castle that insprired walt disney for beauty and the beast
segovia!
Saturday, July 7, 2012
walking, taking pictures, and more walking
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Friday, July 6, 2012
my first weekend in salamanca
i had class this morning. it went well. in my conversation class my teacher gave us a handout of all the common speaking mistakes most americans make. i'm so glad that class is working to improve my speaking skills. i'm continuing to add to my spanish vocabulary and making changes to the vocabulary i already have. after class i took a taxi to the corte ingles. it's a very large store (has 6 or 7 levels) and just about anything you could need. there's clothes for everyone, perfume, makeup, books, music, furniture, electronics, and an office area. i picked up a few things while i was there.
for lunch i had the famous paella. i didn't like it very much. it is mostly rice, peas (which i did eat), parts of chicken, and whole shrimp (which i did not eat). the dish is very common here, but was a bit bland. i couldn't force myself to eat the shrimp.. they still had little legs, eyes, and antennas. we also had meatballs and potatoes. they were very good. and as always... a banana for dessert!
it's siesta time now, and then the entire group is going to the pool. we went earlier this week and i wish i would have brought my camera. the pool has an amazing view of the city of salamanca. but it also has women who don't wear tops. very strange to me, but i guess it's pretty common here.
tonight i am going over to another senora's house for dinner. i'm not sure what we will be having, but i'm excited to see someone else's house. afterwards i'm sure we will go out. that's what everyone does on the weekends.
tomorrow we are taking a trip to segovia. it's about a 2- 2 1/2 hour bus ride. it's supposed to be very pretty. i have told my teachers and my senora and everyone said to bring my camera. we will be back saturday evening, and i'm sure everyone will go out again.
sunday we are going to la alberca. it is supposed to be a very old town that has many natural pools. we've been warned that the water will probably be very cold, but also very photo worthy. i'm really excited about going because we weren't supposed to go on this trip this weekend. going to la alberca was supposed to be a trip for the 6 week students, and would have happened after i came back to the states. instead, we get to go sunday.
a group of us are also trying to organize another trip somewhere. i'm not sure where we will end up going, but i'll be happy going just about anywhere. i have one free weekend in spain, and i want to make the most of it. many people have suggested a trip to paris and i would be more than happy! flights within europe are fairly cheap.. so that's a good thing. we're still doing some checking and i will let everyone know once i figure it out!
well it's time for a quick siesta before the trip to the pool! hasta luego!
for lunch i had the famous paella. i didn't like it very much. it is mostly rice, peas (which i did eat), parts of chicken, and whole shrimp (which i did not eat). the dish is very common here, but was a bit bland. i couldn't force myself to eat the shrimp.. they still had little legs, eyes, and antennas. we also had meatballs and potatoes. they were very good. and as always... a banana for dessert!
it's siesta time now, and then the entire group is going to the pool. we went earlier this week and i wish i would have brought my camera. the pool has an amazing view of the city of salamanca. but it also has women who don't wear tops. very strange to me, but i guess it's pretty common here.
tonight i am going over to another senora's house for dinner. i'm not sure what we will be having, but i'm excited to see someone else's house. afterwards i'm sure we will go out. that's what everyone does on the weekends.
tomorrow we are taking a trip to segovia. it's about a 2- 2 1/2 hour bus ride. it's supposed to be very pretty. i have told my teachers and my senora and everyone said to bring my camera. we will be back saturday evening, and i'm sure everyone will go out again.
sunday we are going to la alberca. it is supposed to be a very old town that has many natural pools. we've been warned that the water will probably be very cold, but also very photo worthy. i'm really excited about going because we weren't supposed to go on this trip this weekend. going to la alberca was supposed to be a trip for the 6 week students, and would have happened after i came back to the states. instead, we get to go sunday.
a group of us are also trying to organize another trip somewhere. i'm not sure where we will end up going, but i'll be happy going just about anywhere. i have one free weekend in spain, and i want to make the most of it. many people have suggested a trip to paris and i would be more than happy! flights within europe are fairly cheap.. so that's a good thing. we're still doing some checking and i will let everyone know once i figure it out!
well it's time for a quick siesta before the trip to the pool! hasta luego!
