We Made It!!! :)

---

Sorry to keep you all waiting, but I am FINALLY able to sit down and take some time to write my first blog while here in Salamanca! We have been so busy getting settled into our apartments, the area, and our school...and so far so good! 😊 The only problem is that the internet is a lot slower here and I don´t have as much access to it as I do back home. Therefore, I probably won´t be able to blog as much as I had hoped! Maybe I can come up with a way to make the blogging process faster and easier, but only time will tell!!!

With only being here a little over a week, I have already fallen in love with the city! It´s such a fun and beautiful place; I am so glad this is the location that the program is at! I don´t think I would have ever traveled here if not, and I would have missed out on something wonderful!

Okay so going back a week or so...we arrived in Madrid on Friday morning as scheduled. Half of our group´s luggage (including mine) got lost along the way! Luckily though, Sam got both of her bags so were able to share clothing and essentials until the luggage arrived the next day. Before it arrived though, they took us on a bus tour of Madrid and we were able to go to the ¨Museo del Prado¨ (Prado Museum) and the royal palace in Madrid. The museum had a lot of paintings by the Spanish painter Velazquez, but most of the art in the museum had a similar theme so I got bored easily (probably also because of how tired we were from the flight). The next place we went was the royal palace. It was HUGE!!! (Something like 2,800 rooms!) The exterior wasn´t too impressive, but the interior was incredible with its intricately painted ceilings and beautiful wall decorations. My favorite was the throne room, but we weren´t able to take pictures so I only have it in memory. After the palace, we finally left for Salamanca and arrived two hours later.

Although I have not yet been able to travel around the entire city yet, we have gone on a few walking tours and have gotten to see a lot! I love all of the Spanish architecture! There are so many beautiful buildings to look at, so even though we do a lot of walking, there is never a dull moment. For instance, on my way to school, I pass a covenant and the main university, which are both absolutely amazing! We also were able to go in the new and old cathedrals here in Salamanca. They were beautiful, but I still think the one I visit a few years back in Sevilla is the most impressive. We also went to a little flea market this weekend across town, which was basically like a swap meet back home, and they had some really neat stuff for really cheap. I didn´t get anything though!

As for the people here, so far everyone has been really nice and understanding of us Americans. Sometimes it can be tricky to communicate with people because I don´t know fluent Spanish (actually I only know muy poco! haha), but I seem to be able to get my point across which is always a good thing! A lot of the locals seem to know a little bit of English because they study it in school so it is easier to talk with them because we can help each other!

My roommates are also really cool! We all get along really well and have a lot in common. There are six of us total and the other girl’s names are Nadyne, Ali, Blanca, and Natalie. We all share a cute little three bedroom, two bathroom apartment. It also has a fairly good sized patio. The apartment is about a fifteen minute walk from the don Quijote school and a ten minute walk from the Plaza Mayor (pronounced as “Platha Myor,” but we just call it the Plaza), which is in the middle of the city. Apparently all cities in Spain have a “Plaza Mayor,” but the one in Salamanca is supposed to be the largest and most beautiful. We were able to see the one in Madrid and it doesn’t even compare! During the day everyone hangs out in the Plaza and they even sit on the ground! It’s actually a really fun place to hangout and get a little bit to eat or some “café con leche,” (our favorite!).

The nightlife has also been fun so far. People go out every night and stay out really late every night, which we are not used to. On monday we went to a beer pong tournament and Tuesday was all you can drink Sangria for five euros, both at a place called the Irish Rover. When we finally decided we wanted to leave, everyone was asking us where we were going since it was "still early." (yea right!) It has also been Carnivale all week, which is basically a constant festival where people dress up in funny costumes. It's like Halloween everyday!

School here has also been going well. We haven´t really gotten much homework yet. I think our teachers want us to get settled in, and they need to settle in themselves. All of classes have been interesting so far and I think I am going to do well in them all. The only class I am a little worried about is Spanish because our teacher only speaks to us in Spanish, and since I don´t know a lot of Spanish it can get confusing. I am definitely learning a lot more this way though. I can see that I know more in class now than on the first day. It´s also fun to learn something in class and then shortly after be able to use it in real life situations! I hope to come home knowing a lot of Spanish. Probably not fluent obviously, but definitely enough to hold a conversation with someone!

Overall, in the short amount of time I have been living in Salamanca, I have been having an amazing time! I am so glad I was given this opportunity and am so thankful I am able to be here right now! But I do miss you all very much and hope you are doing well! 😊

---

Photos

Salamanca, my [temporary] home!
Our first view of Salamanca while still on the bus from Madrid.

Royal palace in Madrid
Inside the palace grounds.

ROOMMATES in Madrid
From left to right: Natalie, me, Sam, Ali, Nadyne, and Blanca.

The don Quijote school
It is SO small! This is just the entrance. It looks more appealing inside!

Plaza Mayor in Madrid
Statue of don Quijote (who my school is named after!).

Museo del Prado in Madrid
(Prado Museum)

Royal palace in Madrid
With some of the roommates!

Our Flat!
Mine and Sam´s bedroom (Before we were settled in!)

Comments

[Gramps]

Nikki - well done for the second entry on your blog. It sounds like you are doing well. I am impressed wiuth your narrative. What is the name of the street where your apartment is? I want to find it on Google earth.

[Gramps]

The previous comment went befor i finished!!!! I am pleased trhat you were able to go to the Prado. Best wishes to Sam.

[missnikki]

Thank you! It took me a long time to get it all together! Uploading the pictures took FOREVER!!! But I like the way it turned out as well. We live on Calle Jardines, so you can check it out! Hope you are doing well! And Sam says, ¨thanks!¨

[missnikki]

oh yes...and I saw the paintings you told me about at the Prado! They were beautiful; I was just so tired when we were there! I also really liked one they had of Jesus on the cross and another called ¨Las Meninas¨which was of the little girl in a huge dress by Velezquez. That one was really cool! I didn´t like though most of the paintings by Goya when he was sick. If you remember them they were the paintings he had done on the walls of his own house and were all scary images! I don´t know how he lived with seeing those everyday!