Adios Salamanca!

Tonight's my last night in Salamanca, and I feel so weird! It might be because I'm pretty disappointed that I'm not going to Amsterdam before classes start so I'm back to square one regarding the not-sure-what-to-do-for-twelve-days-before-classes-start, but it's also weird that I'm already a sixth done with my European journey. One month down, five to go! I don't know how I'll feel if all the other months fly by like this one did! Granted, we have a week left in this program in Barcelona, but I see that as the "vacation" part of the trip (even though this entire thing is generally a vacation... but I did have homework! And exams! And papers! And lots of tapas!), and it's only for five days. This is the end of the beginning! I'm not sure if I'm sad to go--a lot of my companeros are glad to be getting home (there's a lot of talk about what they're going to eat when they get back), but I can't say the same. I think I'm going to miss Salamanca, especially the Plaza Mayor at night.

This was my favorite part of Salamanca. Just people watching in the night breeze under the bright lights of the Plaza Mayor was the most wonderful thing to do every night. Photos don't really come close to the real sight though, unfortunately.

So to celebrate our last party night, we had a mini-party thrown by Ana and the assistant directors. We had a nice acoustic guitar concert by Miguel's friends. They look like ghosts haha but it was just the blue light

And then we went out for the night! I didn't drink (of course... I just don't see the grandeur of it all), but I had a lot of fun dancing on stage, of course!

I can't say that I've made friends for life on the trip, unfortunately. I do like some of the girls a good deal, but it seems like everyone's starting to get sick of each other. There's a lot of cattiness! And gossiping. I have no interest in the two so I tend to zone out and sit in silence as the girls go through the trash talk. I understand the need for it though--girls generally unite in the dislike of others. Weird, right? That's why I say girls are crazy, but that's just the way it is.

I love love loved my grammar teacher though--Carolina was so good at teaching and explaining things. She was really cute too and could really pull off Harem pants. And she gave me an A+ too WHAT UP! But I did do extra homework (I know I'm a nerd, but I'm proud of it hah!), but it definitely helped. I think my Spanish did get better... well, at least it unregressed!

This is my class! There were two really annoying boys in my class. Suzan and I bonded over our mutual feelings of annoyance.

For the last grammar class, Carolina bought us tapas, and I got this delicious zucchini tosta.

I can't figure out how to flip it because it automatically did it for me. Oh well!

I don't know if I would've been able to stay in Salamanca for an entire semester. I think I'd have the hardest time adjusting to my dorm--it just didn't feel very home-y. I like having a lounge to escape to, and we didn't have that. I'm thinking that when I get back to Rutgers in the Spring, I know that I might have to live in a regular dorm, and that might be a problem when I won't be able to have that luxury. But Suzan said that it might be because we feel unsettled because we know we only have a month here. Perhaps if I had to live here for half a year, I'd be able to make myself more comfortable because I would know that I'd have to spend a good chunk of time here. I'm not sure--I feel like all there is to do here is study and go out to bars. I suppose you can say that that's all you can do at Rutgers too, but there are a lot of clubs and etc that get me through the days (aka ballroom). And work! I don't know. I think in the end, a month was sufficient for me in Salamanca. ADIOS SALAMANCA!