Thursday, June 16

So far this trip has been a whirlwind of experiences. I feel like we’ve been here for months, but also feel like time is flying by. In my opinion, today was the best day yet. The theme of the day was sports in Cádiz, so our day revolved around physical activity and competition. We started the day in school learning about sports in Cádiz and Spain in general. We learned that in Spain, there are two tiers of sports: fútbol, and everything else. We then created our own sports, baloncerdo (hog ball, created by Zach Milton) and juamani, by Ahmed, Tyler Wolfe, and John and got the chance to play them in the school yard.

In the afternoon, we took in surf lessons. We have one real surfer on the trip, Carson Straub, who could have given the lessons himself. However, before the lessons, unnamed culprits began to doubt Carson’s skills when he said, “I don’t know, these waves aren’t that great. I’m not sure I’ll be able to do much.” These doubts were quickly put to rest. Other highlights included nice rides by Will Connaughton, John Philippides, and Evan Lim. Following the surfing, 9 of us took on some students from our school, Colegio San Felipe Neri, in a “friendly” game of basketball. The Spainards could not handle our 1-3-1 trap defense called “Rat”, and we handled them pretty easily.

I believe my Spanish has progressed immensely during this trip. At the beginning, I could understand the Gaditanos pretty well, but had a harder time saying what I intended to say. Now, I find myself speaking with more ease and flow than before, and much of this credit can be given to my host family. They are extremely helpful and understanding, as they take in students all the time from around the world. I’ve become good friends with my three brothers, Melchor, Ezequiel, and David, and even have a little secret handshake with the youngest, David. Overall, this trip has been the best experience of my life, and there are still two weeks left. I can’t wait to see what the final weeks have in store for my classmates and me.