News & Blog

Firstly, I would just like to say that I’m proud of myself for being able to function yesterday after twenty-four hours of no sleep (ok, maybe I cheated a little and got 2 hours in during the flight from New York to Madrid). Secondly, I have never seen a cuter city in my entire life. If you go on google right now and type in “Cadiz, Spain”, you only see pictures of the beach and the white rooftops of the apartment buildings, which of course are spectacular as well, but it in no way compares to the view from ground level.

Each street you turn on is lined by rows and rows of three-story apartment buildings and quaint shops of all varieties. I only know this because my roommates and I have walked along practically every one of those streets trying to get home. Needless to say, we were utterly lost, but we found ourselves walking in a comfortable silence, letting the city speak for itself. The rustic beauty of it all was, and most definitely still will be in three weeks, absolutely enchanting.

Now for an update on what you’re probably reading this blog to find out about; the activities we do/have done! On Thursday, after our very long day of traveling, we arrived and Cadiz and were greeted by our host parents with classic Europe two kisses on both cheeks. Immediate immersion and a wonderful greeting! Then, we headed back for our first Spanish meal (My wonderful host mother cooked a potato and beef stew!). Then, we headed to the school that we will be going to each morning and had a quick orientation, seeing as we were struggling to keep our eyes open.

After that, we got our first brief look at Cadiz as we walked to a local store that allows you to call anyone anywhere from a phone for a very low price. After easing the minds of all of our parents, we headed back home to a lovely dinner sitting on the table and to crash in our beds for an 11-hour sleep (no joke). I woke up this morning in my dream city, realizing with excitement that this was no dream.

The boy was I excited for my first full day! We met as a group in Plaza San Antonia, which will be our meeting place for the next three weeks, and headed to the school to take a placement test, which consisted of answering a few questions (in Spanish of course) on paper and orally. After that, we were taken by our wonderful teachers, Aitor, and Jema on a more in-depth tour of the city.

When we made it back to our houses around 2ish, once again, lunch, a heaping bowl of spaghetti (my favorite meal), was waiting for us. Finally, at 4, we all met at the Plaza again and made our way to the place that we all came to Cadiz for, the beach! Hopefully, we all applied enough “crema” because the sun is brutal here! Now I’m sitting in my comfy bed enjoying my little break from the sun and getting ready for a group dinner tonight.

Well, that’s a wrap for today, but on Monday I will have more stories and adventures to share from the weekend, so stay tuned!