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| Everyone on the plaza after mi cena de despedida! (leaving party dinner) |
Well here I am writing my last blog for semester one of Erasmus. My Dad asked me yesterday what my thoughts were so far on the experience, and whether my 5 months in Salamanca lived up to my expectations. I can honestly say yes it did, and even exceeded my expectations. Looking back now, there were some real challenges which arose- especially in the first month or so in terms of settling in, finding modules, and coping with no regular internet access, however they were all overcome. I guess this was all part of the experience of living abroad for the first time. I didn't expect to end up with a boyfriend- let alone a Belgian one! I also didn't imagine that I'd be at home on the Isle of Wight now with a new set of what I hope will be friends for life. My major thanks go to Florian my ‘Belga’, my lovely compañeras de piso (flat-mates) Laurie and Lorena. I know for a fact that I struck lucky with you two, and that my Erasmus wouldn't have been the same without you both. Thank you very much Laurie for my froggy photo holder with that lovely photo of me and you. It's great, and I'll always remember 'EL LUNES' (The Monday!). Next I need to mention Irene and Marta two incredibly lovely Spanish girls, two wonderful English friends- Elizabeth and Steph who have been there from pretty much day one, and last but not least Rachel, our wonderful Australian girl.
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| The lovely present from Laurie! |
Well as I have already mentioned, it's been exam time for the last three weeks in Salamanca and this has meant a distinct lack of parties and well, actual work was done! (Yes... Wow Dad, I did do some Uni work whilst on Erasmus- we all know you think I've been on a long holiday!) I had most of my French exams before the Christmas holidays, however I was left with a French verb control as well as a presentation for my History and Culture of Italy class as well as a 3,000 word essay for my Literature and Cinema module and in addition an Italian language exam! The first exam I had this side of Christmas was my Literature and Cinema exam. I hadn't been to barely any of the classes all semester and I had no idea what the course was actually about! Anyway, from this exam alone it was obvious just how relaxing exams in Spain are! The teacher was later than all of the students and the exam was just held in an ordinary classroom! .... There were no clocks like in England and also students were sat next to each other instead of on individual desks! We were handed out pieces of plain paper and a sheet with the exam questions and told just to start! There weren't any instructions from staff, and no pencil cases or water bottle labels were checked! A few minutes in the teacher even walked out of the room to chat to another member of staff and then a student came in 20 minutes late to the exam and was allowed to sit it! Never would that happen in England! The exam was pretty much impossible like I had expected, however I did have a go at answering one of the questions. I probably failed the module overall, but I did complete the essay for the module which was a film analysis. Thanks go to Marta for correcting my awful Spanish! ;)
For my presentation for the History and culture of Italy module I just wrote about Ladri di Biciclette (Bicycle thieves) which is an Italian neorealistic film from 1948, and I prepared a presentation to go with it! The exam was a lot easier than giving a presentation at Leicester as firstly we were allowed to speak in any language we wished, so I chose Spanish as I thought that doing it in English would mean Leicester would discount the grade! Also my Italian teacher doesn't really speak Spanish but she understands it- therefore she was unable to judge us from a linguistic point of view which removed a lot of the stress and also she was such a lovely lady, very laid back and encouraging so a lot of the pressure was relieved. I was first to go out of 6 or so of us and it went well I think. She seemed happy afterwards anyway and said 'sono molto contenta' (I am very happy) and brava! (great). My Italian writing exam also went well and was easier than expected even though we had a surprise oral part where we were just asked to ‘’speak’’ about anything for a few minutes! I spoke about going to Pavia for semester 2 and Fabrizia our teacher seemed quite pleased so I think I passed!
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| Florian and I on the Plaza Mayor |
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| Parque de los Jesuitas |
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| The pond in the Parque de los Jesuitas |
Now even though we’ve had exams, it’s been lovely to spend time with my friends and enjoy the last few weeks of tapas dates! Florian finally took me to the ‘Parque de los Jesuitas’ which was lovely! We went after the Literature and Cinema exam and luckily the weather was lovely and there was blue sky which always makes a photo much better! The park was smaller than I had imagined, but very peaceful, green and had a pretty pond with a fountain in it!
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| Florian and Me =] |
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| The Parque de los Jesuitas |
I only had one night out in the three weeks I returned to Salamanca after Christmas, and I can honestly say it was one of the best nights out overall. I originally organised a leaving dinner with a few close friends, however somehow it turned into nearly 20 people who came to say goodbye and wish me luck for Italy on Friday. I had booked a table during the week at Mandala; one of our favourite tapas cafe’s and was really looking forward to the dinner. Everything was great until I got there with Laurie, Florian and Amanda a few minutes late to find everyone loitering in the entrance! I had a quick panic as I expected the worst, and then the worst came true- we didn’t have a table booked. They claimed that I hadn’t confirmed the reservation on the day when I had no idea I had to do that! Luckily thanks to Irene and Marta, they very speedily set us up a table and thankfully there was enough room and before long everyone was drinking and munching away merrily. Elizabeth was so kind to make me a leaving cake which was very yummy and was soon devoured! Thank you sweetie! I’m just going to say now that I know I didn’t know you before our time in Salamanca, but it’s been lovely getting to know you and I hope we can continue our friendship from now on, and even in Leicester too! The tapas dinner really was a success, and I think everyone enjoyed the food and the conversation. Afterwards we then all headed to O’hara’s Irish bar for some alcohol to celebrate! Steph and I started off with a vodka mixer and vodka shots which was then followed by more shots and more alcohol which led to a very drunk Zoe =] A fantastic night though everyone, and Laurie.... it really was ‘EL VIERNES’! This is a joke between Laurie and I that on our very first night out together in Salamanca we got so drunk and had such an epic night that it became to be known as ‘EL LUNES’ (The Monday). We didn’t have another night as good as that one all semester until Friday. A lovely dinner with many wonderful friends, alcohol, excellent conversation, dancing and memories meant that I ended my Erasmus with a true end- ‘EL VIERNES’ (The Friday) to complement the ‘EL LUNES’ which we started with. Fantastic times Laurie, y quedamos amigas para siempre no? (We’ll be friends forever right?).
