Things to come...

So, I realize that I have not posted a whole lot recently in this blog. This is because there has not been much to report. Life has been going along as normal. Classes are almost done for the intensive month (next Tuesday we have exams and then next Friday we are done until the beginning of the spring semester on February 11). Rufi is being great like always, and not much has happened to me.

However, there are some exciting things coming up in the near future. I have been maintaining my intercambio with Sara, Rufi's niece, and we are meeting fairly regularly. This week we met on Tuesday and Thursday and then hung out on Friday with her other friends and her brother. Her brother, Antonio, spent a year on scholarship in Manchester, England, so his English is really good. He works as an English teacher, so he gets to use the language quite frequently. However, he told me that he would like to do an intercambio with someone because he works primarily with 3-12 year old children, so the English is fairly basic and wants to maintain his ability to converse in English on more important and relevant topics. For this reason, he wants to do an intercambio with me.

I also spoke with some of the directors of my program here in Salamanca, as they informed us that there are opportunities through them to do intercambios. I have emailed two additional girls about the possibility of doing an intercambio and am waiting to hear back from them. I have realized after being here in Salamanca that I really enjoy being able to go back between the two languages and help others improve their English while they help my Spanish. It is a really rewarding experience for both parties involved and I am trying to think of ways that I can participate in this in the future.

To maintain my Spanish skills since I have been doing a lot of conversing and thinking in English, I have decided to pick up some materials in Spanish that I can read. The first book I read was by Miguel de Unamuno, originally from the north of Spain (Basque country), but called Salamanca his home. If I remember correctly, he was at one point (early twentieth century) the president of the University of Salamanca. He was quite the prolific and philosophic writer, so I got one of his books titled Pensamientos y Sentimientos, or Thoughts and Feelings. I have made a list of interesting and thought provoking quotes that I will probably use in my other blog, so look there if you want a little bit of a mental exercise. 

On Monday (so two days from now), I get to register for my classes for the rest of the semester. Like I said, I am now in an intensive language program which is meant to prepare me for the semester to come, which does not start until February 11, which means I have from Friday, January 25 until the 11th of February for free time. I am thinking of travelling, but I will have to wait and see how registration goes, as I might need to stay in the city for some reason. Before the semester starts, the weekend of February 8-10, we are going to Sevilla!! Sevilla (Seville) is in the south of Spain, in the region of Andalucía. The city was the site of a huge exposition in 1992. It was also (and to my knowledge still is) a very important port in Spain, as it was the farthest inland one could get in Spain from the Mediterranean Sea. There is a lot of Muslim influence since it is in the south, so the city is going to be very different from Salamanca and has long been one of the cities I have wanted to visit. It should be incredible!!

On this upcoming Tuesday, I have the exams for the classes I am in at the moment, but then an aerial view of the two cathedrals in Salamanca is being offered. It sounds like an awesome experience, so I am definitely going to be going to that. Look for pictures on Facebook!!

I think that about sums up the exciting things that have been happening and what are going to happen soon. Short post, sorry folks! :-P