Thursday, July 5, 2012
more pictures!
pictures don't do this city justice! so beautiful!!i just got back from the guided tour of salamanca. this city has so much history it's unbelievable. we saw cathedrals that were built in the 12th and 16th century. we saw the room that christopher columbus proposed his trip to america in front of the king and queen. it's just unbelievable how much history can be wrapped up in one city.
we enjoyed a bottle of wine at the plaza before we went out.
antique library that holds around 160,000 books!
school and cathedral
statue of cristobal colon. or christopher columbus as we know him!
my first food i didn't like
i tried to post on here yesterday, but i guess it didn't take.
my classes are going well. i actually switched my level of my grammar class to one that was a little harder. i had my first day today, and it went really well. my teacher is very cute. :)
yesterday i slept most of the day. i am starting to get a cold, and i want to get rid of it as fast as i can. after class i came home and slept.. had lunch. we had soup and some type of meat and. and fruit for dessert. i took a long nap after lunch and then went up to the plaza to have milkshakes with some of the girls. for dinner we had soup and fish.. it was really good and i ate all the fish (yay! go me!) and then it all went downhill. for dessert my senora showed us something that looked a lot like cottage cheese.. she asked us to try some to see if we liked it. i definitely did not. so i had a yogurt instead. but she took what appeared to be cottage cheese, mixed it in a glass of milk, and added some sugar. she said that it is common here and is very earthy. it was the first food i found that i didn't like.
after dinner i went out with the group to celebrate 4th of july. although there weren't any fireworks a couple bars were having parties to celebrate with all the american students. i didn't stay very long because i was sick and there were so many people. i felt like a sardine. it was really hot and you couldn't move.
it's pretty chilly here today. i wore jeans and a sweater to class and i was still cold. it's not so bad if you are in the sun, but most of the tall buildings give shade to all the streets. i definitely wasn't expecting colder weather.
after class today i stopped at a small shop to pick up a few things. lunch will be ready in about an hour. and i'm sure i will siesta afterwards. siestas are the best. tonight we have a professional guided tour around the city. it will definitely be very informative and i'm sure i will get lots of great pictures.
salamanca is very clean. every night workers pick up the trash from the day, sweep, and hose down the plaza mayor and the streets. they really take great care of their city. each day i love this city a little more and can definitely understand why some people keep coming back. it's absolutely wonderful.
my classes are going well. i actually switched my level of my grammar class to one that was a little harder. i had my first day today, and it went really well. my teacher is very cute. :)
yesterday i slept most of the day. i am starting to get a cold, and i want to get rid of it as fast as i can. after class i came home and slept.. had lunch. we had soup and some type of meat and. and fruit for dessert. i took a long nap after lunch and then went up to the plaza to have milkshakes with some of the girls. for dinner we had soup and fish.. it was really good and i ate all the fish (yay! go me!) and then it all went downhill. for dessert my senora showed us something that looked a lot like cottage cheese.. she asked us to try some to see if we liked it. i definitely did not. so i had a yogurt instead. but she took what appeared to be cottage cheese, mixed it in a glass of milk, and added some sugar. she said that it is common here and is very earthy. it was the first food i found that i didn't like.
after dinner i went out with the group to celebrate 4th of july. although there weren't any fireworks a couple bars were having parties to celebrate with all the american students. i didn't stay very long because i was sick and there were so many people. i felt like a sardine. it was really hot and you couldn't move.
it's pretty chilly here today. i wore jeans and a sweater to class and i was still cold. it's not so bad if you are in the sun, but most of the tall buildings give shade to all the streets. i definitely wasn't expecting colder weather.
after class today i stopped at a small shop to pick up a few things. lunch will be ready in about an hour. and i'm sure i will siesta afterwards. siestas are the best. tonight we have a professional guided tour around the city. it will definitely be very informative and i'm sure i will get lots of great pictures.
salamanca is very clean. every night workers pick up the trash from the day, sweep, and hose down the plaza mayor and the streets. they really take great care of their city. each day i love this city a little more and can definitely understand why some people keep coming back. it's absolutely wonderful.
Monday, July 2, 2012
flat out exhausted
we got our placement test results and i got into the level that i needed. classes start tomorrow and are from 9-12. i have 2 hours of language and 1 hour of conversation.
we went shopping a bit today and i had my first bad experience. i noticed a guy in the store that we had met last night at one of the bars and we made eye contact. he then continued to follow me throughout the store until i caught up with the girls that i was with. then he disappeared. needless to stay we all stuck together from then on.. i'm not sure if he meant any harm, but i just thought it was weird that he never tried to say hi or anything.
i had ice cream twice today. :) there are so many ice cream places throughout the city. tomorrow i think a group of us are going to try out a milkshake place that is supposed to be really good.
i had dinner with my senora tonight. we kind of had an assortment of things. she gave us lasagna from the other night, a piece of pizza (which is a little different from what i'm used to), ham, yogurt, and salami (i had to ask her what it was because it looked and tasted nothing like what i'm used to. i didn't like it very much, but i guess it is a popular tapa (appetizer) here.)
it's a little after 11 and i'm about to head to bed. i'm still pretty tired and want to get a good sleep before class tomorrow.
