Late Once Again...

   

Cathedral of Salamanca at night

It's been a few weeks now and I finally have my schedule in order and am starting to have a better impression of what my semester will be like. Honestly, a couple of the classes I'm taking may be a bit over my head, particularly in Spanish but I'm trying to approach this semester more as simply a learning experience because I think it is going to be easier to handle it and live on my own if I'm not under too much pressure and stress. That being said, I'm looking forward to this semester and I will be making my best effort to be as successful and learn as much as I can.

 

Cathedral of Salamanca

The other day I went out to shop for some groceries that didn't seem to be available at local stores. It wasn't more than a few mile walk to get across the river to a couple larger supermarkets which were located literally next door to one another, throwing a bit of a loop in the idea of competition. To give an idea of setting, so far I've experienced an interesting variety of weather here. Anything from blue sunny skies and summery temperatures to patchy clouds dropping gentle motes of snow to get caught on a piercing, wintry wind. My grocery outing was characterized by a third type of weather much more closely resembling the dreary, fairly temperate, drizzle of the American Pacific Northwest. Being a gluten free vegetarian there is still a surprising selection of options for me here in the grocery stores. In a local one just a couple blocks away there is actually a small gluten free section and I was able to find things like gluten free flours and sauces during my visit to the larger supermarkets.

A look across the center of town

Although nothing like the beach towns of Mexico or Thailand, Salamanca definitely has the air of being a tourist town, not surprising considering the history and culture that I have already experienced in the span of a mere three weeks. Tour groups can be seen fairly frequently making their way through the historic part of town surrounding the university. With this being said, it is interesting to experience this less from the perspective of another tourist, as I have for much of my other travels, and more as a resident student.

Thanks for reading!

-Tully

Bridge over the river running through Salamanca