Wednesday: Wednesday we went over to our professor's apartment for a Mexican diner. We had steak fajitas on corn tortillas, homemade guacamole and salsa, beans, and pretty much the most amazing cake I've ever had. Luis, Carmen, and Juan joined us, for their fist ever taste of guacamole and REAL Mexican food. Everything was soooo good. Luis also brought me a few books to read on bullfighting. One was about Juan Belmonte and the other was about the first female matador.
Thursday: Thursday API set up a futbol game UCSD vs. the other API students (mostly from Texas). The UCSD team consisted of Denny (Goalie extraordinaire), Charlene, Marie, Sebastian, and Juan from API. After about an hour of playing, the UCSD team was victorious 8-5! :) After the game we all headed back to the residencia to shower and get ready for the Flamenco festival in Cadiz. The festival went from 10:30PM - 2:00AM! To say the least, we were all exhausted by the time it ended.
Friday: Friday we decided to go buy snacks for the long bus ride to Morón de la Frontera. We met up with our professor at 6PM and took a city bus to our own charter bus which we took up to the festival. On the way we stopped at a truck stop and Luis showed me the owner's large collection of bullfighting pictures and posters (including my favorite, Manolete!). Outside Denny and I made a friend with a very dirty stray dog. The poor thing looked like it had fleas and was probably pretty hungry as well.
After our stop we were back on the road for the festival. Once we'd arrived in Morón we stopped to get Tapas and some of the group got Kebabs. After our tapas, we headed to the bullring for the festival. It was so weird to be actually inside of the ring. Luis explained to me that the sand they use (which we were standing in) is very special and they make it near Morón and ship it to all of the other bullrings in the world. He put a little bit in a water bottle and gave it to me to take home.
This festival was my personal favorite. It was in honor of the 100 year anniversary of Diego del Gastor's birth. A lot of his family members performed and it was amazing to see so much talent in one family. The festival ALSO happened to be a gazpacho festival, so half way through we all got free Gazpacho! :) It was much stronger than the other gazpacho I'd had, but it was good. After the festival ended (around 3am) we all climbed back on our bus for the trip home which mostly consisted of much needed sleep. We arrived back in Cadiz around 5am, and walked back to our residencia, I'm pretty sure we all passed out pretty quickly.
Saturday/Sunday: On saturday some of our group went to Gibraltar. While there one of them had crackers stolen right out of her purse by a monkey. I decided to stay back at the residencia on Saturday and Sunday to work on my paper.
Monday: On Monday I did some last minute souvenir shopping in Cadiz. I had plans to hang out with a friend who lives in Jerez that I hadn't gotten to see, but our plans fell through as he was stuck in Madrid for the weekend.
Tuesday:On Tuesday after class we wrote our group paper and got ready for our last dinner as a group in Cadiz with the professor and Juan, Carmen and Luis from API. We went to a tapa restaurant "La Gorda de Comer" and then went out for Helado after at Juan's favorite place. It was really sad to say goodbye to Carmen, Luis, and Juan.
Wednesday: Wednesday was our last day of class. After class we all decided to pack as half the group was leaving wednesday night, and the others were leaving early Thursday morning. We also did a bit more last last minute shopping before saying goodbye to our group members.
Thursday:It is now Thursday, July 31, and I slept in a little. I regret that decision now,I missed breakfast, the only free meal I could have had today. Around 11:30AM I finished packing my things and went downstairs to say goodbye to Eduardo, one of our close Spanish friends. We traded email addresses and hugged before he had to leave with his class and I had to call a taxi to start on my next adventure. I decided to take a taxi to Jerez, because the bus left at 11:30 and I'd already missed it and another wasn't going to come until at least 3PM. So, I headed off for my hotel in Jerez by Taxi, and because I allowed the driver to stop and photocopy something on the way (which only took about 5 minutes) he gave me 12 Euro discount on the 50 Euro set rate to Jerez! I am currently sitting in my hotel room, which I am happy to say has air conditioning and outside there is a pool! I'm still a little nervous about my 17 hours of flying tomorrow. Mostly about getting up and getting a cab to the airport by 6AM.
Overall, this has been a very fun experience. I do however, wish I'd had the chance to practice my Spanish a little more. I feel that I didn't really improve much over the course of the past 5 weeks, and I intend to brush up a bit when I get home. Even if it's just reading my old high school Spanish text books.
I would also like to apologize for how few and far between these posts have been. Our internet in the residencia was not very reliable and it was difficult to say when I'd actually be able to post something.
With that said, it's been fun. Thanks to those of you who read this, as I had a lot of fun writing it. (and trying to remember just what we'd done the entire week, since there was so much always going on)
If you are interested in seeing pictures from the trip, they are posted at
http://picasaweb.google.com/HobbitishJandra/Espana
I leave you all with a quote off of one of the shirts I got:
"Lo Siento Picha, To er mundo no puede ser de Cai"
...and how sadly true that is. :P
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Last Week
Monday and Tuesday were spent doing laundry and studying for our midterm which we found out was moved up a day. All of us were pretty nervous about the exams.
