Marcha, Marcha Queremos!

Last week, my Spanish dance class sadly came to end. I loved taking dance again (for the first time in twelve years) and found it to be a great workout. If anyone is up for taking a dance class with me when we return to the U.S., let me know!

My teacher was really amazing--as a teacher and as a performer. We had the pleasure of seeing her dance the Sevillana and Flamenco at a show on the eve of our last class. She was really impressive. If you watch So You Think You Can Dance or Dancing with the Stars, you have probably heard the judges (or "jidges," if Cat Deely is speaking!) talk about two things constantly: body extension and feeling the music. My teacher, Montse, is the embodiment of these two talents. I have never seen someone dance with every inch of her body, down to her fingertips like she does, and the joy that she has for dance is delightful to watch. The cantador and tocaor were also wonderful. I sat beside some of the ladies from my class, and we really enjoyed seeing the dancers do many of the moves that we learned in class.

My fellow classmates were all a lot of fun. One of them even took a video of us dancing the Sevillana and is supposed to e-mail it to me. If she follows through, I will post it, although you must be warned that it contains some embarassing footage of gringas dancing! One of my favorite classmates was a 75+ year-old Swiss woman who has such a zest for life that I can only hope to have an eighth of her happiness when I reach her age. If I can love life that much, then I will have truly lived a full life.

My teacher, Montse:

My class dancing (notice the Swiss lady in the aqua dress!):

As for the title of this post, it comes from the song that we always danced to at the end of class in a rumba circle. At the end of the last class, we all had to go to the middle of the circle and improvise while the class followed along; however, those pictures will never be seen...

La Mariseca

A pleasant surprise in the Plaza Mayor:

J. Santiago and I had a pleasant surprise this weekend. As we were sitting in the Plaza Mayor, we noticed more people than usual gathering and a hugh crane with firemen in the middle of the square. When a band started playing, J. Santiago stated, "Maybe they are changing the flag?" To our delight, we just happend to catch one of the festivals in Salamanca known as La Mariseca--the announcement of the bullfights for the upcoming year. The festival normally takes place in the middle of August (I'm not really sure why it was early this year). Traditionally, members of the bullfighting community would scale the Plaza Mayor and place a small Spanish flag with the black silhouette of a bull above it at the highest point of the Plaza. On the back of the bull, all the dates of the upcoming major bull fights were posted. They played music, and they released fireworks in celebration. Today, much of the ceremony is the exact same except that local firemen use modern technology to help them reach the top of the Plaza.

NOW, for your viewing pleasure, I am attempting my first video posts! The first one shows the man lighting the fireworks (with his cigarette!). The second video shows the fireworks a little better. Enjoy a few seconds in the Plaza Mayor!

Victor's Visit and Scary Sardines!

On Saturday, Victor came to visit us in Salamanca. We had a great time walking around with him, visiting our favorite park, and tasting the famous local cuisine on Calle Van Dyck. This post will go in reverse order from our adventures in order to let you savor the more palatable part of our day. So, for your very eyes, I present the story of "The Scary Sardines!"

During our visit to Calle Van Dyck, a street known for its excellent and cheap food that the locals eat and the tourists know little about, Victor asked if I liked sardines. Now, I had tasted some tiny fish earlier during my visit and thought that was what I would be sampling. Then Victor delivered this to our table (cue Jaws theme song):

I was a little freaked out at first by their full appearance (I'm not a big fan of eyes looking at me while I eat...), but Victor seemed to be enjoying them:

So, envisioning Jeff Probst saying, "Survivors, ready?!" I started out optimistically:

However, I struggled a little with tearing off the head (all the guts, etc. kept dripping down my hand):

Once the head was finally off, I decided to dig in:

Yet, this was all I could think about (cue Jaws theme song):

With a mouth full of bones and gut-covered hands, I decided that sardines were not for me:

Thankfully, Victor helped finish most of the meal:

Scary sardines aside, we had a great walk through Salamanca. Even though I've stated how much I hate grafitti, I was a fan of this work of art that reminded me of the excellent Mucha exhibit that we saw at Casa Lis.

J. Santiago loved this gas station in the middle of the city (a sight that you very rarely see):

I never get tired of laughing at the ridiculous way that people dress up for bachelor and bachelorette parties (the frog was perfect since it is the mascot of Salamanca!):

Well before the sardine incident, we took Victor to our favorite park in Salamanca. This park is adjacent to the hostel that houses pilgrims on the Santiago del Compostela pilgrimage. The park reminds me of the garden from The Secret Garden. It is full of little treats—blackberries, raspberries, grapes, tropical plants, fountains, an old well, and an excellent view of the city (it is flush with the old city wall). We saw some of the pilgrims while we were there, which was especially appropriate since Saturday was the Festival of Santiago. Some of the pilgrims were even traditionally adorned with the famous shell necklaces that indicate that they are pilgrims going to Santiago. Here are some wonderful views of the garden:

The statue at the entrance (translation: I am an old woman, which God made me no worse than all the others. If I live well or if I live poorly, God is the witness of my heart.):

Grape vines:

The old well:

The old city walls:

J. Santiago and Victor:

The view of the cathedral from the garden:

Enjoying the greenery and the fountain behind us:

It was nice to see Victor again, and we are looking forward to spending some more time with him in Toledo after our exams this week!

