a trip to the supermarket

last night a bunch of us ended up going out. we had a lot of fun, and the pictures i have are hilarious. i got my test back in class today and i got a 9/10! woohoo! i will final exams on tuesday and wednesday next week.

after class i met up with some friends until lunch. we hung out in our program office and told stories about our adventures last night. for lunch we had potato soup, fish, peppers, and melon for dessert. about 3/4 of the way through my fish had bones in it. it was a totally new experience. since i've never really eaten fish in the states, i didn't know this was possible, and my host my didn't mention it. here they put the fish in their mouths and then pull the bones out with their fingers. it really killed my appetite.

after lunch i went with the girls to go get train tickets for our trip this weekend. i was a bit nervous because many people talked about how most of the trains were full and how unfriendly the train staff is. we ended up having to pay a little more than i expected because we couldn't get on the return train that i had planned on taking. needless to say we have our train tickets and our hostal booked! i will be going to santander with 3 girls from my program. santander is in northern spain on the coast. i'm hoping it will be a relaxing beach weekend. there are also lots of cathedrals and monuments to see in santander. i'm sure we will have a blast!

after buying train tickets i came home and took a nap.. having two very late nights in a row will catch up with you! i went to the supermarket with a friend to get some snacks for the train and this weekend. the supermarket is SO much different than what i'm used to. we spent so much time looking at different things to see what they were. i noticed the following:

• milk and eggs do NOT need refrigerated
• i can buy a case of diet coke for $1.02!!!!! :)
• they sell ketchup in spain
• they practically give away bottles of water
• they have interesting flavors of potato chips

ham flavored ruffles! spanish people LOVE ham!

grilled ham and cheese ruffles!

 

the supermarkets here are very cheap. people started protesting today. i guess tonight is the big event in the plaza mayor. i think a few of us are going to go see what it's all about. i'm not exactly sure what they're protesting, but i heard it had to do with low wages. perhaps i will find out tonight. that's all i really have planned for this evening. i've been out until the wee hours of the mornig the past couple of nights and will probably want to go to bed early. our train leaves at 7:25am tomorrow, so that will be an early wake up call!

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¡que calor!

my first spanish exam went well. it was a little difficult, but i think that i did okay on it. hopefully we get them back tomorrow. after class i slept until lunch... i had a late night last night. for lunch we had white bean soup, peppers, and veal. we had watermelon for dessert. it was really good. after lunch i relaxed for awhile and then i went to the mall with a friend. i got out of the mall spending less than $20. woohoo! the fact that i don't have much room in my suitcases doesn't help. we had a bit of an adventure making our way back home from the mall. taxis don't wait outside the mall so we started walking in the direction of our houses and eventually saw a taxi we could flag down! he was a lifesaver. it was 99 degrees here today. very hot, but thankfully a dry heat. it's about time for dinner and then i'm going to get ready to go out tonight. one of the bars is having karaoke so that will be a lot of fun. i think almost everyone from our group is going out tonight. it's a lot of fun when we all get together.

today i had to confirm my flight arrangements back home. it's really sad to think about. tomorrow i will only have 9 days left. i sit and wonder how time went by so quickly. a lot of the people from my program are staying for 6 weeks, so most of them still have awhile left. it doesn't feel like i have been gone that long. this has definitely been one of if not the best experience in my life. it took a lot of work to get here, but i would do it again in an instant. i absolutely love the city of salamanca. i know i will be coming back. this city will always hold a special place in my heart. i've met so many wonderful people since i've been here. there are a lot of people within my program that i have grown really close to. many of them don't live too terribly far from me either. we've already talked about having a reunion once we get back in the states. i'm truly such a lucky, lucky girl. i feel like i'm sitting on top of the world. in the past 3 weeks i have seen and experienced so much. probably more than some experience in a lifetime. i've been to and so many beautiful places. today i was looking through all the photos i have taken and realized that most of my pictures don't do any justice. there is just so much to see and do in this world. i knew that this trip was going to be life changing, but i truly didn't expect what i am feeling. i feel so relaxed and happy. right now life is stress free. it's been a wonderful journey.

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portugal pictures!

sidewalks and streets in lisbon, portugal are very extravagant. little blue tiles constructed into intricate designs. i'm sure it took them forever!

