I went to Salamanca this year for Christmas break. It was a tough decision because of course it would be great to go home, but our break is only 2 weeks here and it's a really long trip between here and Maine. I lived with a family and had the entire "student apartment" to myself because everyone else had gone home for Christmas. I took a Spanish course while I was there to try to improve my proficiency a little over the break. There were only a couple of other students in my class (which I should have expected, considering it's [View Full Entry]

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This past weekend I went to Angers, France to visit my friend Nissa. She’s studying abroad there for a semester. I was a little nervous about going, considering that I don’t speak a word of French, but most everyone I spoke to during the trip spoke English, which surprised me. People here keep telling me that English is the universal language (and it is a required course in many countries) but it just seems strange to me. Maybe because I never had to learn a language as a requirement, it seems odd that other people would have to learn English. [View Full Entry]

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Although I really, really miss snow (there’s no chance of it here because it’s too warm) I do think that Santiago looks very festive. Maybe it’s because I’m not watching much TV here, but I think that there more of a focus on the religious aspects of Christmas than the commercialism. On Christmas Eve the Spanish eat a big dinner which usually includes seafood. And “Papa Noel” is gaining popularity, but it’s more traditional to give gives on “El Día de los Reyes Magos” (The Day of the Wise men), which falls on January 5th this year. It marks the day [View Full Entry]

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The bus ride from Santiago to Porto is about 3 hours, but I enjoyed looking at the beautiful countryside. Both Spain and Portugal are known for their wine, so there were many vineyards to see along the way. There were even small vineyards in people’s backyards. I learned later that many people grow their own grapes and make wine once a year. Essie and I met up with Joana once we arrived and Joana showed us around the city. It was really different from what I expected. I just assumed that it would be about the same size as Santiago (about [View Full Entry]

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On Thursday I went to Finisterre with my friend, Essie. Finisterre is a small fishing town that is famous for its impressive lighthouse. It is usually the last stop for pilgrims completing the Camino; it’s traditional for pilgrims to burn an article of clothing when they finally reach the end of their journey. We took a bus, which took 3 hours because it followed a coastal route. Once we got there, we walked around for a bit and found a really nice little beach. Then we started walking. Along the way we found a map. Unfortunately, it was pretty much useless [View Full Entry]

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Hola Everyone! This week has gone by so quickly! The weather is still inexplicably beautiful; I haven’t been caught in a rain storm yet. Now that I have my schedule finalized, I can see how the semester will go. The classes aren’t too difficult, but I do have quite a few on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I think my favorite class is Introduction to Comparative Literature. Last class we talked about the difficulties of adapting plays into movies. We also discussed the prevalence of Shakespeare in pop culture. We got to watch an interpretation of Hamlet on The Simpsons and an [View Full Entry]

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Hi everyone! Well, I've been in Spain for almost a month now. In a way it seems like I just left, but it's also quite hard to remember what life in Maine is like. At first, I had a difficult time adjusting here, but now I'm finally starting to feel settled in. I would say that my life here is almost 180 degrees from my life in Maine. One of the hardest things to get used to is the "Spanish time". Many stores are closed during the siesta time (ranging from 1:30 to 5) and then they reopen from 5 to [View Full Entry]

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