Salamanca + naps + ham + vino = nearly a native Spaniard

I arrived in Salamanca on Jan.2, and it's been an experience. #1 (unfortunate) realization: French does not equal Spanish. Upon arrival, I was completely helpless. Lesson #2: Most Spanish do not speak English...or so we thought. I do believe that the people we encountered on our first few days who tried to help us while we desperately fumbled around in our Spanish dictionaries did and do not speak English. But more recently we have been wondering if a memo was sent out to the whole town saying "fyi the students are back. Pretend not to speak any English!" We have found that after several long conversations with people, such as landlords, they throw out a wierd phrase like "the linen bag zips up there"...how do they not know english and then know a word such as "zip" may you ask? well, upon questioning, they said "You are here to learn Spanish, no?" So there you have it. Never assume that people don't know English. Although it is obviously in our best interest to assume they don't, but don't say things you don't want people hearing...because they just might understand.

Well the last couple of weeks have been good, but I've all of a sudden developed a hankering for being lazy. Imagine that? In Spain and becoming lazy? Wanting to take naps, eat ham and drink vino all day long? Honestly I never thought I'd become a nap person, but having a two-hour window to take a siesta every day sure changes that! Everything but bars close from 2-4, yes it's true, and on Sunday NOTHING, i repeat NOTHING (except the itty-bitty 24 or 16-hour shop with a few necessities and candy) is open. It's amazing. Spain has truly adopted the day of rest. I never knew that existed...

Luckily, I found a place to live after just a few days of being here. Additionally it's in a good location not far from the Plaza Mayor (see left: me with Jarod, Nevin and Whitney, 3 fellow IMBA friends). It's actually on a Plaza, La Plaza de San Cristobal, and it's got a pretty decent view since I'm on the 4th floor. Unfortunately it faces the wrong direction, unlike my friend Shannon's apartment, which has a fabulous view of the cathedral and other old & big beautiful buildings that stand out on the horizon from the OTHER direction (see below right). No worries. I'm here to learn Spanish, not just have a killer view from my apt. I lucked out there (oh I didn't meet my roommates before i moved in...imagine that! it's a crapshoot, really). I live with a Colombian girl and a Spanish guy, and the girl speaks fluent English, but the guy speaks muy poco English! That's good, though, because it is going to force me to learn quickly...i hope!

So my fellow IMBA students and I have been enjoying the local cuisine and culture, and lesson #1 about eating at most places in Spain: portions are small (they call most of their tapas "pinchos") and be prepared to eat a lot of ham, cheese, bread, potatoes, eggs and more ham. You can throw in a little chorizo and bacon sometimes too. In fact, Spanish tapas are kind of like food at a Mexican restaurant: same ingredients all around, just put together "differently." You go to a new bar/restaurant and say "oooh! I haven't had that one yet!" but yes, you have. But there is a great thing- they have this great pink/orange sauce they put on most things, namely patatas bravas, that is AMAZING. Although i know it has to have mayonnaise in it, it's got something else (we are comparing it to the Japanese steakhouse white or "yumyum" sauce) and i seriously could use it on pretty much anything! Another key thing to know if you didn't already, the ham here is "fresh" aka cut fresh off the leg of the pig. They leave the foot and everything (black foot=good, tasty, & expensive...white foot=cheap & not so good). But don't worry- it's been cured, so it's ok if it just hangs around not refrigerated or anything...ha. Plus watch out because it's a little greasy on the outside, so you might not want to touch it. Another great thing to know? Although typically you go to a tapas bar to get this ham, aka have the bartender cut you off a few slices, you can buy these at the grocery! And not just the special ham stores, but pretty much ANY grocery store. Given this information, my friend Nevin decided to go ahead and do just that so he could munch on ham any time he pleased...(see pic at left) That's right. He bought a ham, which came with a ham stand with a little drawer to hold your knife and knife sharpener. Et voila! Jamon en su casa. Unfortunately Nevin didn't realize the catastrophe of buying a ham with a white foot instead of black, so he's kinda stuck with the lower quality ham for his sandwiches for a while...

On Sunday we had a little snow, and we sure made the best of the fact that it was Sunday and there was nothing else to do but play in the snow! It really was pretty, and in fact, it was more than a little for me...given that I'm from the Atl where we don't get much snow. So it snowed, stuck, and hung around for a few days, and we had a few snowball fights. So unlike Columbia, SC, it really does feel like winter here!

Class started this past Monday, and it's going quite well. The University of Salamanca is beautiful- it's over 700 years old, so the buildings are really neat. Below is a picture of a little courtyard in the middle of building where my classes are. We took placement tests the first day, both a 100 question multiple choice test and a quick 30-second oral test, and somehow i managed to place into a high level of class. Not sure how that happened since I guessed on the written test, and only managed the oral test due to having been in Spain for 1.5 weeks prior...anyways I ended up dropping down which was a very wise decision! Although those classes (the higher level ones) were in the morning, mine are in the afternooon: class from 1-2, siesta 2-4, then class 4-8. It's quite an adjustment. But it's good becuase now I'm in a beginner class, and although I can understand my professors, my absolute inability to understand the conversations between my roommates has made me realize I have mucho to learn!