Maisy ’26, reflects on a “glorious day in Cádiz.” In an effort to continue a fully immersive language experience, this blog post is written in both Spanish and English.
Esta mañana Vivian, Izzy, y yo fuimos a la escuela para el segundo día de clase. Juan tuvo mucho energía cuando nosotros entramos la clase. Aprendemos muchas cosas sobre las normas sociales en España. Fue muy interesante. Después de clase Vivian, Izzy, y yo fuimos a casa para comer el almuerzo. Mamá Victoria preparó un guisado con patatas y carne. Fue muy bueno. Después del descanso nosotros fuimos al actividad de la tarde.
The goal of this afternoons activity was to practice Spanish by shopping in various stores and by interviewing locals. My peers and I got to know a group of four locals that were seated on a bench near the street. When we began to ask them about the beautiful place that they call home, they were more than happy to indulge us in all the wonderful aspects of Cádiz. They went on about the beautiful beaches and weather that they are so lucky to have here. However, they were also quick to mention that beyond the physical aspects of Cádiz the people are what make this place home to them. It is clear that the true marvel in all of Cádiz is the people. Each day during school we have the opportunity to meet the youth of Cádiz and play various games with them. Not a single one of them is shy or not willing to take the time to understand our broken Spanglish. This is a true testament to the warm community that is the people of Cádiz, both young and old. Getting to immerse myself fully in the culture and experience of Cádiz by getting to know the locals has been the most rewarding part of my trip so far.
Once the afternoon activity came to an end, the entire group headed to the beach to enjoy a picnic with some students that are participating in a program similar to ours. These students are from all over the world, but most are from America. We ate dinner at the beach as we watched the sun descend towards the Atlantic. Our group began a pick-up game of fútbol and invited the other students to join. Once my team decided that we were tired of being scored on so much, we all decided to play fútbol americano (es mejor) instead. In the first play of the game Walker threw the ball, and moments later, it was picked off by Luka. ¡Bien trabajo, Luka! (He was on my team).
Football came to an end and we headed towards the ice cream shop (for maybe the 10th time since we’ve been in Cádiz). However, there were no complaints as we each licked our cones and bowls dry. Finally, we headed back home to rest for the night before indulging in another glorious day in Cádiz.
