Salamanca & Valladolid Homestay: Jan. 20 by Ellie S. & Megan R.

Today we visited the beautiful city of Salamanca.  We began our escapade by scaling the hills to merendar (to snack) at Café Las Torres in the Plaza Mayor.  Afterward we entered the unbelievably special cathedrals.  There were two cathedrals, the "Old" Cathedral (12th-14th centuries) of Romanesque design and the "New" Cathedral (16th-18th centuries) of Gothic design.  The students who have taken either AP European History or AP Art History gave us lessons on a few of the most important aspects of architecture and design.  It was also very fun trying to find the astronaut hidden in the facade.  We then scaled a billion stairs to reach the top of the tower of the cathedral.  I swear that I could see Nashville from there.  The scenery was unbelievably gorgeous. 

Afterward we embarked on the activity we do in each new city, the scavenger hunt.  We divided into teams of five, each with one of our AP Spanish Literature students (Ellie & Molly).  Our adventures included exploring Salamanca, finding local landmarks and, for the AP Lit students, the sites where events from one of their works took place. 

A site many people were very excited to see was la rana (frog) on the facade of the University of Salamanca. In the University's lore, if a student visits the university, but is

unable to find the frog, they will fail their courses.  Luckily for us, with the use of our Spanish to ask locals for directions, as well as helpfully seeing a magnet with a photo of the frog's location in a shop window, we were able to find the frog, which was being worn by a skull as a hat.  Hopefully, this bodes well for the rest of our school year!

After the scavenger hunt, we all reunited for a lovely lunch at an Italian restaurant called A'Tarantella.  Though we have all been enjoying Spanish food throughout our stay, it was a refreshing change of pace, and we appreciated having food a bit more similar to what we eat in the United States.  This meal was also phone free so that we could appreciate each other's company for the last few days of the trip. 

After lunch, we had an hour and a half of free time before we returned to our home stays.  We used this time to go out for gelato as a group, as well as buying gifts for our family members and souvenirs for ourselves.  We all bought matching University of Salamanca sweatshirts, which was a fun group bonding moment.  The sweatshirts will certainly help us remember our time in Spain.

Tomorrow, we attend school for one last day, and spend our last night at our home stays. Our time in Spain is quickly coming to a close, but with this, we are more sure than ever to savor every moment!

Valladolid Homestay: Jan. 18-19 by Molly B.

We had another day alone with our host families, doing various activities ranging from visiting museums to just staying in and having a nice relaxing Sunday.  My host family had extended family come in today to celebrate the seventeenth birthday of the youngest daughter, Paula.  The relatives first came over to receive a tour of the new apartment, and then we went to a nice lunch together.  Something I have learned on this trip is that meals in Spain are often much longer than in the United States.  Families generally continue sitting at a table and talking after they have finished eating, on top of the fact that they order appetizers, entrees, and desserts with coffee at most meals.  This lunch, for example, was about a four hour excursion from the time the relatives arrived at the apartment to the when we left the restaurant!  Many of us from our school group ventured to discotecas last night and were fairly tired today.  I myself ended up taking a 3 hour nap when my host family returned from lunch, as I assume some of the other girls from the group did as well.

Tonight, my host family and I had a night in and watched Annabelle in Spanish (with English subtitles).  It was fun for me to see how much of the movie I could understand without looking at the subtitles, which was more than I expected!  On this trip our group has enjoyed listening to the voice over of the Spanish actors in English shows and movies, especially the voice over actors for the show Friends.  Tomorrow we have an exciting excursion planned to Salamanca and have been told to look out for several statues that are supposed to bring us good luck!

Valladolid Homestay: ¡Bailamos! Jan. 17 by Grace S.

Today was an amazing day in Valladolid!  We had the privilege to attend a dance class in the morning where we learned bachata, salsa, and merengue along with other classic Spanish dances.  We had a lot of fun dancing together and familiarizing ourselves with the steps, even though they were hard for me to follow at some points!

