First Impressions
Let me just say: Salamanca is great! The apartment is great! My flatmates (compañeros de piso) are great! The school is great! The food is great! The weather is (almost) great! Only my Spanish is not that great… :)
okay, don’t worry, I’ll stop! :)
At the moment I’m sitting in a coffee shop (have finally found one with wireless connection after about one hour of walking around with my heavy computer bag…), enjoying a coffee “cortado” and am talking to one of my roommates, Carolina from Brazil. She and a German girl, Mimi, will be staying with me in the flat during my entire stay here. The other two, another girl from Germany, Lavinia, and Felix, a guy from Macao, are leaving this Friday. I really like our apartment, its nice and clean, we have a great balcony, the kitchen is pretty modern, the rooms are rather big, and apart from the bed, which makes weird sounds whenever I turn around, I’m perfectly comfortable!
The trip yesterday was long, but everything went very well, the plane was on time and my luggage arrived, which was what I was most worried about… I got picked up at the airport and the driver brought me right to the apartment (total gentleman, even carried my suitcase upstairs!!). There, I thought I was alone at first, because all the doors were closed but then one door opened and a girl came out in pyjamas (at 2 pm!!), starting to excuse herself that normally she doesn’t look like that and that she had been sleeping because Sunday is the only day she can sleep since every week day there is school and going out… it was so funny and I liked her straight away! That was Lavinia, and one hour later I already went to the public swimming pool (which is really nice!) with her and a friend of hers! In the evening we were invited to dinner in the other students’ flat in our building – it was so funny, we were about 12 people speaking English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese all at once!!! Once again I was confirmed in why I love languages and different cultures, it is so interesting! Still, I had to go to bed “early”, right after dinner at 11.30 pm because I was so tired (I hate getting up early, and 5 o’clock yesterday morning definitely was too much for me…) – I have to get used to the Spanish rhythm of life first!
This morning, it was raining – great, the others had told us only yesterday that it never rains in Salamanca and what happens on our first day? ;) but it was no problem, the school is not too far from our flat (about 15min walking) and we arrived there only 5 minutes late, which here in Spain is more than on time! For me as a typical “Swissie”, it will take some time to get used to that – but perhaps it was a sign that this morning my watch stopped and I need to get a new battery first… :)
The school is very nice, located in the building of an old Convent, but the classrooms are very modern and comfortable. First of all, we had to take a level test and I was so surprised to hear that I’m already in the class for B2, which is the level I will need at the beginning of my Spanish studies at university! I also realized one hour later that it is hard for me to keep up with them – but then again, it’s my first day here and apparently (from the test results) I instinctively already know quite a lot… My classmates are also very nice, but unfortunately all of them are leaving this Friday, so I will get new compañeros next week!
I have 6 lessons a day, and they are from 9 am to 3 pm with only 5 minutes break between them – typically Spanish, lunch has to wait until 3! :) I guess it will be pretty tough to be at school that many hours everyday, but I’m positive that I will learn a lot during the next 6 weeks! Although it is hard to keep up the Spanish with so many people around me who speak either German or English… :)
Well, I guess I’ll have to stop here, there are people who already threatened that they won’t read my blog if the posts are too long! But this was important, and its my first post from Spain… so I hope you’re all well and am looking forward to hearing from you! (pictures will follow soon… :)
okay, don’t worry, I’ll stop! :)
At the moment I’m sitting in a coffee shop (have finally found one with wireless connection after about one hour of walking around with my heavy computer bag…), enjoying a coffee “cortado” and am talking to one of my roommates, Carolina from Brazil. She and a German girl, Mimi, will be staying with me in the flat during my entire stay here. The other two, another girl from Germany, Lavinia, and Felix, a guy from Macao, are leaving this Friday. I really like our apartment, its nice and clean, we have a great balcony, the kitchen is pretty modern, the rooms are rather big, and apart from the bed, which makes weird sounds whenever I turn around, I’m perfectly comfortable!
The trip yesterday was long, but everything went very well, the plane was on time and my luggage arrived, which was what I was most worried about… I got picked up at the airport and the driver brought me right to the apartment (total gentleman, even carried my suitcase upstairs!!). There, I thought I was alone at first, because all the doors were closed but then one door opened and a girl came out in pyjamas (at 2 pm!!), starting to excuse herself that normally she doesn’t look like that and that she had been sleeping because Sunday is the only day she can sleep since every week day there is school and going out… it was so funny and I liked her straight away! That was Lavinia, and one hour later I already went to the public swimming pool (which is really nice!) with her and a friend of hers! In the evening we were invited to dinner in the other students’ flat in our building – it was so funny, we were about 12 people speaking English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese all at once!!! Once again I was confirmed in why I love languages and different cultures, it is so interesting! Still, I had to go to bed “early”, right after dinner at 11.30 pm because I was so tired (I hate getting up early, and 5 o’clock yesterday morning definitely was too much for me…) – I have to get used to the Spanish rhythm of life first!
This morning, it was raining – great, the others had told us only yesterday that it never rains in Salamanca and what happens on our first day? ;) but it was no problem, the school is not too far from our flat (about 15min walking) and we arrived there only 5 minutes late, which here in Spain is more than on time! For me as a typical “Swissie”, it will take some time to get used to that – but perhaps it was a sign that this morning my watch stopped and I need to get a new battery first… :)
The school is very nice, located in the building of an old Convent, but the classrooms are very modern and comfortable. First of all, we had to take a level test and I was so surprised to hear that I’m already in the class for B2, which is the level I will need at the beginning of my Spanish studies at university! I also realized one hour later that it is hard for me to keep up with them – but then again, it’s my first day here and apparently (from the test results) I instinctively already know quite a lot… My classmates are also very nice, but unfortunately all of them are leaving this Friday, so I will get new compañeros next week!
I have 6 lessons a day, and they are from 9 am to 3 pm with only 5 minutes break between them – typically Spanish, lunch has to wait until 3! :) I guess it will be pretty tough to be at school that many hours everyday, but I’m positive that I will learn a lot during the next 6 weeks! Although it is hard to keep up the Spanish with so many people around me who speak either German or English… :)
Well, I guess I’ll have to stop here, there are people who already threatened that they won’t read my blog if the posts are too long! But this was important, and its my first post from Spain… so I hope you’re all well and am looking forward to hearing from you! (pictures will follow soon… :)
posted by Sabin at 8:08 PM
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