F.I.U.

The FIU or Florida International University  is the public university of Miami and the second biggest university in Florida. 

And how is that? 

In my opinion is HUGE, there are big parkings (that are not free like in Spain, everybody have to pay there, even the students, and usually is not easy to find a place to park although the size of them); there are huge gardens, big lakes and large buildings. 

But the most curious thing for me it has been the amount of shops and restaurants that you can find there. Can you imagine an university with hairdraisser? with a burguer king? with a cuban or a lebanese restaurant? with clothes and jewellery shops? with a hall where you can listen the hits of the moment? with scalators? 

Yes, it seems more like a shopping center than an university. 

Another curiosity about the american universities is that you have the fraternities. They are like in the films, different groups of people that organize varying events and if you want to be a member of them, you will have to pass some tests and to pay a fee. The fraternities are or for men or for women, they are mixed just in case of fraternities dedicated to any subject like: law, science or literature. 

(each fraternity has its logotype)

And last but not least, there is a Honors college, it is a special department for that students who have great marks and want to get involved in community, international or research programmes, between other things. Vulgarly, that is like in Spain we would say: "un lugar para los más empollones". 

Do you know how much it can cost per year an american university like that? 

Around 12000 euros...

We should feel gratefull with our university, that maybe is not as fashion as that, sometimes it doesn't have the best teachers...but we don't have to spend all our life saving money or thinking about to sell a kidney for paying our studies...

1 de Marzo de 2016

Mi primer 1 de Marzo en el que estoy sin ropa de abrigo, con un clima ideal, oliendo a césped recién cortado, escuchando a los grillos cantar, disfrutando "al fresco", como en mi pueblo se suele decir, de una noche de verano. Adoro este lugar. 

Uno de mis sueños siempre había sido vivir en un lugar así, donde el invierno no existiera y a día e hoy, puedo decir, que es verdad que algunos sueños se cumplen. 

Después de casi una semana viviendo aquí, puedo decir que Miami es muy diverso, es como un rompecabezas donde todas las piezas encajan aunque sean muy distintas. 

Puedes encontrar desde zonas de rascacielos, ruidosas, con gente ajetreada yendo de un lado para otro;  a zonas de casitas, con bonitos jardines, donde reina la tranquilidad y que recuerdan a los barrios de las películas americanas; o largos paseos junto al océano repletos de palmeras.

Y es que vivir aquí es sentirte, en ocasiones, como si estuvieras dentro de una película, en el sentido de que las imágenes que ves a tu alrededor son como escenas de las películas que millones de veces has visto. 

Los largos autobuses amarillos de los colegios, los enormes supermercados con cientos de variedades de todo, donde lo más difícil es encontrar algo sano y con pocas calorías; banderas americanas en cada rincón...

Miami beach

Just, amazing. 

Miami beach is the same as you can see in the films, series, video-clips etc. 

The avenues are full of people, walking, or skating, some of them showing their cultural bodys, other driving fancy cars with loud music, while any tourist, like me, is taking pictures of them.

As in Spain it is said, is plenty of "postureo". 

Bars where people drink super cocktails in super cups (I have never seen cups as big as that one);

pubs with super DJs, where, already in the afternoon, there are queues of young people waiting for the party. 

And kilometres of white sand beach. 

As a friend told me: is like living constantly in a Daddy Yankee's video clip.

Wynwood

El lugar más bonito, artístico y bohemio de Miami. 

Por casualidades de la vida fui a parar allí, de la mano de una excelente guía. 

Wynwood, el llamado Arts District es un lugar lleno de color, de vida, de creatividad. Caminar por sus calles es no parar de mirar de un lado para otro, de arriba a abajo, porque por todas partes, en cualquier rincón, hasta bajo tus pies, hay imágenes que no te puedes perder. 

  

En definitiva, un lugar que inspira a cualquiera. 

Welcome to Miami

I arrived to Miami airport at night, and how was my welcoming? it was raining quite a lot...but it was warm!! Bye bye winter!!

After my first day there my first impressions were:

-Miami people don't speak English, don't speak Spanish, they speak Spanglish. 
It was very funny the first time when I went to a shop and the shop assistants spoke 3 or 4 words in English, followed by 3 or 4 in Spanish, they change automatically from one language to other. They are really bilingual, one of my goals it will be to be like them!

-Miami is luxury. Luxury shops, luxury cars, luxury buildings, luxury restaurants. As I say is a city for rich people. 
The thing that surprised me the most it was the apartment's lobby , they are like hotel's hall, very fancy, they have restaurants inside, shops, hairdressers, gym, swimming pools, huge parkings...

-Big. The building size, the wide avenues, make you feel very small. You feel like a little ant in the middle of the jungle. 

 












-Trolley. In Miami there are different public transports, one of them is the metro rail, like in the Simpons. But my favourite one is the trolley, is like a little train carriage with an old fashioned appareance and is so cute. And the most important, is free.

Next stop...

Y llegó el día, en menos de 24 horas comenzará una nueva aventura. La chica de aldea cruzará el charco. 

Después de una larga espera emprenderé rumbo a tierras americanas, algo que, no puedo decir que nunca habría imaginado porque me imagino en cualquier lugar de este mundo, pero algo, que no hubiera imaginado que sucedería en un futuro tan próximo. 

Al otro lado del océano me esperan innumerables lugares por descubrir, personas por conocer, momentos por vivir...

Me siento como una niña pequeña a la que le entregan un enorme paquete envuelto por un precioso papel de regalo. Soy esa niña impaciente y expectante por abrir ese paquete repleto de sorpresas. 

Así que, solo me queda decir: ¡Hasta pronto España!