Cherishing Our Last Moments in Salamanca

!Hola es Sarah y Alexis!

Here is a list of what we have been thinking about:

1. We only have a couple days left in this beautiful city..
2. Donde está la Heladéria (Gelato Shop)?
3. Qué hora es?
4. How in the world did Ms. Hellman’s phone drop in the street drain..?
5. Do they sell Gelato at Kroger?
6. Can we have siestas during the school week in the U.S…?
7. Is there a Plaza Meyor anywhere in Tennessee?
8. Why are we mumbling to eachother in Spanish?

As we are approaching our last few days in Spain, we are trying to spend every moment wisely. We never new how fast time would fly. WE just sat down for one of our last dinners with Lola ( our “mom”). All of these moments are bittersweet! We definitely do not want to leave!

This morning we woke up and headed to school. Today in class, we reviewed all the subjects we have been working on for the past two weeks. Mostly in grammar we have been working on the past tense. All past tenses, including imperfect, preterite perfect, and present. We also reviewed the differences between haber/tener. This is just a few things we have been doing in class. We asked questions about the content, because we have an exam tomorrow at 1.

In our conversation class, we learned about physical traits of a person. It was very interesting to learn that there are so many adjetives…Then we learned all of the opposites. An example would be ugly to pretty (feo–>bonita) or calm to nervous (tranquillo–> nervioso). It is difficult to tell everything we have been learning in class, because of the amount of content. We are learning new things each day, and we are not just saying that. We have learned most of the history of Spain (in Spanish), but Lourdes helped us out and translated. Outside the classroom is even better. Just the small interactions we have each day. For example: We will sit down for dinner with Lola and Llys (student from belgium) and just have a vocab quiz around the room. We try and name everything and then if we don’t understand Lola explains. However, we usually ask Llys for help with the translations. Tonight we sat down for dinner and sang every vocabulary word in the room, and then went on Lola’s balcony and sang Feliz Navidad. Just the funny things, but they are definetly helping us to get closer to Lola. Whenever we all laugh together, we are learning at the same time. Whenever we walk into the room Lola asks if we need anything food or drink and always calls us Guapas! She has definetly made us feel at home.

After our daily classes, we went back to our host homes (Lola) for lunch. Our lunch was simple, but tasty. Lola made us noodles with olive oil and chopped fresh veggies. We also had a side of carne (meat). We have eaten so many new foods here. Lola is an AWESOME chef! Trying new food is one of the highlights of this trip that we will all never forget.

Everyone took a wonderful power nap before we met under the clock at 4:30. Once everyone was together, Lourdes took us to the Towers of Salamanca. We walked up about 300 stairs that took us to this breathtaking view of the wonderful city. Amazing. Sinking in how blessed we all are to be here. Seeing the skyline of this beautiful country is very eye opening, and feels very good inside.

Once we took pictures and enjoyed our view, we walked back down to the streets and headed to the Plaza. Of course, we all enjoyed yet another gelato at our favorite place in the square (Novelty). It has become apart of our daily routine to purchase a cone of delicious gelato. We all ate gelato then went straight to our cooking class. We had class in the same restaurant we ate at the first night. Once we all washed our hands, we went straight to work.

Half the group chopped tomatoes and decorated them, while the other group stuffed potatoes.  The dish we created was an apetizer (tapa). Tomato topped with goat cheese and a hand-made crouton on the side. Everyone loved the croutons we made. Sarah, Drew, and Chloe topped the tomatoes. While Alexis, Kyle, and Blake made the potatoes. The dish was a stuffed potato with mayonaise, lemon, garlic sauce, topped with cheese and small slices of ham. It was so delicious and different. It ended up being a very good experience to be able to cook in a well-known restaurant in Spain (Don Mauro).

Today was another memory-making day in Spain. We all had a very good time cooking and experience gorgeous views! However, we are very sad that tomorrow is our last full day in Salamanca. We are definitely cherishing these blessed moments.

Love and miss everyone!

Sarah Buechner and Alexis Margaritis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lunes-Martes

Blake, Kyle and Drew –

¡Hola! Yesterday, on Monday, we continued our lessons of the Salsa. This class was very different from the last. We had a new fun teacher who really liked to Salsa. There were new students from Florida in the class so we also got to meet new people! Also, we learned more about the Salsa! Instead of being like the first class, where we learned individual steps, we instead learned our steps with partners. I was a bit confused saying that we did not use the steps that we learned on the first day but instead we learned new ones much different from the first. I really did enjoy the class very much!