 

 

pasteis de belem from lisbon, portugal. it is the most popular portuguese egg tart pastry filled with cream. often are sprinkled with cinnamon or sugar, and absolutely to die for!

me at 'boca de inferno' translates to 'hell's mouth'. such a beautiful place!

'boca de inferno' in cascais, portugal. it was breathtaking!

 

 

belem tower in lisbon, portugal. it was once used to prevent attacks on lisbon from the ocean.

 

 

 

 

 

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just when i thought i had it figured out

i've been trying very hard to pick up all the little spanish quirks. one of the main differences is the way the spanish people eat. bread is served with lunch and dinner and should be held in the left hand. while you are eating you hold the bread in your hand. spanish people know how to clean their plates and they can do it in a hurry. typically nothing is eaten with their hands. they use a fork and knife to cut everything. i have noticed that when you eat fruit here you peel it first. regardless if it is an apple, peach, orange, or banana. sure we peel bananas and oranges in the states, but in spain you do it with a knife. i have that part down, eat nothing with your hands.. except watermelon. when you get a slice of watermelon spanish people cut it as if they were making slices out of a pie and they proceed to eat it with their hands. i didn't realize until today.. while i was cutting my watermelon into neat little squares with my knife. tonight my senora served pizza and spaghetti noodles in a light red sauce. a meal that isn't new to me here, but apparently i didn't pay attention the first time. you do not eat your pizza with your hands.. you cut it and use a fork. okay, got it. so one would assume you cut your spaghetti and eat it the same way... wrong! you twirl your spaghetti and eat it. there are so many differences it's almost hard to believe. although my senora doesn't mind if we eat 'the american way' i'm just trying to pick up as many cultural differences as i can.

we went paddle boating today. it was warm, a good workout, and beautiful. the first picture is the bridge we have to cross to get to the pool. the second picture is on the other side of the river looking at salamanca. gorgeous! i love this city!

 

i will post portugal pictures tomorrow. i just don't have time tonight. i need to study for a bit and then i'm going to meet up with some people and go out.

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cielo de salamanca

class monday went really well. i have my first test tomorrow in my grammer class. i think it will go okay, but i definitely need to study. 

yesterday after class i walked around the city until lunchtime. after lunch i took a really long siesta and then met up with the girls to try and figure out where we are going to travel. we thought we had found the perfect place on the southern coast, but we couldn't find a place to stay. we're still throwing some ideas around.. i still have my mind set that i will be going somewhere.. just not sure where yet.

 

we were supposed to have a cooking class last night, but at the last minute the restaurant called and said they were without electricity so they had to cancel. they are supposed to reschedule that next week. since most of us had told our senoras we wouldn't be home for dinner we found a place to eat in salamanca. the restaurant was cute and we were able to eat outside on the street. i had lasagna, and "drunk" chicken (chicken soaked in beer). it was pretty good.. and very cheap. my meal included bread (which usually you have to pay extra for here), 2 courses, dessert, and a sangria for 9E ($11.97). after dinner i came home and worked on homework

 

today in class we went over what was going to be on the exam tomorrow. after class i did a little shopping while i waited for our cultural activity. today we went to "el cielo de salamanca". it's in one of the buildings at the university and is very pretty. it represents all the different horoscopes. we weren't allowed to take pictures, but this is one that i found online.

 

 

when i got home it was time for lunch. we had white bean soup, roasted chicken (one of my favorites!), salad, and watermelon for dessert. the watermelon here is absolutely delicious! i could eat it at every meal.

 

it's siesta time now, and i can't wait to take a nap. tonight we are going boating on the rio Tormes. it's one of the most popular places to get pictures of salamanca. i think it will be a lot of fun and a bit refreshing. it is pretty warm here today. if i have time later i'm going to post some of my pictures from portugal. tonight i'm going to be studying. wish me luck on my first exam in spain!

