/page/2

Eddy

I don’t know if you will ever see this but I want to talk to you, I want to see you so badly. I think of you every day and all I want is to be there for you. Please find a way to reach me.

Drive

Interesting things:

-Two parrots live in the gas station where we got snacks. Like just chilling on perches in the middle of the store with no cage. Their names were Frances and Curro, I will post pictures!

-So many strip clubs right off the highway. There will be nothing for miles except one hotel and then a HUGE strip club. We’ve passed about four already.

-I am loving all the sunflower fields here. There’s always one house right in the middle like Trachimbrod! Hopefully I will finish re-reading Everything is Illuminated on the plane. I want to start Los Juegos del Hambre asap! 

Final day in Cadiz!

         This day was jam-packed and at some points I wasn’t feeling too great, but I’m so glad I stuck it out and spent time with everyone- it was the perfect end to the program! I got up at met the crew for some final shopping for friends and family (M&M, Jonno, Sam, Jamie). We met them at the usually café where M&M hang out before heading towards the market. But we didn’t even make it to the market until much later. Blanco was having a HUGE sale where everything in the store was 50%. No idea why, but it was amazing because it’s my favorite store here, hands down. I managed to restrain myself from getting more clothes, but I found a great backpack and a gift for Heather! (finally!). The line was INSANE so the girls and I ran to the market while the boys were nice enough to wait. I got pictures of the market for dad, got my flag, and actually had an opportunity to try the café everyone loves here! It’s called La Poem and they have SO MANY kinds of tea, like an entire wall! Thinking back, I should have gotten some as gifts, but that slipped my mind at the time.

            I went back to Blanco just in time to check out before we all reunited to go to more of the market shops. This was the first time I had seen the pet kiosk open! I had been checking during the whole trip! And at that point, I really didn’t see the benefit of doing an interview since my project has changed so much. I finished up my shopping and we all went to catch the bus to meet everyone at the MundoLengua school in new Cadiz. Our group got their first. And everyone else (some way more than others) were late. I didn’t have a chance for breakfast that morning so needless to say, I was not in the best mood having to wait for people. The restaurant, as some of you already know, was La Teta de Julietta. Yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like. It was SO incredibly nice, I loved it!!!! The design was ridiculous, so much pink, but so perfect. They had a really cool rooftop terrace with a turntable which I’m sure is awesome at night! We were seated in this room with a window into the kitchen. Kind of awkward, but also good because our end of the table always got food first! 

            Thanks to Mallory, there was an endless supply of Sangria as well. Of course, it was the best I’ve had this entire trip and I know I would never be able to copy it at home! We started off with some appetizers like cheese & seafood croquetes, which were so so so good, and another dish that was potatoes, egg, & chorizo (I think?), which was also excellent. Oh! And salad! The first time I have had a real salad here! It was a welcome change, that’s for sure. They had three dishes available for us to choose from- chicken, salmon, or doraldo (another kind of fish). Predictably, I got the chicken. Also predictably, it was amazing. As much as I love tapas, I’m really glad we did a different kind of lunch; I ended up eating ssooo much more though! We had chocolate mousse cake for dessert. So.much.food. Our professors came to the lunch, including my grammar professor’s mom who came and taught us about Flamenco in class, so we ended up getting some more impromptu concerts. 

            Overall, perfect final group activity. I would have loved to have gone there earlier in the program so we could have gone back again! Even the bathroom was themed- the girls and guys were indicated by Capulet with a rose and Montero with a sword, respectively. Even the individual stall doors were decorated to go with it. I’m not sure when this restaurant opened, but it was so ridiculously different from anything I had seen in Spain, or even America. I might have to make a trip back in the future.

            Some people went to Playa Victoria with Alejandro after lunch, but I went with M&M to walk around the city some more & take pictures. Then I walked back to the end of the point to take pictures, although it would have been so much cooler at sunset like the night before! I climbed up on the wall to get better pictures of the port and ending up finding on of the main hiding places of the cats where people had constructed houses for them down belief the blocks. It was unbelievably hot, so I took a quick walk past the bars and went home for only about 10 minutes.

