Cadiz

Here are some photos of Cadiz, and especially of the Cathedral we visited. It was breathtaking, the most beautiful I have ever been inside. These aren’t all the photos, more to follow (internet connection )

Compañeros, Tappas, and Plans

What do you do for fun in Spain?

The longer I stay in Jerez, the more I realize there is to do, especially for teens. While in Baltimore I have to drive for at least 20 minutes to reach anywhere interesting, Jerez has an excellent public transit system, and is also quite scalable on foot (being safer then my hometown). This makes all the great hang-outs Jerez has to offer (teterias, bars, discotechs, huge shopping centers) even more accessible. A typical Spanish teenager goes out very late, and returns quite early in the morning, as parents here generally worry less about their kids and give them more freedom. There’s a lot of drinking, (it’s a big part of the culture here, especially on weeknights) but plenty of other options to have a good time.

International? I’d say so

Louissa and I have been recently hanging out with a Canadian exchange student in the area named Andrew. Our discussions have always been very interesting, ranging from music to politics to our exchange experience. It is a truly international experience—opening our eyes to the German, Canadian, and American perspectives. 

He has a blog too, filled with interesting, detailed observations on Spanish life: 

http://andrewdube.blogspot.com.

So… what have I been up to? The other night we headed out to Area Sur, a huge mall complete with bowling, a cinema, a supermarket, great shops, and many restaurants. Bowling is very popular here.

We had the opportunity to eat traditional Spanish food, for a good price:

My dinner? A bowl of greasy French fries with mix of eggs, pork, cheese. Amazingly Delicious Huevos-Rotos con Patatas (broken eggs with potatos) I have to take a picture next time— incredibly bad for me, but hey! I certainly walked it off on the journey home.

What else? Well….

• Tonight I am going to the historical Villa Marta theater with a class of high school students from the Rota Naval Base. (Americans!)  They come into Jerez often for field-trips. It should be of very interesting. It’s in a historical play about the civil war in Spain.

 

• Louissa and I are also meeting up with of other exchange students in our area. We know them through our orientation in Barcelona, and from a previous trip to Cadiz to extend our visas. Sunday, we’re going  back to Cadiz! This time, we will be going by ourselves and have time to sight see.  Cadiz should be an amazing city to explore. It is one of the oldest cities in the world, a port town founded by the Phonecians. It is quite beautiful.

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About the Exchange Student Community:

I am hanging out with Spanish teens in school and after, talking tons of Spanish. But at the same time, it’s amazing how easy finding English speaking teens is. If you study abroad there really is a great community of other exchange students: you rarely feel isolated or alone. I give the Internet credit for that~~ getting a weekend excursion together is as easy as sending out Facebook messages or emails. Spain is a very popular destination for study abroad students, and exchange organizations generally place many in the same city or even the same high school.

 

A Day In The Life

So, now that I’ve been here for a little over the month, I thought I might talk about what consists an average day. (Now that I’m over the culture shock, and have settled into my life here)

Weekdays

Mornings

On weekdays, Louissa and I wake up in our small dormitorio at 7:30. We’re out the door by 8:10. It only takes 5 minutes to walk to our Insituto. Though crossing the busy Avenida was at first intimidating, we take it in stride. 

School

In my class, Primero D (las Ciencias Naturales), there are around 30 students. We sit in groups of 2, at large desks with an ancient computer in the center. There we will stay, for 3 hours at a time: 3 classes in the morning and 3 classes in the afternoon. In the middle is a short 30 minute break, recreo, used for eating a bocadillo, chatting with friends outside, and paying for photocopies (teachers don’t give handouts, you pay for the handouts) 

Although dull to remain in the same room for so long, it gives the class a sense of togetherness, and everybody gets along, no matter what social group they belong too. It’s the teachers who change classrooms, not the students.

I’m finding a few of my classes to be OK, the others difficult to impossible.  Thankfully, only a 50% is needed to pass a class. Sadly, I am not passing…. but the most important thing is that I work on my Spanish, and not be too concerned about las notas (grades). The three days in the week my class has English, I am excused to go to the library and study.

