After finally arriving in Salamanca the night prior I met my host señora. Her name is Ceferina. She lives in an apartment off of one of the busier streets in Salamanca. Pa de Estación. Pedro, the liaison for our program dropped me off and took me up to her apartment. She is very nice and generous. She mostly stays in her apartment the entire day because she has a bad hip. When I first got in she talked to me and grabbed me a glass of water. She speaks very fast and sometimes I can’t keep up. I have gotten very good at smiling and saying si and laughing when she starts to laugh because apparently what she says is funny. Haha. I know she knows I don’t understand all of what she is saying but I usually get the general idea and she is very nice about repeating things when I don’t understand. This was a huge relief, having a nice person to stay with, because it was my biggest fear that I would be one of those horror stories you here about when someone stays with a host family and they never get fed. It is quite the opposite here. Last night when she was making me dinner she kept cooking more and more. I felt bad I couldn’t eat it all but she said don’t worry about it she makes a lot and eats leftovers. I still don’t want to be rude so I eat as much as I can…looks like I won’t be staying skinny on this trip. Oh yeah I forgot. The food so far is good. My señora really likes to splatter anything with salt and olive oil but other than that I can’t complain.After dinner I passed out due to extreme exhaustion.
This morning I woke up early so I had time to walk to the university. Another student from Colorado College is staying here also but her program ends in a week. She is very nice and helped show me to my class. It was nice to speak a little English after all the Spanish I did not understand the night before. Once I got to the university we had a orientation from a representative of the university and then from Pedro and our program director, Carlos. I love Pedro. He is so funny and really easy to talk to. He is from the Andalucía region which is where Seville and Granada are located.
We got information about class and about the excursions we can take for free and the ones we can pay extra for on the weekends. We have to let them know which ones we would like to go on by Friday. There is a extra excursion to Andalucía that is 180 euros for the whole weekend. I think I may do that one or the one to Portugal because it would be easier to go there when someone else has organized it all for you.
At orientation I met a lot of friendly people from U of M. I love making new friends so this whole trip is great because I only know Megan and a few other people. There is probably about 60 of us from U of M, all at different levels of Spanish. This week we are split up into different practicums that we signed up for. Mine is about the Spanish student versus the American student. So I will be taking that course for just this week from 11-1. So I get to sleep in! yay!
Today in class we discussed characteristics of our high schools and early education. After our teacher Carla took us around important buildings o the University. The entire network of buildings for the university is spread all across Salamanca. She took us to the oldest buildings were the founders taught many of their classes. She also told us some interesting facts about the university. It is the oldest university in Spain. When founded classes we held in the cathedral. We got to see the cathedral where the classes were taught and other buildings that were there since the 13th century!! The buildings were absolutely gorgeous! The ceilings had intricate designs and the outside had sculptures across the top and sides. I am in awe of my surroundings. Even the side streets are beautiful. Parks pop up randomly when you turn a corner and all the balconies are covered with flowers. I love it here already and still can’t believe this is all happening to me.
Today after class I walked around with some new friends and got a small pay as you go phone so it is easier to communicate with the other students. It is amazing how accessible cell phones are now. I paid less than $50 for a phone and some starting minutes. After getting my phone I came back to the apartment and had lunch with my señora and the other student, Sarah.
I just discovered that there is Internet nearby that I can hack into which I am very thankful for. It allows me now to be more up to date on my blog posts and also I can talk more to my family, which I miss and think a lot because a lot of the things in this city remind me of them. I know my mom would die if she saw the buildings and I can just imagine her spending hours in the Plaza Mayor. J
After this I need to do my homework :p, which actually isn’t too bad. I have to interview my host family about their past history with education then write up a paragraph about it. Once I have finished that I am going to meet up with some students and head back downtown, which fortunately is only about 10 minutes away. At 8 all of us are meeting Pedro at the Plaza Mayor where we will get some pizza and hang out.
I love Salamanca and I can’t wait to explore it more and push myself to learn more Spanish. Hasta mañana!
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