Vale vale vale (ok ok ok)

Classes have started and I am finally starting to get to know my way around Salamanca.  All my classes are in the same building, close to La Plaza Mayor, and it's about a 15 minute walk from my apartment. I love waking up every morning and walking through the streets to get to class.  It's fun to weave my way around all the children in their uniforms and their mothers, looking sophisticated and very European in high heels and nice dresses.  And wherever I go, no matter what time of day, there's old men in sweaters and khaki pants, leaning on their canes or sitting on benches, watching the world go by. And they do this every day!

The way people live here is so much more laid back and family oriented than what I'm used to (which, obviously, is to be expected!).  Case and point: it's typical for children to live with their parents until they're, ya know, 30; everybody goes home around 2pm for lunch everyday to have a big meal prepared by the mother;  it's common for families to wander the streets of Salamanca in the evening, with nowhere to go except to be out of their small homes.  One of the biggest surprises for me: it's not common to have friends over to your home. In fact, it's frowned upon. An ISA American student made the mistake of having a friend up to apartment yesterday for lunch, and both got chewed out by their host mothers; whoops!

Salamanca is everything I thought it would be! Everything is walkable, so I won't need to pay for public transportation.  It's also a very safe city, so I won't need to worry too much about my stuff getting stolen or being targeted because I'm an American (this is different, I think, than students who are studying in cities like Madrid and Barcelona).  And because it's a huge university town, restaurants and stores are much, much cheaper and more affordable than Madrid.  All the Americans I've met (there's a lot of us!) are all friendly and like to have a good time. I think I will like it here.

Time for dinner, then I'm off to Karaoke night! Hasta noche!


On a side note: This weekend I'm going to take pictures of the city; will post them ASAP! For now, a pictures of the small kitchen in my apartment:

(notice the little dog, Rita, the family's pet!)