Wednesday: Wednesday was the big day. We had a study session in the morning after breakfast, then we all returned to our rooms to study more. At 5PM, the moment of truth had arrived, and I am proud to say I can successfully tell the Flamenco Palos apart. :D After the exam, my roommate Charlene and I decided to go next door for some celebratory gelato. I got a combination of dark chocolate and turron (it basically tastes like sugar cookies) and it was amazing together. After gelato, we decided to take a siesta before meeting up with the professor for our private flamenco party. The party was a lot of fun. The musicians were very talented and by the end everyone was laughing and dancing.
Thursday: After a late night watching the flamenco artists we all got up an hour earlier than usual to head to the train station with our professor to meet up with Luis and Mario for our day excursion to Jerez. It was a pretty short train ride, and most of us slept during it. When we got to Jerez, the weather was wonderful, which was bad seeing as it was only 9AM... we all knew it was going to be MUCH hotter as the day progressed. The first thing we did when we arrived was find a cafe to get coffee at. Then we went to the Flamenco Research Center and watched some old Flamenco films before heading off to the winery. We were given a tour of the place and watched a creepy video about the "magic spirits" of Cadiz" before heading off to get lunch. Or shall I say marathon of feasting. We ended up spending 4 hours at lunch. They served drinks, tapas, and 2 main courses! It was sooo much food. We left just in time to catch the train back to Cadiz to get ready for Jueves Flamencos, a flamenco festival in Cadiz. It goes from 10:30PM-1:30AM and by the end of it, all of us wanted nothing more to go back to our rock hard mattresses and sleep.
Friday: Friday morning, Laura, Charlene, Marie and Sebastian left for Portugal. Michelle, Alice, Denny, and I decided to take a trip to Corte Ingles, a GINORMOUS department store. It seriously was the biggest department store I've ever seen. Friday night, Keiri, Joel, Denny, Alice, Michelle, Eduardo and I went out to the Mexican Restaurant to celebrate Michelle's birthday at midnight.
Saturday: Saturday Michelle, Alice and Joel left for Morocco and Eduardo, Denny, Matt, Keiri and I decided to go for a walk around Cadiz. We ended up going to the gardens where we saw a really neat waterfall thing with a bridge and a cave-like area below the bridge. It was gorgeous. The trees there looked straight out Super Mario Bros. Then we decided to stop for some sodas because it was SOOO hot outside. While walking around, we found some boaters and we saw a few kayaks but we weren't sure where we could rent them. After talking to Eduardo about it, he said we could go to Sancti Petri and rent them there. After our walk we all rested for a few hours and watched the Office with Eduardo, who'd never seen it. He says that he understood a little bit of it, which is good, otherwise it probably would have been torture for him.
Sunday: On Sunday Matt, Keiri, Denny, and I began our adventure to Sancti Petri. We decided to bring some stuff to make sandwiches, and it was a good thing we did, because they were gone before we even left the bus station. There were a few moments of confusion as to whether getting on a bus to Chiclana would eventually take us to a bus to Sancti Petri, but we lucked out and managed to make it to Sancti Petri! When we got there we saw a lot of kayakers, boaters, and jet skiers. We were intrigued by the idea of going jet skiing, but apparently they only sell them, not rent them, so we opted to stick to our original plan and went kayaking.The kayak teams started off as Keiri and I and Matt with Denny. But Keiri and Denny are both afraid of the ocean, so Matt decided to switch with Keiri. So the teams were Matt and me and Denny with Keiri. Matt decided to challenge Denny to a race back to the house thing, which was a bad idea, seeing as Denny was on the rowing team in high school and Matt doesn't do much rowing at all. :P It was a lot of though. After we finished, we took pictures with the kayaks and with Javi (a really awesome guy who works there) and made our way to the bus stop. The bus for Chiclana was supposed to be there at 5:40PM, but buses here run on Spanish time, and it made it there about 5:58PM. Once in Chiclana, we had some time to kill before catching the bus to Cadiz, so we stopped at a place for some tapas and watched a bullfight on TV before catching the bus at 7. We decided to go out for Mexican once we'd all showered. After dinner we met up in Keiri's room and managed to fit four people in one of those tiny beds to watch The Office. A while later Eduardo decided to join us. He decided after a while that we needed to suffer as bad as he was so he brought down his computer and we all watched "Muchachada Nui", which is basically a Spanish version of MADtv. It was pretty hilarious. After that we went out with a few guys in our residencia who were from Barcelona to do research for our group project before calling it a night and going to sleep.
Wednesday: Wednesday was the big day. We had a study session in the morning after breakfast, then we all returned to our rooms to study more. At 5PM, the moment of truth had arrived, and I am proud to say I can successfully tell the Flamenco Palos apart. :D After the exam, my roommate Charlene and I decided to go next door for some celebratory gelato. I got a combination of dark chocolate and turron (it basically tastes like sugar cookies) and it was amazing together. After gelato, we decided to take a siesta before meeting up with the professor for our private flamenco party. The party was a lot of fun. The musicians were very talented and by the end everyone was laughing and dancing.
