Valladolid, Spain 2002

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My junior year in college at UW-Eau Claire I participated in a study abroad program to Valladolid, Spain. I spent 5 months there and my travels in Spain included the following places; Leon, Salamanca, Segovia, Madrid, Sevilla, Palma de Mallora, Tenerife and other small cities around Valladolid.

Valladolid is not what people typically think of when they think of Spain. I guess a typical Spainish city (according to what American tourists think) is supposed to be streets ligned with palm trees, beaches near by and parties all night long. Well, in Valladolid we did party all night . . . or in some cases into the next morning . . . but Valladolid was not located in a warm climate so if you are going to Spain to seek a good tan then Valladolid is not the place for you. But I am going to mention the things that I loved about Valladolid and maybe that is what you are looking for.

Valladolid is a great city to learn Spanish. Unlike Madrid, Sevilla and other popular Spanish cities, Valladolid is not at all "touristy." For that reason, as you conduct your day to day business (class, riding the bus, shopping, ordering food or a calimocho) you will need to do so in Spanish because you are not going to deal with many people who are fluent in English. You will improve your Spanish a lot if you live here for a while.

Here are some things that I will remember from Valladolid.

Living with a host family. I had a great host mom. She was an awesome cook and she always us a great "lunch" which was served between 2:30 and 5. La Comida, as it is called, was a cultural experience in itself. Not only would I and my roomate get to experience authentic Spanish cooking every day but we would also converse with Maria (host mom) every day about what we did and also talk about things going on around Spain and in the world. Maria, Brandon and I became very close through this experience.

Meeting up with friends daily at cafes/bars. When an American thinks of "hanging out with friends" they probably think about going over to someones house. Well, when you study abroad you are not going to invite people over as you really don't have a house of your own . . . so inorder to hang out you need to meet at cafes or bars. Well, the nice thing about Spain is . . . so to do Spainards. It is the norm for Spainards of any age to meet up with friends at a cafe or bar and talk, study, play cards or do whatever.

Making Spanish friends. Between the Jesus and Rodrigo, my host family, other Spainards that I would typically hang out with and others who you would just meet out . . . these friendships were some of the most unique that I have ever had. If you live abroad you need to make the effort to know people who live there.

Hanging out with my stateside friends. Because we were in class together and traveled together I made some great friends while I was in Valladolid. I would often go out with Erin, Beth, Beth, Corrin, Amanda, Crystal, Rachel, Seth, Adam, and Andy. We would go out on weeknights and weekends in Valladolid different bars, movies, do the tapa thing, enjoy discotecas at night and then churros in the morning.

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Photos

Centro de Idiomas
This is the Centro de Idiomas . . . the university where I took my Spanish classes.

Jesus, Rodrigo y yo
Jesus and Rodrigo were 2 of my best friends in Spain. They were also our professors . . . even though they were just a little older then us! We spent a lot of time hanging out in Valladolid at cafes playing cards or chess or just talking.

A typical Valladolid street
This was not far from the flat where I lived.

Nuestro restaurante favorito
We did not go out to eat a lot while we were in Valladolid but we did go to this italian restaurant 3 times. We included Erin, Beth, Laura and a some of the Spainards that we became real good friends with.

Jesus into the Plaza Mayor
Every year during Semana Santa Valladolid holds one of Spain's two large celebrations during that week. Semana Santa means Holy week and represents is the week of easter. Every day there are many random parades . . . some big, some small that have many religious statues, mostly of the crucifiction of Jesus. The statues of Jesus are very detailed and graphic.

A typical Valladolid plaza
Plazas are an important part of a Spanish city. This was one of the plazas I passed through on my way home.

My room
This was my room in the flat where I lived in Valladolid.

Sangria
This was a popular hangout for us in Valladolid . . . and you could get a pitcher of great Sangria for about 5 bucks. I would challange you to find that kind of deal in the US.

Corrida de Toros
There was one weekend of bullfights in Valladolid when we were there. As I sat in the stands, this was certianly a moment where I thought to myself . . . "I am not in the US right now." I enjoyed the bullfight and I think that if you are in Spain you should see one.

Jugamos a las cartas
Here is Jesus, Corrin, Amanda and I playing cards at a cafe after class.

Jugamos ajedrez
Jesus and I playing chess at a cafe.

Clase en el Centro de Idiomas
Here is one of our classrooms in the Centro de Idiomas. We usually had class about 3 hours a day . . . most the time from 9 till noon. The classes were great because they were challenging but at the same time we did not get bogged down with homework . . . this gave us the opportunity to spend a lot of time doing cultural activities and not have to worry too much about school work.

La Comida
Here is where ate many authentic Spanish meals. It would not be uncommon to spend 3 hours here between the 2 meals as we ate and talk. Maria was an awesome cook. My favorite meals were Pallella (a combination of rice and seafood) sopa de lentejas (a hearty lentil soup) and the all time favorite tortilla espanola (a very common spanish dish was basicly an omlet with potatoes and onions . . . very good). Also, no mater what you do in Spain you need to eat Spanish bread. It would not be uncommon for me to eat a full loaf of bread a day . . . it would be comparable to french bread that you buy in the US but at least 100 times better!

La sala
This was the living room and this is where, on evenings when I decided to play it easy, I would stay in, write in my journal, do homework, read, or watch my favorite Spanish game show "Pasapalabra."

Semana Santa
Here is another statue of Jesus during Semana Santa.

Calle Lepanto
Here is where I lived . . . the green complex on the 5th floor.

Real Valladolid
This is the home of the local soccer team Real Valladolid. I went to 2 games which both were wins for Valladolid. One was against Bilao and one versus the famous Real Valladolid. The atmosphere was real interesting . . . not like what you would observe in the US. In certian ways it was intense and in some ways not so intense. My favorite part of the game was half time when the entire croud pulls out a bocadillo de tortilla espanola that is wrapped in tin foil. It is like clock work!

Real Valladolid contra Real Madrid
An action shot from inside the stadium. I think this game ended up in a 2-1 Valladolid win. As the local fans told me everyone in Spain has 2 favorite teams . . . their home town team like Valladolid and either Madrid or Barcelona. I was glad to see the home town team come out on top.

Tomamos Sidra
Here is an action shot of me taking a drink called Sidra. Sidra is a sweet drink and it is commonly drank out of this devise called a porron in far northern Spain. This is the only place in Valladolid that offers Sidra this way. Needless to say this became a common stop on our nightly tours of Valladolid.