Trial & Error & Moving On

UPDATE: In preparation for a new food blog I'm developing, I'm going to be working within the SalamancaLogs blog to test some layout and conceptual features. If you've previously signed up to follow this blog, be forewarned: movements and changes there may be, but the excitement will ultimately be elsewhere. I'll post a link to the new blog once it's up and running!

Not goodbye, hasta luego!

I will be home on Tuesday the 22nd, but here are a few final thoughts from Madrid...

It’s hard for me to say right now how I'm feeling about going home. I think I've known for a long time that the hardest part would be leaving Salamanca, and now that’s done. I still can’t decide if it was better or worse that it was dark when we left – it meant it didn’t hit me as hard, which made it easier, but I kind of would have liked to have been able to see everything for my last ride out of the city. Everything I've done and am doing in this process of leaving just feels so unreal to me. It doesn’t seem true that I'm not returning to Salamanca when the weekend is over; that I wont be eating at home with Mamen and Lila in a couple of days; that all my classes are over, and I wont even see those professors again. It’s consoling to know that I have a couple more days left in Spain, but the fact is that Madrid really has nothing to do with what I think of when I think of my time here.

When I think of my time in Spain I guess I think most of Salamanca – the city itself – and how well I got to know it, and how comfortable I was there. I definitely think of the people I spent time with – the friends I made, and the crazy things we all did together. I certainly think of my host mom – who I always just called “my mom” – and how much I'm going to miss her sense of humor, and generosity in so many ways. I think about her cooking too, definitely…that was an amazing part of my stay in Spain…I can honestly say that I can only ever remember ONE meal that she made that I actually didn’t like. And we ate a lot of meals in four months.

I can’t even believe that I just said goodbye to just about everyone yesterday and that they’re home, and I’m still here. I’m still waiting for it to really hit me, I think. It’s gonna be rough getting on that plane alone on Tuesday…

But I'm definitely looking forward to seeing all my friends and family again. I think if it weren’t for them, I would be more than happy to spend four more months here. I'm so comfortable – Salamanca really just feels like home.

I think a lot more will come to me when I'm actually at home – I think there are things that I don’t even realize I’ve gotten used to having (or not having) here. I adjusted so quickly to being here that it will be interesting to see what kinds of things stand out to me as being odd when I return home. For example, the other night I was meeting a friend at a bar for a quick drink, and saw tables of people eating dinner. It was totally normal to me, because I was in Spain, but I realized later that it was actually eleven o’clock, and I would never see people eating dinner so late at home. Its just little cultural things like that that I think will be interesting to compare when I get back, although mostly I think the transition will go pretty smoothly – there’s really nothing like being at home, and I'm excited to relax and be there for the holidays. It’s hard to say goodbye, but I have a lot to look forward to…including visiting Salamanca sometime soon!

Better late than never! or, Finally Emily wrote another post!!

oh dear. oh dear. it's been over a month since my last post. I have definitely not reached the Avid Blogger Status that some of you might have anticipated. That aside, my lack of communication should probably be taken as a good sign - I'd be here all the time if I wasn't so busy out having fun! Let's try some bullet-style catch-up so I don't get too overwhelmed!

(You'll remember I left you just after the weekend spent in Valencia with friends...)

- On Sept 20 I went with a couple friends on an organized trip to Ávila and El Escorial, two historic towns roughly to the west of Salamanca. We had beautiful weather, and enjoyed spending time in the beautiful royal gardens, and walking around the streets of the cities.

- From Sept 23 - 27 we had a break so I flew to Norway to visit and meet extended family on my Mom's side. I still don't know the name for the way we're all related, despite the popularity of this topic of conversation during those days. All I can say is that the girls who are the same age as me have the same Great Great Great Grandfather as I do! It was a fantastic trip - everyone was so welcoming and warm, and made me feel right at home. (Plus I got to eat pounds of chocolate!) I can't wait to go back again and spend more time getting to know everyone.

(Sidenote: on my flight back, I had a 7 hour layover in the Amsterdam airport, so I decided to go into the city for a couple hours to meet up with a friend - a fun, rather spontaneous side trip!)

- The next weekend (3&4th of Oct) there was a planned excursion to Toledo and Madrid for the girls on my study abroad group. Basically we saw a lot of art. We did a fly-by tour of Toledo, then spent the night in Madrid. (Here we took advantage of the opportunity to party at the seven-story club in downtown Madrid - Kapital...what a place!) The next day we saw both the Reina Sofia AND the Prado. I saw some really amazing pieces of artwork, but our lack of time and lack of sleep probably did not allow us to do justice to those museums. All the same, it was great to have the chance to see new cities, and just spend some time all together as a group.

