No Puedes Imaginarte Lo Loca Que Es Mi Familia Gaditano <3

---

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 20^th 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 21^st, Blake Edward Morton came to see me! I flew to Madrid to meet him and I cannot put in words how much I appreciate him coming all this way to see me and how I live. He has been so supportive of me throughout this whole experience and I didn’t even skip class while he was here! I won’t elaborate anymore on his time here though, because he wrote all about it and I will post it in a separate blog.

When he left on Tuesday, November 29^th it was extremely difficult. The second goodbye was even harder than the first goodbye back in August! That being said, I never take for granted what little time I have here and I have not and will not waste it pining away for my boyfriend or being homesick. I worked so incredibly hard to get here and I do my best to live life to the fullest here each and every day.

My roommate is out of town visiting a friend, so this weekend I got to spend some great one on one time with my family. Two nights ago I helped Milagros set up the Christmas tree and decorations, which meant the world to me because that is something I enjoy doing with my family back at home. When we were done, Josefa came downstairs and spent a couple of hours with Milagros, Jesus, Adrian and I. She played some typical Gaditano Christmas songs for me and sang them with vigor. She is a true joy to be around.

The next day I took a few study breaks and went upstairs to spend some time with Josefa, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I ended up having dinner upstairs with Julia (the student from Brazil), Josefa, and Josefa’s husband, Pedro. She made my favorite dish, tortilla de patatas, and we had a nice dinner. I haven’t had a lot of opportunity to spend time with Pedro, and it is a shame because he is a wonderful person to talk to. After dinner, I stayed at the table and talked with Josefa and Pedro about various things, one of which was very touching. They told me that I am part of the family and that I am welcome to come and stay with them any time I want for as long as I want. They said they would do anything for me and that they know I would do the same for them, which is what makes us family. Tuesday she is going to teach me to make some typical Spanish Christmas desserts. I cannot tell you how much I am going to miss my Cádiz family. I am truly blessed to be a part of such a wonderful family. I will ball like a baby when I have to leave them on the 22^nd.

Speaking of family, I could not be prouder of my Cowboys back home, GO POKES! I celebrated last night in their honor with Mo and Paco. Paco is one of Josefa’s former students who comes and stays with the family whenever he can. He is from Washington and after studying abroad here in Cádiz, he got a job in Lagos, Portugal at a hostel. More recently, he got a job teaching English here in Cádiz! I had an absolute blast, and Mo was excited that I finally decided to go out instead of study. We danced and I got to meet a lot of new people because Mo apparently knows and is known by everyone in Cádiz. We didn’t even have to pay to get into la Punta! It was great having Mo as a bodyguard too. Between him and some classmates that I ran into, I was well taken care of and rescued when the creepers tried to dance with me. We got home this morning around 9 and my incredible night was taken to a whole new level when I saw the final score of the Bedlam game!

Tuesday and Thursday are holidays so I won’t have class. I have my first final on Friday, which is the written and audio portion of my Spanish grammar course. I will let you guys know how it goes! Have a great week!

---