Las Tardes (Afternoon)

         After school, there is a mad rush to leave. Walking home with friends headed in the same direction, Louissa and I discuss our days. When we arrive to la casa, Barbara has prepared food for almuerzo: usually pollo or pescado. Many platters are put in the middle of the table, and everyone eats from them. (as opposed from their own plate) The whole family (5 of us totally) crowds around a small table, and everybody talks loudly. 

        Afternoons are downtime: do homework, watch TV (news, then a sitcom) go on the computer. Usually once a week I head over to the internet shop nearby, in order to upload photos, and stream videos to catch up on latest TV shows and political news. I go more often if the wi-fi here is down (which, when it does work, is quite slow and unreliable)  

      Louissa tends to take a siesta after lunch, and on the rare occasion I will too if I’m feeling tired. The first few weeks we were exhausted, collapsing into bed often, our bodies not yet used to the rythem of life here.  Louissa also belongs to a gym, where so goes in the evenings to work out (a little too pricey for me)

      We eat a smaller meal, La Cena, (usually something defrosted, sandwiches, or leftovers) around 8:30 to 9:30. Then, watch TV or retire to our room. We sometimes go out to the park to hang with friends, but in general, we wait for weekends to go out.

      Weekends

       Weekends are more variable. They can be spontaneous and fun, but if we don’t get out much it can be a drag. Most Saturdays we head into Sanlucar w/Barbara (see other entry) or Chiclana.  Other weekends are devoted to hanging out in El Parque with a group of friends, some who go to our school, others who don’t. There its a casual attitude of goofing off.  Going shopping in the nearby mall can be fun (a 10 minute walk) but its quite small: sort of like a giant wallmart with a few nicer stores tagged on. There is also a McDonalds. 

But what is most fun is heading down to El Centro (the center of Jerez) and exploring its narrow streets, cafes, shops, bars ,and historical buildings. Eating churros with hot chocolate is a delightful treat. You will rarely run into the occassional German or British tourist. 

La Teteria is also quite interesting~ an Arabaic style bar/tea room which is a great hang out spot for local teens.

Discotechs are fun: though I haven’t gone more then once.

Although in the states we go out in the afternoon and evening, here everywhere is pretty much dead until late evening. My host mother has given me no curfew, and the nightlife here is more accessible for teenagers. Daytime is for relaxation or outings to pueblos.

Our “Casita”

We didn’t go to the beach this time, simply accompanied our host mother to help her with the housework at the casita. Barbara calls it: “La Casa de Caracoles” (House of Snails) Because their shells are everywhere.  A wind sweeps through Chiclana that never seems to cease. It’s quiet and open there. The house always remains cool, with no AC.

San Lucar

These photos are Louissas. (Batteries ran low this day)

We travelled to Sanlucar, a pueblo about 30 minutes away, where our host sisters Barbara and Fatima go to modeling school. There we visited an ancient bodega (which sells sherry) and shopped with our host mother at the vibrant marketplace.

Chiclana de la Frontera–Beach

At Chiclana

Really pretty

The Beach of Chiclana, which is about a 45 minute drive south of Jerez de la Frontera. 

Barbara, our host mother, dropped me and Louissa off for the afternoon on Sunday. (Our host sisters were busy at their fathers.) We both got burned, but it was still a beautiful beach. The water in Chiclana is a brilliant blue, and perfectly clear, although also frigid.

It’s common for the people in Spain to have casitas, a small beach house, where they will vacation in the summers. Barbara’s cute little casita only has three rooms, but it serves its purpose, only a 5 minute drive away from the beach. We didn’t sleep over, as we we only spent the afternoon.

Exploring Jerez

A day or so after Louissa and I arrived, our host mother and younger host sister, Fatima, took us down to El Centro (the center of Jerez) to watch the procession of La Virgen de la Merced.

We saw many historical, beautiful buildings on the way down: castles, mosques and cathedrals.