            A group of us met in Plaza San Antonio to film a music video. It sounds super lame, but it ended up being a lot of fun! I wasn’t on board initially, but I got some gelato from Plaza Mina for the last time (Oreo and cheesecake, fyi) and then things got rolling. (pun?). Danielle & I have the same camera so we both filmed. We followed the boys around the city a bit before finishing at the beach. There was lots of dancing and ridiculousness so some Spaniards were judging hardcore. Two guys joined in though and they were great sports. Basically, we stayed there for over an hour doing crazy things to put in the video. Casey is supposedly editing it right now and I might have to post it on here depending on how it turns out!

            We returned home for our final meal at the home stay and I managed to catch the end of the Ale vs Greece game. No contest there! I uploaded the remainder of my photos and videos before packing, and paid for it because I didn’t finish until after 1. I have to re-pack today at the hotel though. That’s probably all I will do in Madrid! I didn’t go out the last night because I knew this bus ride would be even rougher if I did! I was happy to get some sleep although I am still not mentally prepared for the 21 hours of traveling that begins at 4 am tonight! 

Last day of class

           I’m currently typing this on the bus so I can post it later at the hotel in Madrid. I think we still have like 2 hours until we get there? In any case, it’s a long ride since we left at around 9. Thursday was our last day of class at Universidad de Cadiz: Facultad de Filosofia y Letras. We had our art history final and then went over our grammar final. Not feeling so great about that, but it doesn’t matter because we’re ddoonneee! We watched some of Boda de Sangre in the rest of class before our certificate presentation. We went back to the same room we had our meeting on the first day of school to get our certificates. The program director and our professors talked before calling us all up. I’m just excited they gave us a MundoLengua cd because I really don’t have any Spanish music sadly. Alejandro showed us a slideshow he put together of pictures people sent him, so that was a lot of fun to see! I am upset to be leaving but at the same time we’ve done everything we had planned, so it was clearly coming to an end.

         Luckily, we had paella for lunch since that is one of my favorites. I still had to finish my final composition for grammar class so I powered through that before meeting people at the beach. We hung out for a bit and then some of the guys wanted to go jump off the bridge by the lighthouse. A few people did that at the beginning of the program and one person got swept under by the waves so that guaranteed I would never do that! Instead, I just took pictures and videos of all the others. There were a lot of Spaniards hanging out there and jumping off who were encouraging the guys and counting them off. No one hit the rocks, so it was a good afternoon haha

        We went to Calle Ancha and hung out for a bit and agreed to meet up again at the beach later that night. Instead of going running, I decided to go for a walk along the point. It was honestly an area I didn’t know existed until then and it was such a great place to exercise! Beautiful view of the ocean, a good breeze, and only a few people. I also found another cat colony there, and although it looked like they live in better conditions than Campo del Sur, I didn’t see any that had been fixed. I walked all the way to the end in back as the sun began to set and then returned home for dinner. It wasn’t as good of workout as running, but it was so much more enjoyable!

       Surprisingly, a lot of people ended up coming to the beach so it was a really good group. We spent some time just sitting in the sand and talking, although some skinny-dipping was involved (no worries, it wasn’t me). And then clothes got stolen, as you would expect. I walked Katniss home with some friends before coming back to the beach for a little while and heading home. I didn’t want to stay out too late because there was a lot I wanted to do on our last day in Cadiz, which was amazing ☺

Welp…

Last day in Cadiz was perfect. I would update but I have to pack… I’ll type something up on the insanely long bus ride tomorrow! 

Observations

Things I saw this week:

  • an old man wearing Jelly shoes, like from Gap Kids back in the day
  • a dude get hit in the face by a pigeon
  • someone actually catch a fish along the wall (it was tiny though)
  • more terrible PDA
  • Germans & Asians speaking Spanish…what.

