Just Some Pics

So here are some pics of the local market that sells really amazing fresh fruits and veggies and... tons and tons of fresh fish and seafood things.

 

 

Also I went on one of our friday excursions today to Tarifa and Bolonia which were both amazing. It was soooo cool to see Arab castles and learn about the city and to then drive twenty minutes and see Roman ruins.

 

I Guess I am in School Now

So the past few days I have been toying with the idea of taking the one upper division option that is offered during this first month program and decided today that I might as well go for it. What this means is that I will be doing research on the computer and interviewing people that I meet about one of the most popular and spectacular festivals in Spain, La Semana Santa (The Week of the Saint), which takes place in Seville, a nearby city during April. I have chosen to research this because since I have been here there have already been two saint's holidays, which are always celebrated with huge festivals or fairs that people go to and party at all night long. In my mind, it seems that most people are there just to have a good time and hang out with friends or make some new ones. And while I am in now way suggesting that this is a bad thing or criticizing it, I  do want to find out how many people go or think that people go to really honor the saint that is being celebrated. So, in order to get the upper division credits I will need to write about 10-15 pages by the end of my time here while also doing the other little assignments and going to the beach and exploring, of course. Anyways, it doesn't sound too hard and I think that it will be a really good way to prepare for similar assignments that I will have to do once I am at the university of Granada.

That's all for today but I wanted to let you all know that I have been reading your comments and love that you are all able to follow along. If you guys have any questions or want me to clarify anything post it and I will respond as soon as I can.

I love you all!

Rachel

Una Mesquita y Una Bodega

The first day of class went well but it was kind of boring. I was placed into the highest writing and culture classes and the middle conversation class. I think that this is exactly where I should be and am excited to work more on my speaking abilities.

For our first cultural excursion we went to a nearby town called Jerez de la Frontera, which is where I flew into before going to Cádiz and went to these gorgeous ruins of an old mosque and saw how it has been restored and expanded by different conquering parties. Here are just a few pics.

 These are all sunflowers. There fields and fields of them.

 This is the corner tower at the mosque

 This is the main prayer room.

 

 This is the mill that was used to make olive oil.

 These are pomegranate. In spanish they are called granadas, like where I will studying later.

 In the mosque they had to put holes in the ceiling to let in light and let steam out of the public bathrooms and so they made them in the shape of stars. The whole ceiling was covered with these stars. It was beautiful.

These are two of my friends. Chelsea and Rosellen.

Ok. I don't really have time right now to write too much but maybe I will add some info later.
Love,
Rachel

Is this really my view?

So yesterday I got to the residencia and here is my room.

And then I looked out the window and this is my view!

I am pretty sure that I have one of the best views in the entire residencia. It is absolutely amazing. It is still really surreal that I am here and that this is where I am going to live for the next month but I am already becoming more accustomed to the layout of the city and the fact that I rarely understand what anyone around me is saying because they speak so quickly and quietly. But I know that that will all change soon.

The one problem I have found so far with the residenica is that I am one of the only people who doesn't get internet in their room. Oh, and... my shower floods. No joke. I seriously have to turn it off every time I am not actually using the water to rinse shampoo out because there is only a shower curtain that does not keep the water in. But I guess that is the trade off for having such a spectacular view. 

We had our initial orientation today and I guess we have the opportunity to be a part of an exchange program where we practice our spanish with people who are practicing their english. It sounds pretty cool and I am excited to sign up for it. 

There is a really big group from of students in the program from Santa Cruz and a lot of us are going to Granada. I already know that there are some of them that I will be hanging out with regularly, which is nice. I definitely made the right choice though with UCSC out of all of the UCs because if I had been stuck with the kind of people I have met that are from UCSD or UCSB I would have gone CRAZY.

Anyways, because I don't have internet in my room I either have to be in the courtyard or outside in the plaza at the base of the cathedral, which is where I am now. The bells just rang and some of the other students have commented on how annoying they think they are but I love them. For me it is a little reminder every 15 minutes that I am in an amazingly beautiful and ancient city. If anyone wants to skype you will get to see the plaza firsthand but please email me first with a time that works for you because I will have to go down there. For me, a little before 6:00p.m. is good, so 9:00 a.m. for you guys, because that is right around the time that siesta ends. Later also works because dinner doesn't start until 8. 

Well that is all for now. I love you all!

Rachel

I'm in Spain!

Hiya~
So as you know I left sat. morning at 4:45 for the SFO airport and then bounced around on three different airplanes and two taxi rides and finally made it to Cádiz where this was the first thing I saw on the the way to my hostel, The Melting Pot.

If anyone is ever traveling and needs a hostel this chain is great! It is super clean and the people are all really friendly. This is what my little room looks like that I share with 6 other people.

I have already met people from all over the world and spent the day with a girl named Alisa from Australia and two girls that are in my program that happened to be staying here too. We walked around and saw the gorgeous colors of the ocean and realized that the entire city of Cádiz can be walked in about an hour. We stopped for some ice cream so Alisa could try Ben and Jerry's and then we sat down and talked for about two hours while the girls drank sangria, I was just too exhausted from traveling that I figured I would have fallen asleep right there had I had any.

I saw this beautiful Cathedral (which is the front side to the first picture) earlier today and later found out that it is across the plaza from the residencia where I will be staying all month.

Anyways after our walk we came back to the hostel and had pasta that the staff had prepared for us and it was delicious. A plate of pasta and a soda for 4euros. Then we talked and mingled on the roof balcony followed by an evening stroll starting at 10:30. I was super surprised to see that the majority of the  people who were out were older couples going out on little walks together. It was super cute and the weather was nice enough to just be walking around in a summer dress.

My plans for tomorrow are to check in at the residencia where I will be living around noon and then if it's not too hot walking around and doing some more exploring. Otherwise, I will be going down to this beach.

Well, I am going to go to bed. I love you all and will keep on writing and posting.

Love,

Rachel