Midterms, Cádiz and Beyond

The Spanish school system has been a very strange and new experience. We go to classes, don't do any sort of homework or have real assignments on a regular basis. The only grades that go in the book are 2 enormous exams, a midterm and a final, and possibly an end-of-term paper. This past week was midterm week, which was kind of shocking because it means that I am over halfway through my semester! I'm not quite sure how that happened. Either way, the past few weeks have been filled with hours of studying and test taking, but thankfully they are all over and I don't think I failed anything. I did, however, manage to find some time to have some fun in between studying and took a day trip to Cádiz with my program on Sunday.

Cádiz is an extremely old city full of history (for example, it was the birthplace of the 1st liberal constitution of Spain in 1812. Thanks history class) on the Atlantic Ocean. When we got there in morning it was a little cold and a lot cloudy. We took a walking tour of the city, climbed the tower of the cathedral and stopped for fresh bread and pastries at a fantastic little bakery. By the time the tour ended we were at the ocean and the sun had come out. It was gorgeous, and the smell of salt on the air was wonderful. We walked around to find some lunch and ended up at a tiny takeout place that serves fried seafood. I have eaten more fried food in Spain than during the first 20 years of my life combined. The other night my host mom deep-fried my burrito for dinner. I just might have a heart attack before I come home, but everything tastes so good! Anyway, we ordered fried choco and french fries. Choco is fried cuttlefish, which we didn't know until after we had eaten it at restaurants a few times. It's very similar to calamari and is pretty good if you can get past the cartilage-like texture. After lunch we went to the beach, walked in the sand, dipped our feet in the (cold) ocean and soaked up as much sun as we could.

Sevilla is gearing up for Semana Santa which starts on Sunday, el Domingo de Ramos. The city is going to be totally packed with people gathering in the streets to watch the church processions, called pasos. I'll write more about it next week, but it's a huge deal in Sevilla. All classes are canceled next week so that everyone can enjoy the celebration. Even my professors are ready for a break. Today my history professor spent most of class letting us ask him questions about anything and everything - Spain, traveling, food, gardening, etc. It was greatly appreciated by all of his students who didn't want to be awake and in class at 9am.

My friend Lori and I are taking advantage of the first part of this break and taking a trip to Dublin, Ireland. We leave Friday morning and will be back in Sevilla on Tuesday to see the rest of Semana Santa. I've never been to Ireland and didn't think that I would get there this semester so I'm really excited to go!! I'll let you all know how it goes.

Besitos,
Hannah