I made it!

Well, I made it back home at about 1:oo in the morning Sunday after leaving my "home" in Salamanca at 5:00 AM on Saturday. The trip was longer than expected because my flight was delayed by almost 3 hours in Madrid, which made me miss my connecting flight in DC. It was exhausting, especially after not sleeping much on the flight and having to stay awake in the airports. It was kind of cool because I met a lot of people. One girl was from Barcelona and was moving to DC to teach Spanish for a year. I also met another woman from the southern part of Spain. She was telling me about all of the things that she can't get used to in the US. They were all of the things that I noticed were different for me when I was in Spain. Anyways, I'll see you later! Wedding planning here we come! Adiós!

Last day!

Just got done eating my last lunch in Sali and I'm all done with my exams now, hurray! My host sister is opening her first restaurant tonight so we're going to go there for dinner. Last night we had our little "graduation" ceremony. It was chaotic as usual with everyone standing up at the same time...all I can say is that we do it much more organized in the U.S. I really had a good time here but I'm so ready to be back home...it's a long time to be away. Tomorrow I leave bright and early..well, early but not quite sunny bright. Hasta luego :)

Relaxing long weekend!

I'm just finishing up a nice long weekend. We had off today and got Paella for lunch because it's Santiago Day...People walk or bike across the country to go to this cathedral in Santiago, which is the capital of Galicia just north of Portugal. So it's a religious holiday and people get off of work. Actually the whole country doesn't recognize it. Anyway, yesterday I went to the rastro in Salamanca; it's a huge flea market that opens every Sunday. I also climbed the tower of the new cathedral of Salamanca. Very cool veiw! I'll post some pics. When I got "home" my host mom, Filo, asked me if wanted to go with her to the pool. She goes almost every afternoon after work. It was so cool and a short walk...There were two pools. One normal sized outdoor and a huge olympic one that was heated with a dome that can open and close like Miller Park. When I was suntanning I found two four-leaf clovers too! I have an eye for them even in Spain I guess ;)

Pasta night

The night before last the girls and I made pasta in the dorms. It was yummy to have some different food for a change. We "made" some gazpacho out of a carton and ate it out of plastic cups. It surprised us how good it was, considering all we had to do was pour it out of the carton, lol! Nothing else is really new...just studying again. Exams start Tuesday!

El Escorial

Today we went on our last group excursion to El Escorial. It was kind of a light day in comparison to some of our other trips where they try and fit 2 or 3 things into one day. It was cool because we saw real paintings by Valazquez, who we´re learning about in our art class right now. It was also a little creepy because it´s a place where they hold dead royalty. When we went into this small room, there were stacks of caskets from the floor to the ceiling. I didn´t like it one bit...I was getting carried away with my imagination! It was pretty cool though I guess. I couldn´t take any pictures of the inside, otherwise I would post them. For lunch we had the menu del dia at this really busy place and ate outside. (The gazpacho was yummy.) Nothing else is really new. Last night we went to see Resacon II (The Hangover II) en español and Mary spilled the popcorn all over the floor, lol. In the movie theatres here you have to choose your seats. Also, they don´t have butter for your popcorn! I guess that resists the temptation! Hasta luego!

Ahh la siesta!

I'm actually posting this from my bedroom as I'm relaxing and trying to nap...I was starting to think I was getting used to the siesta. I'm only able to get internet from my Kindle from inside the house-I was psyched to see it worked! I am past the month mark...now I have been in Spain longer than any other country. I can see how people can do it for longer, but I still like being in my own home :). Tomorrow I'm going to go shopping and see a movie and Sunday our excursion is to El Escorial. Hasta pronto...9 days left of class, not that I'm counting...

Estudiando...

Tomorrow I have three exams for Art History, Grammar, and "España Actual," which doesn´t translate the best, but is a study of the differences in how Spanish is spoken within Spain. So I´m off to study some more. I´m fighting off a cold, so I´m hoping I can stay awake long enough to get enough studying in...Hasta pronto!