La Playa y Tapas!

Yesterday afternoon, everyone went to the beach to relax, since we´ve been walking like crazy the past few days. At 7, we had to meet up at McDonald´s for beach games with MundoLengua... voleibol, futbol, etc. After beach games, we decided to go out for Tapas. We went to a couple places - Our favorite place was called "La Gorda Te Da De Comer." Every two people ordered a tapa, and then we passed them all around to try. Sergio liked his Senora´s paella so much that he ordered it as a tapa... it was then that he realized that most people make paella not with chicken, but with shrimp (& other seafood). The expression on his face looking at the shrimp with its eyes in tact was great!

today my class got to meet a spanish class. they were very nice. to Mrs. Gach-Sanin: yes there was a girl in the and yes i did talk to her

Espana, dia 5

¡Hola! ¿Que tal?
yesterday was probably the best day so far. We walked all through the old city of Cadiz and had Telepizza, which was the greasiest (but delicious) pizza i´ve ever had. i got some helado (ice cream) later and enjoyed it in one of the plazas. life here seems to pass slowly, as though the people dont have a care in the world. ¨"no te preocupes" (dont worry) is the phase i would use to describe Cadiz. sitting in the sunny open-air plaza i know why spainards use this phrase so often. the breeze at my back, the sun on my face, and the murmur of a fountain captivate u. I dont want to leave.
Later that day we walked through a beautiful park and then saw an ancient castle located in the sea, connected to the mainland by a long stone walkway. the sights were beautiful . i wanted to jump in the clear blue water but settled to merely sit on the rocks and try to rid myself of the accursed farmer´s tan. we also visited the Torre Tavira, a tower used to sight ships back when cadiz was a trading superpower. u could see the whole city. it was breathtaking.
More later
Bracey

Cadiz day 4

yesterday we got out to the castillo de san sebastian it was beutiful the water is so blue here. we also went by genova park wich is this amazing park in the old city with caves and waterfalls almost like the citys own private jungle. yesterday afternoon we went to a tower that gave an amazing view of the city there was also a camera like mechanism that operated by projecting light off a mirror onto a white surface creating a crystal clear picture of the city.

el 11 de junio en Cadiz

This morning, I went to Diego & Sergio´s class for a bit. I got to go with them for their intercambio, during which they chatted with Spanish students (in Spanish) for an hour. We learned a lot about the Spanish school system, and wished them luck on the chemistry test they were about to take. It was cool (see the picture top left). This afternoon, we´re going to take it easy, have a siesta, go to the beach,etc. since we´ve been walking and exploring like crazy the past few days.

Yesterday was an awesome day. We enjoyed some Telepizza together, and then went wandering, hoping to find the castle for Benito. We stumbled upon an AWESOME park, Parque Genoves, and eventually made it to La Caleta. La Caleta is the only beach in the old part of Cadiz - really pretty, and apparently a scene from Die Another Day was filmed there. Then, we discovered that there are not one, but two castles (one wasn´t on our map). We walked down the long boardwalk-type-structure to the Castillo San Sebastian. For me, this was the best part of the trip so far. Beautiful views, great weather, it was cool. We spent some time sitting and relaxing before meeting up with Juan, who took us to the top of the Torre Tavira for some great views of the city.

Wed. in Spain

So its Wed. now and everything is great. Cadiz is really pretty and the weather is great. All the site seeing that we have done is fun and the architecture is beautiful. Last night we went and saw the Flamenco which was really cool. It was a little long but was interesting. We just got out of school for today and are getting ready to go eat lunch at TelePizza. Then, more shopping and then visiting Torre Tavira. Then off to a game night with MundaLengua. Can´t Wait.....bye for now

El Miercoles en Espana

Hola!
It is Wednesday and we just finished class. (So we have been to 3 classes total). Most of the stuff we are learning we already know, so it is fairly easy. (Gracias Sra Ligler y Sra Gach! :) Last night we walked through the tiny streets in Old Cadiz and then went to the Flamenco show. It was interesting! Plus on Monday we took a tour of Old Cadiz, going through a bunch of the plazas. But my camera died halfway through the tour, and Emilia will probably tell you it was because I used up the battery taking pictures of EVERY street, which drove her crazy. haha :) Yesterday we went to the Cortes Ingles, which is a spanish department store and I bought some european shoes. (Bracey and i both got a pair which are very similar, only mine are black and blue and his are white with blue and green) and then we went to a little restaurante and bought churros and coca-cola. (Emma and Shane were having a coke withdrawl, so we had to find some quick...lol)
Our Senora is pretty nice, and we also have a dog- Tango. And we live on the 11th floor.
Ok- i have to go now,
¡Adios!

cadiz is fun. im having a good time. to Mrs. Gach-Sanin: my teacher here in Cadiz can read my illegable handwriting

so far we have done a lot of things. last night we went and say the flamenco at La Cava. it was okay except that it was very long and loud. And we went to Corte Ingles to shop. after our trip there we went to eat churros with chocolate...where we also were able to drink COCA- COLA for the first time since we have been here! it was quite yummy.

cadiz day 3

Spain is a lot of fun so far. Im having a great time and my spanish is improving exponentially each day. yesterday we did more shopping the stores are really cool here, then we went to watch flamanco it was a lot of fun and very fast (picture in lower post) also me and brian bought dinner at a panderia (bread shop) brian got a ham and cheese sandwich and i got a tortilla sandwich it was muy delicioso. also to day the group plans to go to tele pizza for lunch which is recomended by Mrs. Lopez.

