Cádiz, España. Mi nueva casa para el próximo cinco meses. I love it here, although getting here was absurd and ridiculous. Let me give you a tastey-taste of just how ridiculous getting here was. I left Thursday, Jan 8th at 6:40pm from Seattle. I almost missed boarding because there was a back up in the security line. I have to go through the section where I don’t enter a metal detector because it can render the devise in my heart useless or possibly set it off… Some crazy old lady decided to pack a whole bunch of contraband in her carry on and so all the security agents were preoccupied with her. Then some old maid from London cut in front of me… what was a supposed to do, argue with an elder in a wheelchair? When I finally got frisked I had like 15 minutes to get to my plane and the lady who was working with me did her job too well. I actually had to take things off; usually it’s a joke. I had to run to my gate (definition here is an actual sprint and not a brisk walk, fyi). No sleep on the plane because I sat in the section where this poor baby kept waking up screaming (like horrific, blood curdling screams… it was disturbing). The next plane to Madrid gets cancelled because the Madrid airport shut down due to snow. I spent the night in London-Heathrow airport with my friend Sarah. It was cold, we were homeless (actually broke into a restaurant seating area to sleep on booths and got kicked out the next morning, haha). Saturday, upon arriving in the Madrid airport, some lady put her hand on my bag (the pocket with my passport) and tried to steal something. I FLIPPED OUT. I had to stand in a two hour line at the Iberia airline counter, which turns out to be the K-Mart or airlines, just to pick up a boarding pass. While standing in line, a little riot happens and all of the sudden there are Spanish police running past me and people are yelling, “Rebeldes!” People over here are very angry with Iberia airlines because they are on strike, and none of the planes are leaving the airport. The shutdown due to the snow only added to the problem. Long story short, I didn’t get on my plane until late and we arrived in Jerez at about 10:45pm. Then I was informed that my luggage didn’t arrive and that the ATM in Jerez airport wasn’t working. So, no money and no clothes. I got to my street at about 11:30pm and the taxi driver left me without helping me find my apartment number… oh and ps- I live in the Rainier Beach of Cadiz, hahaha. Suits me well.
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Viernes, 16 de Enero (Friday)
So, it’s almost been a week that I’ve been here and I absolutely love it. I went to the University to search for classes I want to take this quarter – that was a challenge because teachers don’t want students who come into classes halfway through the year, so I have to find second semester classes. On my walk today I came across this old castle situated out in the ocean that has a little cobblestone path to it; it was a place where sailors were detained after returning from sea for fear of contaminating the city. Anyhow, I spent a while talking to some of the fishermen before returning home.
Oh and Ps, I’m sick. Everyone is. And their version of “airborne” sucks, I want a refund, hahaha.
I’m excited because this weekend is a huge party, the pre-party to “CARNAVAL.” Carnaval is a celebration that last a few days to a week and takes place just before Lent. It’s a big deal in Spain. So at this “pre-Carnaval” celebration, there will be music and dancing all weekend…. My host sister, Amparo, was telling me about it Wednesday.