Hoyas celebrating Obama's inauguration! (2 people from our group are missing)
l-->r Kaley, Pam, Molly, me, Carter
OUR NEW PRESIDENT!!!!!!!! (I had to include this one!)
Plaza Mayor by night
Overlooking the Old Cathedral
Everything looks better in black & white!
As promised, I finally have some pictures! By now, you are all well aware of my well-documented quest to find internet in Salamanca, and, miraculously, I'm actually online at my apartment right now (knock on wood, because who knows how long it will last?!?)! But things are definitely better now in Salamanca, even though each day presents a new struggle (i.e. the fact that it rains EVERY day, and no, I'm not exaggerating- I'm glad that I learned my lesson while living in D.C. this summer and now bring my ellaella everywhere- umbrella for those of you who are not Kate, Dave, or anyone who I lived with this summer!). But I'm settling into life as a salmantina, even though I'm afraid I'll always be seen as a gringa. I am slightly confused when I walk down the street and am not harassed by many of the people giving out pamphlets or asking you to give blood. Is it because I don't make I contact with them, or do they know my dark secret, that I'm an American??? Sometimes I feel like I'm walking around with a sign on my back proclaiming my nationality, such as yesterday, when Molly and I were leaving the bank and heard a guy yell over to us, "Do you speak ENGLISH?!!!!!!" Really? Are we that obvious? The guy, an Australian, pretty much did a victory dance when he saw us, which was actually quite funny, except for the fact that we have no sense of where anything is and couldn't help him find the language school he was looking for.
As was the case last semester, getting a bank account has proven to be a complete hassle, and an experience that leaves me eternally frustrated, but not a bit surprised. Last Friday, we went with Celia, our program director, to Caja Madrid, one of what seem like hundreds of banks in Salamanca. We were informed that, in order to open an account, we had to go to the police station and obtain a form saying that we don't permanently reside in Salamanca. Great. It was in a part of town that I was not familiar with, and when Celia proposed that we all go on Monday, I panicked. I have class during the time they wanted to go, and I really didn't want to go to the police station by myself (yes, I know I'm a wimp). So Molly and I decided to bank shop, heading next to Barclay's, a bank that held the promise of English-speaking employees. We did manage to talk to the one English-speaking employee in the branch, and, after taking all of our information, he told us that our accounts would be ready on Monday.
We had class all day on Monday, so went back on Tuesday. The second we got there, though, he told us that he couldn't open accounts for us, because Barclays' policy is that you have to live in the given city for at least a year (which we're not- we're leaving in June). Go figure. I actually started laughing. Of course. This seems to be my lot in life- difficulty opening a European bank account. One nice souvenir from the Barclays employee was that he gave us the name of another bank, Santander, that he thought had a special plan for students. And sure enough, we went to Santander and found that they DID have a plan for students!!!!! And, while we have to wait another 5 or 6 days to get our cards, at least we HAVE bank accounts!!!
So enough about banks, I know you probably don't want to hear about it. It's just a funny (or not so funny, depending on how you look at it) anecdote from my European adventures. So, classes. Yeah, they've started. And the excitement of the first week, of finally getting into a routine here, has most definitely worn off. I just had such a terrible academic experience last semester that I'm hoping, with all of my being, that this semester is different. One major difference that I've already noticed is that participation is actually a word Spaniards know. As in participation from students. Wait, you mean that's allowed? Not only is it allowed, but it's a way of evaluating students! All of my French professors would blush at such a heinous idea! So that's a big, and welcome, difference. Another difference, this one not as welcome, is the fact that I have reading- as in LOTS of reading- for my history classes. For one class, I have a 200-page packet that I have to read throughout the course of the semester. Great. I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot of reading on planes, trains and buses during all of our travels this semester. One nice thing is that I only have one class without other Georgetown people, and even WITH those Georgetown people (which means awesome study seshes once it gets closer to exam time), I've managed to meet a few other people. In our history class today, Carter and I started talking with a German Erasmus student, who turned out to be really nice. So at the end of class, he asked for my phone number and told Carter and I that he would call us to go out for drinks! Yay! We have a foreign friend! Someone we speak Spanish with!
So let's see, what's on tap for the foreseeable future? Well, next week I'm joining the gym (I wanted to wait until February 1st so I wouldn't be charged a full month price for 2 weeks), and I couldn't be happier. I REALLY need it, especially with all of the drinks I have to buy in order to get internet. One of the highlights was on Tuesday, when Molly and I went to the Irish Rover, a bar/internet lover's heaven. In lieu of the usual coffee (for her) and tea (for me), we decided to go a little crazy and get vodka y limón (the latter being Fanta lemon soda). YUM!!!! It was 6€, so we're definitely not doing that very often, but it was really good. But yeah, I need to join the gym. There's a really good one by my house, so I'll go sometime early next week when I have time.
Another thing to look forward to is Kate's (yes, bride-to-be Kate!!!) visit. She's doing a tour of Spain, since she has another few weeks before classes start up in Florence, and she's arriving in Salamanca on Friday. We'll spend Friday night here, and then will head for Madrid on Saturday. AND, to make it an even more amazing weekend, Lauren is finally in Madrid (thank God she made it safely!!!) after her whirlwind trip around the Middle East. I can't wait to see both Kate and Lauren, so I think it will be a good bonding weekend for the three of us and Molly! (and hopefully Mary Kathryn too, who got here on Sunday!).
Finally, yesterday Molly, Mary Kathryn and I finalized our spring break plans. Our spring break is from April 3rd to 13th, which is a really good chunk of time. Our original plan was to go to Ireland for the majority of that time and go to Barcelona for the Coldplay concert on April 9th. Or so we thought. So yesterday, Mary Kathryn was booking the Coldplay tickets, and it wasn't until her order had been confirmed that she was told that the concert was, in fact, on SEPTEMBER 9th...meaning that we reversed the digits. She feverishly sent an email to the web admin and will be getting a refund, but it was a hectic few minutes! So we decided on England from the 3rd to the 8th and Ireland from then until the 13th. I'm sooooo excited that we have booked at least one trip, and I think it will be a lot of fun!!!!
It's the weekend for me now, and we're actually going out for a friend's birthday tonight, which will be really fun! And on Saturday, the Georgetown group is going to Peñafiel, where there is a castle (obviously right up my alley!!!!!!!!!!!), and then we're having a wine tasting (ALSO right up my alley!). I'm excited to do something different than sleep in on the weekends (which I NEVER do at home but find myself embracing now, because I figure I need it) and watch Gilmore Girls for the rest of the day. But, on that note, I have finished Gilmore Girls!!! (after it essentially took over my life last week!) I was really sad to finish, but was at least somewhat pleased with the ending. Not that that interests many of you who are reading this, but it's sort of a big deal for my housemates for next year (and friends!). Anyway, I should go get ready, but I hope all is well with all of you, and I'm
Sending you my love,
Kristen
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