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.

 

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