¡Hola!

¡Hola! Once again, I am back in Madrid! :) I had a great summer back home in Montana. I was a lifeguard at the city pool, and I taught swim lessons to the little children! I was also very lucky throughout this summer and traveled to California, Florida, and Alaska to visit friends and family. (The picture by the lake is from Alaska). It was a great summer, and I loved seeing all my friends from home. However, by the end of August, I was getting restless to come back to Madrid. All of the returning students mentioned how excited they were to return, and how boring their summers were at home compared to life here in Madrid!

When I landed in the Barajas airport in Madrid, I could hardly wait to get off the plane! I then took a taxi to my new studio apartment, which is in the same building as my best friend here from last year! It was so exciting to move into my new home for the year, and explore the new neighborhood I live in, Salamanca. When I went outside and heard Spanish, saw the metro signs, and smelled tortilla de patata, I realized how much I had missed this city!

The first weekend back, all the new and returning students went on a welcome trip to Salamanca. Salamanca is a city to the northwest of Madrid, and is famous for having one of the oldest universities in the world. My friend and I missed the school bus to Salamanca (we were running a little late), but we went to the bus station in Madrid and found a bus to Salamanca that left that same hour. :) Two hours later, as the bus pulled into the station, my friend and I realized that Salamanca was exactly how we left it a year ago…gorgeous. The cathedral is beautiful, and the Plaza Mayor (at night time especially) is a view I will never forget. The school organizes day activities (such as horseback riding, long Spanish lunches, history of bullfighting, and laser tag) to meet other students and to learn more about Spain. Being a college city, Salamanca also has great nightlife…which ALL the students quickly discovered!:) It is the perfect city to get to know everyone and be introduced to Spain. :)