My First All Nighter in Spain

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Due to the fact that I found a cockroach in my bed, I am attempting to pull an all-nighter so that I can sit safely on this stool, which has become my fortress of safety. I will update you on the yesterday and today. Last night I went to a bar called Woodstock with some friends from school. It was pretty low key, we were getting to know someone new who just came to Cadiz yesterday from Mexico. She said she was having a difficult time understanding the accent here. We didn't stay out too late (at least not by Spanish standards), we got home around 1:30 in the morning. Our host brother and sister usually don't get in until 7 in the morning!

I went and had breakfast with Devin and Hayley this morning in the plaza closest to my house. A yummy postre with some cafe con leche is a great way to start off the day. We talked for a couple of hours and then I headed back to the house to work on some homework. At 2:30 we had lunch, but it was special today because the entire family ate together upstairs, whereas it is usually just Jesus, Milagros, Hayley, Adrian and I. Josefa (the mother of our host mother, Milagros) cooked something called pushera. Unfortunately, for the first 20 minutes we couldn't converse with anyone because, Milagros' 3 year old son was screaming and having one of his usual tantrums. Eventually, they took him out of the room so we were all able to relax a little. The meal is served in courses and starts with a tasty liquid mixed with white rice, garbanzo beans and carrots. After you finish the first course, you take a little sample of each meat (roast, chicken, cured ham, and lamb) and you put it in the bowl that the soup was in so that you can use the left over juice. Instead of eating the meat with a utensil however, you are suppose to use pieces of bread to soak up the leftover juice from the soup and the pick up little pieces of meat. The meats have been soaked in water for days so it is tender and pulls apart when you press down on it with the bread. The final course is a delicious green melon, which they said was cantaloupe.It tasted pretty close to the orange cantaloupe at home. They have green oranges here too instead of orange ones... peculiar.

After lunch, we all sat around the table and talked about various things. Josefa had us try a little bit of a liquor that we don't have in the United States. It tasted like black liquorish. I think my dad would like it. Milagros said that people normally mix it with coke, but Josefa said she likes to drink it straight in the winter to warm her up. The time we spent with the family meant a lot to me because it is the first time we have really been able to talk to our host brothers and sister for longer than a few minutes. Tomorrow night Josefa is teaching Hayley and I to make tortilla con patatas which is our favorite dish so far in Spain. I can't wait to make it for my family back at home!

After lunch I went for a walk with some friends. Most of the stores and market places are closed down on Saturday afternoon/evening and all day Sunday, but there are still a lot of people out and about at the cafes and in the plazas. The weather was a little warm in the afternoon, but it cooled down later on and by nightfall the temperature was perfect.

Hayley, Brian, Natalie, Devin and I met for dinner around 8:30. We decided to go to Menoc Donalds, because someone was craving burgers and pizza. I had vegetable pizza, which was topped with corn, white asparagus and mushrooms. I was very pleased with my selection. We weren't quite ready to call it a night, so we walked across town to Foster's for a milkshake. The milkshakes turned out to be a disappointment, but we stayed there for over three hours just talking about random stuff and telling funny stories. It was one of those nights that ended with us laughing so hard that we were in tears. I am thrilled to have such great friends in Cadiz. We have only known each other about a month now, but I feel like I have known these people for ever. We are all so different and yet we have so much in common.

I am planning to go to the beach early so I can sleep there until lunch to make up for not sleeping tonight. After lunch I will probably study for a couple of hours and hopefully Skype with Rodney and Melina at some point. It should be a pretty good day!

The most important thing that I would like to announce is: CONGRATULATIONS to Morgan Maria Dry who was the Grand Champion at her karate tournament today!!!! She took first place in every event, including forms, sparring, and weapons. I am so proud of her and even though I couldn't be there to cheer her on in person, she was in my thoughts all day.

Besos y abrazos (kisses and hugs)

Jerica

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