After a weekend in London (a smooth transition into Europe, sans language-barrier), the 28 of us in the group headed to Salamanca, Spain: our home for the next four and a half months. I had no idea what to expect. It wasn't until the bus ride from Madrid to Salamanca that our resident director, Gaye, told each of us which family we would be living with. Gaye took my map of Salamanca, wrote, "Lourdes Martín," and circled the apartment's location. "Ookay..." I thought. No backing out now.
Our "new" families awaited us as we got off the bus. I was greeted by a fifty-something-year-old woman who kissed me on each cheek (not quite the American handshake) and wasted no time acclimating my ear to rapid-paced Spanish. My señora, Lourdes, (pronounced "Lure-dace") and her son, Ángel,(pronounced "On hell"...how ironic) brought my roommate and me to our new home: an apartment on the eighth floor. As we settled into our room, Lourdes prepared paella, a typical Spanish dish with saffron rice, chicken, and vegetables. My anxiety lessened as I knew I'd be in for a treat (at least food-wise) for the semester.
The next day, Lourdes called us for "desayuno" (breakfast). A typical breakfast consists of toast, fruit, and coffee with warm milk. Nothing is on-the-go here. We sit down for breakfast every morning which has been a welcomed change from my daily grab-the-yogurt-and-go morning ritual back home. After taking a placement test and exploring a bit, my roommate and I walked home for "comida" (lunch--the biggest meal of the day in Spain). Comida is usually around 2:30-3:00 pm. All of the stores, restaurants, and schools close from about 2:30-4:00 pm every day. Everyone returns home to eat and relax, as comida is followed by siesta -- a socially-acceptable mid-day nap! Needless to say, I have embraced the Spanish routine wholeheartedly.
Our orientation course, an "intensive language class," took place for the next two weeks. The five-hour course, broken up into language, conversation, culture, and art sections, was somewhat draining, but it helped us adjust to communicating in Spanish (plus, we earned three credits in two weeks, so I really shouldn't complain!)
Here are a few pictures of Salamanca, with many more to come:
(Click to make the images larger).
Living / dining room in the homestay
(This is where we eat all of our meals; the kitchen is Lourdes' domain!)
A typical breakfast. The oranges here are to-die-for.
One of the many churches in Salamanca
Inside the New Cathedral (Catedral Nueva)
One of the university buildings.
(Note the skull with the frog on its head; apparently if you can spot the frog, you will have good luck).
Shell House (Casa de las Conchas)
The exterior features one shell for each day of the year. The interior houses a library.
Typical streets in Salamanca
The Plaza Mayor (center of Salamanca) during the day
(I hate to brag, but it has been in the upper 50s-low 60s here lately! Note all the people gathering outside in February!)
The Plaza Mayor at night! This is where everyone gathers to go out.
More on Salamanca later!
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