My Month in Salamanca

 In July 2012 I spent a month in Spain learning Spanish and exploring the beautiful city of Salamanca. I was very generously offered a travel grant from Wills Hall (My Hall of Residence) at Bristol to attend the University of Salamanca during my time there. Here is a brief account of my wonderful experience to say thank you to the Wills Hall Association for their generosity and to keep a record of what I got up to earlier this summer. 

Spanish Celebrations upon Winning the Euro Cup 2012

 On June 30^th 2012 I arrived in Salamanca, a student town 2 hours from Madrid, for a month of studying Spanish language and culture. I arrived in the beautiful city at 1am and was a little worried as to where I was going to sleep that evening. Fortunately for me, 1am in Spain is barely past children’s bedtime and my designated rep was still awake and happy to let me into my shared student apartment.

The next morning I awoke to the sound of other students arriving and we all went together to the University of Salamanca, where I was to spend the next month studying. After a quick test, I was enrolled in an advanced level class which didn’t start until the next day. It was our first day in Spain, so what should we do? The unanimous response: Paella. After a huge meal of rice and seafood, we decided to explore the city. Salamanca is a small city that is centred around the university, much like Cambridge. It has an incredibly rich history, having been the study place of many important figures such as the Spanish writer, Cervantes and even Christopher Columbus was known to have lectured there.   

The Pontifical University of Salamanca

During my month’s stay in the heart of Spanish academia, I attended 5 hours of lessons a day (with no break!) and took up flamenco lessons. Needless to say, my Spanish is a lot better than my dancing, but it was a good way to keep off the added calories of the Spanish diet! What’s more, there were plenty of friendly Spaniards to talk to, especially in the evening over a glass of wine or tinto verano and I learnt that buying a lottery ticket was practically mandatory. 

A Flamenco show starring my Flamenco teacher

During one of my weekends, some friends and I decided to take a trip south to visit the cities of Seville and Cordova. The stunning architecture and plethora of things to see meant we were kept very busy during our 3 day visit. Despite the 45 degree heat, it was a fantastic few days and we hugely enjoyed the backpacker lifestyle, even though we ended up spending one afternoon being stared at on a much-needed visit to a public Cordovan swimming pool!

My month in Spain was entirely unforgettable. I made some incredible friends, the improvement to my Spanish was immeasurable and I have definitely caught the Spanish bug. I cannot wait until my next trip to visit our Spanish-speaking neighbours or at least until my next glass of perfectly cool San Gría.