Alcala de Henares

Today, I woke up and decided to straighten my hair so that it would look nice in my pictures. However, I obviously didn't buy the right electric converter/ adapter for Europe. I mean I suppose it works to charge my laptop and my camera battery. It just won't heat up my hair straightener. It is so annoying. It wouldn't be such a big deal, but I'm already not getting a chance to blow dry my hair. So, my hair is super frizzy and half wavy. Both of which are frustrating.

Either way, I went to class today, with wavy hair and my cute little dress my pictures. Today was sort of our last class. We went over some grammar, but mainly discussed the education system here in Spain. It is rather different, because they have different requirements for education. Everything also has a different name. One big difference is that school is required until 16 here. Something else I found interesting is that they have a vocational program for students who aren't on level or have no interest in school. After 16 they attend the bachelerrato (I can't remember how to spell it). It is optional and it prepares them for the university. In the university, they can either receive a 3 year degree (forgot the name for it) or a 5 year degree (licensiatura). There is also a doctorate degree after that. Oh ya, something big, the university only costs 600 euros per year. Also, if you qualify to get it for free, then you pay nothing. That's pretty cheap.

After that discussion, we talked about Spain's education budget crisis. The other professor brought in an article from the newspaper about the crisis. It was all very familiar to what is going on back home. We discussed what programs were being cut and how many teachers were losing their jobs. It's all very sad. They are have similar problems to us. At the end of class, we got certificates for completing the course. We took pictures with our professors.

After school, we were off to Alcala de Henares. It was less than an hour away. I talked to Cristina the whole way there. She was awesome enough to let me listen to her ipod too. Thanks, Cristina! Once we arrived, we ate lunch. It was fabulous. Nine euros bought me paella, calamari, salad, bread, sprite and cherries. The paella was the best I've had so far. The cherries were very fresh and sweet. I really enjoyed it. Then we went sightseeing. We saw an old church, the university, and a cathedral. Our tour guide, Iara (also our professor) told us about legends from Alcala. She told us how there was the fountain in the university that "boyfriends" would prove their "loyalty" to their girlfriends by sticking their hand in the lion's mouth. If the boyfriend didn't get bitten then she knew he was telling the truth. It was a cute story. She also told us that there was a "pope" statue somewhere on/ in the building with a pig's face. If you found it, it would bring you good luck (3000 euros). Unfortunately, I couldn't find it :( She actually says it has never been found. The city itself was very old and beautiful. I liked it.

We came home for dinner. I had penne pasta with tomato sauce, pork chop, tomatoes, and watermelon. Then I did my homework. I still have to pack for Italy tomorrow. I have my last class in the morning, then off to the airport. I hope my flight is on time, since we have to catch a train to Florence about 2 hours after we land. I'm looking forward to Italy, especially the food. I probably won't blog until Monday night, when we return from Italy. My trip is over in 5 days. It has definitely gone by fast. I will need some time to process it all when I get back home. I'm glad I have my blog and my Spanish diary from my class.

Oh ya, I forgot to mention, I took a picture of the dirty floor in the restaurant, because here it is a sign of "good restaurant." So if you walk into a very dirty restaurant, then the food is great. I hate to say it, but it was delicious.