Hi everyone! Today was a pretty lowkey day out of what is normally our jam-packed, hour-by-hour daily schedule. It was nice to have a day to reset, relax and prepare for the weekend and our final full week in Cádiz.
This morning started off like any other, with students meeting in the cafetería for breakfast before class starts at 8:45 in a UCA (la Universidad de Cádiz) building a few minutes’ walk away. Breakfast is always a chance for us to slowly wake up with a small meal and catch up on how our classmates are feeling. Today I had my usual pan blanco con mermelada y manzanilla, zumo de pino y té. Then, I walked over to the Facultad de Medicina for our daily Spanish classes. I am in the Accelerated Spanish 3 and 4 option, which allows me to learn the equivalent of 2 semesters of Spanish in just 2 weeks in an intensive setting. Our classes move at a quick pace, with instruction done entirely in Spanish, but the challenge is honestly really refreshing and I genuinely feel that I am learning so much. I know that my other classmates feel the same.
We always have a brief snack/lunch break in between classes from 11:30-12, where we either walk down to the closest supermercado for pastries and snacks or just hang out in the building’s central courtyard, talking, resting, and doing homework. Today, I just laid on my back on a bench next to my friends and soaked in the sunlight. One thing about being in Cádiz is that the weather is just always perfect: 80 degrees and sunny. I wish I could have spent the day at the beach, even though I enjoy our Spanish classes.
At 2:15 we finished classes for the day, and some of my classmates and I walked back to the dormitory building to eat lunch in the cafetería. While eating lunch, we planned out the rest of our afternoon and evening: errands, laundry, homework, dinner, sleep. Some days are just like that.
After lunch, Zoey, Grae, Jeremiah, and I went to the farmacia and the supermercado in search of some essentials: snacks, energy drinks, and water. Our dorms at UCA are single occupancy, with your own bathroom and miniature refrigerator. I always try and keep cold waters and snacks in my room for whenever I get hungry; snacks are also great to share with people while doing homework or hanging out at the beach.
When we got home, we all dispersed to take naps or do loads of laundry or start homework. I relaxed in my room with a little “Love Island USA” before putting on a load of laundry. A tip for anyone interested in coming to Cádiz with UML on this trip is to pack light: there is laundry in the dorm building for 3 and 1.50 euros, so you can always wash and rewear clothes instead of packing 14 outfits for 14 days.
After my laundry, I joined a group of my classmates in the library to work on my homework and daily journals. For homework, we were practicing affirmative tú commands. For our journals, we have to write an entry each day in Spanish dictating how we were feeling and what we did that day. It takes me a lot longer to write in Spanish than it does in English because I’m still building my vocabulary and grammar skills, but it truly helps me practice and improve my written skills.
We all did homework until 8:45pm, which is when dinner opens in the dining hall. It’s so late compared to at home!! It took some getting used to at first. Tonight’s dinner was pizza, french fries, salad, and soup, so it definitely felt like home in that instance. After dinner, we had plans to go right back to the library, but a group of us decided that we needed fresh air and sun on our faces, so we went outside!
Across the street from the dorm building, there is a park called “Parque Genoves.” It’s part skate park, part botanical garden, part nature exhibit, and part playground, all in one. It’s so lovely, and tonight we spent a lot of time there. Zoey, Jack, and I connected with our inner child and played on the playground, using the zipline, climbing up to the slide, and spinning endlessly on whatever those spinning turning things are. We had so much fun being outside, enjoying the way the setting sun painted everything a dusky blue, and feeling connected to the community that we have been trying to immerse ourselves in since we got here over a week ago.
Outdoor playtime is tiring, so Grae, Zoey, Jeremiah, and I decided to take a walk to get ice cream. We went to a helateria we had walked by when we were doing errands earlier in the day. It ended up being the most inexpensive and the most delicious ice cream we’ve had so far! We’re definitely going back.
I think my favorite thing about being in Spain is walking around and finding my way back home. Maria always told us before we got here that you can never get lost in Cádiz– just find the ocean and walk alongside it until you end up back at the school. It’s stayed true, and it’s how I find our way home almost every night. Just walking through dimly lit golden streets with cobblestones sidewalks in Europe’s oldest city, laughing and brushing arms with friends I met 8 days ago, is so special, and it is an experience I will only have during this program, during my time in Cádiz.