Thursday: After a late night watching the flamenco artists we all got up an hour earlier than usual to head to the train station with our professor to meet up with Luis and Mario for our day excursion to Jerez. It was a pretty short train ride, and most of us slept during it. When we got to Jerez, the weather was wonderful, which was bad seeing as it was only 9AM... we all knew it was going to be MUCH hotter as the day progressed. The first thing we did when we arrived was find a cafe to get coffee at. Then we went to the Flamenco Research Center and watched some old Flamenco films before heading off to the winery. We were given a tour of the place and watched a creepy video about the "magic spirits" of Cadiz" before heading off to get lunch. Or shall I say marathon of feasting. We ended up spending 4 hours at lunch. They served drinks, tapas, and 2 main courses! It was sooo much food. We left just in time to catch the train back to Cadiz to get ready for Jueves Flamencos, a flamenco festival in Cadiz. It goes from 10:30PM-1:30AM and by the end of it, all of us wanted nothing more to go back to our rock hard mattresses and sleep.
Friday: Friday morning, Laura, Charlene, Marie and Sebastian left for Portugal. Michelle, Alice, Denny, and I decided to take a trip to Corte Ingles, a GINORMOUS department store. It seriously was the biggest department store I've ever seen. Friday night, Keiri, Joel, Denny, Alice, Michelle, Eduardo and I went out to the Mexican Restaurant to celebrate Michelle's birthday at midnight.
Saturday: Saturday Michelle, Alice and Joel left for Morocco and Eduardo, Denny, Matt, Keiri and I decided to go for a walk around Cadiz. We ended up going to the gardens where we saw a really neat waterfall thing with a bridge and a cave-like area below the bridge. It was gorgeous. The trees there looked straight out Super Mario Bros. Then we decided to stop for some sodas because it was SOOO hot outside. While walking around, we found some boaters and we saw a few kayaks but we weren't sure where we could rent them. After talking to Eduardo about it, he said we could go to Sancti Petri and rent them there. After our walk we all rested for a few hours and watched the Office with Eduardo, who'd never seen it. He says that he understood a little bit of it, which is good, otherwise it probably would have been torture for him.
Sunday: On Sunday Matt, Keiri, Denny, and I began our adventure to Sancti Petri. We decided to bring some stuff to make sandwiches, and it was a good thing we did, because they were gone before we even left the bus station. There were a few moments of confusion as to whether getting on a bus to Chiclana would eventually take us to a bus to Sancti Petri, but we lucked out and managed to make it to Sancti Petri! When we got there we saw a lot of kayakers, boaters, and jet skiers. We were intrigued by the idea of going jet skiing, but apparently they only sell them, not rent them, so we opted to stick to our original plan and went kayaking.The kayak teams started off as Keiri and I and Matt with Denny. But Keiri and Denny are both afraid of the ocean, so Matt decided to switch with Keiri. So the teams were Matt and me and Denny with Keiri. Matt decided to challenge Denny to a race back to the house thing, which was a bad idea, seeing as Denny was on the rowing team in high school and Matt doesn't do much rowing at all. :P It was a lot of though. After we finished, we took pictures with the kayaks and with Javi (a really awesome guy who works there) and made our way to the bus stop. The bus for Chiclana was supposed to be there at 5:40PM, but buses here run on Spanish time, and it made it there about 5:58PM. Once in Chiclana, we had some time to kill before catching the bus to Cadiz, so we stopped at a place for some tapas and watched a bullfight on TV before catching the bus at 7. We decided to go out for Mexican once we'd all showered. After dinner we met up in Keiri's room and managed to fit four people in one of those tiny beds to watch The Office. A while later Eduardo decided to join us. He decided after a while that we needed to suffer as bad as he was so he brought down his computer and we all watched "Muchachada Nui", which is basically a Spanish version of MADtv. It was pretty hilarious. After that we went out with a few guys in our residencia who were from Barcelona to do research for our group project before calling it a night and going to sleep.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
I LOVE Spain :)
Sunday: Most of the group got back on Sunday and we decided to go to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. All of us got chicken and rice chimichangas, except for Denny who opted for a quesadilla. The food was really good, but it, in no way, resembled Mexican food. They looked at Denny like he was insane when he asked if they had arroz y frijoles (beans and rice). When our food came our chimichangas looked like some cross between a quesadilla and an enchilada. Denny's quesadilla was a bowl of cheese covered meet with two tiny tortillas on the side.
Monday: Class started up again Monday, and everyone made it back from their weekend excursions. Monday was spent doing laundry and catching up on sleep. This week it finally set in that we've been extremely busy for the past 2 weeks.
Tuesday: Tuesday we were given another homework assignment in class that was due on Thursday. And we went shopping again. I'm getting a little better at finding my way around town now. We looked for a bookstore for an hour and failed to find it though. It's hard to navigate Cadiz because all of the streets look pretty much the same. Tuesday night, we went to our favorite ice cream place with our friend Matt. I'm going to miss all of the gelato and ice cream when I get home. It's sooooo good here.
