Well Hello Espana!

Hola el mundo!

FINALLY STARTING A BLOG!

I want to start off by letting everyone know how grateful I am to be here. I thank God every day for this life changing opportunity and process to excel in life only from here. GOD IS GOOD! <3

So where to begin? Well I got to Salamanca, Spain safe and sound. It all began with a 8 hour flight to Germany, followed by an hour layover in Germany, and finally flying for another 2 hours to Madrid. The layover in Germany was a different experience that is for sure. At the gate I witnessed a Muslim woman do her one of five daily prayers which is called Salat. She asked the newspaper stand for a garbage bag to use as a "rug" to ensure that the area she was praying on was clean. She took out a towel and placed it on top of the garbage bag and began her prayers. It was so interesting and I appreciated it. This woman was in the middle of the airport striving to dedicate her life to her Islamic virtues and it was just something I have never witnessed before. I was totally intrigued. I definitely did not stare at her, but used my peripheral vision of course! That was the highlight in Flughafen, Germany. Through all the hours of the flights I pretty much slept and read. The flight from Germany to Madrid I can't even remember because I passed out so bad. When I arrived in Madrid I was clueless as to where to go. All I was aware of was to meet at Terminal 1, level 0. Of course when I get to that meeting point there was no one to be seen. I literally walked around the Madrid airport for a good hour with 4 luggage. Every person I asked if they knew anything about the Travel & Education program was just as clueless as I was. Finally I came across three girls that were parked in range of where we were suppose to meet. I approached them and asked if they were in the same dilemma as me. THANK THE LORD THEY WERE! They had no idea as to what the plans were either. As time passed we finally got it together. We found the program coordinator and made our way to the bus that was to bring us to Salamanca. My expectations of the T&E leader was totally different. I was thinking that this lady was going to be an older woman who was to be very strict and uptight and out of this world crazy. My expectations were definitely wrong. Her name is Marta and is 24 and is probably by far the nicest person I have ever met. Anyways from Madrid to Salamanca I couldn't tell you what happened because again I passed out. I woke up for a good five minutes and every single person on that bus was on cloud nine. No one was awake. When we finally got to Salamanca our host families came to pick us up. Of course my family came about a half hour late. I was so nervous! I thought they forgot about me. At that point I met my roommate. Her name is Daryl and is from Philly. We exchanged words and talked to break the awkwardness. She was just as nervous as I was. Finally we saw our host family walk up to the bus station. My "madre" is 23 years old and her name is Victoria. She has a boyfriend, Oscar, who is 23 as well. YOUNG, I KNOW! My family speaks no english what so ever! It's awesome.. The car ride to our home was very quiet and short. We stopped in front of this building and waaaallahh we arrived to our home. We live in a apartment on the 2nd floor. It is a very small place but very home-y. Daryl and I share a bedroom that is small as well but we manage. We have two cats named Gordo and Mimi. Of course we have a kitchen, living room, and one washroom. I LOVE IT! Our "grandma" lives across the street from us in an apartment as well. She houses international students too.

NIGHT 1 After we unpacked and got settled in we had to meet for tapas with the T&E group. We met at this awesome restaurant called Mater Asturias. Let me tell you the food in Spain is out of this world. It's delicious. The calamari is so good!! the salad magnificent! the wine excellent!! The paella is my favorite actually. It is a cultural dish in Spain that is made up of rice, eggs, beef cubes, and sometimes vegetable. Every individuals version of paella varies, but my madre's is amazing! Some other foods that are good as well is tortilla de patata. Which is basically what it sounds like. It's a thick circular base that looks similar to a tortilla and is made of eggs and potatoes. I can go on about the food but I will later. So the first night we went out to eat we got to actually sit down and converse with each other. It was nice to get to know all six girls within the program considering I came here knowing absolutely no one at all. Another program coordinator stopped by to introduce himself and say hello. His name is Ramon and is by far a gentleman. At dinner we have several dishes that we shared amongst each other. We had calamari, deep friend pieces of chicken, spanish meatballs, chorizo, ensalada, and this house ice cream "helado" that was apple. Dinner "cena" was beyond wonderful. After Marta took us out to a couple bars for some drinks and to discuss our next upcoming months that are going to be spent here in Salamanca. As far as the night went we had a great time. The nightlife in Spain is out of this world, which I will talk about later, but for the most part truly an experience. FIRST FULL DAY The first morning in Salamanca we woke up to raindrops on our patio and a gloomy sky. That morning we had to attend an orientation for school. We met at our main office called “Mester” and were informed about the basics and extensions such as what to expect, your host families, the food, cultural shock, home sickness, history of spain, the people, the night life, and so on and so forth. To be completely honest I read the whole entire orientation packet prior to departure so I already knew what the deal was. Granted I still learned some random facts. So after the orientation, Jorge another coordinator, took us on a tour of the university and some historical buildings and the cathedrals.

