A Guide by Laura Kuznia

After having lived in Spain for about 5 weeks now, there are a few things I feel everyone should know before they come here.

1. Don't worry about dressing like a local. Don't ask me how, but they KNOW. So don't stress out about wearing dresses or strappy sandals,

or anything like that. Just dress in whatever makes you feel most comfortable because you will be doing A LOT of walking.

2. Bring sunscreen. I thought I'd be able to pick some up for cheap here to protect my lovely pale skin, but it costs an arm and a leg. May as well just give those up to skin cancer now. 17 euros for a little bottle of sunscreen. Bring it.

3. Be adventurous and try all of the food. I never thought I'd like beef tongue, but it's surprisingly good. Tapas are a great way to try just a little bit of a new food if you're unsure. And your senora will definitely cook something you've never seen before. Just go for it.

4. Don't spend all of your money the first week. When you first arrive in Spain, your automatic reaction is going to be to go shopping every day. Try to halt this feeling. Wait closer to the end to buy souvenirs because I can guarantee you'll find something way cooler at the end once you know all of the stores than in the beginning when you're buying everything you see.

5. Get to know Salamanca. It's a cool little town. While you should definitely trav

el to other parts of Spain if you have the time and the means, make sure you save one or two weekends to walk around this place. It's really pretty and there are a lot of cool things to see here that you don't have to ride on a bus 3 hours to see.

6. Going with the previous recommendation, get to know your senora or the other people living in your house. Not only is it a great way to practice your Spanish, but you'll also make a friend or two in the process, which makes being in a new country at least an 8 hour plane ride away from home a little easier.

7. Push yourself to try new things and get into situations in which you're not exactly comfortable. I've learned a lot about myself, mostly about how long I should be in a country before going a little crazy, but it's good to test

yourself. Otherwise, you may as well have just stayed in the US and saved that 7 grand for something else.

8. Have fun. Make new friends. They really come in handy when you think you're about to have a nervous breakdown because all you've eaten for the last week is fried potatoes and ham.

So far, this is what I've gathered from my experience. I hope it helps someone. Remember the sunscreen.