en cádiz:

hello, faithful readers! i´m sorry that it has taken me so long to type up another blog. since arriving in spain, it has been go! go! go!, and internet access points have been few, far between, and open at really weird hours. but i´m safe, so don´t worry any longer.

i arrived in madrid on wednesday at two o´clock after delayed flights from houston to newark and newark to madrid. we spent three-ish days in the city, sight-seeing and sleeping off the jet lag. the weather in madrid was very cold and very wet; my classmates and i didn´t pack for these weather conditions (cádiz is supposed to be hot and dry), so we were all a little bit miserable, whining and staying inside as much as possible and wearing the same (wet, dirty, and smoky) clothes day after day. it wasn´t the best first impression, but we did see some interesting sights: el palacio real, el museo prado, la plaza mayor, etc.

on saturday we took a big bus down to cádiz. since arriving, i have: met my host family, experienced some culture-shock, eaten a lot of bread, attended a few meetings, gone to my first day of classes, spent two days on the beach, and made a lot of new friends. i´m in love with the city. it´s old and adorable; the streets are narrow, there are beaches everywhere, and the water is beautiful and blue. i have found it to be completely different than what i expected, in the best way possible. the only problem that i have is with my host family, but i am going to move to a different house tomorrow to avoid more awkwardness, and then everything will be much, much better.

right now in cádiz, it´s 8:15 p.m. the sun is still shining and it´s warm with a nice breeze. i have to ride the bus back to my apartment to shower and dine (cenar!), and perhaps do some homework. i have a cell phone. the number is 034 651 752 282. call if you are worried or excited or willing to spend quite a bit on international minutes.

so, that´s all for now. a fairly up-to-date account of my trip thus far. more to come later. i promise that it won´t be so belated next time. te amo!