salamanca!

hola! sorry that's been a few days since i've written, i had an absolutely crazy weekend! suffolk took us to salamanca for the weekend!! we left friday morning and we got back about an hour and a half ago. we stayed in dorms at the Universidad Salamanca which was soo gorgeous and built in 1218!!!! on friday we went on a tour all around the plaza mayor, which was so gorgeous. we saw the Catedral Nueva de Salamanca, which was built sometime during the 12th century!! it was probably the most beautiful building i've ever been in. that night i decided to go out with a few girls that i really bonded with this weekend. we left the dorms at 11:30, but the clubs didn't even start getting crowded until well after one a.m. people stay up SO late here! we got back at about 3:30 (way too late) and just crashed. saturday morning we got up and drove to finca valverde, which was a little farm about an hour away. we went horse back riding!!! it was my first time ever and it was so incredible. and we also took a little tractor ride around the farm and had some down time. then we had a delicious lunch. after lunch, we learned all about the history of bull fighting, which was so interesting. the owner's of the farm have a son who is a nationally ranked bull fighter, and he was actually about to go out as his parents were teaching us, so his mom called to wish him good luck. they brought us into a pen and we got to play around with a baby bull for a little while, which was cool. and finally we went back to the dorms. that night we went out to a club again and danced for a few hours, and once again we got home way too late. the next morning we woke up and went to la torrecilla, which was another farm outside of salamanca. here we played some competition games and then we played laser tag! and after another delicious lunch, we went back to the dorms once again. then four of us decided to go to a little art museum we found in salamanca, which was so intriguing. we learned and saw a lot. after dinner that night, we walked up to the plaza mayor and got some ice cream and sangria. we sat at a cafe and talked for over three hours, and it was just such a nice, peaceful night. this morning we woke up and we got to go on top of the cathedral in the Catedral Nueva de Salamanca, which was soo incredible. i will post pictures soon! then we made our trip back to madrid, and now i am back at my host family, taking it easy until dinner and going to bed early tonight. :)

i was feeling sad when i first got here but things are much better now. i have made some friends and things are going much better now. i start classes on wednesday which i am so excited for! and i am really starting to settle down and adjust to things here. i think it's going to be an amazing few months.

that's all for now!