Day 1 (Martina Ashby)

¡Hola!
Our first day in Spain was a very busy one. Because of the drastically different time zones (7 hours ahead) many girls found it hard to sleep on the plane, but once we got to Salamanca we had a lot of fun! When we arrived most of the girls went out to meet their host families and get settled in, however my roommate Sydney and I were assigned another host family for one night (our host family is not coming back until tomorrow because we were originally supposed to stay in Madrid for a longer amount of time) so we are currently staying at "Pepita's" house with Darlene and Kelsey in a spare room. After enjoying almuerzo which consisted of pollo asado (roasted chicken) ensalada (salad) and helado (ice cream) we went to go ride in the paddle boats.

Salamanca has beautiful scenery. From the architecture of the buildings to the small winding streets Salamanca is a very pretty place. But the prettiest sight of all, in my opinion, is el río Tormes (the river).  It borders Salamanca and joins 2 parts of the city with a bridge cars can drive on and people can walk across.
Our group went across the bridge and down to a bank where a man (who was surrounded by dogs and other locals enjoying the scenery) had paddle boats for people to go on the river with. Our group went 4 to each boat. It was incredibly fun to go around the river with and when we got tired we could just sit there and relax and enjoy where we were and appreciate the people we were with.

Salamanca is a bigger city than I had imagined in my head but it is still small enough to be able to get places relatively easily and without taking to much time. There are not many tourists here, mostly just locals. I like that because by being in this city we can fully "immerse" ourselves in a culture not taken over by America and learn their language,customs, and way of life. I've noticed that by being surrounded by so much Spanish culture it has helped me be able to carry conversations and gain a better understanding of the Spanish language. On this trip so far I've learned that Spanish is hard work yes, but it can be very fun too.

Martina Ashby