- The NEXT weekend (10&11th of Oct...and you'll note this is the fifth weekend in a row that I did not spend at home!) three friends and I bought tickets for a trip to Portugal organized for international students in Salamanca. This was a great trip - lots to do, but also lots of free time, and good parties organized at night. I really enjoyed the Portuguese language a lot more than I expected - I was constantly fascinated by how similar it is to Spanish, and yet how different it sounded. We spent time primarily in Coimbra, Lisbon and some nearby areas but Coimbra was a clear favorite - very much like Salamanca...but in Portugal! I also enjoyed getting to know some people outside of my study abroad program – though we had a lot of fun among ourselves as well!

- The next weekend (17&18^th) I was actually home, and enjoyed reacquainting myself with my daily routine, and spending time in Salamanca. By this weekend we had just finished our third week of (semester-long) classes, and I was starting to get a feel for them. I am taking five classes: Women in the History of Spain, Spanish Cinema, Spanish Language, Spanish Culture, and Spanish Art. I really enjoy almost all of my classes and professors, all for different reasons, but Cinema and Culture are probably my favorites so far. In terms of difficulty, I am not finding the classes to be very challenging…er…at all. Granted, I have midterms coming up right now, and I may soon be eating my own words, but so far I’ve gotten by with a very minimal amount of pain outside of class. It’s a very interesting contrast to being at school (at home) where I feel as though I live my life in between going to class and doing work, whereas here it’s more a feeling of going to class in between living my life! It’s great, actually, because it gives me the opportunity to make the most of my time here, but I also know that next semester I will have a very big reality-check when I return to 10 page papers and projects and entire books to read. …So I do my best to appreciate how relaxed I am here. J

- Finally, we’re getting almost caught up! In the past couple weeks I visited Segovia for a day, ate at a great restaurant with Fantastic drag queens that perform after dinner, celebrated my friend’s birthday with another lovely dinner out, and…celebrated Halloween!! Anyone who knows me knows how good I am at procrastinating, so about two hours before I was due to meet up with my friends, I was still without a costume! Luckily, Salamanca is FULL of “dollar” stores which were full of cheap cheap costumes. I walked out with a 3euro pair of angel wings, wore all white, and was set for the night! (Granted, the wings broke after about four hours, but I was actually pretty impressed on that count!) Although Halloween is in no way a Spanish holiday, Salamanca did not let us down – the Salamantinos love to dress up for any occasion, and the bars know that there are so many international students that it’s worth the effort to decorate and lure us in. (And that they did, quite successfully.)

Well folks, that’s about it for now! I’ve got another friend’s birthday coming up this weekend, a new volunteering opportunity in a Spanish school, and possibly a wine tasting tour on Saturday! I’ll do my best to keep you posted!

Hasta Luego! Besos!

V is for Valencia

So. You will probably all laugh when I tell you that my biggest problem this week has been trying to decide which countries I want to visit while I’m here. (Life’s rough, huh?) It’s a hard decision, because I legitimately want to see everything, and there are so many options and opportunities that it’s hard to think realistically about the money and time that I actually have.

That said, I already have had the chance to travel, and I spent this past weekend in Valencia with ten other girls from my program. It was a really fantastic experience, and while we had quite a few close calls logistically, everything went very smoothly.

(What follows is taken from my journal from the weekend...)

(11.9.09)

On Friday afternoon, we all caught a bus from Salamanca to Madrid. It was actually a pretty awful ride – something like a sauna that couldn’t quite get its act together; when we finally arrived everyone on the bus was drenched in sweat, and I was surprised that there hadn’t been a riot. Luckily, the next bus was much cooler, and most of us took our much-needed siesta. The countryside going by was beautiful, and so interesting – lots of dry land, and acres and acres of sunflowers, and a reservoir with dramatic curves of water meeting cliffs.

Before leaving Salamanca, another girl and I had booked the two hotel rooms that all eleven of us planned to share for the weekend, so when we arrived, we headed straight there to settle in. She and I, and the two other girls who were officially part of the reservation loaded up with everyone’s bags and went to check in. Long story short, we had booked the wrong hotel, and ended up having to walk another sevenish blocks to the hotel where we actually had reservations. It was bad, but I had to laugh, and the rest of the group took it in stride, although us two planners were relegated to the back, and deemed unfit to be followed or listened to. Everyone was really very good-natured, and it was all pretty amusing to me – I think that’s just the way you have to look at it. As it turns out our real hotel was very nice and we were upgraded to Jr. Suites, so instead of having to sleep on the floor, we actually got a pullout sofa, plus the two double beds. (Big perk.) We treated ourselves to Japanese food that night; splitting the bill eleven ways was a riot, but it was worth it.

As I’m writing this [on the 12^th], I’m sitting on the roof of the hotel, with my feet in the pool, looking out over the city around me. To the left I see mountains, to the right I can see a small strip of water. Of the Mediterranean. Spanish music plays on the speakers, and the temperature couldn’t be more perfect. This is a beautiful way to start a day.

