Mediterranean Paradise, the Spanish SAT, and Deliciousness

The aquamarine water is so clear and blue that you can see your toes wriggling in the sand four feet below you. The waves are mild and they buoy you up from time to time, pushing you toward the bright, sandy shore where some of the first sun-bathers of the year are already going from tan to milk-chocolate brown. You shut you eyes and submerge under the salty water, as if to say, “Sun, lets play hide-and-go-seek!” You only open you eyes when you can feel the sand on your fingertips and the water warming in the shallow waves of the shore. Thank goodness the sun has finally decided to pay its tribute to the Mediterranean coast! True to the beach-dweller’s tradition, you will lay on your towel long enough to dry and bake before returning to the water and then back to the tanning in an everlasting cycle that could last all day and all summer. This is the way life was meant to be!
But this is not how the beaches here have always been. Sixteen years ago, the Alicante city council decided that it was time to increase revenues, and so, they hauled in a whole lot of sub-ocean sand onto the once rocky shore and created –load by load- a tourists paradise. They planted palm trees in symmetrical lines and provided benches, showers, and foot-paths at every convenient interval. The product is lovely and successful, but one wonders what was lost in that massive coastal transformation.
As I walked along the beach, further from my apartment building than I had ever gone before, I suddenly found myself on an undeveloped part of the coast where fishermen reigned –along with little crabs, snails, and an abundance of little sea creatures with spikes and shells that I cannot name. And instead of sand, it was all lightly colored, rounded stones that served as homes and hiding places for the afore mentioned habitants. Some of these rocks had such a maze of tunnels winding through them that I could imagine a world inside each one, like Whoville. As I stooped every foot or so to uncover some new treasure, I noticed something very unusual about one particular length of rocky beach: the waves receding down the sloping rocks created an acoustic waterfall, akin to the sound of a rain-stick. It was so beautiful and relaxing just sitting and listening to the water shift the rounded rocks in a series of soft clicks and clacks. Mmmmm! I think those three meters of beach are some of my favorite in the world! Oh, what I would give to have completely undeveloped, wild beaches open to my curious exploration!
In case everyone is wondering, all the seniors in high school are currently studying for the last tests of the year, which come during these next two weeks. I can’t be bothered to study, what with the re-appearance of my beloved sun. I might open up my philosophy and art history books, but that is only because I enjoy reading about the thoughts of Nietzsche and the portraits of Goya. After these two weeks of testing, and while everyone else is still in school for three more weeks, the seniors will turn to studying for the highly important college entrance tests. These tests are crucial because your grade determines what colleges you can go to and what majors you can study. For example, lets say you average a six out of ten on the test. Well, sorry but you can’t be a lawyer. However, you can still study to be a teacher! Additionally, these tests are not multiple choice. Each section, based on the courses you have recently completed, calls for several detailed essay question responses which are then evaluated and graded by a group of judges. Thus, the test is much more subjective than the SAT. Also, it determines wholly your college opportunities, so lets hope you didn’t get off the wrong side of the bed that morning. But if you get the grade you were hoping for on the test, then you essentially get to go to college where you want without the whole nerve-wracking application process. Most Spaniards choose to go to college in their hometown, or the nearest city, so that they can continue living with their parents. In fact, most young adults won’t move out of their parent’s house until they get married, which currently averages around 28-years-old and is going up every year. The housing here is so expensive that the youth just can’t afford to live on their own, and so they stay dependent on their parents until a later age. Some people who don’t marry live with their parents all their lives, and this is not socially frowned upon like it usually is in America.
On Thursday there was a strike at my school. Actually, it was a strike amongst all the high schools in this part of the country (in the community of Valencia). Nobody was really sure what they were striking against, but when they hear the word huelga (“strike”), they treat it as a day off from school. My host sister and just about everybody else went to the beach. Me and, ironically, my usually slacking classmates were all at school all day like the good little students that we are or pretend to be.
Well, I am very excited because on Tuesday I will take a train up to Barcelona where I will meet up with the other exchange students before we head up to Paris! Yay! I have never set foot in France, so I can’t wait to see the Louvre and the infamous Eiffel Tower. My friend and fellow exchange student Molly is looking forward to the crapes! I’ll be sure to let you know how they are. And if the airport security doesn’t notice the chocolate and whipped cream oozing from my luggage, I’ll smuggle some back for you too!
Ooh! I almost forgot! Did you know that Spain has chocolate shops. Let me specify: did you know that Spain has shops where you sit down and be served a cup of melted chocolate with churros to dip in it and any array of other delicious tidbits of chocolate. Need I say heaven?!

Well, oodles of love!

Besos,

Jocelyn

PS I re-dyed my hair again and it is faaabulous daaarling!