back in the USA

There were two things that surprised me the most when I first got back to the US.

1. Clouds

I had forgotten that clouds are so big here! When I got back on Tuesday there were these huge, puffy clouds, and it was raining. There was even lighting. That kind of thing just doesn't usually happen in Cádiz in the summer--the skies are pretty much sunny and clear 100% of the time.

2. English

I walked into a Panera Bread and everybody was speaking English! There wasn't a single 'vale' or even 'gracias' =( Now I have to remember that if I talk in Spanish nobody will understand. Perhaps more importantly, I have to keep in mind that if I talk about someone in English, they'll be able to understand.

It's been nice to sleep in my own bed and have my laptop again, but I definitely miss Spain. Here it's a little abnormal to give people kisses when you meet them, to try and walk to the beach all the time, and to eat ice cream every day.

Later I'm going to talk a little more about Spain and attempt to load some pictures.

Bye for now!

♥Meredith

last night

First of all, I have to apologize for the lack of Gibraltar pictures. The past week has been really crazy with all the packing, unpacking, and traveling. Hopefully I´ll be able to get some monkey pictures up once I get home.

My last day in Cádiz (Friday) was pretty emotional. My family and I all got up extremely early to say goodbye to Nina, and then I left around noon. There were a lot of besitos and I may have been crying just a little. I miss Nina, my host parents, and my host brother already! We all got closer than I expected.

Nina went back to New York, but I was signed up for the travel extension. On Friday and Saturday we were in the beautiful and ridiculously hot city of Córdoba. On Saturday we packed up again and came to Sevilla. We saw clouds for the first time in weeks here--it was quite unnerving.

Now we´re packing our bags one last time, and I have very mixed emotions about going home. Spain is such a different place from America, and I love the culture here. Everything is so much more open and affectionate, and the age of the country adds a ton of depth (history geek). I´ll miss getting to speak Spanish. On the other hand, all of us are totally exhausted from traveling, and I´m excited to get back to my own family, laptop, and pillow.

Adiós for now! Next time I write it´ll be from the states.
♥Meredith

soup kitchen

A few days ago, Nina and I went with Javi, one of the staff members, to help out at a soup kitchen. First we set the tables, cut up bread and watermelon, etc., and then we helped serve the people who came to get food. The staff at the soup kitchen and the people who came were generally very courteous and kind to us.

It was definitely an eye-opening experience.

We recognized several of the people from around town, and it was strange to actually talk to them for the first time. The soup kitchen was also a really tangible demonstration of how bad the economy is in Spain and just how much poverty there is.

And Nina and I both agree that the soup kitchen was the most immersed that we´ve been so far in Cádiz.

Today we visited Gibraltar, so pictures tomorrow =)

Bye for now!

♥Meredith

pictures from Ronda!

Nina took some awesome pictures during our excursion to Ronda this past Saturday, and here are a few of them:

I also bought a really cute bull figurine as a souvenir! Ronda is really famous for its Plaza de Toros, and we actually got to walk around the bullfight ring.

Hasta luego,

♥Meredith

last week

Today is the beginning of my last week in Cádiz =( I´m going to miss this place a ton. The city is so beautiful, my homestay family has been so kind, and I´ve learned so much.

The Abbey Road staff have been really good about letting us earn privileges like later curfews and more free time, so this feels like the culmination of a trip in more ways than one.

Today we took an excursion to a town in the hills called Ronda. It was incredibly picturesque! There were several gardens, a gazebo, views of the hills, paths, and waterfalls. Unfortunately I wasn´t able to upload pictures from my phone to share with you guys =(

Bye for now,

♥Meredith

literature

I like reading, and usually I read in English. But since I´ve gotten here I´ve actually started reading in Spanish!

My host brother loaned me The Conde Lucanor, which is a collection of several short stories. It was written some really really long time ago, as in the 1300s. I am, of course, reading an adapted version.

Sometimes in the afternoon we have an optional literature class, and someone named Gema teaches that. She loaned me Doña Rosita la Soltera by Lorca, so I´ve been plowing my way through that one.

Oh, and having a 17-year-old brother with a computer means I get to pick up some Spanish chatspeak! So far I´ve learned ´jajaja´ and ´xq,´ which means ´because´.

Yesterday my morning Spanish class visited the library! I went to the children´s section and managed to get through a 20-page children´s book in under an hour =) I´m a work in progress.

¡Hasta luego!

♥Meredith

bullfight

A few days ago we had the option of going to a bullfight, and some people from Abbey Road went to a bullfight last night as well.

Personally I chose not to go. I didn´t like the idea of the cruelty and violence towards the bulls, and I felt like I didn´t need to go to a bullfight to experience Spain. What I found a little surprising is that many people from this area are opposed to the bullfights as well. None of the members of my host family like the idea.

But some people definitely enjoy the extreme show of testosterone, the culture, and the excitement. My roommate, for example, went to both bullfights and enjoyed them.

I have a picture from a new Spanish teacher here named Loira.

In other exciting news, more opportunities for community service have started to come up =) Definitely more news on that front later.

¡Adiós!

♥Meredith