But First, a Trip to Chicago

On November 8th I made a trip to Chicago to apply for my visa with my dad. The appointment didn't take very long, it was very simple; I just walked up to a window handed the employee all of the documents, he asked me a few questions about where I was going to live while I am in Spain and talked to me about the classes I will take, so I was able to practice my Spanish with him! :)
Afterwards my dad and I were able to walk around downtown Chicago for a little bit and we saw the sculpture Cloudgate and we went to the Field Museum of Natural History.

                    Cloudgate Selfie                             Spanish Consulate (15th floor)

 Sue, the most complete t-rex skeleton          View of Chicago

My Upcoming Study Abroad Experience in Spain

In just a about a month I will be heading to Spain!!! Called España in Spanish, it is a little bit more than twice the size of Michigan. It is on the Iberian Peninsula, the farthest area west in Europe, which it shares with Portugal. It is the second largest country of Western Europe, after France, which it shares a border with alongside Andorra and Portugal. Spain is divided into 17 autonomous communities, basically their states; I will be in the community called Comunitat Valenciana and in its city of Alicante, which is also its own province, comparative to our counties.

The city of Alicante, Spain is on the Costa Blanca of the Mediterranean Sea. Alicante is about 113 miles south east of Madrid, the capital and largest city of Spain. It has a population of about 330,000, which is around 12 times larger than Mt. Pleasant’s population of 26,000. I am extremely excited about living in a bigger city after spending my whole life in the Mt. Pleasant area. Besides taking classes, of course, I’m also looking forward to sightseeing in Alicante (as well as the rest of Spain). The first two places I want to see in Alicante are probably the two most popular places: Castillo Santa Bárbara, a castle built on top of Mount Benacantil overlooking the city; and the Explanada de España, a beautiful promenade alongside the coast.

            Besides just exploring Alicante I also plan to take excursions to Madrid, Barcelona, Segovia, and Santiago de Compostela, and I would love to go to other places, if I am able to; hopefully I am even able to travel outside of Spain to Portugal and/or France!

           

Just a heads up: I am super in love with Spanish so I prefer not to change the names of places so I will most likely be adding Spanish words and phrases; and, if for some reason, I do not add a translation here’s a link to an excellent online dictionary, Word Reference (www.wordreference.com). Of course you can use Google Translate, but it is not always the best.

*I know a lot about Spain and Alicante; however, I had some help with the facts on this entry:

·         CIA World Factbook (www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sp)

·         Ayuntamiento de Alicante (www.alicante.es)

·         The City of Mt. Pleasant (www.mt-pleasant.org) 

¡Viva España!