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Miguel de Unamuno
This is a statue within the University of Unamuno (the university is named after him). Well, I made it through week one. It was a pretty stressful time, full of adjustments and flexibility on the part of everyone! The biggest news I have to report at this point is that we reserved a rental car to go to Pamplona next weekend. I´m going to see the Running of the Bulls. Mom, don´t worry, I´m not going to actually run... But how AMAZING to be there! We will leave next Friday and return on Sunday. My friend Carlos is convinced that he is running... I think he´s crazy. We´ll see what really happens. All I know is that it will be incredible to have pictures of the ACTUAL event. Jackman & Maria, can you imagine telling students that you have actually been to the running of the bulls???!!!
Beyond that... Here´s my report for week one in Salamanca...
CLASS:
The professors here are incredibly intelligent. My literature prof has been published several times and the history prof is just a walking genius! People ask the strangest questions, and he knows the answer!
It has been interesting, combining so many people of varying cultures into one classroom though... while most of the students live
La Plaza Mayor de Salamanca
This is the main plaza in Salamanca. BEAUTIFUL!! and teach in the U.S.A., there is a definite learning curve occurring for many with regard to the ¨social norms¨of a classroom. Several of the native speakers view the classroom as an opportunity for a private dialogue with the professor. It´s a bit ridiculous at times since there are another 40 people in the room trying to learn. I got real frustrated the first few days with that kind of behavior... mostly because the profs didn´t shut the people up. Rather, they would encourage the crazy questions and the constant interruptions. I believe that by Friday the number of disgusted looks from classmates may have reduced that though! We´ll see what next week brings.
The demands in the classroom are extreme. First, the fact that I am in class for 6 hours each day. I have two ten minute breaks between each two hour session. It´s mostly a lecture format (with the exception of the interruptors!). I have done really well following what is being said, which is great... certainly a relief to know what´s going on. I find myself forgetting that they are even speaking another language! It´s a pretty cool experience.
HOME:
I think I describe my housing situation already a bit... a small place, etc. The meal times are taking some getting used to. Waiting until 11:30pm to eat dinner is a bit extreme for me. I get slightly crabby when food is not available. Nonetheless, my host family is pretty cool. I can come and go when I please, which is great. I was a little nervous about being 28 years old and having a curfew again!!! They are very laid back... I even have refridgerator rights. It´s a comfy place to hang out... when the mom isn´t having a cigarette anyway!
CITY:
I have enjoyed the small city of Salamanca. In the early mornings I´ve been taking some short runs around the neighborhood that I live in. After class and lunch, I usually make it back to the center of town (called the plaza mayor... is there a city in Spain that doesn´t have a ¨plaza mayor¨???) Anyway, there are so many places to hang out and people to watch. Last night, a big group of us from school made plans to hang out near my place at a restaurante called La Parilla. We had so much food it was ridiculous!! When the evening began, we made a game that if you spoke English you had to pay .50 Euro (about 80 US cents) into the pot to cover the meal. By the time the bill came for our dinner, there was a nice chunk of change in the center. I had a pretty cheap dinner because I never spoke one word of English!!! It worked out in my favor!
Spain is such a wine/sangria kind of place. It seems that every place has a cerveza rubia (similar to miller, bud, or coors light) and i´m not the biggest fan. I did find a little Irish Pub here that serves Murphy´s Red though, and last night was a fun night to go there. It´s not a tourist trap at all, so I had a chance to do a lot of speaking in Spanish even after dinner!
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