Espana...

after three days here i feel like i lived here my whole life. the city, although at times overwhelming, is in its own way very beatiful. the people here love life and having a great time. walking through the winding streets and small alleys ways is an adventure in itself. my family is wonderful. There is my new mom, Senora Garcia, and my new brothers: Ruben (23) and Kiny (13) we have lots of fun. My roomate is from ireland. He´s a craic (a gaelic word, pronounced "crack" means cool or fun) lad. We compare the US and Ireland a lot and have been teaching each other the local lingo like "jank" or "ridic" which r now his favorite words. There are also 2 other chicos from france named Sasha and Christophe, but i dont see them much.
After the strenous plane rides, which at times were fun but were really long, i enjoyed an awesome first day with my family. My senora took me home and immediately i became a part of their family. I have eaten soooooooooooo much. my new mom feeds me 24/7 and always talks about how little i eat. I love spanish food though so i might come back to the US muy gordo. the first day i spent here was fun and .....interesting. The first time i met my roomate Emmet he was with the police in my hallway. I had no idea what he had done but my senora motioned for me to come into the hall too. Emmet had had his backpack stolen when he was on the beach and b/c he couldnt speak spanish very well, i had to translate. then i went down to the police station to help him report the incident. talk about exciting. later my new spanish brother kiny took me and emmet to meet his friend carlos who was halarious. we watched the movie night in the museum two in spanish. Afterwards we played futbol in the street. it was fun. the second day we went to class, which are ok. I think im going to learn more from speaking spanish in real life and with my family. we toured old cadiz and saw the many plazas and fountains. We also went shopping and i bought some awesome spanish clothes (muy expensive). the third day we saw flamenco which was pretty intense. i love it here: the people, the food, the lifestyle...everything just seems prefect and my spanish is getting better daily and sometimes spanish words come to my mind more quickly than english.
Hasta luego,
Bracey

Churros y Flamenco!

Yesterday, after class and lunch, we went to Corte Ingles (a department store) & then stopped for churros y chocolate on the way back. Last night, we went to a flamenco show at La Cava... the pictures didn´t turn out too well, but maybe you can see the bailadores.

cadiz day 2

Spain is a lot of fun, i already feel like i am understanding the language better. like last night when i was wrighting in my journal Irealized that i was wrighting in spainish until half way through the entry how wierd is that. also we toured the old city last night it was beutiful i really liked the close winding streets and older arquetecture made it like you were relly wondering through history. the food here is really good though i am still getting used to the change in meal times.

(Above) MundoLengua treated us to juice and ice cream in a Plaza during our tour of the historic part of Cadiz yesterday.

We also took a Go Saints picture near the bay, which is very close to Tomas & Benito´s apartment. After grammar class and lunch, we´re going shopping together this afternoon. Tonight, we´re off to a flamenco show!

ESPANA!

Hi! This is the first time I have been able to get online! The trip here took a looong time! We got into Barcelona an hour early but the flight went very well. After going through customs, we checked in with spanair. We went through spanish security, which is much more laid back. Bracey and i walked around the airport and went in all of the stores (the terminal was like a little mall). Then we took a bus to our plane, which was a little... eh..... yeah. When the brakes started squeaking, we got a little nervous. The plane was empty and all 7 of us were out cold for the 1 hour flight. We met Sebastion at the airport and rode a bus to Cadiz. We met our senoras and went back with them. Shane wouldnt talk so i was the only one talking. We had lunch, slept for 5 hours, had dinner, and then took showers and went to sleep. This morning we woke up, had breakfast, and came here to the school. We had a 30 min orientation and the a 3 hour class. Well, i need to head home now because my senora is waiting for me to come home for lunch. Adios for now!

Emilia´s in Spain

I´m in Spain!! The overnight flight was really long and nobody slept. My senora is nice but she talks pretty fast. My class in school is really funny. Mi profesora is really nice and the people in my class are funny. Also the weather is great, but can sometimes get a little cool. It basically stays around 70 or a little higher. Also, hi to mom, dad, and Spencer. I miss yall and I will call when I get a chance. Also a shoutout to Meredith and Haley. Anyway Spain is great so far.

Cadiz day 1

Im so excited to finnally be in spain the trip was long but we found a way to entertain our selves with movies and games. Now that were in spain im looking forward to touring the city later, also my classes are alot of fun. there are two students from ireland there as well and they have great senses of humor. Also my family is kind although I slept through dinner lats night oops! any way the cit is pretty even though its not as clean as i had expected.

Hemos llegado a Cadiz!

at the airport in Jerez!

After 20 hours of traveling, 3 flights, and two long layovers, we made it to Cadiz yesterday afternoon. No one got very much sleep on the flights (probably because we were busy playing the trivia game they had on the plane), but everything went well. Today was the first day of classes, and tonight we have a tour of the city. The famiy I´m staying with is really nice - the senora is a very good cook (and I even got to

have breakfast this morning, which is usually pretty light in Spain). Her husband Juan, and two sons, Juanito and Carlos (ages 17 and 18), also live in the apartment. While the students were in class this morning, I had churros con chocolate with the program directors. Muy delicioso!

We're off!

Today we head to España... with three flights and 20 hours of traveling, we'll be glad when we finally get there. We should arrive in Cádiz around 3pm local time tomorrow afternoon (Spain is 6 hours ahead of Virginia). Tomorrow afternoon, we'll meet our families, who will show us around the city. ¡Hasta pronto!

hey, i cant wait to go to spain and learn more spanish! i also cant wait to meet my host family se the city of cadiz. i plan to go to some museums while i am in spain.