My Host Family, my Classes, and some Notes on Spanish Culture

Barcelona orientation was awesome! It was a little bit strange after making friends there in a few days, to leave them as quickly as we met them.

MI FAMILIA

Me and Louissa, the German exchange student with whom I share a room, are generally happy here with our host family, if not very stressed as well.

I met Louissa in Barcelona, at Orientation, and we get along very well together. Her English is amazing, but she´s only been taking Spanish for a year. We both are experiencing the same problems and the same excitement for living here in Spain. 

We´re also a bit shocked at the language classes in our school in Spain: which are a bit of a joke. We think most of our classes will be much easier then in our home countries, excepting for the language barrier.

My host mother´s name is Barbara, and our host sisters are Barabara and Fatima. Barbara is 17, and Fatima is 13. Everyone in the family is friendly, very warm and welcoming to us. Barbara (the mother) is intent on improving her English. Right now she uses small phrases when talking to us.

LA COMIDA/ THE FOOD

The food here is homemade, and usually very good. Although they eat at different times (lunch is around 3, snack and coffee is at 6, and dinner, the smallest meal, is maybe 8 or 9) They eat a lot of bread, drink cafe con leche often. Recently our dinners have been microwaved pizza and other defrosted items… which leads me to believe its not just the US!

LAS CLASES

Bachillerato is so strange for me… if it weren´t for the kindess and friendliness of the students there, I would probably be miserable. I´m taking a total of 10 classes:

1. Lengua (Castillian grammer and literature)

2. Fisica/Quimica (a basic introductional class of both Physics/Chemistry) (SCIENCE MAJOR)

3. Ciencas Contemporas en el Mundo (a neccessary class for all students, basic science that touches on many themes)

4. Matimaticas 1

5. Filosofia (philosphy)

6. Bilogia/Geologia (for Science majors)

7. Ingles (English)

8. Frances

9. Education Fisica (Gym)

10. Proyecto Integrado (integrated project, independent study: varies depending on your classes major)

ESPAÑOL

My Spanish skills…. are improving. I improved a lot just in the first day! The words are coming much easier to me, though I still pause and fumble. I get frustrated when I can´t figure out a word for something… but I´ve only been here 3 days!

The hardest part is not talking, its comprehension! It´s easier when you´re talking one on one. They talk fast… its not about the complexity of the words themselves, just about the way that they´re spoken.

LOS ACENTOS

Also, here in Andalucia (the south of Spain) they speak with a heavy accent, they don´t pronounce the letter ¨S¨in their speech. So… instead of ´esta´ they say ´eta´. Instead of saying ´hasta luego´they say, ´hata luego´. What I’ve noticed though if that the longer your hear, the less you hear the accent. 

LA GENTE/ THE PEOPLE

The people here are the friendliest and the loudest you will ever meet. Everyone is very curious to hear about the United States, they talk to me even though I think my Spanish is horrendous. They also laugh at EVERYTHING. At first I thought they were constantly laughing at me, and Loussia too felt like they were making fun of her. In reality, they just laugh all the time! The vitality of life and the happiness here is contagious. 

Of course, they can also be quite narrow minded and stubborn. Watching the TV, about other countries (or even other regions in Spain) my family will shake their heads and confirm that Anadlusia is the only place to live. They are very proud of Anadlusia, many spend their whole lives in the same small town.

LA ROPA/ THE CLOTHING

Simply know this: They wear nothing but jeans. My first week here, it was 95 degrees out, and humid. As soon as I put on shorts, my host mother looked at me strangely, and began telling me how incredibly strange my clothing was, and how I wasn´t to leave the house. They wear jeans, lots of makeup, lots of jewlery (girls AND boys). Fashion is important here– you dress up just to go to the supermarket. There go my sweats and T-shirts. 

As for the type of jeans they wear, there is more variation and styles I haven’t seen prevelant in the states. 

And for the discotechs? Lets just say that I have a lot of shopping to do. And I look forward to it greatly, despite the fact that everything here costs me twice as much as in the United States.