CHECK THIS OUT!<<

First off the University of Salamanca was founded in 1218. In the entrance of Universidad de Salamanca there is a façade, begun in 1415, which is a masterpiece of the Plateresque style and is divided in three main bodies, where vices and virtues are represented. To the right, as one looks at the façade, three skulls will be seen on the broadest pilaster, and on the left-hand skull is the FROG, interpreted as a symbol of sin. The frog has been converted into an object for students' and tourists' superstitions, granting good luck to those who find it and married within the year. (A lot of people walk the other when they hear this! Lol) The frog (rana) is a big deal here in Salamanca. It’s a good gift for souvenirs too ;) Also when we arrived to our host family our bedroom had a big frog on the window. Pretty big deal!

The other fascinating thing we learned was on the old renaissance and gothic cathedral here there is plenty of ornate carvings on the façade. One that was pointed out to us was a modern looking astronaut that looked as if it was just randomly placed there. It was added by an artist during restoration work as a symbol of the 20^th century. Once it is pointed out you can tell that amongst all the carvings on the wall it doesn’t quite fit in. There is also a devil carved in that is holding an ice cream. He is also a symbol of evil so to say. He’s a demon holding ice cream, enough explanation I think.

Okay so enough of the historical facts before I bore you all….

So after the tour we all went home to eat comer. Here in Spain we have three main meals.. desayuno (breakfast) typically around 8-9 am.. comer (lunch) around 2-3.. y cena (dinner) normally around 10pm. Breakfast and dinner are both fairly light meals, where as lunch is rather large overall. If we get hungry in between we are always welcomed to get tapas, which are basically snacks once again during the day.

For comer we ate tortilla de patata which was delicious. My roommate Daryl is allergic to potatoes- just a random thought. For the rest of the day we just hung around and got lost in the city. My roommate and I went to get churros y chocolate that night. BEST CHURROS EVER!!

The next day we had to wake up early and take the Spanish placement exam. They literally gave us about 30 minutes for 80 questions.. go figure. I got placed into the intermediate level, but I want to switch my level because it's too easy and I feel as if I won't excel in the language itself. Ya feel me??

As for the other courses I am taking a conversation class, arabic language in the spanish world (ya don't ask why), and also international marketing. All my courses are taught in Spanish except for the mkting course. Check your girl out, I will definitely be fluent by the time I get back to the states.. QUE GUAY!

ESCUELAAAA MIS AMIGOS!

School starts.. feels like the first day of kindergarten.. anxious.. happy.. wear your best outfit.. get there on time.. and sit next to the cutie in class :) haha JK.. BUT so it's the first day of classes. I have classes in a building that is pretty much just for all international students. In other words I have classes with NON-SPANIARDS.. kind of stinks because it's harder to meet the Spaniards here, but I on the bright side I have met a lot of different people from around the world..

So like I said 3 of my courses are taught in Spanish, YES i love it. My favorite part is listening to the professors when they try to speak English.. they crack me up. One teacher like to say shut up a lot in his spanish accent and its excellent. It seems to be that a lot of the professors in Spain think some words in Spanish, not all, are much better sounding, when pronounced, than in English. For instance, say the word frog in English.. not so attractive.. now say rana in Spanish... much better, huh? Or the word pig.. now say cerdo or puerco.. not so dull?!

So my school is literally a 5 minute walk away from my home in Salamanca. It's so nice to be that close to school!

How is life in Spain?!!

This is the question I have been getting for the past week. I will fill you all in!

