week 2 begins

I’m having trouble grasping the fact that week two in Cádiz is already almost halfway over. The days seem to fly by here, even though everything about this culture screams relaxation. I think it has something to do with how we’re constantly learning, both in and out of the classroom. (Although our daily four-hour dose of classes conducted solely in Español certainly could get the job done on its own.) I keep on finding new things that I love about this city though. Por ejemplo, every single inch of Cádiz is jam packed with history. I feel like I’ve died and gone to history nerd heaven, and there just happens to be a gorgeous beach and culinary whiz of a host mom included as part of the package deal.

In place of Cultura y Historía del Arte this morning we paid a visit to the Museo de Cádiz. (Amy and I were already very familiar with its location since the entrance is about twenty feet from our café. See?? All that late night coffee drinking DOES pay off in the end.) Our workload has picked up substantially this week (although we’re not up to the Davidson pace of six-hour days in E.H. Little Library just yet…) and we have three compositions due on Friday, one of which was the reason for our museum visit. Our art professor Alberto accompanied us to the museum for a guided tour of the arqueología floor. The other two floors of the museum feature contemporary art and ethnographic artifacts from all over Andalucía, but the archaeology portion is special since everything in it was discovered in Cádiz. We started with artifacts from the Paleolithic, Neolithic and Copper Ages, then moved into the second room which focused on the Phoenician colonization of Cádiz. The city was originally known as Gadir before the Arabs began calling it Qadis, which in turn evolved into Cádiz. (Although the gaditianos pronounce it Cái… the ‘s’ here is a forgotten letter. This oftentimes results in some serious blank stares on our end when the locals start talking to us at their normal pace.) Then we saw sarcophaguses, Roman statues, vases, jewelry, terracotta sculptures, masks y mucho más before heading back to la Universidad for afternoon classes (but only after Amy and I made a café stop of course. It didn’t measure up to our Café Piccola though. That’s impossible). In Grammar this afternoon we had more oral presentations. Thus far people’s topics have ranged from international dance to secret societies to the TV show West Wing to the Bermuda Triangle. Mine isn’t until the 27^th so I’m still pondering…

After class, as is tradition, Amy and I met outside the school to commence our daily sprint (not kidding…) back to Pepa’s house for lunch. There are a TON of things I love about Spain, but the eating schedule is not on the list desafortunadamente. Each day, despite endless snacks and multiple cafés during class hours, we always seem to find ourselves FAMISHED at the 2:30 “lunch” hour and our noses always perk up as we round the corner onto Calle Adolfo de Castro, hoping to catch a whiff of the culinary bliss we are about to consume. As always, Pepa did not disappoint. While we were eating Amy and Alba (Pepa’s daughter who just got home on Sunday) were comparing L.A. sights such as In-N-Out Burgers, Disneyland and Hollywood Boulevard. And of course we heard all about Michael Jackson’s funeral. She really is quite obsessed. Reporters from the Cádiz newspaper actually came to the house today to interview this girl that flew hallway around the world for the occasion. And his songs occupy quite a few spots on the top 40 list of songs here while his music videos are always playing on the TV. In other words, he’s kind of a big deal in our household and in this country it seems.

After stuffing myself with Pepa’s magical soup and fresh bread from the panadería on our street, I went back to the museum to do some more research for my paper. I was quite proud of myself actually… I must have looked like a pretty official student with my backpack and notebook and all so museum workers waived the one-euro fee and I proceeded to write my essay while walking through the museum, rereading all the exhibits. Then I went back outside, sat at our café (recall its convenient proximity to the museum), and had a good conversation with our waitress buddy before heading to my gimnasio.

Speaking of the gimnasio! I joined Millennium Gym on Friday and went to my first spinning class last night. I received a few weird looks at first, but was quickly accepted once they realized I understood what they were saying and knew how to adjust my bike on my own. Davidson’s Fitness for the Athlete can take credit for that. Not the Spanish part, just the bike. THE CLASS WAS SO HARD. But I loved it. I’m obsessed. I’m going back tomorrow. It’s a very good thing the owners are extremely nice and graciously lent me a towel since I didn’t know you had to bring one… spinning class with INTENSE Spanish instructors barking orders at you + no air conditioner + no towel = mal idea. I have also discovered a new love for Spanish techno music. (Although the fact that the last song played was Barbie Girl did kind of make my day. Bopping alongside a muscular Spanish dude singing “I’m a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world” is something I will never, ever forget.)

I left the gym looking like I’d just jumped in the water at Playa Caleta and made a stop at my favorite frutería on the way back to Pepa’s casa. Like our dear little café, this frutería has become part of my daily routine. I went again this afternoon after the gym and spent twenty minutes talking to the owner Antonía. She is adorable. The frutería has been in her family for 80 years and she has worked there for the past 25. She lives right above the store with her two sons, 15 and 20, and five international students that are taking Spanish classes here this summer. I told her I’ll probably pay a visit every single day (she sells the best grapes and nectarines in all of Cádiz, hands down) and she smiled and told me she can’t wait to talk with me more and that my Spanish is muy bueno. Did I mention that she is adorable? Then on the way home I noticed that the bookstore I have been wanting to go in was finally open (the whole siesta phenomenon creates some weird shopping hours ciertamente) and I bought Tercera Verano en Vaqueros (The Third Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants book). J I figured a Spanish version of a favorite book at a semi-easy reading level posiblemente could improve my Español. (Plus I wanted to read it again and there are no English books to be found here.)

Whoops, another freakishly long entry. Tomorrow we go to a bodega (vineyard) in Jerez de La Frontera in place of classes. Yes, we are going to a vineyard, not class, you read that correctly. We meet in front of Burguer King (not a typo, that’s how they spell it here) at 9 AM sharp, so we have to get up a little earlier than usual. Hence, we’re going to head to bed now… much earlier than usual for us! Anything before midnight qualifies as early now. My tummy is full of café descafinado delicioso, I’m starting to warm up to Coco (the yappy Chihuahua) after he fell asleep in my lap earlier today, and I’ve finished all three of my compositions due on Friday… all is right in the world. Buenas noches!