Wednesday: After class Wednesday we decided to go shopping before lunch instead of taking a siesta. It was a really successful trip for me. I managed to get a pair of gladiator sandals (I kid you not, these things are crazy looking), a few bracelets and a bag to carry my stuff in around the city, mostly for my camera. After lunch I went back out with the other group that was shopping just to walk around the city some more. It's so pretty here. We met up with Carmen, Juan, and the other API group at 6:00PM for a tour of the Catedral de Cadiz. This cathedral is HUGE! We walked around learning the history of the building and then we went down into the crypt. This was the biggest crypt I've ever seen. It felt nice and cool down there, which was a nice change from the heat outside. After our tour of the cathedral, we walked up a long spiral ramp. It seemed like this ramp was never going to end. When we finally saw the end of the ramp, we noticed a spiral staircase going up the rest of the way. When we finally made it to the top, we realized that it was well worth it. The tower of the cathedral is the highest tower in the whole city and you can see the entire city from up there. The breeze felt really nice as well. We stayed up there a bit just taking everything in. It was so gorgeous, I felt like I was standing inside of a postcard. When it was time to go, we took a group picture and went separate ways to get more shopping in before dinner at 9. After dinner we all went up to the roof terrace and finished up our homework.
Thursday: Thursday was our last day of class for the week and we were visited by Jim Galvin from the programs abroad office. It was really nice to see him and tell him all about the wonderful city. We talked with him for about an hour and a half about the program. After the group meeting, I stayed and talked to him another hour about the OAP study abroad program. He is a very kind and helpful person, and I am very grateful for all the help he provided. Thursday night I sat in the TV room and talked with one of the Spanish guys living in our residencia to TA for the other American group. It was nice to practice my Spanish a bit more. He explained that he is from an area near Portugal and that he knows some portugese from it, but it's more or less the equivelant of the Spanglish we hear in San Diego (with the exception that it's spanish and portugese and not spanish and english). I couldn't understand any of the Portugese dialect. It really is very different sounding than Spanish.
Friday: On Friday we went to the grocery store again to buy snacks. On the days that we don't have class, we tend to get REALLY hungry before lunch. We also discovered Boy Meets World dubbed in Spanish on TV and watched an episode. It's so strange to hear the characters talking with spanish voices, but it was rather cool. A couple of the kids went out Friday night, but I decided to stay in and get some homework finished.
Saturday: Saturday was quite the adventure. We decided that it would be neat to go to Rota for the day and check out the American Navy base there. Joel has a military ID, which usually would get him and any other American citizens access. A few members of the group were really looking forward to going to the Taco Bell on the base. After 2 weeks they were REALLY craving rice and beans. So we took the ferry and had a very fun ride to Rota. The waves got pretty big on the way there and it was like being on a roller coaster. When we finally got there and found the navy base, we figured out that it's a Spanish navy bass that just happened to share with the American navy and because of this only Joel could get in. We decided to just nix the whole idea and get gelato before catching the ferry back in time for the concert. We got back just in time to meet up with Professor Moore to go to a free Flamenco concert in Cadiz. We got to hear a famous singer and watch a famous dancer and it was truly amazing. We were all very impressed with the performance. I also got to talk to Luis a bit about Bullfighting and he informed that I could go with Carmen to a bullfight on Sunday if I wanted to.
Sunday: Today, I was woken up by the Italian kids staying at our residencia being very loud. I had decided to not go to Sevilla today with the boys because I wanted to be sure I'd be back in time to meet Carmen for the bullfight. I got the chance to talk to my friend from Jerez online a bit as well. He works in Sevilla and was a bit sad that I didn't go with the boys, as we could have met up for coffee. He told me that one day was not enough to see Sevilla anyway and that we should try to go sometime when he doesn't have to work. I'm looking forward to wandering around Cadiz and Sevilla with him for a bit because he knows the area much better than I do and it will be nice to hear his input.
Anyway, I'm going to go wander around the city a bit and get some laundry done before I head out for San Fernando.
Edit:
Okay, so the bullfight was interesting... It was all novices, so some were better than others. The cape work is amazing. It truly is an art form. I also really enjoyed the band. But I'm not a fan of the work with the actual bull.
Monday: Class started up again Monday, and everyone made it back from their weekend excursions. Monday was spent doing laundry and catching up on sleep. This week it finally set in that we've been extremely busy for the past 2 weeks.
Tuesday: Tuesday we were given another homework assignment in class that was due on Thursday. And we went shopping again. I'm getting a little better at finding my way around town now. We looked for a bookstore for an hour and failed to find it though. It's hard to navigate Cadiz because all of the streets look pretty much the same. Tuesday night, we went to our favorite ice cream place with our friend Matt. I'm going to miss all of the gelato and ice cream when I get home. It's sooooo good here.
Wednesday: After class Wednesday we decided to go shopping before lunch instead of taking a siesta. It was a really successful trip for me. I managed to get a pair of gladiator sandals (I kid you not, these things are crazy looking), a few bracelets and a bag to carry my stuff in around the city, mostly for my camera. After lunch I went back out with the other group that was shopping just to walk around the city some more. It's so pretty here. We met up with Carmen, Juan, and the other API group at 6:00PM for a tour of the Catedral de Cadiz. This cathedral is HUGE! We walked around learning the history of the building and then we went down into the crypt. This was the biggest crypt I've ever seen. It felt nice and cool down there, which was a nice change from the heat outside. After our tour of the cathedral, we walked up a long spiral ramp. It seemed like this ramp was never going to end. When we finally saw the end of the ramp, we noticed a spiral staircase going up the rest of the way. When we finally made it to the top, we realized that it was well worth it. The tower of the cathedral is the highest tower in the whole city and you can see the entire city from up there. The breeze felt really nice as well. We stayed up there a bit just taking everything in. It was so gorgeous, I felt like I was standing inside of a postcard. When it was time to go, we took a group picture and went separate ways to get more shopping in before dinner at 9. After dinner we all went up to the roof terrace and finished up our homework.
