Day Three - Friday

WHERE DID THE TIME GO?

After twelve (count 'em, twelve) hours of sleep and waking up at 7am due to a very loud vibrating phone (why were you up that early, Mom?!), I got up and poked around the apartamento for a while before Pepita came and asked if I wanted some breakfast. Normally, I'm not one for breakfast, but in this case I was actually famished. I guess sleeping through the last major meal of the day will do that to you. Let me tell you, orange juice and a pre-packaged croissant and muffin never tasted so good!! I enjoyed it and briefly chatted with Pepita before heading back to my room to get ready for the day.

Chelsea eventually got breakfast too, and we packed up our things to head out to the Plaza Mayor, where we were meeting with the group for university orientation. The funny part was, Pepita came in, looked at us like we were crazy, and said, “you know we're not leaving until 10:10, right? It's only 9:40!” We explained that we were just packing up our things and weren't leaving immediately, which made her feel better because she had to escort us to Plaza Mayor in order to ensure that our first time out didn't result in us getting lost.

The weather on our first day out and about in Salamanca couldn't be more perfect – the sun was bright and hot, the sky was blue, there was an incredibly faint breeze that was justenough to keep you cool, and the city was sparkling. The buildings around our town are a combination of very old with pretty new; a lot of the older castles or stone buildings are still there, with slices of 90's architecture sliced in between them.

PLAZA MAYOR & ORIENTATION PART I

The three of us walked around the Fuente (fountain) de Zamora, down Calle Zamora, and into the Plaza Mayor. As we walked out onto the streets of Salamanca, knowing that we get to wake up to a gorgeous view of a fountain and a roundabout every morning, Chelsea and I couldn't avoid grinning stupidly at each other for a minute while repeating quietly (in English), “oh my GOD we are in SPAIN!!!” Truly, best feeling in the world. When we got to the Plaza Mayor, it just got better... I can't describe how I felt about seeing such a famous place in real life, apart from the completely inappropriate, “wow”. Even though it was filled with stalls selling books for the Feria Municipal del Libro, it was still incredibly beautiful and I was ecstatic to see more of it, especially at night!

One by one, the groups and their madres arrived at the clock, and Jesus and Ramon counted everyone off and explained that we would be discussing our classes, expectations, and general life in the city. The madres left and we headed off for the Facultad de Geografia e Historia, where we would be discussing most of the school life. After that, we headed to a classroom building very close to us, where our actual classes would be held, and checked out the space.

We finished up at the aula and four of us decided to check out the JMU office. The assisting professor, Ramon, came with us to act as a guide; along the way, he pointed out several interesting spots and made mention of the streets so that we would understand where we were after he was no longer with us.

After a few minutes of walking, he turned and said to me, “Do you know that Spanish is the language spoken in Heaven?”

I looked at him questioningly. “Is it really?”

Very gravely, he said, “yes, it is. The angels speak it beautifully.”

I thought about this. Must impress the professor. “Well, it makes sense. A romantic people deserve a romantic language, and who are more of a romantic people than angels? Why would you speak something so ugly as a Germanic language in Heaven? But I guess that they also wouldn't speak French, because why would anyone choose Spanish over French?” (sorry Kate!)

He couldn't stop laughing and called me incredibly clever, and said that with my accent and knowledge of the language he knew exactly where I would end up at the end of my days. I really hope it doesn't involve fire.

We checked out the JMU Office, which was weirdly done up in UVA colors (this will not stand!) and filled with computers and books. Excellent, I do have Internet access! After that, Chelsea and I briefly explored the immediate area for shops and restaurants (So. Many. Shoes.) and then headed home for lunch (cauliflower and potatoes, pork, bread and some cut-up fruit for dessert. Delicioso!) and some tennis by the lunch table. Nadal (Spain) was playing Cilis (Croatia), and it's no wonder Nadal is top in the world, he was completely out-playing his opponent. Pepita told us that she loves to watch tennis and that she used to play when she was younger... now, though, she just admires the games (and the players) from afar. And how can you not, when they're so wonderful to just look at?

After lunch we had a teensy siesta. I caught up on my blog posts (relatively speaking) while Chelsea took a nap, and after she woke up we walked out into the streets to experience Salamanca first-hand.

SHOPPING & ICE CREAM FROM THE HEAVENS

First, we decided to walk back to Zamora, because there had been several tiendas that we had wanted to check out. We went to Blanco, which is the Spanish equivalent of H&M (which was ironically across the calle) and afterwards we went across the way to Pimkie, another cute women's clothing store. Chelsea found two super cute dresses there and bought them – she looks so cute in both of them!

One thing that I found pretty funny was the amount of American music that I heard – the majority of the music was in English, and a lot of it was Top 40s playlists. I wasn't expecting this amount of English around me. It's kind of hilarious to be sitting in a bar and suddenly the Spanish-speaking population starts singing along to Lady Gaga and Cher.

Across from Pimkie was an heladeria, and I had been lusting for an ice cream for the better part of the morning, so we stopped and got some... as I licked that first chocolatey taste, the (nonexistent) clouds opened and a heavenly chorus sang out its hallelujahs! It was, as my Pop would say, “phenomenal”!! Chelsea got a cup of coffee ice cream (to soothe her cravings for coffee) and she was equally blown away. We walked back up Calle de Toros as happy as two cats surrounded by saucers full of fresh milk.

