The Long-Awaited Second Entry

2009-09-24T18:07:00.005+02:00

Oho! So apparently I am worse at blogging than I thought I would be. Let's hope that this changes.

Rather than recount everything I've done and seen in the past two + weeks, I'm just going to make some observations about life here in Salamanca...

1. Old people. They are everywhere! I just love it. On the day I arrived, I took a stroll through the second-closest park to my house (La Alamedilla), which is just a treat - shady, and lined with benches and heladerias (salmantinos scream for ice cream!). On literally every single bench sat an elderly couple, hands clasped and in conversation. Every man over the age of 50 must be issued a uniform: slacks, loafers, and a collared shirt. Sometimes I see them coupled off, other times I see old ladies strolling arm-in-arm with their friends, and I bore witness to a whole horde of older gentlemen at a local petanca competition (a game very similar in structure and fan-base to shuffleboard) at the closest park to my house (el de Pablo Picasso).

2. Fashion. Lo que está de moda. Did you know that rat-tails are fashionable? They certainly are. As are Jasmine pants, Elvira bangs and mullets. I've also seen quite a few boys here sporting a novel combination of two hairstyles that are quite disgusting enough on their own: dreadlocks and mullets. Business in the front, rasta party in the back. not kidding.

3. My command of spanish. It's improving! Awesome. But for some reason I have started to add a touch of Sean Connery to some words. Everytime I go to say "sí" it comes out all throaty and sounding like "shhí." I'm trying my best to put a stop to this, but the part of me that loves it insists that it should stay. murr.

OK. Now is the point where I want to share some choice pictures to demonstrate the places I've been, things I've seen, etc.

From Charro Parade

I took this picture on I think my first or second day in Salamanca. Right outside of Georgetown's office on the Calle Toro, I happened upon a very short parade of Charros. "Charro" is the name given to people native to the towns of Salamanca (the province). Something incredible about Europe (or at least the towns I've been to thus far), is that parades are seemingly constant. One should never be taken off-guard by the onset of a parade, because their occurence is just as well inevitable.

When I went to Segovia (two Saturdays ago), there was some kind of military band competition taking place. Those in competition, of course, paraded the streets with flair:

From Segovia

Segovia is the home of a Roooman aqueduct, built in the very first century, without any cement to speak of. It's just humongous rocks piled on top of more humongous rocks. I surmise, though, that if a giant (BFG-sized, not Andre-sized, I mean) had a club and ganas de visiting Segovia, he could do some pretty hefty damage to the aqueduct, no cement and all.
Here is the aqueduct:

From Segovia

And now, I am running out of battery, and I did promise myself that I would finish this before going home to plug in again. So... more to come.

Un abrazo fuerte,
Alicia

T Minus Two Days

2009-09-03T03:58:00.001+02:00

Where I'm Headed: Salamanca, España

On Friday I will be jetting off on an overnight flight to Madrid, and upon arriving I will find the bus to Salamanca without any kind of hiccup. I'll make my way to this beautiful (and v. old) city, whose culture centers around the vibrant (and, surprise, v. v. old) Universidad. From there.. who knows?

Adventures will inevitably ensue, and (most of) those will be recorded here, for those at home to keep tabs on how I'm spending my time, and for me to have some kind of English-language outlet for my thoughts and experiences.

Pictures too! I'll be posting the bulk of my photos on my picasa website (http://picasaweb.google.co

m/holdsworth.alicia ), which is blank for now, but won't be for long, as well as some post-pertinent pictorials here.

All contact information is in a note on my facebook page - check there or email me if you want my skype name or address or something.

Current state: half-packed, excited(!) and admirably composed - I'll let you know when the reality of this whole thing finally clicks.

Alicia's Iberian+ Adventure

The Long-Awaited Second Entry

T Minus Two Days