My Little Corner of the World

Hello everyone!

I have officially been in Spain for over a month! I cannot believe it! It feels like just yesterday I was sitting at the Off-Campus Studies office in Gettysburg trying to decide where I should study. Good news: I made the right decision. After just a month, I already feel so attached to this city. I know I’ll miss it when I leave, and I know I’ll come back to visit someday.

Last Friday, I started my English teaching internship. I help to teach English at a school called Las Siervas de San José. It’s an escuela concertada (concerted school), which basically means that it’s a mix between a public and a private school. In the past, it was a private Catholic school, but now it receives money from the government. In spite of this, it still has a strong Catholic affiliation. For example, the teacher prays every morning before class starts. Anyway, I really love the internship. The kids are wonderful! They range in age from 11 to 16. There are several different age groups depending on language level. I’m planning to make up some lessons about cultural stuff from the US that they’d be interested in, and possibly some anti-bullying lessons that I’ve used in the past for SARA in Gettysburg. Also, we’re going to have a Halloween party for the kids. The teacher asked me to find some scary stories that I can read to them in English. I’m planning to talk about some Gettysburg ghosts! J

In other news, some friends and I found this really amazing spot where you can watch the sunset over the whole city. It’s absolutely beautiful. The other night, when we all reached the end of our ropes with non-American food, we bought some McDonald’s and ate it while watching the sunset. Classy, I know.

On Saturday, my program had an excursion to Picadero Valverde, a horseback riding ranch about 20 minutes outside Salamanca. We rode for about an hour and a half and I have a WONDERFUL time! I got to do my favorite thing in the whole world in SPAIN!

On Sunday, I went to mass at La Pastoral Universitaria, a Catholic church for university students in Salamanca. (There are 2 big universities here: Universidad de Salamanca, the public university, and Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca). Although I don’t usually enjoy Catholic services that much, I’m always up for anything that lets me practice my Spanish, and this service was surprisingly lively for a Catholic church. Afterwards, I got to meet Nacho, a Spanish friend of my friend Andrea, and some of his friends.

Andrea and I recently made a deal that we have to speak Spanish whenever we hang out. We both felt that we’d been speaking way too much English, but we came here to learn Spanish. It’s so easy to be lazy and speak English since most of the people you make friends with here are other Americans in your program, but I don’t want to look back on this and regret not taking advantage of the opportunity to learn Spanish. In just a few days, I feel like my Spanish is already improving. Speaking in Spanish during the day makes it a lot easier to talk with Esperanza when I come home, because my brain is already in Spanish mode.

This weekend, my program is going on a trip to Andalucía in southern Spain! We’re going to see two amazing cities: Sevilla and Granada. Two of my friends from Gettysburg studied in Sevilla last year, so I have a lengthy list of recommendations for restaurants, shopping, etc. Then, the next weekend, Andrea and Sarah and I are planning a day-trip to Madrid to explore the city since it’s only a short bus ride away.

I’ll try to update again after my trip this weekend! Love and miss you all!

"Come along with me to my little corner of the world. Dream a little dream in my little corner of the world. You'll soon forget that there's any other place..."