Instead of attending our usual classes this morning, we met at the Plaza de Mina, home of the Museum of Cádiz, where we would spend our morning learning about the role that the ancient city of Cádiz has played throughout history. As you may have gathered from some of my classmates previous blog posts, it just wouldn’t feel like a typical day in Cádiz if at least one person wasn’t fashionably late, really late, or lost. On that front today did not disappoint: we began the day two men down, as two unnamed boys must have missed the memo that classes weren’t taking place at San Felipe Neri today.
Once everyone was accounted for, we made our way to the museum. As you can imagine, it can be somewhat overwhelming to be thrown into such an incredible museum with no background information. To combat this, our amazing Spanish teachers, Laura, Elena, José, and Juan, created worksheets that served as a guide to help us understand the major ideas and guide us through the museum. Most of the work we have done in class has not been grueling assignments or assessments, but rather discussions regarding Spanish culture or worksheets that provide background information about places we will visit. In this way, our time at the San Felipe Neri School has allowed us to get the most out of our various activities and day trips.
The museum itself was phenomenal, packed with paintings and artifacts from the Phoenician, Roman, Arab, and medieval Spanish cultures. Pictured below are two Phoenician caskets which were recovered in the province of Cádiz in the 19th century, a Roman statue, an ancient sun dial that is still in the restoration process, and just a few of my favorites from the myriad of paintings.
We then headed home briefly for lunch and a quick siesta, and then it was time for our afternoon activity: a ceramics workshop. Upon arrival, we were greeted by our instructor, but surprisingly she just handed us clay and told us to begin. This turned out to be representative of the activity as a whole, as we simply worked with our hands and taught ourselves what worked and what didn’t (with a few tips along the way from the instructor). At the end of the day, there were some amazing works created, and I think that everybody surprised themselves a little bit with the quality of their work.
When we finished the ceramics activity, we then had a couple hours of free time before we had to be home for dinner. The free time we have had throughout the trip has been some of the most enjoyable time we’ve spent together. Whether it was spent playing soccer, football, or Spikeball on the beach, going for a swim, playing a relaxing game of Uno or Texas Hold ’em (today we all pitched in a few euros to buy an enormous bag of smarties to use as poker chips), or visiting the shops in the streets of Cádiz, it has all been a blast and we have all created some great memories.
After our time at the beach, I returned home to my family for dinner. At this point in the trip, I have developed a great relationship with my Spanish Mom, Maria Jesús, and her husband, Benito (Benny). They truly treat me like I’m their own son, and have done everything in their power to make my experience in Cádiz the best it can be. They are both fantastic cooks, which has made one of the more difficult cultural shifts (food here is very different) a little bit easier for me. While it was a little difficult for me to have meaningful conversations with them at the beginning of the trip, my Spanish has progressed so much as a result of this trip, and I now am able to be part of their conversations without needing them to repeat things or slow down. While it may sound cliché, when I walk in the door and sit down on the couch to watch the nightly Eurocup soccer game with my family, I truly feel like I’m at home.
Zach Milton
Roxbury Latin Abroad 2016: Cadiz, Spain 