It has been a very busy week. I had to make corrections on my first paper which was returned to me, I started making study guides for our final exam on culture, and started getting stressed about my second composition(due this Friday) and my research paper due in two weeks. The biggest issue is that I have very limited computer access because I did not bring my own. Mester, as I've told you, has very limited hours, I'm not a member at a library, and it takes a lot of planning and compromise to borrow someone else's computer because they need it too. I'm still trying to enjoy myself and make it through. I have 4 weeks and 4 days left in Europe, and I intend to continue getting the most out of them.
Last weekend we took a day trip to Segovia and Ávila. Segovia was really cool, but Ávila was a bit of a disappointment. In Segovia we visited the Alcázar as a group, which was a palace/fortress that looked like a disney princess castle. We got to see inside and see where the family of Queen Isabella lived when she was young. It was built both as a home and as an army base, so they had both bedrooms and battlements.
In Ávila, we walked through the city to the main plaza, bought some pastries, and walked back to the bus. The main attraction of Ávila was the wall surrounding it, though they mentioned it being a hotspot for conventos. Before we left Ávila we did get a chance to visit a stone cross in the distance outside the city walls. The stop was mostly so we could get nice pictures of the city from afar.
To me, when I think of Ávila I think of Santa Teresa de Jesús who was born there. She's also known as Santa Teresa de Ávila. She was a mystic and is a doctor of the church. Her writings were very controversial at the time(and probably still would be to many) for relating her mystic experience in sexual terms so that the average person could understand. She is also known for reforming the Carmelite order of nuns during the Counter-reformation, the Catholic Church's internal reformation in response to the protestan reformation during the 1500s. St. John of the Cross(Juan de la Cruz), author of the spiritual work as Noche Oscura del Alma(Dark Night of the Soul), was a friend to Teresa and fellow counter-reformer who revitalized the male carmelites.
The week was more or less as I told you. On Friday night I went out with a few friends to a public garden behind the Cathedral and hung out until Midnight when we went to the Discotecas(dance clubs) to meet the rest of our group and dance the night away. Although they are all very loud, and I tucker out quickly, I have a good time at the bars and discotecas and like to go out on the weekends.
A typical day in Salamanca is get up at 8:45, eat a breakfast of corn flakes and a glass of juice(sometimes coffee), get dressed and be out the door by 9:15 or so to get to school at Mester. Grammar class begins at 9:30 and goes until 11:05 when we get a break until 11:30. I like to buy a cheep snack/soda to get me through the day at the nearby Carrefour supermarket(think european walmart). From 11:30 to 1 is Conversation class where we practice our conversation and writing skills. Depending on the day we either get free time afterwords or have class(Tues-Thurs) with Sra. Pites where we take vocab quizzes, give presentations on cities and famous persons of spain, and catch up on business details of papers and excursions. At 2pm, Mester closes and I go home for lunch at 2:30 and siesta. Lunch and dinner are always two course meals, often with a soup first, a basket of bread chunks, and all the water you can drink. The TV is generally on the news or cheap entertainment talk shows and course two of the meal is almost always a variant on pork loin(which I like very much). Sometimes we have seafood. After lunch, I take a nap if I can and get back to Mester about 4:00 to take a Salsa class(Tues&Wed) or use the computer until our presentations. Starting at 6pm we attend a 1-hour presentation on the history of spain, literature, or art, and sometimes there are two. After conferences, Mester closes at 8 again and I have 2 hours to do homework or whatever I need to do before dinner at 10. Depending on how much food Sra. Nicol pushes us to eat and the dinner conversation, dinner can take from 30 min to an hour. At that point, I finish up anything I have to do for Mester or Pites and try to get to bed by 12 or 12:30. Fridays I go out and saturdays I wander around the city and parks trying to take in the scenery. Sundays I go to mass with Karen, and relax for the day. Also, on thursday's the CCF kids host a bible study that I like to attend.
Now you know what I'm doing every day!
I should also mention that yesterday we went on an excursion into the Sierra de Francia mountains, but it wasn't very exciting. We visited 3 very old towns and a bonus stop with a park so the driver could take his siesta. In the first town, La Alberca, we just walked down to their plaza, bought some sweets, and left. The second town, Miranda de la Castañar, had a small fortress/castle and we ate a very memorable lunch sitting on a wall with a view out into the mountains(on which we were very high). The third stop, the siesta, was Béjar and we didn't do anything their but fill up our waterbottles at a fountain and sit in the park across from the bus station. Lastly, we went to Candelario, which had streams of water running down its streets from the mountain snow. They were also famous for their waist high extra outer doors which were invented so they could get out of the house when the snows came.
That was all for our excursion! I'm still missing home and can't wait to come back, but I'm also looking forward to my time back in Madrid and in Italy, which I'll have to clue you in on later.
¡Adios!
P.S. I forgot to mention our visit to el convento de San Estaban. I don't want to forget it for the next post.
When the apostles went out to spread the gospel, St. James landed on the Iberian Peninsula. Having much success and being well loved, his bones were shipped back to Galicia in Northwest Spain after he died. Centuries later, as bones were rediscovered and a large cathedral built on the spot. It then became the largest pilgrimage sight in Christendom as Christians throughout Europe would travel across northern spain on foot, strengthening their faith, and building up the economy of the route. It's famous for it's giant incensor which swings from the ceiling, pushing back the stench of sweaty pilgrims.
Sunday was also exciting because the feast of Corpus Christi was celebrated at the Cathedral followed by a procession. They had the full choir out for the occasion, many priests and seminarians, and there was a whole section in the procession just for first communicants(who enjoyed throwing rose petals on the monstrance during the benediction). Mass was a little hard to understand because of the echo, but it was worth it to get to walk in the procession afterward. 8 men carried the large gold and silver monstrance through the streets with loudspeakers projecting words for reflection and songs from the choir. It was really cool.
