09-01-07 Gadizanos

The city of Cadiz is actually much larger than I had imagined. The ‘Facultad’ where I’ll be studying is actually quite a walk (30 minutes). There are two parts to the town – El Casco Antiguo (the old part) and La Avenida (the new part). I live in the new part, but very close to the old part so walking to both is feasible for me. It isn’t as easy to get around as I had hoped but it works. Buses run pretty often and we’re occasionally given a Bonobus pass, valid for 10 bus rides, but I feel guilty using it since I live close enough to make my walk to school a casual stroll. People from the program are spread out all over the city, many at the end of the new part (which is pretty much a long strip) and many in the old part (a circular area with very intimate housing style). I am just three blocks from the beach - which makes taking in a little sun and taking a dip in the Mediterranean/Atlantic easy.

The streets of the old part of town are fascinating. They crisscross all over the place in a web of ins and outs. There are plazas tucked into corners all over the place and churches throughout. The town is almost completely Catholic but not too strict about whether or not church is attended (thankfully). I’m guessing this is a modern concession, but it seems that in general the people of Cadiz are very open minded and accepting.

To start off our day, my ‘mom’ brought me into town to reunite with the group. We went to a tower upon which we could see most of Cadiz (seeing as the buildings are all similarly stubby). We were taken to a room called La Camara Oscura (the dark chamber) where using a periscope (the first of its kind in all of Spain) we looked around the city and were given sort of a mini tour. The next event – a scavenger hunt! Our group broke up into teams and we proceeded to bring foreign ruin to the tranquility of Cadiz. Since all of our tasks, we appeared to be a disorganized hoard of students roaming the streets in search of various, seemingly unimportant places. We checked the prices of fish, bought stamps, asked questions, and ended with buying drinks at a sidewalk café. Que divertido! The most relaxing part of the day came next – the beach! A few of us went to the beach near my house and relaxed in the sand, swam around, played some Frisbee. Again, the tough life.

Lunch, which came between scavenging and the beach, consisted of a huge pan of paella! It was the best food by far that I’ve had since coming to Cadiz. My extremely thoughtful ‘mom’ put no seafood or fish in it. I eat normally here, yet am constantly hounded by Carmen (mom) to eat more because, as she claims, the Spanish eat a lot and it is Mediterranean and the food is not bad for you. On the other hand, about half of everything I’ve eaten has been fried! I’m so confused! I just go with the flow, eating and trying to get away with my normal amount rather than stuffing myself like she would like to see.

On to the nightlife…

So, when they say that the Spanish stay out late, they mean really late. The typical night consists of dinner, bar hopping, discotecas (club), and mucho divercion. We walked all around town until we found a Cadiz native who took us to a bar he liked and introduced us to all his friends. To avoid being sent home at closing time, we went to another, hidden bar (which had an interesting security system with cameras on the street ensuring nobody saw that we were entering). This bar was open till 7AM ☺. We stayed till 5:30 and I walked home the girls that came with, returned to my house, and fell asleep around 6:30. I got my first taste of meeting gadizanos (Cadiz was long ago Gadiz). The next day, I saw two of the five, and the day after a third. I like that it is a small town when it comes to people.