Thursday: Thursday was our last day of class for the week and we were visited by Jim Galvin from the programs abroad office. It was really nice to see him and tell him all about the wonderful city. We talked with him for about an hour and a half about the program. After the group meeting, I stayed and talked to him another hour about the OAP study abroad program. He is a very kind and helpful person, and I am very grateful for all the help he provided. Thursday night I sat in the TV room and talked with one of the Spanish guys living in our residencia to TA for the other American group. It was nice to practice my Spanish a bit more. He explained that he is from an area near Portugal and that he knows some portugese from it, but it's more or less the equivelant of the Spanglish we hear in San Diego (with the exception that it's spanish and portugese and not spanish and english). I couldn't understand any of the Portugese dialect. It really is very different sounding than Spanish.
Friday: On Friday we went to the grocery store again to buy snacks. On the days that we don't have class, we tend to get REALLY hungry before lunch. We also discovered Boy Meets World dubbed in Spanish on TV and watched an episode. It's so strange to hear the characters talking with spanish voices, but it was rather cool. A couple of the kids went out Friday night, but I decided to stay in and get some homework finished.
Saturday: Saturday was quite the adventure. We decided that it would be neat to go to Rota for the day and check out the American Navy base there. Joel has a military ID, which usually would get him and any other American citizens access. A few members of the group were really looking forward to going to the Taco Bell on the base. After 2 weeks they were REALLY craving rice and beans. So we took the ferry and had a very fun ride to Rota. The waves got pretty big on the way there and it was like being on a roller coaster. When we finally got there and found the navy base, we figured out that it's a Spanish navy bass that just happened to share with the American navy and because of this only Joel could get in. We decided to just nix the whole idea and get gelato before catching the ferry back in time for the concert. We got back just in time to meet up with Professor Moore to go to a free Flamenco concert in Cadiz. We got to hear a famous singer and watch a famous dancer and it was truly amazing. We were all very impressed with the performance. I also got to talk to Luis a bit about Bullfighting and he informed that I could go with Carmen to a bullfight on Sunday if I wanted to.
Sunday: Today, I was woken up by the Italian kids staying at our residencia being very loud. I had decided to not go to Sevilla today with the boys because I wanted to be sure I'd be back in time to meet Carmen for the bullfight. I got the chance to talk to my friend from Jerez online a bit as well. He works in Sevilla and was a bit sad that I didn't go with the boys, as we could have met up for coffee. He told me that one day was not enough to see Sevilla anyway and that we should try to go sometime when he doesn't have to work. I'm looking forward to wandering around Cadiz and Sevilla with him for a bit because he knows the area much better than I do and it will be nice to hear his input.
Anyway, I'm going to go wander around the city a bit and get some laundry done before I head out for San Fernando.
Edit:
Okay, so the bullfight was interesting... It was all novices, so some were better than others. The cape work is amazing. It truly is an art form. I also really enjoyed the band. But I'm not a fan of the work with the actual bull.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Update again!
Sorry these are so few and far in between. I tend to get caught up in everything and forget completely about my blog. :P
Wednesday: On Wednesday our group, and the group from Texas went to the Museo de Cadiz. A tour guide lead us around and explained what everything was to us, in Spanish of course. I was surprised at how much I actually understood. He spoke a lot more clearly than most of the people I've encountered and I really appreciated it. The museum was split up into two sections, Art and Artifacts. We started with the artifacts and then headed to the art. To be honest, I paid a lot more attention when it got to the art history portion. There were paintings in the museum by Murillo, Ribera, and Zurburan, whom I had studied in my high school Spanish class. It was amazing to see the works up close. They are GIANT! I wish I could have gone to Madrid to see Guernica and all of the Goya paintings there, but I suppose that will have to wait for another trip. After the museum, a few of us decided to check out some stores. A few of the girls got new purses and then we realized we needed to get back for dinner (which consisted ham and cheese sandwiches and Gazpacho :)) We were also given our first homework assignment (aside from all of the reading homework we've been doing). I found it to be very difficult because I've never taken a linguistics class before, but my classmates were really helpful and helped me to get through it. (Thanks Denny!) We all went up to the top floor (where the laundry room is) and there is a really nice huge classroom and a terrace that overlooks the plaza. It was such a gorgeous night! The temperature was cooler than it has been and there was a nice breeze. It was wonderful! After finishing our homework we went into the classroom to play cards until we all decided to call it a night and head back down to our rooms.
Thursday was our last day of class (yay!) A few people went to the beach, some went shopping, and the rest of us slept and lazed around doing our reading assignment. Two members of our group left for Morocco for the weekend, others played cards and hung out with the Texans again.
Friday: Friday morning we all got up for breakfast and wished the Texans a Happy Fourth before heading back to bed for a few more hours. All of us had stayed up pretty late the night before and were exhausted. My roommate left at 5AM for the train station to head up to Malaga. Another member of our group decided to go visit her old host family in Cordoba. That afternoon, all of the other members of our group left for the API trip to Granada. Alice and I were the only ones left at the residencia, along with two girls from Russia, who seem to want nothing to do with us.
