Today’s Spanish class was pretty fun. Jaja we talked about how to say curse words in Spanish XD. In addition to this, we talked about taboo topics such as politics, death, and sexuality. It was cool to openly talk about all of these in a different country and see what the rest of the world’s opinions are. After our usual siesta, we had, as you may be able to guess, photo class. I swear every place we go is cooler than the next. We went to a bunch of graffiti walls and walked along the water. Isn’t this a view! I could live here forever!
Our photos were pretty fun too, you know me and my photo shoots:)!
My friends Sophia and Eric!
That night, we saw our first Spanish movie “El Mejor Verano de mi Vida” (The Best Summer of my Life). Haha, I was proud of myself because I could actually understand what they were saying (95% of the time), and overall it was super cute! It’s about a young boy whose parents get divorced and spend the summer getting back together.
As you can guess, it’s a love story, my favorite! My group of friends also understood the movie, so we just sat in the back of the theater and laughed at all of the subtle jokes we got.
Today was a normal day and all(Spanish class), but instead of photo class after we had a day trip! I know these are usually on the weekends, but today was an exception. We went to Roque (about 30 minutes away) and did a ropes course. This wasn’t your average rock wall, gym type of activities. No, this was all outdoors, and you have to “climb” these obstacles and zip line your way through.
Don’t worry, you are attached to a cable the entire time, so you can’t fall anywhere. There were different levels (green, blue,
red, black). We started out with the easy ones then progressed to the black level. Before I begin to explain, let me just tell you I am a little traumatized by this. I guess this part of the course is considered a level black, so I can’t complain too much. However, there were these infamous circles. They were attached to a rope hanging from a beam.
Your goal was to balance and jump from one rope to the other. This may sound easy, but let me tell you, it was the worst! Every muscle in my body hurt, and I was flailing all over the place I was such a mess! Hah, the only good part was knowing that I struggled with my friends with me. Other than that, I loved today, especially the zip line part.
You can’t have Cádiz, without beaches right? This is easily one of my favorite parts. We had a late night beach party! Everything at night is lit up and just the sound of the waves, everything is perfect. One of the guys in our group plays guitar, so he always brings it and plays for us. There are always locals and other people our age just hanging out, so I definitely made some new friends.
This is one of those things that you have to be here for, but it’s nights like these that I will never forget: playing guitar on the beach at midnight in Spain, laughing with my friends, and having fun with the other people
around our age. What could be better than this?
Welcome to Friday, everyone! My last Friday in Cádiz!:/ When I say three weeks go by just like that, it’s an understatement. Where did time go? Today’s class was definitely the most fun! We went to another exchange class and spoke with people like us (but fluent in Spanish and learning English).
We would spend ten or so minutes talking with them
in Spanish about something and then they would talk to us in English. It was so fun talking with a native Spanish speaker and with someone who is studying English. I will admit, at times it was very hard to understand their English, but they probably thought that of my Spanish haha. I can’t remember the guy’s name, but the girl’s was Andrea. She’s 23 and is studying biology. He is 16 and wants to study medicine. This was definitely the best class by far!
My last day of photography class!:/. I can’t believe I’m saying this already! For our last the day we walked around New Cádiz (a twenty-minute walk from where I live in Old Cádiz). We just walked around today, nothing too much going on. As our last day (mine and Sophie’s), of course, we had one last photo shoot.
Sophie and I :). Unfortunately, it’s Sophie’s last day too:/.
We were both here in Cádiz for three weeks, so a mandatory picture was taken. It’s been so fun having her with me in photography and exploring the beautiful city together. We have gotten so close I am going to miss her so much!! I know we will always keep in touch, and I’m so glad I met someone like her on this amazing journey.
(Left to right: Ava, Sophie, me) What a view! We have the water and part of New Cádiz behind us. I almost forgot I had a very delicious chocolate and whip cream (data) milkshake after.
I just thought I would include this, so if nothing else, make you want to come for the amazing food.
Our last day trip! Man! seems like I’m saying that word “last” a lot. We went to Tenerife for some whale and dolphin watching! What’s a better way to start the day? It’s between Morocco, the Atlantic, and the Mediterranean. It was definitely a little chilly, so a light jacket is highly recommended. Also, if you are one of those people who get seasick easily, be sure to take whatever medicine you need to before. The boat, in my opinion, wasn’t too rocky but I know some people in our group felt sick so just be sure to plan
accordingly.
