When in Spain...do as the Spanish do

Hola amigos! Bienvenidos, otra vez, a mi blog!

 

Today marks the beginning of week four here in Salamanca. Still having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that I'm living here. I was expecting things to settle into a routine here after a week or so, but Spain continues to keep me on my toes. And I am absolutely loving every minute of it.

 

Since I last posted, the festivals of Salamanca have come and gone, we have finished our two-week crash course to Spanish culture, climbed to see more breathtaking rooftop views of Salamanca, attended a traditional bull fight, took an incredible four day trip to Ávila, Madrid, Toledo and Segovia (a separate post is coming for this trip alone), visited some of the most famous architectural and historic sites in Spain, attended our first Spanish movie (beyond mentally exhausting), sat 11th ROW at a Real Madrid soccer game and have begun classes at the local university (yes, I actually am going to school...barely). With this sheer quantity of activity comes exhaustion, but I try to remind myself daily to push through and make the most of every moment. Opportunities like these truly are once in a lifetime.

 

 Quickly approaching the one-month marker of my time here in Salamanca, the hours, days and weeks have flown by. But when I stop to reflect on my time spent here, one phrase in particular jumps out at me: an open mind. Whether it's trying a dinner course that actually scares you (pasta soaked in squid ink topped with baby eels...) or attending a bullfight, Spain reminds me daily of the benefits you can reap by approaching life with an open mind. In stepping outside your comfort zone and trying new things, I have found firsthand, that you can learn a surprising amount about yourself and the type of person you hope to one day be. Even though I may never fully understand or appreciate life the way the Spanish do, I can confidently say that I will leave this place forever changed.

Highlight reel weeks 2 and 3:

View from the apartment of the festival fireworks

Rooftop at Las Torres de la Clerecía

 View from balcony at la Clerecía

La corrida de Torros

El matador

Our view at the Real Madrid game

Cheesin' so hard because our seats were AMAZING

Another post coming soon detailing our amazing four-day trek through Castilla y León, highlights including the stops in Ávila, Madrid, Toledo and Segovia and visits to The Prado, El Palacio Real, El Alcázar and much, much more.

 "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all..."



Getting Settled In

These first few days here in Salamanca have absolutely flown by! It feels like we've been here for weeks. I'm convinced this is partly due to the fact that the Spanish day is so much longer than that of America. My family doesn't eat "la cena" (dinner) until 22:30 or 22:40 PM (still adjusting to using a 24 hour clock) every night, so there's a lot of that can be crammed into the day before dinnertime even rolls around.  And my program has done a wonderful job of doing just that. We have class everyday from 11:00-13:00 and then organized activities every afternoon.

 

Our first day here, our program directors walked us around Salamanca to help us get our bearings in our new city. All this did was pretty much just confuse me because I had missed the first big outing in Salamanca (gracias, American Airlines for the flight delay), but thanks to my madre I quickly learned how to get from my house to the Centro (where we're taking classes) and from my house to the Plaza Mayor which is pretty much the center for social gatherings here in Salamanca.

I find myself falling more and more in love with Salamanca and its culture each day. If you head to the Plaza Mayor around 7 or 8 at night, everyone, and I do mean everyone, will be there. Moms with strollers, students, pre-teens, grandparents, they're all there meeting and chatting with friends, having some tapas and a drink or just taking a stroll. The Spanish social life is centered outside of the home, in the Plaza, in bars, in the streets and the home is a much more intimate, private setting (ex: I would never invite friends from my program to come hang out at my casa). But despite the intimacy of the home life, I've had a surprisingly smooth and un-awkward transition into life with my host family. My madre and padre are wonderful people, very extroverted and love to talk. About anything and everything. This is when I knew we were going to get along :) My sister, Claudia (age 14), is pretty shy (I was too at 14) but I'm determined to become best friends with her by the end of my time here. The fact that I'm pretty sure she's scared of me is but a minor detail and will not interfere my plan to become friends. I tease her that I'm only going to speak to her in English (she takes an English class at school) and she laughs, embarrassed, and begs me not to. I'm taking the liberty to assume that this is an inside joke we share though I'm unsure if the feeling is actually mutual...baby steps, baby steps. The fourth member of my family is Chuli (pictured below). Fluffy, lovable and only understands Spanish. The only member of my family I can talk to with no fear of sounding foolish.

Chuli

 

Classes began on Monday. Snooze. But our afternoon/evening activity that day was our welcome dinner at a local restaurant where we were to sample all of the popular Salamancan dishes. And when I say all of the popular local dishes...I mean all of them. We tried literally 13 different dishes and 4 different desserts. To say we were stuffed is the understatement of the century. We washed this down with a small taste of popular liquor...the first and last time I will ever partake. My friends and I have since mastered the art of clearing your mind before taking a bite of food so that you can enjoy the dish despite its contents. Example: Morcilla. Definition: Pig's blood and rice...in sausage form. I ended up actually really liking this dish...


Friends at dinner :)

Cheers!

Since the welcome dinner, our afternoon activities have included two separate walking tours of Salamanca. We meet at 17:00 in the Plaza, the hottest part of the day (during which all of the Spanish people are observing the daily siesta...yep, everyone naps for hours every day after lunch) and go from there. So far we have visited the majority of the historical sites here in Salamanca and have learned an enormous amount of local history, thanks to our adorable tour guide, Marta.

Most of what we have seen has truly left me awestruck. The detail and craftsmanship put into these cathedrals and buildings cannot be done justice with just a photograph. And what floors me even more is the fact that these cultural wonders are scattered amidst bars, boutiques and convenience stores. Juxtaposition is everywhere and I'm loving it. Nerd alert.

The Catedral Nueva has probably been my favorite site so far. We got to climb up into the towers and get a rooftop view of Salamanca. Amazing.

Here are a few of my favs:

La Catedral Nueva
 

View from the front steps of the Catedral

 

 

 View from the top

 

Another rooftop view

 

A closing thought:

 

"Travel is rebellion in its purest form

We follow our hearts

We free ourselves of labels

We lose control willingly

We trade a role for reality

We love the unfamiliar

We trust strangers

We own only what we can carry

We search for better questions, not answers

We truly graduate

We, sometimes, choose never to come back."

 

Until next time, my friends. Tchau.