Bulls, Books, and Body Building

I can't believe it's already the end of my third week in Salamanca! I've even had a test already (got an A). It was incredibly easy, though; We just had to identify similes and metaphors for the most part. I have a grammar test Wednesday, though, that I am a bit more stressed about. Hopefully I will do as well!

Last Friday I went to a bullfight. It was horrible! The matadors poke at the bull and stab it. In the end, the main matador kills it and cuts off its ears. Then two men on horses attach it to the horses and drag it around the ring. They do this with 6 bulls each night! My friends and I could only stay for two bulls. I asked my host mom about the bullfighting, and she said she enjoyed them! She understood why I wanted to leave, and although it's controversial even in Spain, it's incredibly popular in Salamanca. After the bull gets killed, everyone in the stadium stands up and waves a white handkerchief (or whatever wave-able white object they have). It was definitely interesting, but I have no desire to ever go back to one again.

Here are some pictures of the bullfighting. The bottom picture is of Erica, Amelia, and me standing outside the bullfighting ring.

The other day while I was on my run with my friends, we ran into some free workout equipment! At first glance it looks like a jungle gym, but really it's a place to work out your muscles! There are no weights, but most of them use your body resistance, so you actually feel like you're working something. We saw some old people working the machines, and they used them so normally that clearly this park is not abnormal to them. Of course, my friends and I thought they were hilarious and had a fun time trying them out and taking pictures.

The outside gym!

The other day Carlos, one of the program directors, and Sarah, the assistant director, gave us a tour around the old University of Salamanca. It was really lovely! We got to see some of the original classrooms and the library. The university was founded in the 1200s, so the building is incredibly old!

The old library in the university! Unfortunately, you can't walk around because they don't want anyone touching the antique books. We stood behind a glass window.

Here is the entrance to the university!

An old courtyard where they used to hold classes.

Week Two

I'm almost done with my second week here in Salamanca! Wow, it's going by pretty fast. I'm surprisingly busy, though the classes are really not that hard (knock on wood). Yesterday, our assistant program directors Carlos and Sarah took us of a tour of the old and new cathedrals in Salamanca. The cathedrals are connected, but during the early 1500s, the old cathedral was expanded and addition was dubbed "the new cathedral".

Here's a picture of the new cathedral from the outside. It's one of the most prominent buildings in Salamanca, and when you cross the river, you can see it clearly in the skyline. It's huge!

It was a little creepy to walk around the cathedrals because we quickly realized that we were walking on and around tombs. The top photo shows all the tombs on the ground and the bottom photo are the nicer tombs reserved for more important burials.

A view of the top of the cathedral from inside!

I made everyone take a group photo after the tour... Carlos, one of our program directors, is the bald man in the back on the left side.

I'm really enjoying my time here! There have been concerts and events happening all week because this is Salamanca's fiesta and feria (festival) week. Along all the roads, bars and restaurants have set up little stands, kind of like food trucks, called "casetas" where you can get a little drink and a sample tapa for 2 euros. They're really crowded after siesta when everyone comes out for their pre dinner tapa snack.

I'm still adjusting to the culture here. The other day, my friends and I were in a pub around 11:30 pm, and there was a four year old child just dancing by the bar! It was really funny because she was really into the music, but I was so surprised that people had their kids out that late at a pub! I see babies at all times of the day just being pushed around, though, so I guess here it's normal.

I've found a really nice running path! It's alongside the river, El Rio Tormes. Here's a photo from the path: 

The weather is absolutely perfect! It's getting colder, but I am so happy it's not humid. The sun is really hot, but luckily we siesta during that time. Last week, I went with some friends out to dinner before one of the free concerts, and the sun was setting beautifully on the Plaza Mayor. I feel so lucky to be here! Even though I didn't do much today, I feel like I've been making the most of my trip so far. Tomorrow we're going to a bull fight... I'll post my opinion on that in my next post. Hasta luego!

Más más más

So my classes have started and are definitely going to be work. I'm taking two Spanish literature classes, and I'm not really sure how I feel about that yet. So far, one of them has been really slow going. I thought I would only have one class this month, but really I have three, and one of those three is actually two... So even though I have two different teachers, and there's time between them, it only counts as one class. Oh well, it's fun to hang out with my friends Tom and Amelia between the classes and eat delicious breakfast. I booked my flight to Amsterdam today! That's going to be exciting! I leave October 31st and come back on November 3rd. Although it's short, I'm sure it's going to be a good time.

I've met some really cool people here! There are not just Emory students in all of my classes, which is nice. There are a lot of kids from Taiwan and China, and there are other Americans here, as well. Most of them study at Colby College. Hopefully, I'll be able to get to know more of them.

The other day my host dad asked me why Obama wanted to go to war with Syria. It was a bit awkward, especially since I didn't know how to explain it in Spanish. I just sort of laughed and told him I didn't know, and my host brother thought it was a really funny interaction. At least, he smiled; neither of my host brothers talk to me very much, so I'm not really sure what they're thinking.

It's interesting because my host family constantly has the television on. I don't know if that's a Spanish thing or a my-host-family-thing, but it's so different from my house! I'm not sure how enthusiastic my mom would be if I brought home that tradition... or the tradition of eating so much red meat. I do walk around 6 miles a day, though, so that makes up for all the delicious ice cream I've been eating.

Bienvenidos a España!

Hola! It's Monday in Spain, and although it's my first post, it's already my third day here! Nothing too exciting has happened, but Salamanca is beautiful! I've never seen anything like the buildings before; they are so old, and all of them are the same color of stone, which is a bit confusing. I really need to get used to the eating patterns here... Breakfast is so small, lunch doesn't start till 2 in the afternoon, and dinner is at 9! I'm constantly hungry, so I think I'm going to invest in some granola bars to tide me over between meals. Or get tapas every night! The food, though, is so good. My host mom can really cook! I also have a really nice bedroom, which I'm so happy about, and even though there's no air conditioning, it's pretty comfortable at night. However, it's so noisy! People really don't sleep here. There were people chatting and laughing outside my window at three in the morning! On a Sunday! Anyways, today we took a placement exam, and we find out the results tonight. Classes start tomorrow! Only one class for the whole month of September, which is nice, but it's three hours a day! I'm hoping there will be some breaks during the class. I'm having lunch with my host family soon, and I can't wait because I'm starving. Also, lunch means a nap afterward, and that always sounds nice. Entonces, hasta luego!

Para practicar mi español y por mi mama, voy a escribir un poco en español también. Hola! Salamanca es muy bonita y es muy fácil para camina a mis clases desde mi casa. Me gusta mucho el tiempo porque no es húmedo! Esto es más bueno que Atlanta. La comida es bien también, pero tengo hambre siempre porque hay muchas horas entre las comidas. Entonces, necesito comprar algo de comida para tener cuando tengo hombre. Me encanta que tenemos una siesta durante el día; estoy aún "jet lagged" entonces tengo sueño durante tiempos diferentes, y las siestas me ayudan. Vale, aquí son algunos de mis fotos.

Erica and me drinking sangria on our first night in Madrid

My bedroom in Salamanca

Emory in Salamanca!

The Plaza Major during the evening in Salamanca