Finalmente, creo que sé la ciudad, geograficamente, por supuesto [finally, I think I know the city, geographically, of course].

I chose this title, because I feel pretty secure in that you could drop me off in any part of the city and I would be able to get back to my house.  Within reason.  But I know I'm only just beginning to know the culture and great variety of things to do in this city.  It's taken a lot of exploring, but I'm starting to really like it here!  On Monday, we took our placement exam for our classes, and our professors gave us a tour of the city, and then Tuesday we found out the results of that exam and started classes!  I placed into level B2, on a scale that goes, A1,A2, B1, B2, C1, C2.  Our grammar professor told us we’re considered advanced, and that once you get to the C levels, you’re practically bilingual!  Que sorpresa!  What a surprise! Dang, I did better than I thought!

All in all, we have 7 classes we’re taking for our 17 credits, plus a few large papers we have to write.  We’re taking Culture, History, Geography, Literature, Oral Expression, Grammar, and Art.  I love it because Spain is a country with a lot of really rich history, and because of that, the history influenced the art, literature, and the culture.  All the classes intertwine at some point, which is really neat.  In Literature class, we’re reading part of Don Quijote (AHH!! Not again!).  But I guess it’s almost necessary to read in a Spanish literature class.  Our walk to school isn't bad either, it takes us about 35 to 40 minutes.  Our host mom doesn't want us walking because it's too cold out, but we do anyway.  We just tell her we're taking the bus. Even on the coldest days here, it's only about 32 degrees F, so we're used to weather much, much colder than that.     

Here's some photos of the city.  The first photo with the huge fountain is called Plaza Zorilla.  It's a large area of the city where some of the best shopping streets stem off from.  On one side of the Plaza there is Campo Grande, the city's largest park.  I haven't explored Campo Grande yet, but soon enough I will! 

This is Antigua, one of the churches in the city.  It stands next to the cathedral, which is quite impressive itself.  It's really pretty how they light everything up at night!  Way cooler than churches I've seen in the United States! 

And this is called the "Cupula del Milenio".  It's not too far from my house, and during the day, it's just white.  They hold events there like concerts and other art and theatre shows.  

 This is the town hall on one side of the Plaza Mayor.  The plaza mayor incorporates 3 important aspects of the city's power.  1.  Government (town hall) 2. Church (there's a church nearby) and 3. the economy (there are shops all around the plaza).  Most plazas were built in the same style as this one, since this one was the first plaza built in Spain! 

It’s always extremely foggy here, especially in the mornings and at night.  We get a 2 hour block where the sun comes out between 4 and 6 most evenings, and then shortly thereafter, it hides again.

Here's a photo of when it's foggy, and when it's not!

 

Anyway, life here is going much better now that we started classes and we have things to talk about with our host mom.  We have more conversations and just talk about more things, which is much better than it was our first few days.  If my confidence in my Spanish speaking skills have gotten this good in a week, I can’t imagine how well my Spanish is going to be in 4 more months!!!   

This past week we met Marcos, our host mom’s grandson, and Laura, her daughter who is studying to be a nurse.  We also went out Saturday afternoon with our host mom, and met her brother-in-law for a taste of the local wine and tapas (appetizers), and he came home to a huge lunch called cocido, which is basically a huge stew of chickpeas, meat, noodles, and a broth.  It was delicious!  They have some pretty crazy traditions here, but who am I to argue with it?! 

Today is Sunday, and I plan on relaxing.  I ate breakfast at like, 11am, and now I’m going to maybe nap, or read a book until lunch!

Hasta luego!!    (I've learned they don't say adios here when they leave to go somewhere, it's always hasta luego, which means, I'll see you later.  The word adios is translated to mean: to God.  So it's appropriate that they wouldn't use it on a daily basis.  I think it's used for more permanent goodbyes.)