                  


After my host mother picked me up, I went home and started drawing sketch portraits of my host sisters.  Around 4:00 p.m. we decided that it would be fun to go shopping. I bought a new jacket, and my host sister got a new pair of shorts.  We ate dinner at La Mejillonera, and I ate a calamari sandwich with a side of potatoes.  All in all, it was a really awesome day today!

Valladolid Homestay: Jan. 16: La cocina de María José (x 2) by Amy G.

Today was a great day in Valladolid!  After getting to sleep in a bit, we met up at the local Civic Center for a typical Spanish cooking class!  After a delicious breakfast, provided by the two teachers, both María José, we got to cooking.  First, we chopped different veggies and chorizo for the base of the lentil soup.  It smelled great!  After a few cans of lentils were added, it simmered while we started on the tortilla, thick egg omelette with potatoes.  This dish proved to be more difficult, especially the process of flipping it manually.  After evaluating the data, I would guess we had about a 60-75% success rate in this arena.  Though it took hours, the lunch was delicious and filling, as Spanish "almuerzo" should be.  It was great to get together while experiencing Spanish culinary culture in the process.

Breakfast

  

Valladolid Homestay: Scavenger Hunt in the City Jan. 15 by Molly B.

Today was our first time seeing each other as a group since we met up with our host families at the train station on Saturday.  It was refreshing for all of us to see familiar faces and speak a little bit of English!  (😧 from Profe Allen who is getting ready to publish this post!)  We all got to share stories of our experiences with our host families and the fun things we have done (and new foods we have tried) with them.  After a bit of catching up, we went on a mini-tour of Valladolid, which included Miguel de Cervantes' house (author of Don Quijote), the Plaza Mayor, and a historic market with different meat and seafood stalls. 

Christopher Columbus died in a convent on the Plaza Mayor here in Valladolid in 1506.

Then, it was time for chocolate con churros!! While eating our new favorite snack, we talked a bit with Heather, the home stay coordinator, about how we are doing in our families and customs we should know.  One of the Spanish customs she told us is that it is considered rude to close the door when you go into your room to hang out because it signifies that you don't want to interact with the family.  This was a surprise to us and made us a bit more aware of how our families could be interpreting actions that are fairly normal to us as rude. 

After this meeting, we went on a scavenger hunt near the Plaza Mayor.  We had to use a map to navigate our way to the official store of Real Valladolid, Campo Grande park to take a picture of the peacocks (which roam freely among people), several statues and various other sites.

This was a fun activity because it allowed us to interact with locals, who were more than willing to help us find where we were going.  It also helped us realize that without GoogleMaps, life is a bit more difficult.  While we are loving time with our host families, today was perfect for us to regroup and spend some much needed time together!

Valladolid Homestay: Jan. 14 by Maura K.

Today I went with my host sister, Eva, to my second day of school.  We had history, math, literature, religion and English.  The teacher made me the "mini-teacher" and I helped with the lesson.  It was really fun to hear their English and let them ask me questions.  There are so many differences between my life in Nashville and life here in Valladolid.  What has stood out to me the most is the food and the eating schedule.  We don't eat breakfast, and at around 11:00 a.m. at school we have lunch, which is bread, ham and a tangerine.  At 3:00 p.m. is the big meal.  And we have a big dinner at 9:30 p.m. or 10:00 p.m.  For me this has been the biggest adjustment.  I am excited to get to know my family and Valladolid!

Valladolid: Homestay, Jan. 13 by Megan R.

Today, my host sister, Nuria, has exams in her school, so I was offered the opportunity to go to work with my host mother, Nuria as well.  She is an English teacher as well as a television host, so I helped her teach her students advanced English by introducing English phrases first in Spanish and then in English.  I was very happy to help teach her students because they often taught me some common Spanish phrases.  after going to the academy, we went to the studio where I was given a big surprise!  I am going to be on TV!  I am going to be a part of a segment where I explain to the host American culture and specifically common New Years Resolutions.  This will be entirely in Spanish, so I am a little worried (but more excited than worried).  After coming home, Carlos taught me a card game, and we had dinner.  So far, I have met both sets of abuelos, two tíos, and three primos.  Family is a large part of Spanish culture, and I am excited that I get to be a part of it!