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.
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
Friends at dinner :)
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.
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