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portugal!

the wifi was broken at the hotel, so i couldn't post while i was in portugal. 

friday afternoon we took a charter bus to portugal. it was about a 6 and 1/2 hour bus ride. most of us slept throughout the trip. it was about dinner time when we arrived and everyone got ready really quickly and we went out. near our hotel was an arena that had a small mall and restaurants below it. we split into smaller groups and found somewhere to eat. my group went to a very nice pizzaria. our waiter was superb! probably the nicest person i've encountered on my trip. my meal was delicious. our waiter spent a lot of time talking to us about different things they do in portugal, and differences between portugal and the US. he let us try one of portugal's famous beers for free. it was really good. he also gave one of the girls a salad for free because she was still hungry after her meal. he stayed about 30 minutes after his shift ended to talk with us. he was really nice. i was so excited that our first experience in portugal was wonderful! after dinner a couple of the smaller groups met up and went to see the movie magic mike! it was a lot of fun.

 

saturday we had a day tour with a guide. she took us around the city and showed us some of the best views from portugal. the ocean was absolutely beautiful. after our tour we had free time. we stopped and grabbed lunch and it was a horrible experience. our waiter was rude.. and after we left he chased us down the street and accused us of shorting him 3 euros. we proceeded to count the money again showed him it was correct and he counted it again to be sure.. i couldn't believe it. we told several people about it and they all agreed that wasn't normal and assumed he may have been trying to get more money out of us because he were foreigners. we did a little bit of shopping but for the most part portugal had the same stores that salamanca has.. only more expensive.. portugal was more expensive than salamanca, but i assume that it's because most of the cities are very touristy. we went back and took a nap and then got ready for the evening. we went to a restaurant close to our hotel because one of our program directors went out with us. afterwards, we took a bus downtown to find dinner. we ended up eating at this cute little restaurant. the food was absolutely delicious and i treated myself to cheesecake for dessert! so good! after dinner we were going to go out but it was way too cold. it gets much colder in the evenings than it does in salamanca and the wind was terrible. everyone was freezing.

 

sunday we went to go see an area called hell's mouth. it was so pretty. afterwards we went to the beach. the weather was warm but the water was so cold. if you stood in the water for a minute or two your entire body would go numb. i only went in the water up to my knees but a couple people jumped right in.. they were freezing. we grabbed lunch after the beach and made our way back to salamanca.

 

when i got home tonight they were just finishing dinner. we had spanish tortilla and a couple slices of ham. it was really good. i'm really tired as i didn't get to sleep much on the bus home. i really had a great weekend and loved all my time in portugal. my only complaint is that i wish i would have gotten another stamp on my passport, but it's rare when traveling within europe. i'm going to do my homework and head to bed.

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museum, churros, and more wandering

today after class i went to a bunch of small shops. i didn't buy anything, just looking around for gift ideas. a lot of the shops carry the same things, but the prices can really vary. i also had some time to kill before we went to an art museum. the art museum we went to in salamanca actually used to be a house. it's unique because of it's close proximity to the cathedral. there typically don't allow houses to be built so close. it had an absolutely beautiful stained glass ceiling. i luckily got a couple pictures of it before our guide told us we couldn't take pictures.

after the museum i cam home for lunch. we had soup, salad, veal, and a banana for dessert. after lunch i tried to siesta for a bit but decided to go to the corte ingles (large shopping store) with a few girls. after the corte ingles we went and got churros. i don't like chocolate, so i only had a little piece of one. we walked around a little bit and then went home.

we just finished dinner and had noodles, pizza, and yogurt for dessert. tonight there is a big party in the plaza mayor to celebrate spain winning the euro cup. it's kind of like a championship tour. i don't think i'm going to go up there.

we leave for portugal tomorrow afternoon. i believe it is a 5 hour bus ride. it's supposed to be very pretty and we will be on the beach. there are about 20 people going so it should be a lot of fun. i've yet to pack.. but that shouldn't take long.. how much do i need for one weekend?

i've been very tired the past couple of days. i know it's because i'm staying up way to late and i haven't gotten to take a good siesta in a few days. some people are going out tonight and i'm debating whether or not i'm going to go. a lot of the bars in town are starting to do promotions for the weekend. for many people their weekends begin on thursday night.. i had better get going if i'm going to get all my stuff done and try to go out tonight!

next post will be from portugal! i'm crossing my fingers for free wifi at the hotel!!

ceiling at the art museum! how beautiful!

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