This idea was a bit frightening at first, seeing as Alice and I are by far the least confident with our Spanish. We both decided to take advantage of our spare time and the extra space to do laundry, which we both decided to hand wash, and it took FOREVER. Neither of us realized just how long it takes to hand wash and hang dry a load of laundry.
Saturday: Saturday both of us decided that we needed to catch up on sleep. After lazing around the residencia for what seemed like days, we decided that we NEEDED to get out and get some fresh air. Because of this, we grabbed our money and our map (just in case we got lost) and headed out to the supermercado in search of snack food and nail clippers. I am pleased to say that we managed to find both of these and make it back to the Residencia without getting lost. We did however, forget that lunch is served an hour early on Saturdays. :( Luckily the ladies in the kitchen were very generous and saved ours for us. :) However, we did have to explain where everyone else in our group went. hehe. For the rest of the day I did some research on the couchsurfing website about the area. I talked for a bit on MSN to a kid who lives in Jerez (30 minutes away by bus or car) and comes to Cadiz quite often. He seems really interesting, and I am now convinced that couchsurfing project is a very positive one. :)
I think I'm going to do some more of the reading before I head to bed.
Goodnight all!
Wednesday: On Wednesday our group, and the group from Texas went to the Museo de Cadiz. A tour guide lead us around and explained what everything was to us, in Spanish of course. I was surprised at how much I actually understood. He spoke a lot more clearly than most of the people I've encountered and I really appreciated it. The museum was split up into two sections, Art and Artifacts. We started with the artifacts and then headed to the art. To be honest, I paid a lot more attention when it got to the art history portion. There were paintings in the museum by Murillo, Ribera, and Zurburan, whom I had studied in my high school Spanish class. It was amazing to see the works up close. They are GIANT! I wish I could have gone to Madrid to see Guernica and all of the Goya paintings there, but I suppose that will have to wait for another trip. After the museum, a few of us decided to check out some stores. A few of the girls got new purses and then we realized we needed to get back for dinner (which consisted ham and cheese sandwiches and Gazpacho :)) We were also given our first homework assignment (aside from all of the reading homework we've been doing). I found it to be very difficult because I've never taken a linguistics class before, but my classmates were really helpful and helped me to get through it. (Thanks Denny!) We all went up to the top floor (where the laundry room is) and there is a really nice huge classroom and a terrace that overlooks the plaza. It was such a gorgeous night! The temperature was cooler than it has been and there was a nice breeze. It was wonderful! After finishing our homework we went into the classroom to play cards until we all decided to call it a night and head back down to our rooms.
Thursday was our last day of class (yay!) A few people went to the beach, some went shopping, and the rest of us slept and lazed around doing our reading assignment. Two members of our group left for Morocco for the weekend, others played cards and hung out with the Texans again.
Friday: Friday morning we all got up for breakfast and wished the Texans a Happy Fourth before heading back to bed for a few more hours. All of us had stayed up pretty late the night before and were exhausted. My roommate left at 5AM for the train station to head up to Malaga. Another member of our group decided to go visit her old host family in Cordoba. That afternoon, all of the other members of our group left for the API trip to Granada. Alice and I were the only ones left at the residencia, along with two girls from Russia, who seem to want nothing to do with us.
This idea was a bit frightening at first, seeing as Alice and I are by far the least confident with our Spanish. We both decided to take advantage of our spare time and the extra space to do laundry, which we both decided to hand wash, and it took FOREVER. Neither of us realized just how long it takes to hand wash and hang dry a load of laundry.
Saturday: Saturday both of us decided that we needed to catch up on sleep. After lazing around the residencia for what seemed like days, we decided that we NEEDED to get out and get some fresh air. Because of this, we grabbed our money and our map (just in case we got lost) and headed out to the supermercado in search of snack food and nail clippers. I am pleased to say that we managed to find both of these and make it back to the Residencia without getting lost. We did however, forget that lunch is served an hour early on Saturdays. :( Luckily the ladies in the kitchen were very generous and saved ours for us. :) However, we did have to explain where everyone else in our group went. hehe. For the rest of the day I did some research on the couchsurfing website about the area. I talked for a bit on MSN to a kid who lives in Jerez (30 minutes away by bus or car) and comes to Cadiz quite often. He seems really interesting, and I am now convinced that couchsurfing project is a very positive one. :)
I think I'm going to do some more of the reading before I head to bed.
Goodnight all!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Update!
I just woke up from a 6 hour siesta. Didn't mean to nap that long... whoops. Anyyyway, so here is the update on life in Cadiz.
Sunday:
Sunday we got up fairly late and discovered that NOTHING was open. This makes sense though because Spain is a highly religious country and Sunday is a day to rest and spend time with the family. So, as a group we decided to go to the beach. As we walked across the city to the newer portion where the beach is, we were amazed at how empty the streets were. Just the day before they had been full of people eating, shopping, talking, etc. Well, when we arrived at the beach we'd realized why. Apparently EVERYONE goes to the beach on Sunday. It was like a sea of flesh up on the beach. There were also more umbrellas (for shade) then I think I've ever seen in my life. It was crazy.
