Cáceres

It’s hard to believe that just over three weeks have passed since I left the city of Cáceres. As I reflect on my time there, I already have feelings of nostalgia welling up inside as I would love to be there for just a little while longer. It feels like just yesterday I was sitting at O’Hare International Airport waiting my turn to board the large Airbus headed to Madrid.

Arriving in Madrid, our group took a bus from Madrid to Cáceres. After a 9-hour flight and a 3-hour bus ride, I was feeling very exhausted, but the day had just started. I first met up with my host family at the bus Station in Cáceres and they took me to their place to eat and clean up. We soon thereafter headed to the old part of the city where the festival, WOMAD, was taking place at the time. We started at the Plaza Mayor where the majority of the music and festivities were taking place. As you walk down the street, facing the plaza, there are a multitude of bars, sandwich shops, and ice cream shops where you can sit down and take in the beautiful contrast between the various different styles of architecture ranging mostly between the 12th and 17th centuries. It is incredible to walk through the narrow streets of the older part of Cáceres and to think about all of the history and different cultures that have influenced the development of this city. There are a variety of homes, churches, and palaces in the many different plazas that make up a very unique and beautiful scene.

The old part of Cáceres is only one region of a more modern and well-developed city. Lining the center of the city is a long and quaint park called “el Paseo de Cánovas”. In the middle of a largely urban setting, it is very calming to take a walk through this park or to just sit and take in the beautiful picture; trees that line both sides of the park that provide shade on an extremely sunny day, while a variety of different stands selling anything from newspapers to ice cream are available to check out; there are also a few fountains, as well as an uplifted stage where, during various festivals, an orchestra might be found. As you go out further away from the center of the city, you will find the city to be quite modern with all of the apartments, restaurants, mini malls, supermarkets, and recreational facilities; the University of Extremadura, where we studied, is also located towards the outskirts of the city. Cáceres is a fairly mountainous region and you will find that there are many streets going upward and downward; it is also not laid out on a grid like many large American cities which gives the city a very unique and individual atmosphere.

These few words and descriptions can not do it justice. I would hope that anyone who might consider this program would actually make the conscious decision to go through with it. To get outside of the United States and live life in a different place and culture is a very eye- opening opportunity. I would go again in a heartbeat; it was worth every dollar spent as it is an unforgettable experience.

- Andrew Blank