Days 15-17: Tarifa

This weekend, we left for Tarifa on Saturday morning and spent the entire day there before returning around 10 pm.  It was so pretty there and we got to see Africa from Spain, which was very neat! We walked around the shops for a while, got lunch, and spent the rest of the day on the beach.  It was so pretty there! On Sunday, I just went to church with my friend Beth and then I enjoyed the rest of the afternoon by myself reading, walking, doing homework, and just enjoying the beauty of Cadiz.  I also got to skype with David for the first time in 3 weeks and it was great to talk to him from Ireland! Today, we had class and then I went to see a play at my "sister's" school which was fun to see.  Afterwards, we played our weekly game of futbol and went to the beach for a few hours before returning home to shower and have dinner.  We are trying to plan a trip for this upcoming weekend because we do not have classes on Friday, so I will let you know what we end up doing! Hasta luego!

                                        

Day 14

Its finally Friday! We had class today and spent the rest of the day on the beach.  It was such a gorgeous day out today! We also went to a music museum called A Tres Bandas which was pretty neat! It also showed us steps for different dances and I really liked that! I want to take a dance class here like salsa or flamenco.  I think it would be a lot of fun, especially in Spain! After the museum, we went to get ice cream and went back to the beach until we left to go home for dinner.  And now I've just been on the computer and doing some reading before we go out tonight! We're leaving tomorrow morning for Tarifa which is supposed to be really nice and we're just spending the day there and coming home on the bus tomorrow night.  I'm excited about it! Hasta luego!

Day 12 and 13

Yesterday after class, we went to Jerez to visit a winery there.  It was less than an hour away by train and we got to see where the famous Tio Pepe wine was made.  It was so neat to see the thousands of barrels of wine that they have there and to learn a little bit about the history.  We saw how it was made as well as the vineyards with all the grapes.  At the end, we got to taste test two of the wines and they both had a very unique taste.  I do not know much about wine or the process of making it, so it was interesting to learn more about it.  Today, we went on a tour of the constitution of Spain and we got to see where it was written and the monuments built during that time in the 1800s.  I love learning about the history of Cadiz while actually being in this beautiful city.  After the tour, we met up with some students from the University of Cadiz so we could practice Spanish and they could practice English.  I can't believe that we have already been here for 2 weeks! But we still have a lot more to experience in the next month! Hasta luego!

Day 10 and 11

Yesterday, we had class and then we all went to the beach before we played soccer.  I am not good at soccer, but it was still so much fun because no one was really great, so we all got to be a part of the game.  I am so sore today though haha! We will get to play soccer every Monday and at first I was not too excited about it, but now I can't wait until we play again! After soccer, we went back to the beach and enjoyed the sun and the ocean.  It was really hot outside and after running around playing soccer, the cold water felt great.  We stayed there until it was time to go back home for dinner.  After dinner, I did some homework and went to bed early after a long but fun day.  Today, we are going to visit the Torre Tavira which is a watch tower in Cadiz because Cadiz was a Naval port.  I think it will be very interesting.  Then, we will probably go to the beach again! Hasta luego!

Day 8 and 9: Sevilla

On Saturday, we took a bus from Cadiz to Sevilla at 11:15 and got there around 1 pm.  We went and got lunch and then we checked in at our hostel.  It was the first time I've ever stayed at a hostel and I thought it was pretty nice.  After we dropped off our stuff, we walked around Sevilla and saw the Sevilla Cathedral which was beautiful! Then we went to the Royal Alcazar which was an Arab palace with beautiful gardens and architecture.  We walked around the rest of the day, saw many festivals of Cruz de Mayo, and got tapas for dinner.  After dinner, we got ready for the night and went to a flamenco bar to watch flamenco dancing.  The musicians and dancers were so good and I really want to learn now! Then we went on a night tour with a tour guide to popular clubs to go dancing.  It was so much fun and we met a lot of people from different countries like Australia, Ireland, and England.  On Sunday, we checked out of the hostel and went to the Cathedral to attend mass in Spanish.  Then we got lunch until the bell tower of the Cathedral opened for us to climb all the way to the top and see Sevilla from a birds eye view.  It was amazing! Afterwards, we headed towards la plaza de Espana which was a must-see, and it was so cool! It was this amazing building with a fountain in the middle of the plaza and a moat all around with boats in the water.  It was very neat.  This was the last thing we saw in Sevilla before we got on the bus to return to Cadiz.  We took the 2 hour bus ride back to Cadiz and it was good to be "home."  I loved Sevilla, but it was very hot there and I'm so glad to be in Cadiz! I'm so glad I got to visit Sevilla though! Hasta luego!