Okay, so now the fun part! Once we were out in the middle of the water we finally began to see some dolphins. I kid you not, there were at least 20 or 30 dolphins at one point.
Now that I think about it, I don’t believe we saw any whales, but hey, I still had such a blast. I loved how close we were able to get and just the whole experience in general. Plus, you know me, I got a ton of pictures!
A mama and her baby!! How adorable, right?
After we were done with our excursion, we stopped by this place called “Hurricane Hotel”. We just took an hour or so to relax and hang out by the water. The name is kind of ironic because as you can see, this place looks like anything but a hurricane. Everything here was so gorgeous and serene, it looked like a movie. All of the intricate tiles, and pretty flowers, this is my kind of spot! I’m not sure if you can see it in this picture, but there were a ton of windsurfers out on the water. I just thought this was super cool to watch.
Green, I love it! It couldn’t get any more peaceful than this.
Before dinner, I had a couple of hours to kill, so I decided to go to the market and buy some souvenirs for my family. Since my mom and I love to drink espresso together, I got her a little mug with a picture of a flamenco dancer and red flowers on it. At my dads, our fridge has magnets with all the different countries we have been, so I got him a magnet with the cathedral in the background. As for my best friend, I got her a snow globe with some of the famous places to visit in Cadiz. Of course, I can’t forget about my host mom Isabel. Even though it was simple, I bought her a bouquet of flowers with
some of her favorite colors.
(If you haven’t already, here is where you might want to grab some tissues, I know I already am). The picture above is one of my favorites. Here is where I started, and where I’m finishing: in the plaza “San Juan a Dios” (my favorite plaza by far!). This picture was taken right before dinner, and I just love the purple water from the fountain.
From left to right: Belén, Emily (our two Spanish teachers), Emily, Sophie, Me, and Eric.
My last dinner in Cádiz!:/ We went to our favorite Italian place “Usodimare” and I ordered this pizza… let me tell you, it was incredible. What a way to go out in style!!
Tonight especially, I decided to dress up a little more so that normal because it was my last night and why not? I remember first meeting everyone and it’s just so unreal to think that this is my last night. Needless to say, after dinner I was crying saying goodbye to everyone. I leave at 5 am Sunday, so I won’t be able to see anyone tomorrow. First to Belén, Emily, and Doly. Even though Belén and Emily were our teachers, we hung out with them a lot, and I easily call them my friends! They are such amazing, sweet, adorable people I will miss them soo much!! I will always remember talking about their boyfriends with them and just anything and everything else.
This is definitely a dinner, and night I will never forget.
Right before I walked to my flat, I said goodbye to Eric. I was crying so so much! He has been my best friend (along with Talia) for these past three weeks. Even though we met not too long ago, I feel like I’ve known him forever. We also did everything together and made so many inside jokes. He is so funny, caring, and such an easy person to talk to.
I always loved hanging out with him and I know we will see each other (hopefully) someday in the future. He always made me laugh, and I’m so glad I met someone like him to make my trip that much better.
Okay, so now for the part where I actually started sobbing for hours. This picture above is my absolute favorite, the most precious thing ever. It’s me and my host mom Isabel Saturday night.
She is without a doubt one of the sweetest human beings I have ever
met. Her heart is so big, and her love and smile are so infectious. I will forever and always have a special place for her in my heart. Even though my three weeks are over, she will always be a part of my life and I absolutely love her to death. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect mom to take care of me. We instantly clicked the minute we met each other, and our relationship was so close.
I consider her my second mom, and I know she considers me like her daughter. I will cherish the little moments we had together like her showing me Semana Santa, meeting her incredible family, telling her about my celebrity crushes, and going to the markets with her. She is just such an incredible woman she was my #1 favorite part about coming to Cádiz.
Time to start my day at 5 am! Oof! Luckily, I got to say bye to Isabel and my roommates one more time. My roommates were so sweet, and so much fun to always be around. I loved hearing about their hometown in Bermuda and will never forget all of the fun times we had at the beach. I will miss them like crazy, and I’m so glad I got to share this once in a lifetime experience with them. Even in general, the people I’ve met here are just so incredible it’s impossible not to basically fall in love with everyone and everything.
I know the relationships I’ve made will stick with me forever. Leaving is so bittersweet. I never want to leave Cádiz, but on the other hand, I’m excited to see my friends and family again. I definitely can’t wait to share my journey with them and tell them about all of the fun I’ve had. This is easily the best experience of my life, and I wouldn’t change this for the world!