PREPPING FOR & GOING TO TRITON

We realized what time it was, and rushed home to get ready for dinner – rather than eating with our familia, as would be normal, we would be eating out at a restaurant with the rest of the group, Jesus and Ramon. Chelsea and I threw on something pretty, because we knew that after dinner we would be heading out to a bar with the group to celebrate our first real night in Salamanca. We met up at Plaza de Gabriel y Galan (hereafter referred to as Plaza de GG, as the locals call it), where everyone looked so nice! Jesus was checking to make sure everyone was there, while Ramon and his wife and daughter stood by and chatted about dinner. I had a lovely conversation with Ramon about potential future job choices and about different things to go and see in Salamanca when I had free time, including a rather popular Sunday morning flea market and some walking trails near the Rio Tormes to the south. Maybe...

Once everyone showed up, we walked for about ten minutes down one of the major streets to a small but apparently locally famous bar-restaurant called Triton, which was well known for its carne asada and papas fritas. We all sat and chatted amongst ourselves through four courses, in the true Spanish fashion, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it! During dinner, people were talking about the plans for that night as well as next week's possible trip to Lisboa, Portugal, which I can't attend since I can't afford it. Sorry guys, no coverage of Portugal for you. Maybe Chelsea will bring me pictures!

THAT SUIT OF ARMOR IS SUCH AN ALCOHOLIC

Once the meal was finished, the group moved like a single organism out of the restaurant and onto the street, where we traveled for a bit until we found this place called “Medievo”, with a suit of armor in front of it. One of the group members said that she knew the bartender and that he was going to give us free sangria and agua de Valencia to celebrate our first weekend in Salamanca. Who in their right mind would turn down a free drink in Europe?

I started my night out just right – I had accidentally scratched myself at the end of dinner and knocked into one of the moles on my neck. Yes, it hurt, but I didn't think anything of it. When we got to Medievo and I went into the bathroom to wash my hands, I saw that it had almost completely taken the mole off and had been gushing blood, which somehow I had not noticed on my way from dinner. So, way to go, me! I had to ask the bartender for a band-aid and some fresh towels for the bathroom so that I could clean and dress it. The bandage completely clashed with my outfit, but clearly that was not an issue.

We stayed at Medievo and I bonded with Jess and Caitryn a bit on the dance floor. After a few minutes of dancing, I realized that I was the only one without a drink and ordered one of the free sangrias! Unfortunately, the sangria was some juice-box pre-mixed stuff that was so not up to par it was disgusting. Guess that explains why it was so easy to say that it was free. Ugh, my favorite drink ruined by pre-packaging...

At midnight, Kim organized everyone to surprise Chelsea with singing – it was her 20^th birthday! We completely caught her off guard by stopping everything and singing at the top of our lungs “HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOOOOU”... it was hysterical and completely awesome :D If you're reading this, happiest of birthdays, roomie!

ICE CREAM HAPPINESS > DRUNKEN ESCAPADES

After about an hour or two at Medievo, with absolutely no one showing up, the other girls in the group started asking the bartender why we were the only ones at the bar. He said that we were out way too early, that most of the real partying started much later in the night and stayed out for most of the early morning. And this was being told to us at around 1:15AM. Well, hello cultural differences!

Everyone decided to bail and check out another bar, so on to the sidewalk we went. After another minute or so, a local guy came up to us and told us that there was an open bar happening right then, and we should totally come check it out. The group immediately dove into the also-empty bar and proceeded to order drinks. I was feeling really uncomfortable since I never do this much drinking and partying, so I asked Chelsea if she wanted to come with me to Plaza Mayor and get some ice cream. We left with Caitryn a few minutes later, and proceeded to have an absolutely amazing time!

The heladeria on the Plaza Mayor was incredibly cheap, so we each ordered a small cone of different flavors of ice cream and sat out at one of their tables and chatted. We talked about everything from majors to men to family life to future plans to wondering how many of our group mates were still relatively sober. It was so nice to just chill with some people that weren't obsessed with the alcohol and party culture, not to mention the Plaza at night is a thing of beauty. If there were more moments like that in everyone's lives, we as a race would be much happier overall.

“IT'S NOT THE KEY, IT'S THE LOCK”

After we finished eating and talking, we realized that it was nearly 3:30am and that we needed to get to sleep. Chelsea and I walked Caitryn back to her apartamento, because her roommate was still out partying with the rest of the group and it was definitely not safe to walk that far alone. After getting lost for a few minutes, Chelsea and I walked back towards the Fuente de Zamora to fall asleep... and neither of our keys worked.

Quick explanation about the keys: Pepita gave us two keys to give us plenty of independence during our stay. One of the keys opens the door to the building, the other opens the door to her apartment. In this case, for some reason, the keys would go into the lock, but would not turn.

We stood there, cold and confused, wondering how on earth we were going to get inside. Pepita had told us, “don't worry, use the bell and I will let you in”, but it was so late!

Me: Should we risk it?

Chelsea: I mean, we really don't have a choice.

Me: Yeah, you're right. It's not safe to be out here.

Chelsea: But still... she's gonna be so mad.

Me: ...yeah...

And in agony we sat, until we finally screwed up the courage to ring the bell. Immediately somebody buzzed us in, and we walked in terrified to face her wrath... only to find that it was Juan that was up so late and who had let us in! He asked what had happened, and we explained that neither of our first-door keys had worked. He told us not to worry about it, that mama would take care of it in the morning. Close call!

And then, we slept...

(Side note: the next morning, we talked to Pepita about the keys. Apparently, the building's locks are messed up somehow, so you have to turn the key and pull it out at the same time. It's very strange, and it's a result of the locks being so worn down and messed up. Telling us that made us feel significantly less like complete idiots. Mostly.)