Recap: Saturday in Córdoba and Cádiz

Yesterday morning we departed at 8 A.M. on a 4-hour bus ride to Córdoba, a third ancient city in Spain.  Like the other two cities, this one had incredible views and a beautiful cathedral (anyone seeing the recurring theme here?).  The city also had very narrow cobblestone streets and buildings close together with pretty balconies with flower pots; it is just how I pictured a typical European city to be.  We ate lunch at a table that fit all 33 of us in a very nice restaurant.  I had my first paella (Spanish rice dish) in Spain and it was delicious.  After walking around a bit, it was time to depart for Cádiz!

The bus ride from Córdoba to Cádiz was about 2.5 hours.  As our bus pulled up to the plaza in the center of town, we saw a bunch of women standing together, waiting for us to arrive.  They were our host families!  We instantly became incredibly nervous and excited at the same time.  What would they be like?  Would they speak any English?  Would they like us?  Which ones were ours?  It was a bit chaotic, to be honest.

We stepped off the bus and our professor began matching us up with our families.  When Minn (my roommate) and I were called, we met our host mom, Charo, who greeted us with a kiss on both cheeks (such a commonality over here, so it was great that we nailed it).  She had a big smile on her face and was extremely friendly so we knew that was a great sign.  She brought us over to a waiting taxi and off we went to our new home.

This might be a good point to mention that one of the first things that Charo said to us was that she speaks no  English whatsoever.  What great practice we will have with our Spanish speaking skills!

It turns out that the house is located right in the heart of the city of Cádiz!  It is a 10-minute walk from the University and a 10-minute walk from the beach.  The house is on the 2nd floor of an apartment-type building (very different from those in the U.S.) and has one floor with a bunch of different rooms.  Upon our arrival, Charo introduced us to her husband, Pepe.  They are the nicest people!  They are a little older, probably in their early 60s, and have a 40-year-old married son who no longer lives with them. They gave each of us a set of keys to the house and showed us to our room and around the rest of the house.  The walls of the house are covered by neat old photos and knick-knacks.  It blows my mind how similar that this house on the other side of the world can be to my own home.  

Charo had different colored towels laid out for each of us on our beds and hampers set up side by side.  She and Pepe showed us how to turn on the hot water heater before we take showers; this is done using a lighter.  What a foreign concept to us!  

We presented Charo and Pepe with the gifts that we had brought for them: salt water taffy (straight from The Fudge Kitchen, of course), a cookbook of classic American recipes in English and Spanish, and perfume.  They appreciated the gifts very much.  

Charo asked us what time we wanted to eat dinner, so we settled on 9:00.  The interesting thing is that meals in Spain are totally different from those in America.  They eat a very light breakfast in the morning and then don't usually eat lunch until 2 in the afternoon.  Lunch is the biggest meal and often consists of several courses.  Dinner is not until 8 or 9 P.M. and is not usually as big as lunch.  So although 9:00 sounds late, it was not out of the norm for Spaniards.

We unpacked our suitcases and then ate dinner while chatting with Pepe and Charo.  They are fairly easy to understand and are very helpful when speaking with us.  Pepe has a great sense of humor and always makes us laugh.  Charo is very sweet and a wonderful cook!

After dinner we took advantage of the house's Wi-Fi to catch up on our email and such.  We are so blessed to have been taken in by such a kind, loving, and generous family!