Coming here, I had to idea what to expect. I’ve traveled a little bit circa de los Estados Unidos, but never anywhere with buildings older than my country! Toss in a language I haven’t spoken since high school and I was sure that this trip was going to be interesting at the very least. However, my daily life isn’t all too much different than when I’m at home at school.
Our first class, grammar, starts at 9am. After class ends at 11am, I usually meet up with the rest of the group. We still haven’t adjusted to the light Spanish breakfasts and are usually eager for a snack. When we’re feeling adventurous, we will wander the sandstone streets of Salamanca trying to find some little café. Other days, we’re too ravenous and end up at our favorite stand-by restaurant Bambu. In the afternoon, we go to our elective classes, which range from art history (I only lasted a day in this class – my lack of knowledge in Spanish and art made this class way too hard!) to oral skills (my current, much more appropriate class). After this class, the Spaniards celebrate the most important meal of the day: almuerzo aka lunch! Here, lunch is much later but is a three course ordeal. Afterwards, we usually have time for a quick siesta (which was definitely the easiest part to adjust to) and then we’re off to our afternoon conversation class, which is by far my favorite class! For one hour, we meet with a Spanish professor in a local bar to practice speaking in Spanish. Obviously the goal of the class is to practice our skills, but we chat about everything from the best Spanish bars to the cultural norms here. After this class, we usually all meet up as a group to wander around until we leave for dinner, which is served around 9:30. Sometimes we’ll head out to the bars after dinner. Here, the nightlife doesn’t get started until late – people don’t go out until almost 1am! So the next day is always a little tough!
Overall, everything is gorgeous here from the old buildings to the friendly people. Someone’s going to have to drag me back to the States.
Rachael Travers
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<div><span style="color: rgb(29, 29, 29); font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; background-color: rgb(237, 237, 237);">Hailing from a horse farm in northern Massachusetts, Rachael is a integrated marketing communications major from Ithaca College with minors in legal studies, sports studies and communication management and design. In her spare time, Rachael loves to run and do yoga. She completed her fourth half marathon this past spring and is looking to train for the Boston Marathon in 2014. Her favorite things in the world are eating sushi and candy, surfing the web for adorable animal pictures and her Italian Greyhound, Starbucks. Rachael can't wait to explore Spain this summer and hopefully improve her rusty high school Spanish skills!</span></div>
