A Day in the Life of Jenna, Salamanca Style...

While it is hard to give an exact schedule of my events because they vary from day to day, I have come up with a pretty regular routine for a day in Salamanca. I try to begin my days with a run while the weather is cool. If I’m going to run, I wake up at 8:00. However on the days I’m feeling lazy I treat myself to 45 more minutes of sleep and wake up at 8:45. The morning really is a great time to run here because it’s only about 60 degrees, which is a perfect running temperature for me. I usually run for about 20 minutes and I try to mix up my route to see different parts of Salamanca. When I return to the apartment breakfast is waiting for me on the kitchen table. Breakfast is the same every day, 2 pieces of toast, a small piece of fruit, and coffee with milk. I have to say I miss my daily bowl of cereal but I don’t think I would enjoy cereal with warm milk either. After breakfast I take a shower, but make sure to keep it short because the water is so expensive. I continue getting ready for the day, brush my hair, brush my teeth, put on a little make-up and call it good. I try to leave for class at 9:30 because the walk takes me a good 25 minutes, and that is walking rapidly.

My first class of the day, Spanish art history, is at 10:00. We learn about Spanish artists and their most important works of art. Art and history are two subjects that I usually don’t enjoy, but I actually don’t mind this class. The professor is very nice and always makes sure we understand all the material. At 11:00 I walk the short distance to my next class, Spanish culture. I really enjoy this class because my teacher is so fun and energetic and I find it interesting to learn about the many traditions and practices of Spanish culture. After culture class I walk back to the same classroom as art and have my University of Michigan class. I really enjoy this class as well because the material is so practical and helpful for being in Spain! Something really neat we do in this class is a “secret buddy”. Receiving a small treat at the beginning of class is always a nice surprise. At 1:30 class is over and I try to keep up with the incredibly fast paced Maurice and Nelo so I have company on my walk home, but I have never encountered such fast walkers in my life! One of the most interesting times of the day is passing "the clapper" on Calle Toro during our walk home. It is probably the most bizarre street performer I have ever seen and I am so amused by it every time I walk by.

Lunch is at 2:00 every day and I am accompanied by the other student from New Jersey that I live with, my host mom, and her sister who is currently visiting from Paraguay where she is a missionary. The food my host mom cooks varies but is often some type of soup or mixture of vegetable and potatoes, fish or some type of meat, salad, then fruit for dessert, but no matter what we always get a piece of bread to start off the meal. The fruit is always so ripe and delicious and is definitely my favorite part of the meal! Fortunately, I haven’t encountered too many foods I dislike but there have been a few.

Afternoon activities always vary. Many times I take a nap for a couple of hours to catch up on my sleep, especially if I was out late the previous night. After that I usually go somewhere with Internet, common places include café Sastre or the cursos building. I catch up with my friends and family back home on Facebook or Skype, upload pictures, check my email, and do some homework. Not having constant access to Wi-Fi definitely took some getting used to. I often go to the café or cursos building with a couple of other friends and we chat and order a beverage. Sometimes we walk around Salamanca and try to explore new places or browse in stores at the amazing Spanish “rebajas”. Occasionally, and if it’s nice out which it almost always is, some friends and I will go to the pool to work on our tan and relax. The weather here is pretty close to perfect, warm and sunny but not humid at all and it rarely rains. I come back to my apartment a bit before dinner and either finish up some homework, relax, read, or watch TV on my computer.

Dinner is sometime between 9:00 and 9:30, much later than I’mused to. Once again I eat with my host mom, her sister, and the student from New Jersey. Dinner usually consists of bread, salad, fish or another meat, and fruit once again for dessert. Sometimes we will sit around and talk for a bit which is a great time to practice my Spanish! After dinner I either relax and do homework or go out with my friends. If I stay in I usually go to bed around 12:00. When I go out the group usually meets in the plaza then ventures on from there. Many times we end up at Cubic, Irish Rover, or Atahualpa, various bars/clubs. We dance, chat, avoid the creepy Spanish men, and always have a great time! These nights I don’t go to bed until a bit later which is always rough the next morning, but so worth it. And there you have it, my daily Salamancan routine.