Day 6 and 7

Yesterday we went to classes like usual and later in the afternoon, we had churros con chocolate with the group and they were delicious! After we had churros, we went to an intercambio between Spanish-speaking students from the University of Cadiz and us from UGA.  It was really neat because we spent 10 minutes talking in English, and 10 minutes talking in Spanish for an hour.  We all got along really well and we even talked to some of them for an hour after the scheduled ending time! After this activity, we went home to have dinner and then we went out to a flamenco festival where we attempted to learn flamenco.  It was a lot of fun! Today we had class and now I am just checking emails and doing homework until we go to the Museum of Cadiz tonight.  I am excited about it because we are learning a lot about the history of Spain and more specifically Cadiz in my culture class, so I think I will see a lot that I have learned about in this museum.  We are planning a trip to Sevilla for tomorrow and Sunday which should be very cool.  I have only heard great things about Sevilla! Well that's all for now! Hasta luego!

Day 4 and 5

Yesterday was our first day of classes and they went really well! I am taking a culture class as well as a linguistics class, and I think they will both be very interesting.  The teachers are very nice and I think I will enjoy these classes a lot.  We have class with only UGA students and I have 2 classes from 10:45-2 pm, and then we have free time and other planned activities.  After class yesterday, we went to the beach and then we went on a scavenger hunt of the city and had dinner with the whole group.  The weather is very nice and it got really sunny yesterday, although it rained today.  It does get a little chilly at night especially with the wind, but a jacket is usually enough to keep me warm. After class today, we took a siesta and did some reading for class.  Its been a pretty chill day, but it was nice to have a break from the busy days we have been having. 

Day 3: Cadiz!

We are finally in Cadiz and it is so beautiful! I love it here so far! We left Madrid at 10 am and arrived in Cadiz at 7:30 pm after the long bus ride.  We met up with our families and came back to our house.  In my family, there is a mom, dad, and two children, one 11 year old girl and a 7 year old boy.  They are all so sweet and I am so excited to have such a great family.  They have been hosting foreign students for years so they are used to this already.  Before dinner at 10 I spent some time with the daughter also named Sara.  We listened to music, sang, danced, and painted nails.  It was fun! I am so glad that there are kids in the family.  Dinner was great and then we just hung out with our family the rest of the night until now and I am about to fall asleep.  We have our first day of classes tomorrow, so I'll let you know how those go! Until then, hasta luego!

Day 2: Madrid

Today we went to el Museo de Reina Sofia and saw works of Picasso, Miro, and Dali.  It was really neat! Then we walked around town for a bit to the market place.  There were tons of shops set up all around the street with so many people around.  We went to lunch at a restaurant and headed back to the hotel afterwards.  Now we are just resting and hanging out at the hotel until dinner tonight.  We leave for Cadiz tomorrow morning and drive 9 hours on a bus.  I am so glad that we were able to spend some time in Madrid, but I can't wait to finally get to Cadiz! Hasta luego!

Day 1: Madrid

Today we flew into Madrid and arrived at 7:25 Madrid time, which was 1:25 Georgia time.  The flight was a long 8 hours, but it seemed to go by pretty quickly, especially watching 2 movies on the plane.  We took a bus from the airport to the hotel and dropped our bags off, but we could not check into our rooms yet, so we just left our luggage and explored the city.  It is beautiful! All the buildings are so old and so pretty! I love it! We walked around and went to stores and coffee shops until noon when we were too tired to function.  I bought a new bathing suit because I forgot mine in Georgia, but at least I have one now! We sat in the hotel lobby until we finally got a room and took a nice 4 hour nap.  Then we got ready for dinner at the hotel and later tonight we will be going on a bus tour of the city.  It will be nice to see some more of Madrid.  We still have tomorrow in Madrid and we leave for Cadiz on Monday.  I am so glad to be here and excited for the next 6 weeks!