It was also REALLY hot. All of us were drenched in sweat by the time we got there and had to stop for drinks. This made the water feel amazing! It was cool but not too cold. It was nice and refreshing. When we got back to the residencia we all took showers and then crowded downstairs in the common room with the rest of the students staying here to watch the soccer match against Germany. This was one of the craziest experiences I've witnessed in my life. Everyone jumped out of their seats every time Spain got near the goal box. After Spain won, it was a huge party. The whole city ran downtown to jump in the fountain. I sadly did not take part because I ran upstairs to get my phone and when I came back the residencia was empty. :( A lot of other people from our group did go however, and some even took videos of it. It is amazing how the whole country united to support their team. It showed a pride and sense of patriotism that I don't think I've ever seen back at home.
Monday:
Monday was our first day of class. So we woke up around 8:30AM, got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast. For breakfast we had the choice cereal that remotely resembled cocoa puffs, toast, orange juice, coffee, smacks cereal, or graham cracker type cookies. Our class took place from 10-2 which is a long time when you are running on only a few hours of sleep. The partying over the victory of the soccer game ensued until at least 3AM, and I'm still not accustomed to the rock hard mattress or the excessive heat. I was really looking forward to my siesta after class. Lunch followed shortly after class, so I decided to take my siesta when we were done eating. For lunch we had spaghetti with some kind of meat. Hotdogs maybe? Anyway, I sat with two other girls from our group and one of the Spanish boys living in our residencia. He was really nice and I had a lot of fun trying to understand the conversation. After lunch a few of us decided to go back to the beach, so we made our trip out there and back in time to shower before dinner. At dinner I talked to the kids from Texas a bit and they invited me to a movie. So I decided to join them in watching the movie "88 Minutos" dubbed in Spanish at the local cine. I had a lot of trouble staying awake and got lost a lot as to the plot because of this and the spanish phrases I didn't understand, but I still enjoyed myself. The movie was over around midnight so we went out for Gelato at the Cafe next to the residencia before heading in for bed.
Tuesday:
Today was pretty relaxed. I woke up for class, ate lunch and decided to take a siesta, since I didn't take one the day before. Meaning to get up in 2 hours, I slept for 6. I woke up feeling a lot better than I have in a few days though. I guess I really needed the sleep. After dinner we went out for Ice Cream with the Texans again. They are a really nice group of kids and I'm glad that we are on friendly terms. Currently all of the Spanish kids are moving out so it's just us and them left. Anyway, It's boiling in here, and my battery on my laptop is dying, so I think I'm going to shower and head to bed.
Hasta luego!
Sunday:
Sunday we got up fairly late and discovered that NOTHING was open. This makes sense though because Spain is a highly religious country and Sunday is a day to rest and spend time with the family. So, as a group we decided to go to the beach. As we walked across the city to the newer portion where the beach is, we were amazed at how empty the streets were. Just the day before they had been full of people eating, shopping, talking, etc. Well, when we arrived at the beach we'd realized why. Apparently EVERYONE goes to the beach on Sunday. It was like a sea of flesh up on the beach. There were also more umbrellas (for shade) then I think I've ever seen in my life. It was crazy.
It was also REALLY hot. All of us were drenched in sweat by the time we got there and had to stop for drinks. This made the water feel amazing! It was cool but not too cold. It was nice and refreshing. When we got back to the residencia we all took showers and then crowded downstairs in the common room with the rest of the students staying here to watch the soccer match against Germany. This was one of the craziest experiences I've witnessed in my life. Everyone jumped out of their seats every time Spain got near the goal box. After Spain won, it was a huge party. The whole city ran downtown to jump in the fountain. I sadly did not take part because I ran upstairs to get my phone and when I came back the residencia was empty. :( A lot of other people from our group did go however, and some even took videos of it. It is amazing how the whole country united to support their team. It showed a pride and sense of patriotism that I don't think I've ever seen back at home.
Monday:
Monday was our first day of class. So we woke up around 8:30AM, got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast. For breakfast we had the choice cereal that remotely resembled cocoa puffs, toast, orange juice, coffee, smacks cereal, or graham cracker type cookies. Our class took place from 10-2 which is a long time when you are running on only a few hours of sleep. The partying over the victory of the soccer game ensued until at least 3AM, and I'm still not accustomed to the rock hard mattress or the excessive heat. I was really looking forward to my siesta after class. Lunch followed shortly after class, so I decided to take my siesta when we were done eating. For lunch we had spaghetti with some kind of meat. Hotdogs maybe? Anyway, I sat with two other girls from our group and one of the Spanish boys living in our residencia. He was really nice and I had a lot of fun trying to understand the conversation. After lunch a few of us decided to go back to the beach, so we made our trip out there and back in time to shower before dinner. At dinner I talked to the kids from Texas a bit and they invited me to a movie. So I decided to join them in watching the movie "88 Minutos" dubbed in Spanish at the local cine. I had a lot of trouble staying awake and got lost a lot as to the plot because of this and the spanish phrases I didn't understand, but I still enjoyed myself. The movie was over around midnight so we went out for Gelato at the Cafe next to the residencia before heading in for bed.