A Day in the Life...Spanish Edition

SIEMPRE:

There are some things in life that are definite—they are always the same and will always be the same. Life in Spain is very much one of routine, for current Spaniards and now for both of us. As the dust settled on our first few weeks in Espana, we began a new life based on Spanish tiempo: time for meals, time for naps, time for class, time for socializing, time for bed, etc. As our third week in Salamanca comes to a close, I’ve been thinking about the things that are always (at least usually) the same. So, today I would like to present “A Day in the Life…Spanish Edition.”

Every morning, J. Santiago and I head to breakfast in the overcrowded cafeteria where the same options are available everyday: cookies, sobaos, pan tostada, cereal, orange juice, and instant coffee. After breakfast, we leave our residence hall to walk to class.

Notice the literary name of our residence hall!

On the way to class, we always walk past the newer buildings that are found in this part of Salamanca (next to the bus station). Personally, I find this part of Salamanca a little ugly.
We will always see graffiti somewhere on the way to class. It is very popular for teenagers in Spain to tag all buildings, old and new, with their names.

At the end of our street, we always start to see the old sandstone buildings for which Salamanca is known peeping over the horizon: We always walk past this park where I like to do my homework after class.
We say goodbye and J. Santiago always goes a different way to class.
As I walk to class, I always walk past el Palacio de Monterrey de la Duquesa Alba on my left and the church she had built on my right. This old man is always mopping the entrance to the church, and about three days during the week, another old man stands outside the gate and keeps him company while he cleans the entrance.
The architecture here is amazing, and I always discover something new when I’m not too preoccupied with trying to remember my Spanish verb conjugations! Today I discovered the nice sun and moon image under this window.
After I turn right, I always walk down this large pedestrian walkway where the birds are always flying overhead. I’m always a little afraid that they may poop on me…
This chain always appears one way in the morning and a completely different way when I walk home after class. As to who moves it, I can only speculate. One day I might wrap it around the pedestal…

Morning:
Afternoon: There are always busy cars and vans unloading supplies for the day at the local shops and restaurants. I always look up to admire the swirl accents on this building since I’ve always doodled swirls when I get bored in class or in meetings. My swirls usually become something else when I doodle, like snails or roses, but I’ve always liked plain swirls just as much.
I always take a right at a university building across from la Casa de las Conchas (remember that picture from before?) and admire this little plaza to my left.
I always walk down this little street lined with shops and restaurants on my way to the university. Valor will always have the best churros con chocolate ever—it is manna from Espana!
I always walk past the main entrance to the university and peek at the frog before heading to my class.

The view from my class: The door to my class: I am always the first one to arrive since J. Santiago’s class starts thirty minutes before mine, so I always sit in class and study. On really sleepy mornings, this coffee machine is always my friend. Yes, it is always a little disgusting and chemical-laden, but it will always be able to provide weary students with a much-needed jolt of caffeine! My grammar teacher, Manuela, always sings to help us remember our verbs.
My lexicon teacher, Clara, always makes jokes and runs around the classroom (sometimes jumping on top of things).
My activities teacher, Yolanda, always speaks so fast that the class only understands a portion of what she says; however, she also always makes us laugh—a lot. In this picture, she is pinching my side and saying, “Di patatas!” (the Spanish equivalent of “Say cheese!”).
When I head home, the streets are always full of tourists and vendors selling souvenirs. This man is always playing the accordion and smiling so much that he makes you believe that playing for change is the best job in the whole wide world. As I wearily walk home, I always know that I’m almost back when I see this church that chimes every hour (It is based on the twenty-four hour model, so 8:00 P.M. provides twenty chimes…which will always be a little annoying). After my daily trek, I always work on my homework, eat lunch, take a siesta, go to dance class, eat dinner, etc. J. Santiago's day is pretty much the same (minus the dance class, of course...).

Well, I hope you enjoyed a look into “A Day in the Life…Spanish Edition.” I’ll post more about our excursions and experiences soon! We miss everyone and hope that you are all doing well. We can’t wait to see everyone soon!

Salamanca: Segunda Semana

The first week of classes for me has been full of experiences to say the least. On the first day, they issued a placement exam to see what level we needed to attend. With my previous (very dusty) knowledge of Latin and Portuguese, as well as numerous afternoons spent grading papers with J. Santiago at a coffee shop, I know what Spanish should look like, but that does not mean that I know what it means. Since the test was multiple choice, I did very well and placed into a relatively high intermediate level where the average number of Spanish classes completed by students in the class was four years.


