Wow the first week was hectic, fun and exited at the same time. We started off with an introduction of spark and the Spanish classes. They told us that the classes will be completely in Spanish. That came as a big shock to me and to my fellow students. But how is that even possible, I am a complete beginner. Luckily they proved me wrong. I didn’t understand everything the teacher was saying, but I did understand most of it. By hand gestures, sounds and other explanations in Spanish you get a really fun and informative way of teaching. It is still hard work though. Especially when you participate in the work experience program. Your whole day is packed with classes, work and study. It is a good thing the Spanish people eat really late, so after the tasks are done, you can still get dinner at 11 o ‘clock.
The people in the house are really nice, same as the people who work here. They are all crazy and a lot of fun. For example, at Wednesday we had a cooking class. We made the traditional Spanish tortillas with potatoes, eggs and onions. For me, someone who doesn’t like to cook, it was really nice to cook together. After we ate the tortillas, we still had to do the dishes……Well don’t put a couple of dutch people in a kitchen with the dishes. We put on some music and to stay in the Spanish vibes we started off with a good Spanish song, conga from Gloria Estefan. Don’t ask me how we managed to finish the dishes, but during all the singing and dancing, we did.
And then it was weekend. My first day off, without having to work, study or attend classes. It was really nice to have some time to see something of the city or the beach. The weather is great in el Puerto, so going to the beach was an obvious choice. So that is where I spend most of my Saturday. Sunday I went to Cadiz. I completely fell in love with the city. From el Puerto it is half an hour by ferry. Cadiz has a lot of great restaurants, a nice botanical garden and the ocean everywhere you look. Definitely a place I will visit a lot during my stay in el Puerto.
