First week in Salamanca

My first week of intensive Spanish class is now over. It's not really that intense, but I guess it's nice to hear Spanish for an extra three hours a day in order to get used to it. My professor's really awesome though. He actually teaches and is partly in charge of the Spanish program at Middlebury during the summer. We're learning a lot of information related to what to say and what not to say in conversation as opposed to writing, but I'm remembering very little because there's just way too much.

I finally took some pictures of the city, some were taken in not-so-optimum weather, but it will at least give some impression of the city.Here is a very poor picture of the cathedral, I'll get a better one soon.

This is the facade of the University of Salamanca. Whenever a student of the University first arrives, they're supposed to find the frog in the facade. The story goes that if they do, they will pass all of their classes and/or soon have a boy/girlfriend. I unfortunately needed help to find it...


This is the building that my Spanish class is in for the next week. It's really cold, but pretty.


This is the front of the Universidad Potificia de Salamanca, the private university in the city.


Some random road outside of my classroom.


La Casa de las Conchas. The public library.


View from the window of my Spanish class. Not too bad.


Looking down at the street.


The UPSA building again. If you look really close, you can see a stork on the top right of the closest tower.

Overall, so far, everything's going very well. The whole cooking thing I'm still not used to, but that'll come in time. A bunch of us are going out tonight for the first time. The Spanish are crazy. We're planning on leaving about midnight to get there about 12:15. And that's early for people our age. College students don't really make it out to the bars until 1ish. Before that they're in a cafetería (coffee shop, not bad food place). At about 2 or 3, they make their way over to the discotecas and come home anywhere between 4 and 7. Insane. We'll see how long I can last.

Moved In! (For a few days now...)

It's taken me wayy too long to update this considering everything that's been happening over the last few days. Unfortunately, not many pictures yet, but more should be coming very soon.

To begin, the metro in Madrid was definitely a more pleasant experience than any that I've been on the U.S. However, lugging a 70 pound bag on said metro during the morning rush hour, not so pleasant. Met everyone from my program back on Sunday at the airport, then took a bus into Salamanca. Spain is a lot more barren and farm-y than I was expecting, at least the part of it that I went through. Not a whole lot of trees.

I moved into my room as soon as the bus got into the city and it turned out that I'm sharing my kitchen with Reid Wilson from Amherst. It's a pretty good set-up because I've got my own room and bathroom, but I still have a semi-roommate person so that I'm not just sitting around my room alone when I'm in it. Everyone has their own individual water-heater so making showers quick is definitely important. Still getting used to the whole cooking-your-own food thing too. We made lemony-chicken tonight; wayyyy to much lemon. Getting there though. Here are some pictures of my room.


Orientation has been crazy busy. I once again find myself hating orientation-type activities like role-playing games, and "social hours" when they send you to an arcade to mingle... Awkward. I'm already starting to get used to the streets of the city. You can walk from one side of it to the other in a half hour which is really nice. All of the streets are cobblestone and a lot of the city center was built in the 1200's. It's so amazingly beautiful. Most streets in the city are pedestrian only, or so you think until a delivery truck goes flying by you at 40 mph. I was surprised at the degree that siesta exists here. Everything in the city just closes from about 1 until 4 or 5. Nothing's open, it's really hard to get used to. Also, maybe its just Salamanca, but there's soo much ham and yogurt, it's everywhere!

I'll leave it at this for tonight as its probably already way too long. I'll update soon with more photos.

I'm in Spain!

I'm here in Madrid now! Woooot! I left my house at 2:45 yesterday and checked into my hotel at 4:30 or so today. It was a very long trip with my sleep last night consisting of a half-hour nap. Just a bit tired right now. Luckily, everything seemed to go smoothly despite the doomy weather back in the northeast and the storm here in Madrid yesterday. There were a couple delays with flights, but I made all the connections and got here just as planned.

When I was in London for a few hours between flights, I started having this overwhelming urge to laugh at anyone who talked to me because they all had British accents. I realize that I was, in fact, in England, and I blame it on a lack of sleep, but they all sounded so strange. I had a very nice experience with British Airways, but I would prefer it if they flattened Heathrow and rebuilt it in a much more practical manner. It took me 2 hours to get from my arrival gate from the US to my departure gate to Madrid. And I was moving the whole time. It was insane. They also must convert to the Euro, I now have 3 pounds in change that I will never use again. Also, my first experience being in a vehicle that drives on the left side of the road. Terrifying. I'm also impressed with Madrid's metro system, very very clean, at least on the lines near the airport...

Here's some pics of my hotel room!
That's about it for now. I move into my room for the semester tomorrow. I just need to figure out how to wake up in the morning.... Oh, I also ate McDonalds for dinner. It's a horrible start to my trip in terms of the purpose of the trip, but I was way too hungry and the food was definitely higher quality than the typical meal from McDonalds.

Last Night in CT

I'm finally about to leave, but it doesn't quite feel like it. Everything is somehow all set to go. My computer was fixed today after crashing completely three days ago. I lost some things from my hard drive, but nothing too important. My checked bag weighs 69 pounds. They don't let you bring on anything over 70. Let's hope my scale is right. Also, my phone is staying home tomorrow, so I won't get anything after 2 pm tomorrow. I got to see everyone I wanted to see over break which was nice, and with almost no drama! Oh, for those of you who this may matter to, I tried sushi. Unfortunately, it was apparently an avocado roll, and I spend the next hour with a very itchy throat thanks to my very odd, but mild, allergy to avocado. So, I still need to have my first enjoyable sushi experience.

I finished the semester with not-so-great grades, for what I'm used to at least. I had a 3.15 average for the semester and my first C+ ever in physics. Gah. Luckily, this is a further boost for my desire to get a break from Amherst for the semester before the final stretch. My final obstacle, the 6-12 inches of snow that will be falling at its peak as my plane should be leaving the airport in NY. Wish me luck, and I will keep this as updated as I can. Sorry if this a horribly confusing stream of consciousness. Talk to you all from Europe!

Looking back at 2008

So, some of you may recall that time I subjected you to that mash-up of the top 25 songs of 2007. Well, the 2008 version came out and it inspired me to make a slideshow of the past year, which has been my best year yet. So enjoy!

Last Night in Amherst

So, I had a small end-of-semester gathering in my room on Friday night as it might be awhile before I see anyone again and my essay wasn't about to be written either. I think I'll just post this one picture from the night and it should suffice. Gonna miss you guys!!!

DONE!

Finished my last final at 5:30 this morning. But it's done. No more. Now I can spend the next 3 weeks crazy busy trying to get ready for Spain and applying for internships for next summer. So, I found out my housing info a few days ago. I get my own apartment on the campus of the University of Salamanca! I don't know what kind of room exactly, but I will get a private bathroom and either a private or shared kitchen with one other person. Here's a floor plan!
My building kinda looks like it was built in the 70s. But its new and the inside of it is okay.

They also have these cool 360* views of the rooms in the dorm. I'll either be in a room like this, or in the Individual - Cocina Compartida: http://www.resa.es/tourVirtual/hoteles/14/Panoramica.asp

So basically, I'm really excited. I'm gonna pick my classes now and procrastinate on unpacking.