Hmmm

Not entirely sure what to update since the past 4 days have just been homework! And there’s still another final,a final paper, and my research to do. The “study” part of “study abroad” is hitting me full force this week. I went to the beach for a bit yesterday and I was supposed to skype and then go running but I’ve been pretty sick so I just took a long nap. So, of course I didn’t get around to my paper yesterday. We also had a dinner with Carla at an Italian restaurant on Monday to discuss our projects which was fun, but it lasted forever! Also the lasagna had ham in it. I am so excited to not eat pork products AT ALL until I come back next fall. Seriously, not even bacon. 

Hopefully I can knock out a lot of work today so I can enjoy the rest of the time with my group here in Cadiz. We are leaving for Madrid saturday morning, spending the night in Madrid (although barely since I have to leave for the airport at 4:30) and then I fly to London for a 6.5 hour layover. Already planning to escape, at least for a little bit, before my loonnggg flight back to the US. Only kind of ready to come back…mainly because of all the work! And missing my family & friends a bit.

Where I hang out…but imagine it with a lot of people.

Where I hang out…but imagine it with a lot of people. 

Why

do I have to get sick the last week we are here?? I suppose it’s better than the first week…but I’d rather not be sick at all! 

So ready

for the playa today. Choosing to ignore the paper & exam for tomorrow. I really need some beach time! 

LOVE

our group SO SO SO SO much! I don’t even want to think about being without them for the rest of the summer!

Concerned.

It’s 10:30 and there has been no sign of food. Wondering whether I will actually eat tonight…

Good afternoon

Nothing like sitting out on the balcony, watching the ocean & enjoying the breeze to motivate me to work on my presentation. Plus listening to Florence always helps!

Been meaning to post this for a while- we watched it in Art History and it’s absolutely hilarious! If you have a few min to spare, watch it!

Eddy

I don’t know if you will ever see this but I want to talk to you, I want to see you so badly. I think of you every day and all I want is to be there for you. Please find a way to reach me.

Drive

Interesting things:

-Two parrots live in the gas station where we got snacks. Like just chilling on perches in the middle of the store with no cage. Their names were Frances and Curro, I will post pictures!

-So many strip clubs right off the highway. There will be nothing for miles except one hotel and then a HUGE strip club. We’ve passed about four already.

-I am loving all the sunflower fields here. There’s always one house right in the middle like Trachimbrod! Hopefully I will finish re-reading Everything is Illuminated on the plane. I want to start Los Juegos del Hambre asap! 

Final day in Cadiz!

         This day was jam-packed and at some points I wasn’t feeling too great, but I’m so glad I stuck it out and spent time with everyone- it was the perfect end to the program! I got up at met the crew for some final shopping for friends and family (M&M, Jonno, Sam, Jamie). We met them at the usually café where M&M hang out before heading towards the market. But we didn’t even make it to the market until much later. Blanco was having a HUGE sale where everything in the store was 50%. No idea why, but it was amazing because it’s my favorite store here, hands down. I managed to restrain myself from getting more clothes, but I found a great backpack and a gift for Heather! (finally!). The line was INSANE so the girls and I ran to the market while the boys were nice enough to wait. I got pictures of the market for dad, got my flag, and actually had an opportunity to try the café everyone loves here! It’s called La Poem and they have SO MANY kinds of tea, like an entire wall! Thinking back, I should have gotten some as gifts, but that slipped my mind at the time.

            I went back to Blanco just in time to check out before we all reunited to go to more of the market shops. This was the first time I had seen the pet kiosk open! I had been checking during the whole trip! And at that point, I really didn’t see the benefit of doing an interview since my project has changed so much. I finished up my shopping and we all went to catch the bus to meet everyone at the MundoLengua school in new Cadiz. Our group got their first. And everyone else (some way more than others) were late. I didn’t have a chance for breakfast that morning so needless to say, I was not in the best mood having to wait for people. The restaurant, as some of you already know, was La Teta de Julietta. Yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like. It was SO incredibly nice, I loved it!!!! The design was ridiculous, so much pink, but so perfect. They had a really cool rooftop terrace with a turntable which I’m sure is awesome at night! We were seated in this room with a window into the kitchen. Kind of awkward, but also good because our end of the table always got food first! 