The first day of class was OK. I understood about 80% of what was being said, but I could not speak in Spanish since I did not have the background of conjugating or knowledge of vocabulary. I was in two communication classes, so that was a huge struggle. On the second day, I decided to switch classes to the highest beginner level. I absolutely LOVE my new classes! The profesoras are more experienced and prepared than the college students who were teaching my intermediate classes, and they make the classes really fun. I've never laughed so much during a class, and their enthusiasm is contagious. We are learning so much so fast, but everyday I feel more confident with my language skills and am even starting to attempt conversations with people in public.

Tonight I attended my first Spanish dance class and really enjoyed that as well. We learned the basics of three types of dance--Sevillana, Flamenco, y Rumba--that we will be perfecting in the coming weeks. It was a good workout and everyone had a blast "trying" the new moves. Right now, flamenco is my favorite. If you let yourself go, your body naturally moves to the rhythm of the guitar the way it is supposed to (plus, I like to shake my hips!).

J. Santiago's classes continue to go well. He has excursions on the weekend, and I'm trying to convince him to make guest posts on this blog about his experiences (I even let him borrow my camera last weekend so he could take pictures for you guys!). Hopefully, he will post soon.

I am going on an excursion to Burgos on Sunday and am looking forward to getting out of Salamanca for a day. The tour will be conducted in Spanish, so it will also provide me an opportunity to continue improving my listening skills.

Well, that's pretty much it. I'm off to do my tarea before getting some sleep. Hasta luego!

Salamanca: Primera Semana

Humbling. Frustrating. Isolating. Embarrassing. Lonely. These are just a few words to describe what it is like to go to a foreign country for an extended period of time with essentially no knowledge of the language. Never having taken a formal Spanish course, I went to Spain optimistic that the bits and pieces that I had picked up along the way would help me. They help me understand at times, but they certainly do not help me communicate. The basic communication skills I learned in my only Spanish class (the one for teachers offered through Guilford County Schools on a handful of weekends) really only taught me how to say a few things. I can ask for someone on the phone and tell them that their child is misbehaving or they need to sign a permission slip...but that's not really helpful here. I can also start a basic conversation with someone to find out their name, how they are doing, etc., but if they deviate from the path I've learned (which is more often than not), I'm lost. This week has been very difficult for me. I love communicating and language and am used to being an effective communicator, not someone who has to walk out of a store because I can't figure out how to purchase fruit! People talk about culture shock when they study abroad, and I experienced it living in Scotland for a year, but nothing is like moving to a place where you understand less than half of what is going on around you. That is not limited just to language but includes cultural norms as well. If I make the mistake of smiling at people while walking, they either stare at me like I'm crazy or think that gives them the freedom to comment on my appearance (as if my smile were a come on), so I now walk with my head down. When walking on the sidewalk, Spaniards do not make way (there is no right and left lane on the sidewalk). It is basically "My way is the right way, and I like the shade," so you have to maneuver like a snake as you weave through people. These experiences are frustrating, and I've had plenty of time on my own to experience them, but they are nothing compared to the limitations of not being able to speak the language.

The street of Silence (basically my experiences so far :) ):

During the first week in Salamanca, I've spent a lot of time updating my blog so people can share some of our experiences, going on little walks during the day to practice my Spanish, meeting people from J. Santiago's program, exercising, and reading. It probably doesn't sound that exciting, and, to be honest, there were times when it was really boring. I start my class tomorrow, and I cannot begin to express how excited I am to start learning more about my surroundings. However, I am nervous about the class because it starts with a placement exam (that includes an oral interview). I am a total beginner, so I have nightmares of walking into the exam room where they only speak Spanish and not even knowing how to start my exam. I guess I'll find out tomorrow...

My best Spanish conversation so far. He listened and did not correct me when I made mistakes; however, looking at his eyes, he seems to be a little bored...

On a positive note, we have had some really nice experiences in Salamanca this week. Here are some pictures from our experiences:

The Plaza Mayor at night is amazing. People congregate to watch them turn on the lights. When they suddenly illuminate the Plaza, you can't help but to exclaim, "Ah!":

We had a great dinner (in English!) with "BAMC" (Brad, Ami, Mike, and Christy Anne):

Walking around Salamanca:

Casa de las Conchas:

University facade (Can you find the frog? I did within about five minutes!):

Catedral Nueva y Catedral Vieja:

The astronaut that a mason "snuck in" while restoring the cathedral:

Yes, folks, that is a human arm on display (I still have nightmares after this...):

Casa Lis, the Art Deco Museum, which is currently housing an amazing collection of Alphonse Mucha:

A patio restaurant located in the ruins of an old church:

Going out for dinner on July 4 (our two-year anniversary):

After my multiple posts over the past week, you guys are now pretty much caught up on what life has been like in Spain for the first two and a half weeks. It has been a whirlwind full of highs and lows (for me, at least), but it has been a great experience so far. I'm looking forward to what is still to come...