10 weeks in

I wish I could say that it's been easy to make non-American friends here...but when you're in a foreign country, where the food, culture, and language is different, it is so easy to gravitate towards what is comfortable. Before I arrived here, I swore to myself I would avoid Americans not because I don't like them (believe me, I've met some cool cats here), but because I can hang out with Americans in America! I am here to learn the language, embrace the culture, and challenge myself. And do you think my American friends and I speak English when we're together? Rarely.

This is why I am so, so glad I have a whole year here; I am just now realizing that I, in fact, can ween myself off the American subculture here.

Y ahora tengo más amigos españoles! Or, at least, I am on my way to making friends here. It has taken me ten weeks, but I have finally, finally, started to meet Spanish students here! A week ago, I discovered a website for University of Salamanca students where you can post your name, ago, and what language you want to practice; kind of like a want ad, or dating website, but for language exchanges.  Within 12 hours, I received more than 5 responses from Spanish students who wanted to meet. So this weekend has been the weekend of intercambios (ie, language exchanges); how cool is that?

I meet with my intercambios under the big clock in the Plaza Mayor, then head off to a bar or cafe.  We usually hang out for about an hour, spending half the time speaking in Spanish, the other half, in English. In one intercambio, we discussed the compared between American boys and Spanish boys; in another, we talked about places to ski in Spain.  So far, I've discovered two new cafes in Salamanca, and I've been told what Spanish music I should look into.  

Hopefully, I'll make some friends out of this!