First Week of classes

Sorry it has been awhile since an update, the first week of classes has really kept me busy. Its been raining here all week and been very cold, around 3 degrees Celsius or in the mid to upper 30s Fahrenheit. Classes are going well, but my brain gets so tired from the constant Spanish all day. My daily schedule includes waking up around 10:30, showering, eating a little breakfast, which is usually toast and jelly and an orange or banana. There is cereal here but I have been a little hesitant to try the milk since it comes un-refrigerated and I feel like there is no way it’ll compare to good ole 2%. After breakfast, I head to school or to a plaza to do some studying if its nice out. I usually head back home which is a 15-minute walk from my school around 1:30 since we have lunch at 2:30 everyday. Lunch is the biggest and most important meal of the day and usually consists of a soup, vegetable puree, noodles and sauce, or something of that sort for a first course. Potatoes seem to be more common than anything else in the Spanish diet except pork and seafood. The main course is usually seafood, tortilla, or pork. Today we had tuna and onions seared in a pan and it was delicious. French fries are served at every meal as a complement to the main course. For desert we either have oranges, bananas, clementines, pineapple upside down cake, or strawberries in a sauce similar to a jelly. The strawberries have quickly become one my favorite foods. Lunch usually lasts between 45 minutes to an hour and is full of conversation, it is very impressive to see that the entire culture values this aspect so much and the streets are empty and stores are closed during the siesta. Another prevalent aspect of Spanish meals is bread, served with every meal. In Spain the people love small sandwich rolls that are made with white flour and are about 6 inches long. My housemother puts a couple rolls and some cheese and cured ham out to eat with the bread. After lunch I usually take a little nap if I have time and then head back to school for my afternoon class, which is technically a night class and starts at 5 and ends at 8:30 with a 15 minute break. An interesting part of Spanish culture is start and end times, they are very loose and events usually start somewhere around 5 – 10 minutes late. Spaniards tend to have very loose schedules and a very relaxed way of life. After class I head back home after checking my email and stuff since I do not have Internet in my house. After dinner we usually watch a little TV, either soccer or some sort of sitcom or reality TV show. Then around 11:30 I do a little homework and head out to meet up with some friends. The nights tend to end pretty late, around 3 or 4 in the morning but sometimes earlier.

My family here consists of my padre, Juan, who is a surgeon. My mother’s name is Concepción or Concha for short, the same word as a shell. My sister is 28; her name is Macarena and is currently out of work. She is very helpful in teaching me the language and she and I get along really well. My brother’s name is Juan Pablo and is a computer engineer. He is not around as much as Macarena but lately I have gotten to know him a lot better. Both children live in the house and it is a very typical part of Spanish culture. Concha described it this way, in the states your house is considered your parents house but in Spain it is considered the family’s house and children live with their parents until they find a very serious partner or are married because the family has so much importance and the cost of living is very expensive here. Tomorrow I am heading to Carnivales de Cadiz, the worlds largest festival. Everybody dresses up in costumes and takes over the city’s plazas and public places. This week I visited Alcazar, which is the palaces of the all the various cultures that have had control over the city since the middle ages. It was absolutely unbelievable and the rooms are enormous and covered with engravings and gold. Each era of the palaces has a distinct style. The coolest part of the palaces is that there is running water through all of them with little fountains in the center of the room. The palaces were breathtaking and were built in a way that allows large amounts of light to enter; even today there is no need for lights to display the architecture. I will put some pictures up on my facebook shortly and if you are unable to view them let me know. Once again, if you have any questions be sure to email me. Today I broke down for the first time and got a large fry from McDonalds. I walk past a burger king and McDonalds on my way to and from school every day and finally succumbed to the cravings.