In Salamanca you have a completely different lifestyle, food, people, fashion, environment, restaurants, and nightlife than in the Unites States. COMPLETELY DIFFERENT! The one thing that I had to get used to was the meal times like I mentioned before. Eating dinner at 10-11 pm is quite the adjustment. The people here are never, never, never under dressed. It's part of their culture to always look presentable and appropriate in public. All the people here are very beautiful and age well. Actually beautiful is an understatement. The people here are GORGEOUS! The food, gosh that can go on forever. Well first off coffee is very popular here. In the states we drink a mediocre quality coffee, but Spain has very strong, good quality coffee that is used a lot as a social commodity. Usually when you order a cup of coffee you would say "cafe con leche" and they almost always ask for milk in the coffee because it's just that strong and GOOD! It's typical for people to meet for a cup of coffee at a cafe or outside in the Plaza Mayor to socialize. There is cafes everywhere in Salamanca. If I have 10 minutes before class to spare I can WALK down the street and enjoy a cup of coffee with a tapa and still make it to class just on time. It's marvelous.

The people. The people here wonderful, intelligent, overly caring, calm, and mature. The one thing that I noticed the most was that the way the children behave here in Spain. I have yet to see a child act up, cry hysterically, fool around, or yell for their mama. The children here are well behaved and know how to maintain their behavior at all times in public. They definitely mature faster here than in the US. Not to bash on the United States but man oh man our children need to take some notes from the children here or mothers and fathers discipline your children. I'm not kidding.

Fashion. OH MY LANTA... the fashion here is beyond amazing. I think i might replace all my clothing I brought here, seriously. Salamanca has an H&M which is right down the street from me. :) There is shoe stores every where you turn. BOOTS are the main attraction here. If I got a penny for every person who wears boots I would be rich. Not to mention they're fairly priced too even if the exchange rate sucks. No one wears bright colors. It's basically just your natural colors and solid ones as well. Thy men can definitely dress here I will tell you that. The babies, toddlers, and children are always dressed amazingly good as well.

Environment. It feels like a dream. The buildings are pretty much all connected, tall, and are all very old. The weather is fairly chilly, but the sun is always our for the most part. At the Plaza Mayor you will always see families, friends, students and the like sitting in or around it come rain or shine. The people almost never smile when walking through the streets. This doesn't mean they're mean, just normal in their culture. The strollers here are ALL definitely the old buggies for babies that you would never see in the US. It's so different. Little dogs are favored here. I have yet to see a large dog walking the streets with it's owner. I think the Spaniards are able to spot out the Americans. LOL When Spaniards talk it is always said that they have the lisp when speaking Spanish. They definitely do. It doesn't bother me actually. I think it gives them character, and actually I started to pick it up. :( sorry Karen...

Restaurants. The restaurants always have their doors open to the public. The service is always extremely outstanding and they don't even receive tips! TALK ABOUT PURE KINDNESS! What else? It is always more than okay to drink wine or another alcoholic beverage with your dinner.

Drinking is another social commodity here in Spain. People drink here not to necessarily get drunk but to enjoy their life, the pleasure, the joy of having it, and socializing. I believe the first thing they ask you is if you would like an alcoholic beverage. Their wine here is amazing!!

FACT

Spaniards clink glasses because back when the Romans lived in Spain they wanted to include all five senses when enjoying it. So they added the sound! :) share this my friends!

Smoking is very big here. About 70 percent of the population smokes! It's pretty much part of their culture. They smoke so much but yet they are still beautiful and age extremely well.. go figure?

Nightlife... ENOUGH SAID! they definitely can party. Thursdays are "celebration" nights.. no classes on fridays.. you can only guess how that works. SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS... CHUPAS CHUPAS CHUPAS.. they go hard till the sun rises.. and the next day they take advantage of the siestas for sure!

Overall I am loving Spain more every day. Yes, it is hard to adjust but I'm doing it. I am recovering now from being sick, which I believe was due to the adjustment, weather, lack of sleep, and my body. OH WELL! I am in Spain.. NO COMPLAINING!

I walk past the Plaza Mayor every day with amazement and think to myself "LIFE." Thank God for life and what it has to offer. There is so much history here. Between the art, the buildings, the people, the city. I have a ton of things to learn that's for sure. Everything here is just beautiful and is unexplainable.

This first post was just an introduction I promise it will be more exciting. I have sooo much more to say in the next posts. This is my first of many posts.. I will keep you updated as much as I can at least every day! that's my promise. So keep your eyes open my beautiful friends. I love you all and hope all is well back in the states.

Stay healthy and live life every day like it's your last with peace and love in your heart <3

Chau! Te quiero amigos!

Los dejo con este:

"La acción es la clave fundamental de todo éxito." -Pablo Picasso "Action is the foundational key to all success." <3