Grace de la Frontera

Domingo,
Since arriving in Spain on Thursday night I have woken up at 5 in the morning each day and been unable to return to sleep.
As was to be expected today i woke up at 5:04 am and yet I was able to go to sleep again till 9 am. This is just one example
of how I am already adjusting to living here. A large part of me is just impatiently waiting until I am totally adjusted to
life here and will not have to be guessing and feeling awkward all the time, yet I keep reminding myself to realize every moment
as it comes and enjoy it for what it is. I know that even in just a month I will look back and wonder at how I saw everything
around me at first and how different it all appears now, so I am attempting to enjoy the honeymoon stage of adjustment while it
is here. After attending Catholic church with my family here and learning what it really means that Spain is a catholic country,
here in Jerez there is little else except Catholic churches, I took a rest acquainting myself with Spain's local t.v. network
then I took a half hour walk to downtown Jerez. I wondered the almost empty streets for about 45 more minutes then sat at a bar
under an umbrella and sketched some architecture for awhile. As was to be expected I had a couple of whistles and some heads turn
in cars, but really little other interaction with other people. One lady was attempting to move her chair past my table and she asked
me to move the chair next to me a little back in Spanish then followed the request with the comment, "If you can understand what I am saying to you"
as I was in the middle of politely telling her that she could take the chair next to me, the one blocking her way, I just moved the chair back and
did not comment in return. I ordered a cerveza and received a pale beer that tasted European. What does European taste like, I am not sure I
can describe it exactly, I just thought when I took the first sip that it reminded me of some pale ales I had in London and that it was
light and refreshing in the afternoon heat. All the shops I passed through downtown where closed because it is Sunday, but I appreciated this
as it prevented me from indulging my recently acquired shopping addiction. Since all the shops where closed I had time to think through
what I would want to buy and decided that I am only going to buy things when I realize a need for them. An example of this is that I did not
bring a small purse/bag to carry around day to day, therefore my next shopping project will be to find the perfect purse...