We continued our journey through Salamanca in the local museum of the Spanish Civil War. The museum was designed to demonstrate a children’s viewpoints of the war through primitive, simplistic, and yet altogether graphic doodles.However, there were more drawings of the Second World War than the Spanish Civil War. The gory images were eye-opening and shocking. Beside each drawing was an explanation and description of the child’s thoughts. it is impossible to describe the feeling of knowing war has such an effect on even children. After the museum, we  walked around for the rest of the day and relaxed.

Today was a ton of fun! First we went to the school and took our classes, and then went home to eat lunch. In between this and our next activity Ms. Hellman dropped her Spanish phone and she happened to be walking right over a street drain ha ha! It was two feet down but she could not reach it so she had to get a new phone! After she got a new phone we ate together in a restaurant on the plaza. Next we tried some Iberian ham on bread in a restaurant and Iberian ham is really famous in Salamanca. Next we decided to go to the river and watch fireworks. Today was the San Juan festival in Salamanca which is why there were fireworks. Because of this, tomorrow the majority of the stores in Salamanca will be closed, and many people will not even have to work tomorrow. This is a holiday unique to and only celebrated in Salamanca, because San Juan is a patron saint of Salamanca. The fireworks were great and were very cool to see!

Our Weekend Excursions

¡Hola es Sarah y Alexis! ¿Qué tal? ¿Está Bien?

We have had an amazing weekend!Even though it was a little bit rainy, we had a fabulous time! On Saturday we woke up and all met at the bus stop at 8. We loaded the bus with the other T&E groups and headed to Segovia. There were no complaints about the two hour drive to Segovia, because all of us had a chance to catch up on our sleep! Segovia is amazing, and so beautiful. When we first got there we walked to the aqueduct. The aqueduct was built with NO cement. Nothing is holding the MASSIVE structure together, except the weight of the rocks! SO COOL! It was very interesting to learn about how and when it was built. This town is full of historic buildings. The view we saw overlooking the mountains in Segovia were unbelievable! Our tour guide took us all over the city to see old cathedrals and The Catholic Queen’s Castle. The most breathtaking thing about the castle was looking at the 100 meter drop from the ground near the entrance. The palace sits above a HUGE ditch. In total the palace and ditch are 300 meters. This castle is said to be the inspiration behind Cinderella’s castle. When we walked in the palace, the ceilings in all the rooms were so unique and beautiful. It was very interesting to see the meaning behind all of the artwork and sculptures. The Catholic Queen wanted every room in the castle to involve art and religion.

After we spent much time in the castle, our group had free time. Since it was a little chilly, we decided to sit inside at a cafe in the Plaza Mayor in Segovia. Every body in our group ordered something yummy! Lourdes opted for the chocolate cake! The pastas, sandwiches, and cake were so filling. At 3:30 we met back in the plaza, and we hopped right back on the bus for Avila. Avila is another historic city between Segovia and Salamanca. When the bus got close to the town, the first thing we saw was a gigantic wall. Someone yells,” IS THAT THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA?” This stone wall surrounded the center part of Avila and was absolutely amazing. We took a tour around the city with our leader Lourdes and another T&E group. We went into the church dedicated to Saint Teresa. Amazing statues and relics made out of gold inside. The pope came to this church on the fourth anniversary of Saint Teresa’s Death. Everything we have seen has been breathtaking. We headed back to Salamanca after our quick tour of Avila. We all ate with our families and fell right asleep.

This morning we all got to sleep in because our group was meeting at 11. After some of us quickly got breakfast, we headed to the local bus stop to go to the Rostro. The Rostro is a Sunday morning/afternoon market, similar to the Germantown festival. However, the Rostro was definitely more of a cultural experience. It was so fun learning about the Spanish cultures by looking at different shops. We walked around all the cool booths for awhile. After we all bought a few things, we headed back to our houses. We rested up, once again, ate lunch, then met back up at 4:30. Of course, we all enjoyed another cone of amazing gelato. After we stuffed our faces, Lourdes took us bike riding. For us, this bike excursion around Salamanca was the highlight of the trip so far. We went through parks and all over the city. Even though it started raining and we had to hike up a few hills, it was a great day! Alexis fell off her bike and yelled “Oh my Lourddesss” (our tour guide’s name)! And to top off this amazing day, we enjoyed chocolate and churros at Valor (the best chocolate in Salamanca)! We are all looking forward to our second and last week of school starting tomorrow! We hope all is well back in the states. To all our families, friends, and faculty, we miss y’all!

