This semester, I’m abroad in Salamanca, Spain, and it has been an amazing experience! It’s interesting how in a semester you learn a variety of things. Whether it’s educational, cultural, or even about yourself, you realize how much a semester impacts you. Here are a couple of things that I’ve learned so far.
The Food
When going to a new country, you’re pretty excited about the different foods that you will be able to try. I’ve been able to try different foods at restaurants in Spain, as well as the food that my host mom makes. Although the food here is good, sometimes you really miss mom’s home cooked meals. I’ve realized how much I really want some Chipotle or some tacos from Taco Riendo!
(Stewed Bull Tail that I tried in Córdoba)
Host Families
Something that makes many students nervous is their future host family. When I found out who was hosting me, I was super nervous about meeting my host mom and her daughters. When I got to Salamanca, my host mom picked me up, and it was cool to see how even though I was a complete stranger, she was very welcoming. Once we got home, she introduced me to her two daughters, and I realized that here was nothing to be nervous about. I love how I get along very well with all three of them and how easy it has been to have conversations with them. They have honestly made the time I’ve been here really amazing!
Class and Studying
You may leave Wake Forest but Wake Forest will never leave you. It was interesting to see my host mom’s reaction when I told her that I had class on days when the students at the University of Salamanca didn’t have classes. You also realize how much you miss the study spots that are available at Wake Forest (Starbucks, Farrell, Benson, and even ZSR). Something that many of us have noticed is how the students at the University of Salamanca carry the smallest notebooks and no book bag to class. Then you see the Wake students, and we have a book bag filled with books and notebooks. Guess we will always be Work Forest!
The Language
I am blessed to be a native Spanish speaker, so for me it hasn’t been too hard to communicate with the people here. The one thing that was hard for me at first was all the slang because it’s so different from the Spanish slang that I’m used to! Here are some of my favorite slang words and the translation:
Tío/Tía: another way of saying guys or girls, dude, bro (for male and female)
¡Que guay!: Cool!
Salir de march: To go partying
Tiquismiquis: Picky
¡Que mono!: Cute!
Vale: Okay
¡Me mola!: I like it!
La Plaza Mayor
When we first got to Salamanca, our program directors told us that the Plaza Mayor in Salamanca is the most beautiful Plaza in Spain. I definitely thought that there was no way it was true. I was wrong. After traveling to different cities in Spain, the Plaza Mayor in Salamanca is definitely the best. It’s Salamanca’s north star, so if you can get to the plaza you can pretty much get anywhere!
During the day
At night
Home
My experience in Salamanca has been wonderful so far, but believe it or not you end up missing home more than you think you will. I look forward to going home and seeing my parents, siblings, and my dog. I am also very excited to get back to campus because I miss my friends! You don’t realize how awesome it is to be able to roll out of bed and still get to class on time. The walk from my house to class is about a 20-minute walk, and I’m one of the lucky ones (some of my friends have a 30-minute walk).
Photos courtesy of:
Miriam Gutierrez
http://arte.laguia2000.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/plaza-mayor-de-sal…
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cyxA5iJtFRs/VMuEU6MhpXI/AAAAAAAAAQA/yI0OYBwcOU…
http://www.linguaserviceworldwide.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Salamanca-©-Tourist-Office-of-Spain-in-New-York-TURESPAÑA-3.jpg
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