Hello!

Hi ~
So, I am so sorry that it has taken so long to write anything to you guys. I have had very little internet access the past few weeks and have only been able to quickly check emails and things like that.

The girls in the pictures are Alison and Rosellen. They are by far my two best girl friends here. Reid is the other person that I love the most and I will post a pic with him soon.

So today is my last day in Cádiz and we are all getting ready to leave. It is really crazy and somewhat surreal that I have already been here for a month and that all of the people that I become really close with are now going separate ways. Some people are going to Italy, others to Portugal, a couple to France and then some of us are traveling throughout Spain. Originally, I wanted to go out of the country and explore Europe but I have realized that I am in Spain to be in Spain. And now, I am super excited. I am starting my travels by going from Cádiz to Salamanca. It is a little bit north and west of Madrid. I am leaving tonight the 12th at 9:10 on a bus and will arrive tomorrow morning at 6:30ish. I will be staying at a hostel called Revolutum. It is close to the city center and that is where I will be spending most of my time. I am super excited to start going to museums and cathedrals and things like that by myself cause going with people that don't want to be there is not fun.

Classes ended well and I will get my grades in a few weeks, but I am sure everything turned out well. The culture class was interesting but it was a little long to sit through every day but I learned a lot about Spanish history. I do feel like the classes were in no way challenging but I am about to get my but kicked in Granada. For my culture final I had to write a free response about the artwork of an artist that we learned about and it took me a really long time and I am sure that there were a bunch os silly mistakes. I am going to start studying more and more once I am in Granada because I don't want to struggle with writing essays later on in the year.

Here are some pictures.

This was the sunset that we saw as we drove back from kayaking.

I went to the tallest tower in Cádiz and got to take all of these amazing pictures of the city from 45m in the sky.

I love you all and am going to upload some more pics in a few hours.

Pictures

Pictures

Bolonia and an Olive Oil Mill/Tasting

Hello again. Here are the pictures from last weeks cultural excursion. We went to a city called Bolonia which consisted of an entirely white washed community on the side of a hill that looked out over the aqueduct. At the top of the hill was the ruins of the old castle/fortress. Then we went to an olive oil mill and got to walk around and learn about the process of making different kinds of olive oil. And then... I got to taste it will some freshly baked bread. A nice surprise of fresh local cheese, their home made wine, and some nice prosciutto to help enhance the flavors of the olive oil. They also brought out an amazing tortilla, not the kind that any of you are thinking of. The closest thing I can think of is a quiche but that isn't really right. It is a fluffy egg thing with cheese and potatoes usually. Sometimes they put onions, bell peppers or chiles in it also. No matter what they decide to put in it they are usually quite good but these ones were absolutely amazing. I hope you all can enjoy the pictures without getting to jealous or hungry. LOVE YOU ALL!

Oh... I forgot that I also got to go to a special/private presentation on Flamenco with my culture class on Thursday. It was one of the coolest things I have done so far. I have never felt so much emotion come through a singers voice or the music itself. The guitar player was incredibly talented and the singers voices were like nothing I have ever hear, except for things online, which in no way do the singers justice. I will try to upload a video but it might have to be its own post.

Love,

Rachel

I have been trying to upload pictures for over an hour and this is the only one that cam all the way through. Sorry. I will try to get more up in the next few days.

A quick hello

Hi Everyone,

Sorry I haven't posted any pictures for a while. I have been having trouble accessing the internet and then I got a cold a few days ago so I just slept all day yesterday and am trying to get the little work that I have to do for my classes done in the next few days. But pictures will be coming soon. Promise.

Rachel

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