Monday, January 17, 2011

¡They took us to the school then hung us out to dry!

This morning Krista came in and woke me up at 8:20am... we had all accidentally slept in and were almost at the point of missing our buses to take us to the school's orientation. OOPS! So we scrambled to get ready after a night of freezing our buns off in the twin sized beds on all tiled floors. WOW.... this place really gets COLD!
All four of us left at 8:40am and met with the group at the same plaza as yesterday - Plaza Luceros. There were two buses waiting and we hopped on one! Off to the school with a French/Italian/Spanish tour guide trying his best to translate into English everything that we were passing that was worth seeing. Finally reached the school and walked to this one building where orientation was held... they told us about EVERYTHING we would need to know in order to study here!
  • Calendar
  • Finals
  • USAC Office and Telephone Information
  • Transportation
  • Mail & Electronic Mail
  • Banking
  • Health & Insurance
  • Shopping
  • Sports & Free time
  • Housing
  • Safety Tips
  • Emergency Contact Info & Useful Numbers / Procedures
  • Culture Shock
  • Academic Policy & Procedures
  • Add / Drop / Audit / Withdrawal Deadlines
  • Class Descriptions / Schedule
  • USAC Courses
  • Integration with the University of Alicante
  • Registration form
Let's just say that it was a LONNGGG orientation meeting! Following, we had a tiny breakfast they had set up for us outside of the room, and then had to come straight back in to take a placement exam. The roomies and I all placed into track III - so besides them taking one dance class and me taking one business class, we're all in the same classes!
Now - here's the hung us out to dry part of the title.... THEY DIDN'T TELL US HOW TO GET HOME! Who picks someone up and then just LEAVES them in an unknown part of an unknown city their SECOND day in the city?! Well - thankfully Krista had done her research prior because she knew which number bus we had to take to get home - easy!


( Krista and I with the hams in the market )


K - so - fail number 2 for today (1 = not waking up early enough to properly get ready): MaryAnn plugging in her United States hair straightener and blowing half of all of the fuses in the house! Took us a while to figure out which fuse to switch back on... good thing it was the only one that was in the "off" position. We realized this after we consulted MaryAnn's dad by video skype. :)

I had a Nutrisystem lunch -- cold, I might add because of MA's fail -- when we got home and the girls went to a baker to get Empanadas and little pizzas... then we went to the market to get our (their) groceries! Spent forever in there -- and Krista got to see where real, nice ham comes from... :) a pig's LEG! mmmmm black hoofed ham - delicioso! We went into and out of a few different clothing shops before the market, and then after shopping in the market and getting to the checkout -- remembered that we had to carry all of our groceries home; without the help of a car. HA that was fun! MaryAnn just said the entire way, "My arms are about to break from the sockets!" I guess oranges, eggs, milk, potatoes, and all the other items do add up to be pretty heavy. Have to go back tomorrow to get our bottled waters.

When we got home we found out that WebSTAR has DISAPPEARED! noooooooo ... but apparently Luis (the landlord) attempted at fixing our internet - and it's okay. It cuts out and we have to unplug and then replug the modem, but besides that, it's alright.

I also found out that I can still use BlackBerry Messenger with my phone on the wifi, so if you have BBM add me!!


Came home, put the bags down and unloaded all of the groceries. Then! We were off - again! We went to explore more of the town and ended up shopping at H&M and two house shops (thinking we could find some cheap rugs to lay down on the COLD COLD floors -- fail). The cheapest rugs we found were 100£. NOT cheap. After that escapade, I came home to straighten up my room and eat my Nutrisystem dinner while the girls went to eat at some Mexican restaurant on the corner.... 2 hours ago.... and they just walked in the door. hahaha!! goofs. Well I had alone time to catch up with my parents and Tim, finish this blog and eat. Guess I'll go organize now. They all want to go out tonight... mmm I think I've had enough walking for today - and hey, I have 6 months to experience night life, right? I think I'll have a cold night in for myself. :)

Sincerely,
Not going out tonight!!

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