Today was our first official day that started in Alicante, at least that’s what I think. We were able to wake up in a whole new country and enjoy a light breakfast with some of our host families. My travel buddy, Nicolle, and our new neighbor, Ethan, joined at the lobby ground level of our building and walked over to the bus station to meet everyone in the program at the usual Plaza de Los Luceros for the morning meetup. It seems like we are the only ones in the group who have gained experience (and confidence) with the public transportation in Alicante. Thank you for the extra croissant Ethan. Armando and Vinayak met with us to explore more of Alicante’s beautiful landmarks such as the Mercado Central.
Inside the Mercado, we learned about the quirks of Alicante’s nutrition and routines. Most of the people of this city go to market everyday to buy small things for that day’s meals based on what is in season, best catch, or simply best made by competing sellers in the market. Compared to the Publix supermarkets in Florida, this way of life allows for interesting fluctuations in people’s diet and conversations with sellers on where the food is from and how to prepare all those fresh foods.
Afterwards, we got to use the Tram to get to the Universidad de Alicante. There we met with Professor Cynthia Miguelez and her students in the department of translations. They were super friendly and one woman, Paola, told me how she wants to do translations for anime! We explored the university campus a little bit, with flowers growing everywhere, and met together with a social work professor. Professor Mari Carmen Pérez Belda gave us a lecture in English on the evolution of social work in Spain and how it has developed and been given emphasis in society over the coming history such as the impact from Franco’s Regime and the Big Recession of 2008.
From there, almost 50 of Alicante’s social work students flooded the room and we grouped up with them to discuss our cultures, politics, and social issues to see where we had similarities and differences. Nicolle and I talked to interpreters and social work students about racism, the intersection with poverty, and aid with people with disabilities. It was great meeting people from an entirely different country who share the same passions and motivation to repair the world or connect people beyond language barriers. Some of the other people from our program actually got their phone numbers and social media to meet with them another time! From there we all went back home for siesta and la comida (lunch). Later we met up with everyone in our program to reflect and meditate on the day and the program. It was a long day!! Now my ankles look swollen. – Ella Wdowinski
Social Work Study Abroad in Spain 2022: Alicante & Granada 