Mirielle's blog week 4

Domingo 22 de julio

Hoy fui al rastro por la mañana con Aubrey y Jennifer. Porque nosotros no sabemos dónde estaba, fuimos al puente romano, lo atravesamos, y continuamos en la dirección de la piscina. Nos perdemos un poco. Es el primer vez que fuimos porque es nuestro primero fin de semana en Salamanca. Estoy contento que no viajé este fin de semana. Ayer, caminé todo el día y vi mucho de Salamanca. Y también, al bar anoche, vi muchas personas de una boda, incluyo la novia. Estaba un fin de semana muy divertido.

I have two interesting stories about older people that I experienced this weekend, one good, and one not so good. The first happened yesterday just outside the convent at the end of Gran Vía. I was sitting on a bench, reading a book after my long walk around town when an older Spanish man wearing a bright red hat and shirt, almost looking like a tourist himself, came up to me and said “Te gusta Salamanca?” At first, I didn’t know who he was directing that question to since I had my head in my book, but I soon realized he was talking to me. He asked me a lot of questions about my time here, what I liked, what I didn’t like, the food, the monuments, etc. and each time, I tried to respond tersely but politely and return to my book. Finally, he told me that there were some beautiful Roman ruins on the other side of the river that I should definitely see, but that they were down a ways. He then said in Spanish, “I’m going there now if you’d like to accompany me,” and he jangled the car keys in his hand. Sufficiently freaked out, I said “no, gracias” and went on my merry way. I’m sure he was innocent enough, but my Mom taught me about stranger danger when I was 4, and many years later, I still follow her policy.

The other story is quite sweet, actually. When the three of us got lost on our way to the flea market, I ended up asking an older couple for directions; “matrimonios” I believe you would call them. We were in luck… they were heading to that very place and would show us how to get there. “But,” they informed us, “you went a bit out of your way if you walked here from the cathedral. It’s quite far from here.” And it was. They talked to us about their son who is learning English because he wants to be a teacher and needs to be bilingual to do so. They told us how they walk along the river every morning for exercise for an hour or so. It was really a nice walk and they were very nice to us. One more pleasant surprise in Spain.

Lunes 23 de julio

Mañana tenemos los exámenes finales para las clases de cultura, comunicaciones globales, y desatares oral. Vamos a ser difíciles, pero tengo miedo que mi examen de gramática (el miércoles) sea más difícil que todo los tres. Tengo que estudiar muchísimo. Tengo dificultades con los verbos, entonces voy a escribir todos los tiempos de los verbos. Por ejemplo, no sé cómo conjugar verbos en pluscuamperfecto ni imperfecto de subjuntivo. Y tengo que mirar los verbos irregulares también. Tengo mucho trabajo esta noche.

As anxious as I am to get home, I’m going to quite sad to leave this place. The one thing I’ve always loved about Europe is the pace of life. It’s so much more enjoyable to take an hour or more to enjoy lunch, as opposed to stuffing it down your throat in 10 minutes. I also love that food is basic. A meal usually consists of items actually found in nature like meat and vegetables, a freshly made baguette, and a simple salad. It’s fantastic. My host mother gave me all shorts of ideas for meals to make when I get back… ok, so maybe I’m a little excited to go home.

I really am nervous about these exams. I’ve been studying a lot over the past few days, but I just can’t seem to get it all down. I feel like I have learned quite a bit more about Spanish grammar than I anticipated, but I know that there is always more to be learned. I hope that when I return to the U.S. that I can place into a higher level Spanish course and begin studying literature or history in Spanish. I’m amazed at how quickly I absorbed all these tenses considering I’d never seen half of them four weeks ago. Alright, now I really need to go study…

Sábado 28 de julio (muy tarde)

Estoy muy cansada. Muy, muy cansada. Necesito descansar pero quiero escribir antes de dormir. El vuelo era extremadamente largo y aunque intenté dormir, era difícil. No puedo creer que esté en Chicago. Me parece irreal. Me recuerdo el día que dejamos para Salamanca y cómo pensé que el viaje duraría por siempre. Ahora que estoy en casa, me parece que el tiempo pasó demasiado rápidamente.

At the airport, I heard a bunch of people say “Meet later under the clock?” I think that helped me face reality. In some ways, it’s really nice to be back, in a familiar place. In other ways, I was just getting used to walking for hours a day and eating meals that were prepared for me. It was a pretty good way of life. I’d like to think that I’ll take a little of that life with me and keep it going. Especially the part with the delicious food.

I really feel delirious right now. I know that my body is back in Chicago, but my mind is confused. Twenty-one hours of travel is brutal. Now I know that I might lose my mind if I ever traveled to Australia. I feel like I’m going to wake up tomorrow morning and be back in Salamanca, and that this is all just a dream. I know it’s real though, because my suitcase is staring at me, waiting for me to unpack it. Tomorrow, suitcase, tomorrow.

Viernes 3 de agosto

Una semana mas tarde… ¿Qué pasa con migo? Estoy ensañando en mi escuela. Es muy difícil acabar el papel de investigación, las otras preguntas, y los blogs mientras que la preparación de mis clases también. Fui a tomar mis mascotas de la “niñera” el martes, y es agradable tenerlos en casa. Me parece que estoy ocupado todo el tiempo. Deseo que todavía almorzara durante dos horas, ¡no treinta minutos! Fui a la casa de mis padres el martes para una barbacoa, y era agradable a ver mi familia otra vez.

It’s been a really busy week. I still haven’t officially unpacked my suitcase either. I think that can wait til the weekend. So can my paper. Working immediately after coming back was sooooo hard. I felt like a total spaz on Monday morning and by the time 5pm rolled around, all I wanted to do was sleep. I wish the siesta was a law here. I’m almost readjusted to the time zone, but there still aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done. One fun thing did happen, though… I was doing a little shopping at Stanley’s fruit market (greatest store ever) and who do I run into there, but Ella. Just goes to show you that the world gets a little smaller every day!

Looking back, it was a really fantastic month. It was a lot of hard work, and now I remember what it feels like to get homework every day (I’m going to be easier on my students now). I’m glad I had such a wonderful opportunity. I know that I won’t be able to spend long periods of time away from home once I have a home and kids and other responsibilities, so I’m glad I got to do this while I still have the freedom. I’ll definitely be back, hopefully sooner than later. Who knows? Maybe next summer I’ll run into my host mother shopping in Carrefour in Calle Toro.