            Thanks to Mallory, there was an endless supply of Sangria as well. Of course, it was the best I’ve had this entire trip and I know I would never be able to copy it at home! We started off with some appetizers like cheese & seafood croquetes, which were so so so good, and another dish that was potatoes, egg, & chorizo (I think?), which was also excellent. Oh! And salad! The first time I have had a real salad here! It was a welcome change, that’s for sure. They had three dishes available for us to choose from- chicken, salmon, or doraldo (another kind of fish). Predictably, I got the chicken. Also predictably, it was amazing. As much as I love tapas, I’m really glad we did a different kind of lunch; I ended up eating ssooo much more though! We had chocolate mousse cake for dessert. So.much.food. Our professors came to the lunch, including my grammar professor’s mom who came and taught us about Flamenco in class, so we ended up getting some more impromptu concerts. 

            Overall, perfect final group activity. I would have loved to have gone there earlier in the program so we could have gone back again! Even the bathroom was themed- the girls and guys were indicated by Capulet with a rose and Montero with a sword, respectively. Even the individual stall doors were decorated to go with it. I’m not sure when this restaurant opened, but it was so ridiculously different from anything I had seen in Spain, or even America. I might have to make a trip back in the future.

            Some people went to Playa Victoria with Alejandro after lunch, but I went with M&M to walk around the city some more & take pictures. Then I walked back to the end of the point to take pictures, although it would have been so much cooler at sunset like the night before! I climbed up on the wall to get better pictures of the port and ending up finding on of the main hiding places of the cats where people had constructed houses for them down belief the blocks. It was unbelievably hot, so I took a quick walk past the bars and went home for only about 10 minutes.

            A group of us met in Plaza San Antonio to film a music video. It sounds super lame, but it ended up being a lot of fun! I wasn’t on board initially, but I got some gelato from Plaza Mina for the last time (Oreo and cheesecake, fyi) and then things got rolling. (pun?). Danielle & I have the same camera so we both filmed. We followed the boys around the city a bit before finishing at the beach. There was lots of dancing and ridiculousness so some Spaniards were judging hardcore. Two guys joined in though and they were great sports. Basically, we stayed there for over an hour doing crazy things to put in the video. Casey is supposedly editing it right now and I might have to post it on here depending on how it turns out!

            We returned home for our final meal at the home stay and I managed to catch the end of the Ale vs Greece game. No contest there! I uploaded the remainder of my photos and videos before packing, and paid for it because I didn’t finish until after 1. I have to re-pack today at the hotel though. That’s probably all I will do in Madrid! I didn’t go out the last night because I knew this bus ride would be even rougher if I did! I was happy to get some sleep although I am still not mentally prepared for the 21 hours of traveling that begins at 4 am tonight! 

Last day of class

           I’m currently typing this on the bus so I can post it later at the hotel in Madrid. I think we still have like 2 hours until we get there? In any case, it’s a long ride since we left at around 9. Thursday was our last day of class at Universidad de Cadiz: Facultad de Filosofia y Letras. We had our art history final and then went over our grammar final. Not feeling so great about that, but it doesn’t matter because we’re ddoonneee! We watched some of Boda de Sangre in the rest of class before our certificate presentation. We went back to the same room we had our meeting on the first day of school to get our certificates. The program director and our professors talked before calling us all up. I’m just excited they gave us a MundoLengua cd because I really don’t have any Spanish music sadly. Alejandro showed us a slideshow he put together of pictures people sent him, so that was a lot of fun to see! I am upset to be leaving but at the same time we’ve done everything we had planned, so it was clearly coming to an end.

