¡He tenido dos días maravillosos aquí en España! (For all of you gringos out there, I said that I’ve had a great couple of days here in Spain!)
Monday was pretty great (for a Monday anyway)! We had our usual class schedule, which for me is Advanced Oral Spanish from 10:40 AM until 12:20 PM and Spanish Phonetics from 12:30 PM until 2:10 PM. I had a quiz in each class. I think I did quite well! I got back my first diario assignment (basically journaling in Spanish about my experience), and I got a 100% plus a “Bravo!” comment from Dr. Pak! Heck yes! I had very few, minor errors on the 400-word assignment, which I’m pretty proud of. Writing is truly my strength when it comes to español. I’m working diligently on the speaking part!
During lunch, my señora had a friend over. He was quite the character. He LOVED to talk politics! Having studied Spain’s government and economy in great detail, I decided to chime in on the conversation. We compared and contrasted Spain’s government with that of the USA and even discussed what rights we have in each country, including gay marriage, abortion, owning a gun, etc. Describing the complexity of the laws in the US to Belén and her friend proved difficult for me, as I had to use vocabulary that I rarely use. I must say that I did better at expressing myself in that moment than I would have at this time last year! I absolutely love talking with Spaniards about hot button issues, as it’s a great way to gauge how people perceive what is important in their society.
While relaxing after lunch, a few girls who are planning on going to Barcelona the same weekend that I am texted me and asked for some help buying tickets on the Renfe (train ticket) website. I met them down at a little café near the aqueduct where there is free WiFi (praise díos!), and we got the ticket situation all sorted out.
Afterwards, Becca and I had plans to go to the park with her ukulele and play/sing songs! Y’all… She has an AMAZING singing voice and can rock a uke! We sang “The Way I am” and “Be OK” both by the lovely Ingrid Michaelson, “I’ve Got A Feelin’” by the Black Eyed Peas, and “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz. Becca even let me give the uke a try! I was able to play the first part of the chorus of “I’ve Got A Feelin’” by the Black Eyed Peas after some practice! Talk about AWESOME! I totally want a ukulele now! Great Monday, huh?!
Monday was pretty great (for a Monday anyway)! We had our usual class schedule, which for me is Advanced Oral Spanish from 10:40 AM until 12:20 PM and Spanish Phonetics from 12:30 PM until 2:10 PM. I had a quiz in each class. I think I did quite well! I got back my first diario assignment (basically journaling in Spanish about my experience), and I got a 100% plus a “Bravo!” comment from Dr. Pak! Heck yes! I had very few, minor errors on the 400-word assignment, which I’m pretty proud of. Writing is truly my strength when it comes to español. I’m working diligently on the speaking part!
During lunch, my señora had a friend over. He was quite the character. He LOVED to talk politics! Having studied Spain’s government and economy in great detail, I decided to chime in on the conversation. We compared and contrasted Spain’s government with that of the USA and even discussed what rights we have in each country, including gay marriage, abortion, owning a gun, etc. Describing the complexity of the laws in the US to Belén and her friend proved difficult for me, as I had to use vocabulary that I rarely use. I must say that I did better at expressing myself in that moment than I would have at this time last year! I absolutely love talking with Spaniards about hot button issues, as it’s a great way to gauge how people perceive what is important in their society.
While relaxing after lunch, a few girls who are planning on going to Barcelona the same weekend that I am texted me and asked for some help buying tickets on the Renfe (train ticket) website. I met them down at a little café near the aqueduct where there is free WiFi (praise díos!), and we got the ticket situation all sorted out.
Afterwards, Becca and I had plans to go to the park with her ukulele and play/sing songs! Y’all… She has an AMAZING singing voice and can rock a uke! We sang “The Way I am” and “Be OK” both by the lovely Ingrid Michaelson, “I’ve Got A Feelin’” by the Black Eyed Peas, and “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz. Becca even let me give the uke a try! I was able to play the first part of the chorus of “I’ve Got A Feelin’” by the Black Eyed Peas after some practice! Talk about AWESOME! I totally want a ukulele now! Great Monday, huh?!
Today (Tuesday), we had our excursion to Salamanca and Ávila. Salamanca is probably one of my favorite cities in all of Spain. It boasts not one, but TWO cathedrals and one of the oldest universities in the world, founded in 1218! That’s like… Oxford old! There was a major earthquake in Lisbon, Portugal (not far from Salamanca), which destroyed a lot of the old architecture in Salamanca. As a result, the city fixed up the façades the buildings, building an astronaut and a devil eating ice cream into one of the columns. (Definitely check out the pictures at the end of this post to see what I’m talking about.) There is also a frog on top of one of the skulls on a column at the University of Salamanca; if you can find it on the column, you will have good luck and pass all of your exams! I adore all of the quirky symbolism that Salamanca has around the city!
During our free time, I had lunch in the Plaza Mayor at a café/bar called la La Marina de Salamanca. I had two little tapas of tortilla española (Spanish tortilla made from eggs and potatoes) and pulpo a la gallega (grilled octopus)! Mmmm! ¡Qué rico! ¡Está de muerte! (How yummy! It’s dead good!) I also checked out the old market, got a couple of souvenirs, and eventually met up with some friends in my program for some ice cream and laughs.
During our free time, I had lunch in the Plaza Mayor at a café/bar called la La Marina de Salamanca. I had two little tapas of tortilla española (Spanish tortilla made from eggs and potatoes) and pulpo a la gallega (grilled octopus)! Mmmm! ¡Qué rico! ¡Está de muerte! (How yummy! It’s dead good!) I also checked out the old market, got a couple of souvenirs, and eventually met up with some friends in my program for some ice cream and laughs.
We finally returned to Segovia after a 12-hour excursion around 7:00 PM, and now I'm ready to REST... and study! Haha. Thanks again for reading! Hasta pronto! :)