Lady In Spain: One week later...

Welp, I'm starting to struggle to have time to blog. Also, even though I speak english way too much here with friends/roommate, my english is faltering. Thus, it's probably best that I don't blog too much as to hide my fading english.

A week later, here's an update on what's been going on in my life in Spain.

This past week has been fantastic. I just can't believe it's all real. I'm in Spain... that's insane. This past weekend we went to Salamanca, Ávila, Torro, y Tordecillas. It was beautiful, fantastic... and at times, like a dream. Today we were standing in a monastery in Tordecillas, and I couldn't help but reflect on how incredible this country is. It's FILLED with history, so much history, everywhere you go is basically ancient and incredible.

This past weekend was a planned excursion with our Study Abroad group. We stayed in a nice hotel Friday night and had a blast all day Friday and Saturday. Okay, Friday morning I was kind of miserable because instead of the pictures you see below of a sunny beautiful day in Spain, we went to the mountains Friday morning where Ávila is. Ávila is such a cool town. It's surrounded by huge stone walls, and it has several neat places inside. The beauty of this city was ruined because of the weather. It. was. freezing. This is why I hardly have any pictures. I feel bad because it was such a beautiful city, but at the same time, my hands were numb and purple, my feet were soaked and frozen, and my eyes were watering because of the snow blizzard. Let's just say it felt a little too much like Rexburg. No bueno, pero nos quedamos por un tiempo corto.

After Ávila we headed to Salamanca, a city that was just beautiful. It actually reminded me a lot of Madrid. There was a similar Plaza Mayor and the shops were similar to the ones you'd find in Madrid. However, Salamanca had its own flare of juventud that Madrid doesn't quite have. There were kids everywhere. It was fun to see the university and walk around the shops at night. Our guide actually encouraged us to go to a "disco" one of the dance clubs near the plaza. Don't worry, Mom. We didn't go.

That's actually one of the toughest parts about being in Spain. Kristie and I were talking to Encarna the other night about how much we want to meet other people here in Spain. Encarna was telling us that that is the best way to improve your Spanish, meet Spanish natives. But she told us that every one drinks and smokes here. It's just part of life. She said that the young people stay out very late at night and they meet other people at parties. Being a Mormon, I have made the decision to not drink or smoke... thus, it's basically impossible for Kristie and I to really get to meet other people. But we are lucky enough to have an incredible host mom. We are able to talk to her daily and practice our Spanish. We also have a great ward here in Alcalá where we've met some great people too.

Today we went to Torro y Tordecillas. Two beautiful towns. The smells, the sights, everything about these two cute Spanish towns made me happy. The sun was shining, and the people in both places were so kind and welcoming. We even danced with the people in the Plaza Mayor en Tordecillas. How cool is that? They had some type of a celebration going on with a live band and everything. It was awesome.

Kristie took this during the bus ride. It captures how beautiful the sky was and the Spanish countryside.

The bus drive to all of these places was also incredible. I know you think bus and you think sick... but actually we drove through incredible places in Spain. I LOVED sitting in the bus and looking out at the beautiful countryside. We haven't seen too much of the countryside yet, and so it was a breath of fresh air to be able to sit back and listen to some music while looking out into the beautiful Spanish countryside.

Well, I've been writing in my travel journal more than I have on my blog. It's just easier to journal when I'm on the go. Sin embargo, here are a few of my favorite pictures of the beautiful places I got to see this weekend: