First Real Beach Experience in Alicante!!

This weekend has been great so far! On Friday, I went to Orihuela with some friends...it was really nice to get away from Alicante and see another place in the provience. Orihuela is only one hour away on train and is really beautiful. There we saw two churches, a river and lots of old buildings. When we first arrived, we bought some bread, cheese, juice boxes and two large plastic jugs of white wine. We went to the park to eat/drink our feast (two hours later...), saw some CIEE people on a field trip for art class, got harassed by homeless people jealous of our gluttony. We walked around the city for a while and then went home listening to music the whole way and missed our stop at Alicante. We got off in Elche and there was no train station to be seen....but luckily Stephanie knew where she was kind of and we got back on the C6 and went to the Alicante airport and got dropped off near her house! Then after eating pizza hut we went to a bunch of Erasmus kids house from Canada, which was a really good time.

Yesterday we went to the beach for the first real time!! This means that I actually wore my bathingsuit...a little better than the first time/first day of being in the ocean/being in Alicante (this was January...) hahaha...but a wonderful memory nonetheless. Anyways then we met with my intercambio, Sara, who actually lives right next to me! It's so perfect!! I think it might be fate that we met, haha. I saw her in the Oficina asking Beatrice for an intercambio and I heard her and told her that I don't have one either! So after my attempts at intercambio with other people haven't worked out, now I have one that lives 3 minutes away from the hospital! (I'm like 7-8 minutes away walking). So we're going to meet on Monday to practice speaking. I'm really excited for it, I think having an intercambio will really improve on my Spanish. Especially since my family is having some issues right now because my little sister is in the hospital for kidney problems...we haven't been talking at all really because they're always gone. I feel so horrible for them, but she is getting better so I think it's okay.

Last night Stephanie and I made another feast this time with leftover "salsa garbanzo," hot dogs filled with cheese...(?) on croissants (hahah) and calzones. Oh, and I squeezed my first glass of fresh orange juice!!! (With pulp). Then I got a tour of her house and photos of the familia and we attempted to use the tv box for movies but eventually failed and watched a documentary on sex and some Spanish music videos. I was exhausted from the night before so I went home and went to sleep early. It was a good decision because now I'm rested, going to head to the beach for a little, do a lot of work and go for a run. I went on the most amazing run a few days ago and realized that I live like 15 minutes running away from the beach in another direction...I think I'm going to start doing this run because it's more scenic than the others I've tried. (I run alongside the boardwalk at the beach also here).

So I've decided I'm going to get a tattoo here on the top part of my back, nearer to my neck. I've known I want to get the scallop shell of the Camino, which lines the routes and guides pilgrims. It is traditionally a symbol of the camino and pilgrims wear them as necklaces or on their backpacks as a sign to other people that they are a pilgrim. It also had practical purpose in the middle ages during the camino and in the nearer past because it was used as a receptacle for water and food. Even the poorest villager could donate something to the pilgrim because of its small size. Also, there are various legends of St. James and the scallop shell, it is intertwined with the miraculous nature of his apperances in times of distress and trouble. My favorite meaning of the shell, however, is the metaphor of the shape. The many lines of the shell, parallel to the many routes of the camino, all come together at one common point, or Santiago de Compostela. This can also be interepreted as the many different people who do the Camino for all different reasons (let them be spiritual, touristic, necessary for recuperation of health, etc.) all come together for this one adventure and journey. It, and religion as a whole, is a way to unite people, encourage solidarity, understanding and tolerance of those different than you because all these people are placed together for one same reason. Even despite their differences, they all have some desire to complete this journey for the betterment of themselves and their outlook on life. For all, the act of walking throughout small villages in Spain without many distractions encourages contemplation and self-reflection. I think I've determined what my tattoo is going to say...(underneath the scallop shell is going to be this phrase, "Solvitur ambulando" in Spanish instead of Latin- but only if it can translate properly). This is a Latin proverb which means, "It is solved by walking." Here's a little summary that I found online of the meaning/meanings...

"It is normally assumed to refer to a solution to Zeno's Paradox: the problem of motion that Zeno poses, particularly in the formulation of the arrow that infinitely often has to traverse the first half of the previous distance, seems to show that it is impossible even to begin to move.
There is a story that another philosopher in Zeno's class was listening to him explain this, and at this point got up and left. Zeno, taken aback at this rudeness, asked him what he was doing. "Refuting you."
If it was Augustine of Hippo some eight hundred years later who coined the Latin aphorism, then he was either retelling this story or at least re-offering this solution. You can dispose of a problem with words by experiment, by actually going out and doing something instead of endlessly turning over the words.

I found another use, in amidst a lot of Christian argumentation (Moule 1890), where the writer said solvitur ambulando cum Deo, "it is solved by walking with God"; but no precedent was given, so I don't know if he was just expanding it off his own bat or had a genuine precedent for this expansion. This is quite another meaning: walking in the path of righteousness, putting yourself in God's hands, and so on. Nothing to do with Zeno's problem of motion, or the refreshment of the outdoors."


So...for myself I think all three meanings are very insightful. First, I think many things in life are solved by proceeding with them based on your past experiences...utilizing the knowledge of what situations you have been in before help you understand your current situation. Also, things are learned best when they are experienced first hand. This has a lot to do with my walk on the camino, learning about the camino and then actually going on it and experiencing it "in the flesh" is the most engaging and powerful way to learn about something. This way you can appreciate it and actually understand it on a higher level.
Also, walking or running are, for me, the best way to expel energy and feel renewed. After I go for a run, I feel renewed, refreshed, revitalized. It really does give you time to feel the weight of your body, sort of a type of meditation- the constant, comforting repetition, the realization that your body alone can take you from place A to place B with ease. It also gives you a chance to experience- I've started to use running here in Alicante as a way to explore my neighborhood. If I didn't run to them I most likely wouldn't even see all of the cool things I've seen so far near where I live (mansions, little barrios, etc).
Also, since the camino is a religious pilgrimage I think the last interpretation of the quote really speaks to me as well. I may not be religious in the typical fashion, but I do believe in spirituality and giving and preaching kindness to others. I really do believe in the golden rule and being a good person throughout your life. Life is too short and too precious to waste it being rude to other people, each person you meet will help shape you in some way, even if small. These people, as a whole, have a lasting impact on you, your beliefs and the way you handle situations. I think that even the negative experiences can help shape you into a positive person...what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger..."pain is inevitable, suffering is optional." It is important to maintain a positive outlook on life even despite the negative situations that are bound to occur- be kind, generous and understanding even despite conflicts, because in the end you will learn from these situations and be a stronger person because of not allowing negative situations to destroy you.
So, basically, this quote and the camino shell together symbolize a kind of journey, a path, a pilgrimage, to the understanding of one's purpose in life, one's reason for being on earth. It's something I've contemplated and tried to understand. I don't think that humans can know any real reason for being here besides the fact that we are supposed to experience, live, gain knowledge on new situations by being an open person and a person willing to learn and fail in the process of learning. We are here, in my understanding, to learn from one another and to open ourselves up to others who appear to be different than us. The scallop shell of the Camino de Santiago will guide you, showing you the correct path to proceed with throughout your life- one of humility, tolerance, self-reflection, and virtue.