Finally in Spain!

Hola from España!

Yes I am finally in the country that I will be spending the remainder of the year in! However, I still haven't reached Salamanca, that's not until tomorrow. I've been orientating in Madrid with some of my group since Tuesday, though we've also been making day trips - such as to Toledo today. There are seven other people here in Madrid, the rest came early for intensive Spanish language classes and are already in Salamanca. However, I've liked having a smaller group. It's made touring easier and we've gotten to know each other better than we would have with a larger group. Everyone seems pretty nice and will be good company for the semester.

I've been using my Spanish a bit, probably not as much as I'll be using it in Salamanca when I have classes and am speaking with my host parents, but I've been talking to the shop keepers and some of the students in my program. I've been finding that I understand a lot more than I did when I visited Spain for a week two years ago after Senior year in High School which is reassuring. People here, just like everyone else I've met in my travels, has been very helpful in giving directions and communicating with the Spanish I know and the bits of English they know. For example, my purse is falling apart and I needed safety pins to fix it. I was in an office supply store to buy a notebook, and thinking they also might have safety pins was looking around for them. A man asked if he could help and I managed to communicate what I needed, and he drew me a map to a store that sold them. I also learned the word for safety pin in the process - imperdible. I can see how my Spanish is going to improve rapidly by being surrounded by it all the time; I also think I'm starting to pick up the Spanish lisp eek!

In other news the weather has been gorgeous here - sunny and warm; it's been a return to summer after three rainy fall-like weeks. The sites we've seen have been pretty interesting too, especially El Prado Museum. I could have spent several days going around - so much great art! We had a really awesome tour guide too; she had just the right mix of fun facts and information without dragging it out long past when it was interesting. Once again it was really cool to see things I've read about in real life, like the Vasquez painting Las Meninas and the Goya painting The Third of May 1808. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the museum so unfortunately I can't post any, but if you look them up online they will definitely be familiar.

I'm not sure of my internet situation in Salamanca - whether I'll have internet at the house I'll be staying in or not, so I'm not sure when the next post will be up. However by that time I'll have met my host parents and maybe even started classes so I'm sure I'll have a lot to say.

Hasta luego!

My group at the train station in Madrid waiting to go to Toledo