places to shop)
• CIA World Factbook (Do you know how many people in Spain use a cell phone?  The CIA does.)
• Study abroad program blog (See some pictures of students’ host family homes)
• Restaurantes (Spanish site about some of the best food in Alcala)
• El País (Find out local Madrid news in Spanish)
• Imagewest (For all you PR fans out there, check out this Bowling Green, Kentucky student firm’s Web site)

I know it’s alot of information, but when you’re getting ready to go out of the coutry for the first time (besides Canada, but is that really going out of the country?) you’ll take all the information you can get.

Want to stay in touch? For more updates, follow me on Twitter by searching for @agailhouse or check out my LinkedIn profile.  Get ready for a flurry of updates as I get closer to January 6.  There’s no stopping me now.