Tuesday:
Today was pretty relaxed. I woke up for class, ate lunch and decided to take a siesta, since I didn't take one the day before. Meaning to get up in 2 hours, I slept for 6. I woke up feeling a lot better than I have in a few days though. I guess I really needed the sleep. After dinner we went out for Ice Cream with the Texans again. They are a really nice group of kids and I'm glad that we are on friendly terms. Currently all of the Spanish kids are moving out so it's just us and them left. Anyway, It's boiling in here, and my battery on my laptop is dying, so I think I'm going to shower and head to bed.
Hasta luego!
Saturday, June 28, 2008
First Days in Cadiz :)
Thursday afternoon I began my journey in Cleveland Hopkins airport. It was really uncrowded, which was nice. When I checked in the airline agent informed me that my plane to Philadelphia was going to be late and that might stop me from making my connection to Madrid. The situation got worse when the plane arrived and it was followed by a thunderstorm. Luckily, the flight attendants got the plane boarded and ready to take off so we were able to leave just before the storm hit, which would have delayed us further. Luckily, they delayed my flight to Madrid and held it for me and the group connecting from Chicago, who happened to be other kids in my program, although I didn't realize that at the time.
The flight to Madrid seemed like an eternity. I was so happy when we finally arrived to get off the plane and stretch my legs. It hadn't really struck me that I wasn't in the states anymore until I had to go through customs. Mostly because, the customs agents don't speak English. So I managed to get through all of that and then had to navigate the GIANT Madrid airport to find my connecting flight to Jerez. Luckily I made it on time and arrived at the Jerez airport at 11:30AM. My next task was to find something to occupy my time for the next four hours while I waited for Michelle to arrive. We'd decided to take a cab together and split the crazy expensive fair. 20 hours and 25 Euros later, we arrived at the hotel Barcelo that we were meeting at for our in Spain orientation. The hotel was amazing. It had air conditioning and excellent wi-fi. We were truly spoiled.
Last night, we had our first dinner out in Spain and we discovered why Spaniards love their Tapas so much. They are amazing! However, they just kept coming and coming. By the time the main course arrived most of us were already pretty full. Then came dessert which was also really good. After dinner we headed back to the hotel to sleep. The sun had finally gone down around 10PM and it was a pleasant walk back.
This morning we got up, went to breakfast in the hotel and then left in taxis for the Residencia that we are staying at for the next five weeks. The living situation makes me miss my triple back in ERC. There are 2 of us in each room but they are tiny (I'm guessing 10ft x 7ft) It's honestly not too bad. The biggest issue we have faced thus far is that each room has only 1 outlet. There are two of us in here, which means, 2 laptop cords, 2 cell phone chargers, and the fan that is in here. So we are switching off the charging of the laptops and the usage of the fan. In a room that is over 85 degrees with no AC, the fan is a lifesaver.
After dropping off our stuff in our rooms, we went on a tour of Cadiz, well, the old side of Cadiz anyway.It's a beautiful city and I'm so happy that I have the chance to experience it. We came back to the residencia just in time for lunch. After lunch we walked down to find ice cream and managed to find our way back. All and all so far it's been quite an emotional time. I find myself incredibly excited one minute and terrified the next. Hopefully my Spanish will improve so I feel like less of a foreigner.
The flight to Madrid seemed like an eternity. I was so happy when we finally arrived to get off the plane and stretch my legs. It hadn't really struck me that I wasn't in the states anymore until I had to go through customs. Mostly because, the customs agents don't speak English. So I managed to get through all of that and then had to navigate the GIANT Madrid airport to find my connecting flight to Jerez. Luckily I made it on time and arrived at the Jerez airport at 11:30AM. My next task was to find something to occupy my time for the next four hours while I waited for Michelle to arrive. We'd decided to take a cab together and split the crazy expensive fair. 20 hours and 25 Euros later, we arrived at the hotel Barcelo that we were meeting at for our in Spain orientation. The hotel was amazing. It had air conditioning and excellent wi-fi. We were truly spoiled.
Last night, we had our first dinner out in Spain and we discovered why Spaniards love their Tapas so much. They are amazing! However, they just kept coming and coming. By the time the main course arrived most of us were already pretty full. Then came dessert which was also really good. After dinner we headed back to the hotel to sleep. The sun had finally gone down around 10PM and it was a pleasant walk back.
This morning we got up, went to breakfast in the hotel and then left in taxis for the Residencia that we are staying at for the next five weeks. The living situation makes me miss my triple back in ERC. There are 2 of us in each room but they are tiny (I'm guessing 10ft x 7ft) It's honestly not too bad. The biggest issue we have faced thus far is that each room has only 1 outlet. There are two of us in here, which means, 2 laptop cords, 2 cell phone chargers, and the fan that is in here. So we are switching off the charging of the laptops and the usage of the fan. In a room that is over 85 degrees with no AC, the fan is a lifesaver.
After dropping off our stuff in our rooms, we went on a tour of Cadiz, well, the old side of Cadiz anyway.It's a beautiful city and I'm so happy that I have the chance to experience it. We came back to the residencia just in time for lunch. After lunch we walked down to find ice cream and managed to find our way back. All and all so far it's been quite an emotional time. I find myself incredibly excited one minute and terrified the next. Hopefully my Spanish will improve so I feel like less of a foreigner.
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