         Luckily, we had paella for lunch since that is one of my favorites. I still had to finish my final composition for grammar class so I powered through that before meeting people at the beach. We hung out for a bit and then some of the guys wanted to go jump off the bridge by the lighthouse. A few people did that at the beginning of the program and one person got swept under by the waves so that guaranteed I would never do that! Instead, I just took pictures and videos of all the others. There were a lot of Spaniards hanging out there and jumping off who were encouraging the guys and counting them off. No one hit the rocks, so it was a good afternoon haha

        We went to Calle Ancha and hung out for a bit and agreed to meet up again at the beach later that night. Instead of going running, I decided to go for a walk along the point. It was honestly an area I didn’t know existed until then and it was such a great place to exercise! Beautiful view of the ocean, a good breeze, and only a few people. I also found another cat colony there, and although it looked like they live in better conditions than Campo del Sur, I didn’t see any that had been fixed. I walked all the way to the end in back as the sun began to set and then returned home for dinner. It wasn’t as good of workout as running, but it was so much more enjoyable!

       Surprisingly, a lot of people ended up coming to the beach so it was a really good group. We spent some time just sitting in the sand and talking, although some skinny-dipping was involved (no worries, it wasn’t me). And then clothes got stolen, as you would expect. I walked Katniss home with some friends before coming back to the beach for a little while and heading home. I didn’t want to stay out too late because there was a lot I wanted to do on our last day in Cadiz, which was amazing ☺

Welp…

Last day in Cadiz was perfect. I would update but I have to pack… I’ll type something up on the insanely long bus ride tomorrow! 

Observations

Things I saw this week:

  • an old man wearing Jelly shoes, like from Gap Kids back in the day
  • a dude get hit in the face by a pigeon
  • someone actually catch a fish along the wall (it was tiny though)
  • more terrible PDA
  • Germans & Asians speaking Spanish…what.

Hmmm

Not entirely sure what to update since the past 4 days have just been homework! And there’s still another final,a final paper, and my research to do. The “study” part of “study abroad” is hitting me full force this week. I went to the beach for a bit yesterday and I was supposed to skype and then go running but I’ve been pretty sick so I just took a long nap. So, of course I didn’t get around to my paper yesterday. We also had a dinner with Carla at an Italian restaurant on Monday to discuss our projects which was fun, but it lasted forever! Also the lasagna had ham in it. I am so excited to not eat pork products AT ALL until I come back next fall. Seriously, not even bacon. 

Hopefully I can knock out a lot of work today so I can enjoy the rest of the time with my group here in Cadiz. We are leaving for Madrid saturday morning, spending the night in Madrid (although barely since I have to leave for the airport at 4:30) and then I fly to London for a 6.5 hour layover. Already planning to escape, at least for a little bit, before my loonnggg flight back to the US. Only kind of ready to come back…mainly because of all the work! And missing my family & friends a bit.

Where I hang out…but imagine it with a lot of people.

Where I hang out…but imagine it with a lot of people. 

Why

do I have to get sick the last week we are here?? I suppose it’s better than the first week…but I’d rather not be sick at all! 

So ready

for the playa today. Choosing to ignore the paper & exam for tomorrow. I really need some beach time! 

LOVE

our group SO SO SO SO much! I don’t even want to think about being without them for the rest of the summer!

Concerned.

It’s 10:30 and there has been no sign of food. Wondering whether I will actually eat tonight…

Good afternoon

Nothing like sitting out on the balcony, watching the ocean & enjoying the breeze to motivate me to work on my presentation. Plus listening to Florence always helps!

Been meaning to post this for a while- we watched it in Art History and it’s absolutely hilarious! If you have a few min to spare, watch it!

Eddy
Drive
Final day in Cadiz!
Last day of class
Welp…
Observations
Hmmm
Why
So ready
LOVE
Concerned.
Good afternoon

About:

Summer adventures in Spain!