Eurotrip 10!

Hello Y'all,

I thought I would give a quick update before I head off tomorrow for my spring break trip. Last weekend I stayed in Salamanca for the first time in a while. On saturday a bunch of us got together to do a scavenger hunt of sorts. We had a BLAST. There were 3 teams, each having a list of tasks that were worth a certain amount of points. Some of the more humorous tasks included:

-Ordering Paella at McDonalds

-Using the sentence "Estoy emarazada" in a conversation with a Spaniard (Commonly mistaken for meaning "I'm embarrassed", it actually means "I'm pregnant"

-Asking someone in the Plaza Mayor where the Plaza Mayor is

-Having a 3-minute arobics class in H&M (clothing store)

-Singing "It's Raining Men" in Zara Home

-Talking to a restaurant manager and saying that you quit

-Eating a whole lemon

-Putting 13 tissues in your mouth

-Opening an umbrella in Stradavarius (a clothing store)

We captured all of these tasks via pictures/videos which turned out to be very entertaining. Overall it was a great time, and a really good chance to go out and explore Salamanca by doing crazy things.

On Sunday we traveled to Segovia, which is a small city of about 50,000 north of Madrid. Its main attraction is it's Roman Acueduct, which is is one of the most significant and well-preserved Roman monuments in the Iberian Peninsula. It dates back to the 1st century. Segovia is also home to a castle with stunning views of the surrounding mountains. It was a quick day trip, but I enjoyed it thoroughly.

And finally, after weeks and weeks of booking flights, bookings hostels, doing research, spending lots of money, and creating a well-organized itinerary, my spring break trip is finally happening. Tomorrow I will be leaving for a 16-day trip across Europe. My friend Bruce will acompany me until Prague, where we will then depart ways until meeting up again in Malaga. Here are my stops:

Valencia, Spain: During which the city is hosting one of the biggest fiestas of the year, Las Fallas. The fiesta is a week-long party full of fireworks, music, festive bonfires, and all-night partying. 9.75 million euros are spent on the "fallas", which are gigantic (some 15m high) sculptures of paper mache on wood which are set on fire on the last day. Sounds fun, right?

Paris, France: I don't think this needs explaining.

Prague, Czech Republic: I've heard very good things, although I don't know what we're going to do there :)

Krakow, Poland/ Auschwitz: Krakow is the second largest city located in the south part of
Poland, containing a lot of history, art, and culture. It also contains a lot of history regarding Polish Jews and the Holocaust. The Auschwitz internment camp is just a short bus ride, and the Jewish Quarter is one of the more popular places to visit in the city.

Budapest, Hungary: Known to be one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, Budapest is the capital and largest city in Hungary situated on the Danube river. It is known to be a city of relaxation, as it hosts over 80 geothermal springs, and has an endless amount of cultural attractions.

Malaga, Spain: Do I need to say more than, 75 degrees, and the beach of southern Spain? No. But I will anyway. Malaga is on the southern tip of Spain, and is one of the best cities to witness Spain's "Semana Santa", which takes place on the week before Easter. Every day there are religious processions and events that fill the streets with people. Oh, and did I mention there's a beach?

Salamanca, Spain: Back home for Easter Sunday.

So...here I go!


Nick

Ok, I Guess It's Time for an Update...

Whew!

What a last couple of weeks. At first I had troubles with all the free time that I had here in Spain, but now I find myself not having nearly enough! With all these trips, I need a few days to recover, and then I get about 1 free day before having to plan for the next weekend trip. In between all that, school, and learning Spanish in various ways. But not to worry everyone, I still take time to enjoy this "lazy" Spanish lifestyle in which I am living :)
Two weekends ago I spent 3 days in Rome, Italy. What a beautiful city! After going, I have a tough time imagining that other cities I will visit can top Rome. There is an unlimited amount of history, art, and culture in Rome. I also really enjoyed visiting the Vatican City, where we also got a chance to see the Pope greet everyone in St. Peter's Square on Sunday morning.

I couldn't quite grasp how old Rome really is, and how some of the things I was seeing/touching were thousands of years old. I had a great time learning about the Roman history--I knew very little before the trip, which I sort of regret.

Check out my Flickr page for Rome pictures.

After taking a few days to catch up from Rome, I was already preparing for a trip to Barcelona, Spain this last weekend. Barcelona was a very interesting city. Despite having a few travel difficulties (which I'm embarrassed to explain), I had a very enjoyable weekend. Barcelona is a very modern city, springing to life after hosting the 1992 Olympics. It's full of architecture by Gaudi, art museums, beautiful parks, and a pleasant Mediterranean shoreline.

After 3 nights of a combined 13 hours of sleep, I returned to Salamanca at 12:00 on Sunday more exhausted than I've ever been. And of course, woke up at 7:30 the next morning for class :)

Besides traveling, I've gotten into a pretty good day-to-day schedule in Salamanca. As of a few weeks ago, I've been tutoring the daughter of one of my program director's friends which has proved to be a challenging but rewarding experience. I also meet a few times a week with Spanish students to practice Spanish/English. And on Thursdays I've began taking up salsa dancing lessons. My goal in mind is to be able to move my body like my instructor by the time I return--that guy is like the male version of Shakira.


Today during my break I went to the plaza mayor where I often go to spend my 1 hour break in between classes. I usually just find a spot to sit and watch the hundreds of people that pass through, meeting people or just going for a stroll. An older gentleman pulled up to my bench on his bicycle and took a seat by me. We began to talk, his first sentence being, "Buenos dias, te gusta Salamanca?" Immediately recognizing that I was a foreign exchange student studying here (though he thought I was German), he began to ask me about my life here. Turns out Antonio spent his younger years traveling to China, Japan, USA, South America, Australia, India, and of course Europe. He told me the only place he hadn't been was New Zealand. Our conversation went on, and all of the sudden I looked at the clock, realizing I was 15 minutes late for class. We shared the common interest of just coming to the Plaza Mayor to sit and enjoy the sun and the people. He told me that he goes there almost every day, and would enjoy it if I came and enjoyed him for a "copa", or cup (of coffee, wine, or beer) every once in a while.

I would say this definitely made my day, if not my entire week. Just talking with someone who has had the experiences that he has had, and realizing that simple things like sitting in the Plaza Mayor and taking a step back to observe where your life is at right now can be very interesting. It's people like Antonio who just enjoy talking with people and learning about them and their backgrounds that really make living in Spain a great experience. I really have enjoyed my time here in Salamanca and am trying to take advantage of very moment I have.

The cool thing is that I still have two months left :)

I miss you all back home. For those of you going on Pay It Forward Tours, have a blast and rake an extra leaf for me or pack an extra meal box for me. For those in F-M, fill an extra sandbag for me :)


Nick