(12.9.09)

The activity of the day today was The Beach. The water was beautifully warm, but refreshing, and the 360 view was incredible: beaches, mountains, the boardwalk, and the contrast of the industrial shipping area on the other side of the jetty. The big news of the afternoon was that I succeeded in buying my first pair of Jasmine Pants! The Jasmine Pant is a Spanish fashion phenomenon that has caught my eye since the first day. These are pants that are usually made from silk or light cotton, with beautiful prints and colors; the fabric is very draped, and could easily form a skirt, but instead gathers with elastic at the ankle to form a roughly pant-like shape. They are, honestly, quite impressive; people either love or hate them. (I’ll try to post a photo later so you can decide for yourself.) Personally, I think they’re the most comfortable thing I’ve ever worn – something like the Spanish equivalent of sweatpants.

That evening, six of the other girls and I decided to do a bit of sightseeing. Valencia has some really incredible modern architecture near where we stayed, so we walked around after dinner taking millions of pictures, and running around to see everything we could. With seven of us, and almost as many cameras, we didn’t actually get that far, but we had some great photo-shoots and I think everyone got way more than their allotted 20 minutes of laughter for the day.

We were all sad to have to leave the next day (so soon!) but it was a great trip, and I think we did a lot with what little time we had.

I have so much more to say and I can't believe how long it's been since my last post! Internet is harder to come by than I had expected, but I will do my best to write again soon! Until then!

SalamancAmazing!!

Well wow. Salamanca, Spain.

I have so many things to say – I haven’t been here even one week yet, and I’ve already seen and learned more than I can probably comprehend right now. (In other words, I have a ton to say and will probably ramble on for longer than most sane people can handle. You are officially warned.)

Aside from the killer jet lag, I had a great trip over. I had what I called at the time, “varying moments of reality” where I realized, increasingly more acutely, that now I was really, actually, going to Spain. From the moment I said goodbye to my parents it took about 8 hours until I was suddenly faced with the abrupt inescapability of using my second language to communicate a basic idea. It was definitely a shock to the system, but one that took me about one day to get over.

A few basics: While here, I live in a homestay with one other student – Lila – and our host-mom, Mamen. She lives alone, but has nieces that come over often, and has been hosting students for more than 20 years, so she’s pretty much got the routine down. She’s been great so far, and I’m really enjoying almost everything she cooks for us. There are about 14 girls on our program, and we’ve all been going out together at night and having a lot of fun! Today was my second day of classes and they’re going well too, especially because they only go from 9-12 for the next three weeks!

I feel constantly fascinated and in awe of everything I see here and learn about Spain and Salamanca. One very obvious and interesting difference here is the structure of the day. We wake up to have breakfast around 8:00. Then we’ll go to class and come back by 2:30 for lunch. (We usually bring an apple or buy a small snack for mid-morning). After lunch you can take a nap, or just hang out, relax, do some homework etc until 9:30 when dinner is served. After dinner (around 10 or 11) you can go out, but the bars and clubs are pretty dead until at least 2 or 3. Really. I actually really like the schedule, I just haven’t quite figured out how people stay out until 4, 5, or 6 and wake up again at 8. (Thank god for the siesta!)

The city is absolutely beautiful. There is no doubt that cars have the right of way, but it’s definitely a walking city. From the Plaza Mayor (roughly in the center) you can walk to pretty much any corner of the city in 25 minutes or less. (That is, or course, if you don’t get lost…it’s a process, but I learn new streets and shortcuts every time I go out. It’s extremely gratifying.)

It’s also very humbling to be here in a lot of ways. To be experiencing what it’s like to be on the other side of the language barrier is very eye-opening. When I am at home, and someone is struggling to speak English as their second language, it can be difficult to remember that in their own country they would have no trouble communicating, and might even be far more intelligent than me. But simply because they don’t speak my language, there is some kind of wall that goes up, and the same thing happens here. It’s sad to see, but even worse to realize that I’m usually on the other side. I already have a much greater appreciation for the amount of skill and practice that it takes to be able to communicate in a foreign language and be even vaguely comprehensible.

I take so much for granted at home, and I don’t just mean having a roof over my head, and food on my plate. To say that there is a lack of independence here is a bit overdramatic, but the feeling of being more constrained than I am used to is very striking to me because I didn’t expect it. I am not a “city girl” but I enjoy exploring, and gaining confidence in myself when I am able to find my way around on my own. During the day here, this is “ok” but I have been told over and over that “a woman has no business being out alone after dinner”. This is not because it is unsafe, necessarily, but simply because this is how things are here. It’s been something to get used to, but it really bothers me less and less every day.

Also! Two nights ago we went out for tapas (small portions of food shared by a group) and I tried the house specialty – jaca…pig lips! They were very interesting – a taste like bacon, and both crunchy and chewy – but I can’t say I would order them again. I also just couldn’t bring myself to try the tail. Maybe I’ll be braver by the time I leave. (The other tapas were great though!)

There is so much more I could say, but for now I am just having an amazing time, and I will do my best to keep up here!

Hasta luego!