First Impressions #TBT #HogsAbroad in Spain

Hello! My name is Ashley Karlovich, and today marks one week since my plane touched down in Spain! I’m a Psychology and Spanish double major. Last Tuesday, I landed in Madrid for a quick pre-trip with my program before making our way down to the beach town and our host city of Alicante, Spain. I constantly checked and double checked everything that I was bringing, making absolutely sure I did not miss a thing. In hindsight, I already wish that I had brought less stuff. I’ve already learned from being in Europe that we as Americans keep WAY more than we need, whether it be groceries, clothing, or anything of the sort. I even heard over and over again, “Don’t overpack!” And what did I do? Overpack.

Overpacking aside, these past few days have already been some of the best days of my life. I have seen churches and monuments that were established before the United States was even a country! Crazy for me to think about. I have seen paintings in person that I learned about and studied intensely in my classes. For almost an entire year, the background of my computer has been a neighborhood in Alicante. Today, I saw that neighborhood and it almost brought me to tears. In just one week, studying abroad has brought me more life experiences than I ever could have imagined.

One of the best stories and funniest memories I have so far revolves around food. We had taken a day trip from Madrid to Segovia. A friend and I were thinking that we wanted to experience some local food for lunch while we were there. So, we stopped into the most local looking place we could find - off the beaten path, and full of only Spaniards. We asked the waiter what his favorite dish was, and told him that we are new to Spain and wanted to try something different and local. He insisted that we order a traditional Spanish dish called callos. When it was delivered to our table, we could not really tell what was in it. It was some kind of stew. But nevertheless, we decided to try it anyways. Neither of us cared for the taste, and afterwards we had come to find out we had just eaten a stew that could consist of anything from cow tripe, to hooves, to nose, to ox cheek and blood sausage. Yikes. But, this is a Spanish delicacy. Lots of locals that we have talked to absolutely love the dish (But some hated it too). Safe to say we got our local meal in! 

Life in my apartment in Alicante has been pretty amazing. We are on the 8th floor of an apartment that is walking distance from everything in town - El Mercado Central, the beach, and the main plaza, Plaza de los Luceros. We have still yet to explore all of the fun and intricate streets of our town, but I am so thankful that I have four more months to do it!

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Ashley, a junior Psychology and Spanish major, is spending the spring 2018 semester studying Spanish and European Studies in Alicante, Spain through USAC.
Ashley is also a recipient of our Office of Study Abroad Scholarship.
Don't miss your opportunity to study or intern abroad! Start your search at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search/