Jerica Dry

Hello everyone! I’m sorry I haven’t updated you in awhile, but the extremely long blog that I will post after this one will make up for it. Before I post that blog, I will give you a few updates. On Sunday, November 20th Jeff Clifton (the new API director in the U.S.) came to town and 7 of the API students, myself included, went to dinner with him to tell him about API’s Cádiz program and give him some feedback. It was so wonderful to be able to brag on Juan, my family, and API in general. I would highly recommend API for anyone who is thinking about studying abroad. On Monday, November 21st, Blake Edward Morton came to see me! I flew to Madrid to meet him and I cannot put in words how much ... read more

Last week I volunteered at an after school program that is desperately in need of native English speakers to help teach young kids (ages 5-9). Students in Spain are required to take English from age 3 until they graduate high school. Unfortunately, when a native Spanish speaker tries to teach English, their strong accent masks the English vocabulary. Natalie (one of the Americans in my program) has been volunteering at this program for a few weeks. I thought it sounded great and it would give me a break from studying! The first hour was completely chaotic. Kids were running around, yelling, hitting each other, etc. I felt like I was working at a daycare again, minus the authority to tell the kids to be careful and settle down. I was a little disappointed because I desperately ... read more

Here are a few updates: I played soccer with the API group, our director Juan and a Spaniard from a town nearby, Carlos. I am proud to say that I scored twice! We played for an hour on a soccer field around the corner from my house. It was a lot more fun than I thought it would be and everyone seemed to have a fun time. I couldn’t move the next morning and I had bruises all over my shins… I hope we play again next week! I had my first (and last) experience at the movie theatre in Spain. The movie was called El piel que habito. It was directed by Pedro Almodóvar, an award winning Spaniard who is notorious for his complex and risqué plots. I have seen another one of his movies ... read more

Sunday, October 23rd, 2011 When we got back to Cádiz on the 23rd we went to La Hotel Victoria so Mom and Dad could check in and put their backpacks down. Naturally, everything except for a few restaurants was closed down because it was Sunday, but we walked around so I could show them New Cádiz. We ran into what I would consider the Spanish equivalent of tailgating. There was a Cádiz soccer game tonight so everyone was dressed in yellow and blue jerseys. We headed back towards their hotel so we could walk along the shore while the sun was setting. It was cloudy so it wasn’t the ideal day to watch the sunset, but it was still pretty. We couldn’t settle on a place to eat in new Cádiz so I suggested that we ... read more

It was 7:45 in the morning and about 40 degrees in Moneglia, so we bundled up in coats, gloves and scarves before heading to the train station. We stopped at a bakery that the cute little old lady at the front desk recommended to us to get some pastries. I wish I could find some pastries like these back in Oklahoma! We stopped at a café for some coffee and hot chocolate. It was the only café that was open before 8 in the morning. There was a group of old men who probably had breakfast at that café every morning together. I was disappointed to find that the hot chocolate was similar to the hot chocolate in Spain, which has the consistency of a melted chocolate bar and is too rich for a morning beverage. ... read more