¡hasta mañana!
we went shopping a bit today and i had my first bad experience. i noticed a guy in the store that we had met last night at one of the bars and we made eye contact. he then continued to follow me throughout the store until i caught up with the girls that i was with. then he disappeared. needless to stay we all stuck together from then on.. i'm not sure if he meant any harm, but i just thought it was weird that he never tried to say hi or anything.
i had ice cream twice today. :) there are so many ice cream places throughout the city. tomorrow i think a group of us are going to try out a milkshake place that is supposed to be really good.
i had dinner with my senora tonight. we kind of had an assortment of things. she gave us lasagna from the other night, a piece of pizza (which is a little different from what i'm used to), ham, yogurt, and salami (i had to ask her what it was because it looked and tasted nothing like what i'm used to. i didn't like it very much, but i guess it is a popular tapa (appetizer) here.)
it's a little after 11 and i'm about to head to bed. i'm still pretty tired and want to get a good sleep before class tomorrow.
¡hasta mañana!
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Pictures!
I finally figured out how to upload pictures to my blog. There will be more to come, but here are a few from London.
my fish and chips
it was delicious
Buckingham Palace
Westminster Abbey
London is ready for the Olympics!
The Tower of London
Saturday, June 30, 2012
my madrid experience
we arrived in madrid yesterday morning and everyone was completely exhausted. our hotel was right across the street from a mall, so a few of us went shopping and just hung around the hotel. last night a large group of us decided to go out to this club. it was one of the neatest things i've seen so far. it had 7 different levels and each level had a different theme to it. it was a lot of fun. we ended up staying there until about 4am and decided to head back.
this morning we went on a walking tour of madrid. the buildings were beautiful and we saw a lot of neat stuff. pick pocketers are very common and our tour guide saw a group of 3 women while we were walking that she recognized as pick pocketers. pick pocketers target tourists and usually leave their own people alone. needless to say i was guarding my purse for my life.. and luckily nobody in our group had anything taken. we also went to an art museum and took a tour looking at art from major spanish artists. it was interesting. and i was amazed at how detailed all the paintings were even from the 1600s.
we took a bus to salamanca where i will be staying and studying for the remainder of the trip. my host mom is the sweetest thing, but doesn't speak any english. the people in madrid/salamanca have a bit of an accent. the pronounce c's and z' like th's. it almost sounds like a lisp. for example.. saying gracias here would sound like grathias. it has made it hard for me to understand, but i'm sure that i will catch on quickly.
i am staying in a room and have a roommate who is also in my program. my host mom has 2 other girls living with her that are studying in different programs, but they will be leaving next weekend. i haven't met them yet.
my host mom has a son whom i've met and i believe she also has 2 grandsons.
the internet connection here is so nice.. we had free wifi at the hotel yesterday and we all spent quite a bit of time on our computers.. it's amazing how attached to technology we are.
this evening we are going to a welcome party with all of our host families. it's supposed to be a pizza party. i think it will be a lot of fun. for now, i'm just relaxing in my room. i have everything unpacked.
now that i am finally somewhere with stable internet i will be able to post everyday. i am planning on posting before bed.. recapping my day.
that's all for now, i'm going to try to get some rest.
this morning we went on a walking tour of madrid. the buildings were beautiful and we saw a lot of neat stuff. pick pocketers are very common and our tour guide saw a group of 3 women while we were walking that she recognized as pick pocketers. pick pocketers target tourists and usually leave their own people alone. needless to say i was guarding my purse for my life.. and luckily nobody in our group had anything taken. we also went to an art museum and took a tour looking at art from major spanish artists. it was interesting. and i was amazed at how detailed all the paintings were even from the 1600s.
we took a bus to salamanca where i will be staying and studying for the remainder of the trip. my host mom is the sweetest thing, but doesn't speak any english. the people in madrid/salamanca have a bit of an accent. the pronounce c's and z' like th's. it almost sounds like a lisp. for example.. saying gracias here would sound like grathias. it has made it hard for me to understand, but i'm sure that i will catch on quickly.
i am staying in a room and have a roommate who is also in my program. my host mom has 2 other girls living with her that are studying in different programs, but they will be leaving next weekend. i haven't met them yet.
my host mom has a son whom i've met and i believe she also has 2 grandsons.
the internet connection here is so nice.. we had free wifi at the hotel yesterday and we all spent quite a bit of time on our computers.. it's amazing how attached to technology we are.
this evening we are going to a welcome party with all of our host families. it's supposed to be a pizza party. i think it will be a lot of fun. for now, i'm just relaxing in my room. i have everything unpacked.
now that i am finally somewhere with stable internet i will be able to post everyday. i am planning on posting before bed.. recapping my day.
that's all for now, i'm going to try to get some rest.
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