More on La Moda (fashion)

Boys wear short haircuts, spiked with 10 times the amount of hair gel I have ever seen anyone from the States wear. Many of the fashion- minded girls wear hair that looks like something from the 80s: VERY big, curly hair with straightened bangs.

Piercings an inch or so above/below the side of the lip are nearly as common as ear piercings. I have seen many on children who don’t look to be above 8 or 9.

Orientation~ Part 1

On September 17th, I woke up RIDICULOUSLY early and head out with my mom and brother to Dunkin’ Donuts, for one last family American breakfast. After drinking some coffee we go to BWI airport, and I check in my bags. Saying goodbye was sad– my brother kept telling me over and over how much he was going to miss me… so the flight to Boston was definitely the saddest I’ve been so far.

At the baggage claim I met Carol Campos and Laura Lyons, our coordinators for CIEE (Council on International Educational Exchange) They told me there were many students arriving that day, and in fact I was to go with them to another terminal to pick up another girl, Taylor. From there, Taylor and I went with Laura in a trek across the subways of Boston. It was a long trip until we arrived at the train station to pick up two other guys doing the program. Then, we all got in a taxi cab and headed back to the hotel.

The hotel… looked like a hotel from a horror movie. The hallways were dark and twisting, and it took a good half hour simply to walk from the lobby to your room! Fortunately though, we were in good company. There were TONS of other people there going to Spain, and a few who were going to Italy. Everybody here is really cool, and for the most part we all really get along.

Boston orientation consisted of three parts: 1) Hanging out in the hotel, 2) Walking around Boston, touring, and 3) ACtUAL orientation, in which we discussed various aspects of our trip: School work (less homework, more emphasis on exams), Culture Shock (which usually occurs around a month in) and getting along with Host Families. We were basically encouraged to work hard, be extroverted and open to new ideas. It was important not to become isolated– and, of course, getting in trouble with the law? Not a good idea. Really, CIEE? 

I’m really glad I got a chance to see Boston, walk the Freedom Trail, and visit shops… I really got a feel for the city in the short time that I was there.

* * * * *

At 6:00 Friday night, we headed to the airport. And waited. And waited. Our flight took off at 10:00….. and it was a LONG flight. I managed to sleep on and off for a couple of hours. Finally we arrived at Frankfurt, where we transfered to another flight to Barcelona. But not before I was subject to random search, where my flute was considered an explosive?

I’m in Barcelona now, at the hostel, and its AMAZING. All the signs are in Catalan, a combination of French and Spanish, which thanks to my classes, I can pretty much understand. There’s so much energy here, and its sooooo sweet. I haven’t seen much of it, although after getting settled in the hostel we’ve walked around a little bit. I love walking around and seeing all the old buildings. 

* * *

So now we’re just chilling at the hostel. The people here are from all over, Alaska and Mississippi, Seattle and St. Louis. Everyone has different levels of Spanish, but most people don’t really speak it fluently. I had been worried my Spanish would have been the worst hahaha. 

* * *

I got an Email from my host mother, who confirmed that they would be meeting me at the airport, and that YES I’m going to also be staying with a German exchange student. I’m really looking forward to that~ it’ll be awesome, someone who completely understands everything I’m going through. I’m so excited!!

preparation/packing

Packing is a bitch. I haven’t even started yet, even though I leave in less then 2 weeks
However I finally got a laptop of my own (a Macbook) which I LOVE. I’m sort of imagining it as my sole connection to America.. I intend on doing updates through the built in webcam and uploading photos from my digital camera. The cameras a bit of a dissapointment (its HUGE, with low picture quality) but it’ll do. The most important thing is I’ll have pictures to show you guys… now the only thing left to get is a small digital dictionary, to fix my constant aphasia when I talk in Spanish.

At this point, you’d think I’d have butterflies but it still doesn’t feel real to me. It feels like I’m just missing out on a couple weeks of school, or that summer never ended at all. Truth is, I have no idea what to expect from my host family or my life in Spain. But I guess that makes it more of a challenge, more of an adventure. So, wish me luck… 13 days to go until orientation in Boston