La primera semana: ¡He sobrevivido!

¡Hola a todos!

I cannot believe that by this time tomorrow I will have been in Spain for a whole week! On the one hand, the week has gone by incredibly fast, as I have been extremely busy with orientation and intensive Spanish classes every day. But on the other hand, I feel like I’ve been here for several weeks already because I’ve had to adjust to so much in such a short time. To put it simply, I LOVE IT HERE. Salamanca is an amazing, beautiful city, a strange mix of a big city with a small town. It’s so lively and colorful and the pace of life is much more relaxed than in the US. Every day here feels like several days, especially because the Spaniards don’t eat dinner until 9 or 10 in the evening. That means that socializing doesn’t even start until around 11 or 12, and can continue well into the early hours of the morning. You can also be late to everything here, and no one cares. This is one thing I especially adore about the Spanish culture, since punctuality is not my forte.

Anyway, I left for Spain on Saturday, August 29, after three days of goodbyes in Gettysburg and Lancaster. I spent a few days at school visiting with all of my friends, and then spent Friday and Saturday with my family and one of my best friends. My family drove me to the airport Saturday afternoon, got me to the security gate, and then they had to leave since they weren’t allowed to go any further. I said goodbye to them there and managed to navigate the rest of the airport alone--I was quite impressed with myself. I loved the feeling of being on my own and getting myself where I needed to go. After a rather long flight with an hour delay and a seat-mate who spoke VERY fast and confusing Spanish, I arrived at the Barajas International Airport in Madrid, where I met up at the Punto de Encuentro with the other IES Abroad program students. There, I met my roommate, Kelley, and a lot of other people who have quickly become my friends.

After a two-hour bus ride to Salamanca, Kelley and I met our host mom, Esperanza Calvo Curto. She is possibly the sweetest woman in the entire world. She treats us like her own children and calls us niñas, or little girls. She takes such good care of us, and I am so blessed to have her as a host mom and Kelley as a roommate. Having a real home here has made the adjustment so much easier, and having Kelley to go through the first week with really helped, too.

This week, we had a lot of orientation sessions, where we talked about culture shock, cultural differences, and other practicalities of living in Spain for a semester. We also had intensive Spanish classes for four hours every day, which is very tiring when you’re already jet-lagged. I’ve also been busy discovering the nightlife that Salamanca is so famous for. Every night, the fabulous Plaza Mayor (basically the city centre) is crowded with people who sit at the tables lining all four sides of the square talking and eating for hours. There are also a lot of great bars and discotecas around. The Plaza is by far my favorite part of the city. At night, it’s all lit up and brilliant. There is often a band playing. For example, last night I had helado chocolate (the most delicious chocolate ice cream I have ever eaten) in the Plaza with my friends Andrea and Elizabeth, while a Flamenco band played in front of the brightly-lit Plaza. There truly is no place in the entire world that is more beautiful than the Plaza Mayor at night.

Today, our program went on an excursion to Segovia, a small city about two hours away from Salamanca. There, we saw el acueducto romano (roman aqueduct) as well as el Alcázar, the castle that inspired Walt Disney’s Cinderella castle. I’ve taken about a million photos of Spain so far, and today was no exception. Expect to see pictures on Facebook soon! Now, I’m getting ready to go out with some friends, because it is the first night of Feria--basically, a whole week of fiestas in celebration of Salamanca’s patron saint. We arrived just in time! There are casetas (temporary bars) set up all over town, especially near the Plaza, and people everywhere, as well as lots of good music and food.

I apologize for the rambling post. So much has happened this week that it’s really difficult to know what to write about. The bottom line is, if you ever have a chance to visit Spain, you absolutely must! It is a beautiful, culturally-rich country, and it’s even better than I ever imagined it could be.

¡Hasta luego amigos!

Algunas fotos de la Plaza Mayor: