Odds and Ends of Salamanca

It's been a nice couple of days discovering the city a little more, poco a poco. I'm posting a few pictures of the city here, it really is beautiful. At night, with all the monuments lit up, it's really special.

Today was the last day of the International Conference of Teachers of Spanish as a Foreign Language, and then Monday we will start back at our normal classes, which will be good.

Yesterday I went to buy a few folders for my classes, and as they rang us up, they explained why they charged us more than what the tag said. As of yesterday morning, the government raised the taxes again by 2%, so that the products you buy, have an 18% tax added to them. You can compare this to CT, where we have a 6% sales tax. If you buy something in CT for $100, you will pay $106. Here in Spain, it would be like $118. Although, to be clear, here in Spain we use euros, which currently has a better exchange rate for Americans than we've had in years. For every 100 euros, it is about $124. It's still to our disadvantage, but it is a much stronger showing of our dollar than before. The European Union is having many financial difficulties (as does the whole world), especially in Greece and Spain also.

A few notes about the Universidad de Salamanca, where I study. It is actually the oldest university in Spain, and amongst the oldest of Europe. It's been a university for almost 800 years - since 1220! Everywhere you walk here in the Old City it is steeped in history. While this may sound boring, it's really cool to be a part of it.

This weekend I will be doing two day trips - Saturday to Avila, and then returning to see the World Cup games (Spain tomorrow night!), and then Sunday to Valladolid. More about those excursions later! Feel free to comment! :)

La Copa Mundial

Yesterday (Tuesday) was a busy day, with class all morning and the afternoon free. In the evening, my friends and I walked to El Corte Ingles, which is a huge department store you'll find in all major Spanish cities. Outside the store, in a big plaza, they have a great big screen that they broadcast the World Cup on, and there's food stands too. We went there, and there were tons of people, all dressed in red and yellow, the colors of the Spanish flag, of course. The game began at 8:30, and there were people of all ages, from little babies to older abuelas, and a lot of young people. It was crazy! Spain won, scoring one goal, and the crowd just went nuts. El futbol is a really big thing here.

Today I've been in a conference all day, and I may go to a Flamenco show tonight. I'll keep you updated!

My First Day of School!

Hola a todos! Hello all!

I am now in Salamanca, and today was my first day of school! I arrived here last night, after a very long day of travel, and became acclimated to my new home.

Then this morning was the first day of school! I have 3 classes every day, for 2 hours each between 8:30 am to 2:30 pm. Each of my professors seem very intelligent and understanding, so that's exciting. One of the things that is a bitdifferent from the US is that education and classtime is very respected and much more formal. It is clear that we must be in the classroom, seated, before starting time, and if we are going to be late for class, it is better to not come at all. Additionally, attendance is mandatory, and I can only miss one Friday out of the 5 weeks for traveling. So...it is very important to make sure my alarm is set in the morning!

Also, eating during class is strictly prohibited also. The meal times here are also a bit different. All 3 of my meals are included in my tuition fees, so while the dorm food is not outstanding, I will be generally eating it. Breakfast is light, typically cereal or yogurt. Then I am in class at 8:30, and when I get out of class at 2:30, I walk back to the dorm (about a 20-25 minute walk), and lunch is served from 1:00-3:30, and I have the afternoons all free. Then, dinner is from 9-10 pm.

This afternoon I walked around the city with 2 new friends, it's beautiful here! I will continue to update and post pictures during my time here. It's great hearing, seeing, and using Spanish all day! :) The photos posted today include me in front of the Cathedral, right before my class this morning, me enjoying some helado(!) at the Plaza Mayor, and a picture of the Cathedral beyond a plaza.

Pics of My Travels In Peru (2008) and Spain (2006)

Here are links to my Picasa pictures of my travels to Peru (2008) and Spain (2006). Feel free to check them out, and ask any questions that might come up!

Peru 2008

Spain 2006

Salamanca Pre-Departure Orientation

Hello all!

Tonight we had our pre-departure orientation at CCSU, and we started talking about the opportunities that we would be having in Salamanca and Espana, which was exciting. A few days ago I bought a new Spain travel guide book, so I've been reading up on Salamanca and the region. Salamanca is supposed to be a beautiful city, and one of the top things to do there is to sit in the Plaza Mayor at a little cafe and just take in the scenery. I'm also really looking forward to traveling to the northern region of Spain, Galicia, which has a beautiful rocky coastline and a unique culture.


La Universidad de Salamanca also organizes a lot of excursions, both day and weekend trips, which I'm looking forward to. I also found out that on Sundays the Prado and the Reina Sofia are completely free, so I'll also definitely have to do a Sunday or two in Madrid! I'm looking forward to being in the area and having my own time agenda. I'm not familiar with Salamanca yet, but everyone who's been loves it, and Madrid is two and a half hours away, so I'll probably do a weekend there. Every time I've been to Madrid I always feel pleasantly surprised, and this is my first summertime trip to Spain.


My first trip to Spain was April, 2000 with my high school, and that's a whirlwind memory because we went to so many cities in 10 days, it was really just a taste of the country. We went to Barcelona, Madrid, Toledo, Sevilla, Cordoba, and Granada...which are all lovely cities, but was so quick that it was hard to take it all in. Then, in the spring semester of 2006, I lived in Granada for 4 months, and I traveled throughout a good part of Spain, including Sevilla, Cordoba, Gibraltar (which is actually part of Britain!), Valencia during Las Fallas (a crazy fire festival!), Barcelona, Madrid, Marbella, a good portion of Andalusia, and other places.



Thanks for reading, and I'm looking forward to posting on a regular basis while I'm living in Salamanca!!