Alexis y Sarah

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

¿Que hora es?

¿Que hora es? Today we had another dancing class. We learned how to do the seville. To me, it is pretty much the same as ballet. I enjoyed throwing in the moves that we made up while alone in my room. Anyway, It was very fun to learn another new dance while everyone can have a joke and mess around at the same time.

Today we went to our classes and later visited the University of Salamanca. In our classes today we had a grammar and conversation class. In our grammar class today we studied indirect and direct objects. Conversation class was much interesting. We listened to a music video from the 90’s which was really hard to understand but really funny too. After our classes we visited the University of Salamanca, which is the third oldest university in Europe, founded in 1218.   Finally, to end our day, we hung out in the plaza!

Kyle, Blake, and Drew

 

 

Día 5 en Salamanca

¡Hola! Es Sarah y Alexis otra véz! Qué tal? Está bien?
Nosotros nunca quiere salir!Ojala que gustan de nuestro blog.
Hi! It is Sarah and Alexis again! Hows it going? Are you well?
We never want to leave! We hope you enjoy our new blog! 🙂

Today was a another beautiful day in Spain. The weather today was very warm and enjoyable. Our group has gotten very comfortable with our daily routine. We all got up this morning and met at the same, and wonderful, bakery have met every morning. Once the few of us got some amazing croissants and had a few early morning laughs, we walked to school to begin another day of fun classes. Classes are very interacting and many memories are made everyday. The first class was grammar once again. We reviewed our topics from the previous days and spoke tons of Spanish. In our (Alexis and Sarah) class, we played a trivia Spanish game with the ten people in our class. There were many laughable moments. The next class was a conversational class. The main topic of this class was learning about the different parts of the body. Knowledge was gained for all of us today as well as the past days.

Because most of us were tired after class, we all went straight home after school instead of walking around. Resting before our afternoon plans today was very smart and helpful. For lunch, our house mom Lola made us delicious pasta with a side of pork. It was good and unique! Trying new foods in this country is exciting, but sometimes scary. We decided if were going to live the life of an average student here, we must atleast try all the foods! After lunch, all of us met again underneath the clock at the Plaza Mayor. While waiting for Lourdes, our wonderful group leader/tour guide, we all had another cone of amazing gelato. Lourdes is becoming part of our group! She introduced us to her friends, and knows all the information about Salamanca. We teach her more and more English jokes everyday. Usually she just nods and smiles, when we are talking to fast. However, our “Spanglish” is even funnier. Lourdes speaks English and Spanish which helps our group navigate the city and the school. Most of the other teachers don’t know all of the English language. She has lived here for a long time, and knows how to get places. She is a great leader for our group!

Lourdes took our group to the two cathedrals of Salamanca. The old and new cathedrals were SO beautiful! There is detail on top of detail. Everything is so intricate, and the little details sure do make up most of it. As a group we walked up and down stair cases, onto balconies, and even went to the Love garden. Lourdes told us al the facts about the cathedral. We both agree that our favorite part of today was the balcony overlooking all of Salamanca. The city looks amazing up there! As a group we recognized certain monuments down below, and even recognized a few friends walking along the sidewalk. The balcony was a fantastic way to enjoy the view!

Our group walked back to the school and attended cooking class. We had a great instructor who taught us how to make potato tortilla (potato casserole). We used olive oil and potatoes with eggs (huevos) and onions. It turned out delicious!Everyone was having a great time relaxing, and enjoying the food. After tasting our delicious creation we all decided we needed some rest. We went home and enjoyed dinner with our family. Tonight we had “las hamburguesas” with “las papas fritas”. It looked like a regular hamburger and french fries, but Lola used a different type of meat. It is interesting to see something we know so well, taste so different. Although we do miss home, Lola is making us feel very welcome. We love practicing our Español with her. Last night we had a competition to name every item in the room using a vocabulary word. It was silly, but the more practice the better. Our spanish is becoming easier and easier. Ordering at restaurants is not impossible, but oh goodness thank you for Ms. Hellman and Lourdes. Tomorrow we have more classes and activities with Lourdes! Having a great time!

Adiós! Hasta Luego!

Sarah y Alexis