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| Irene, Marta and Me =] |
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| Me and Laurie my lovely Frenchie! |
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| One end of the table enjoying their tapas and drinks! |
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| Lucy and Me! |
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| Lorena, Laurie and Katha our German beauty! |
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| Irene, Marta, Laurie and Martha in the street! GUAPASSS! |
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| The lovely cake Elizabeth made me! Thank you lovie! |
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| Steph, Lucy and Me starting on the shots! |
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| Laurie, Me, Elizabeth and Anne-Lise! |
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| Steph and Me after a shot in the Chupitería! |
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| Me, Florian, Anne-Lise, Laurie and Lorena! |
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| A group of us at the end! |
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| Lorena, Me, Irene, Marta and Laurie in O'Hara's Irish pub. |
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| The three stunning Spanish girlies! |
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| Marta and Irene drinking GUINNESS!!! YES..... really! |
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| Amanda, Lucy, Me and Steph! |
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| A very drunken Me, Laurie, Lorena and Anne-Lise in the street! |
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| I honestly can't remember where I got those from? |
On Saturday I pretty much spent the whole day hungover, but it was certainly worth it as it was by far in the list of my top nights out in Salamanca! Then at 6pm I ambled up to the train station to go and meet Dad! By then thank god I was feeling a lot more alive and we both dropped off his case in the flat and then wandered into the centre of Salamanca. We first went for a general wander around and then we went for a drink in restaurante/bar Doze and then for some tapas in a bar. I had tortilla and a goat’s cheese and caramelised onion tostada and Dad tried a few various ones with meat and cheeses on them! Dad was very tired from his long trip so he called it a night and I went over to Florian's flat to watch a film before I returned back to my place in the early hours of the morning to get comfy on the bed I'd put up in the lounge!
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| Dad and Me on the Plaza |
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| Dad by the lovely view! |
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| Yes....... I just had to have another photo of me jumping, but this time in winter! hahaha! |
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| The lovely Plaza and all the people enjoying drinks and the winter sunshine |
On Sunday morning we woke up around 10.30 ish and then I finished packing up my suitcases which involved lots of juggling to make the weight of each case correct. Around 12ish we then wandered into the centre again and I decided to take Dad for a walk over the other side of the river to show him the famous view of Salamanca! Luckily we were blessed with clear blue sky, so we made the most of it! After the walk we were both so hungry so went back to the restaurante doze to have some tapas lunch! Florian and I had been here last week for my belated birthday lunch, and the food was so good I wanted to take Dad! We chose a mushroom risotto tapas dish each and we both had goats cheese tostada- Dad's with solomillo as well on top which is a type of thin steak. We also shared a portion of potato croquets. The food was just as good as the time a week earlier, and we both really enjoyed it! Now after re-fuelling we decided to tackle the Torres Medievales (medieval towers) of the cathedral. I'd been up two times before, but the views from the top on such a sunny day are well worth numerous visits so I wanted Dad to see them too! We enjoyed a wander around and then after went to see the monastery of San Esteban. It was closed, but we were able to get a few photos of the architecture! All touristy things now complete we went to relax in a bar in the sun on the Plaza Mayor! The temperature was showing 16 degrees, so we happily sunbathed there for an hour or so whilst people watching, and enjoying our drinks! I honestly felt like I was on holiday!
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| Our tapas lunch in 'DOZE' - MMMMMM! |
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| Dad at the top of the cathedral! |
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| The monastery of San Esteban |
Sunday evening was also really enjoyable as Dad and I went for a drink with Marta to an Irish bar! He really enjoyed meeting her and I think she enjoyed some english practice! Then we met Florian and took him for a few beers in the Erasmus cafe! He got on really well with my Dad, although I wasn't very worried beforehand anyway!
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| My Dad and Marta! |
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| Dad and Florian =] ....... my two favourite boys in the world! |
Well 14 hours and 60Kg of luggage later, we arrived back on the Isle of Wight yesterday evening! It's really nice to be home again, and I think I'm going to enjoy home comforts for the next two weeks before I start my travelling again! Next stop is Belgium for the first time to see Florian and stay with him and his family in Liege! - a fine excuse for a mid Erasmus trip blog don’t you all think?! And then two days after I return from Belgium I fly to Pavia on the 22nd of February to start my semester 2 of Erasmus in Italy!
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| And then there was nothing but 4 suitcases and a handbag. |
It’s been a wonderful 5 months in Salamanca and I have just one word to sum it all up- INOLVIDABLE! ------- (Unforgettable).
