Next stop was Spanish school, and after my brief taste of exchange life with Zoe in Lyon I was very excited, although at the same time nervous about meeting my family and talking to them, considering my complete lack of Spanish. I headed to my new house and rang the buzzer for 2D. I heard a quiet 'yes?' and I just replied, 'I'm Georgie?' and that seemed to be enough as I was buzzed in and nervously climbed the stairs to meet my mum. I was met with a big smile, a hug, and some very fast Spanish. When we worked out via sign language I couldn't speak any Spanish and she knew no English, I was slightly worried. I soon met the dog, Tor who it was clear was the most loved dog in the world, even more so than my beautiful Charlie. My worry increased when I realised there was no one else living here clearly and maybe this was why the dog was so spoiled and loved. After my volunteering home stay in Fiji, I really hoped this time I would have brothers and sisters but it seemed I was once again destined to hang out with parents. It wasn't so bad though, she put on the TV and although I couldn't understand it was a nice home comfort. Before long I also had the wifi password so at least if I couldn't talk to we I now had a link to the outside English speaking world. I somehow managed to translate when she said another student was coming and although I couldn't question her further I was excited to make a friend the day before classes commenced. When she arrived however, she wasn't the cool 22 year old girl I'd been hoping for but a 50 something year old French woman who also couldn't speak English, but could speak Spanish so instantly stole all the attention. My good luck with families from Fiji had clearly continued, all I needed now was a cyclone like the one we had there. After a delicious dinner I was feeling better (hunger does bad things to me) and went to sleep excited for the day ahead of me. Maribel (my Spanish mummy) kindly agreed to walk us to school so we didn't get lost on our first day and although I felt like a little preppy again, I loved it and it was a very sweet gesture. I walked up for orientation which commenced in Spanish which everyone else could clearly understand. I continued to smile and nod whenever I met eyes with the teacher who was presenting however inside a wave of panic was forming, I was way out of my depth and everyone else was already so good!! Luckily a kind girl next to me, Jessica from Germany started chatting to me in English and quickly invited me along to a tapas tour that was happening that evening that she and the others in her accommodation would be going to. So I agreed I would join her which was something to look forward to, but also presented a problem as now, I had to explain in Spanish to my mum that I would not be home for dinner. That task was for later though and now it was time for my first class, I sat in the room alone and soon my ONLY other classmate walked in. Ben from Switzerland who again, was older, a 40 year old chemistry teacher who also couldn't speak English... perfect. Our timetable consisted of three classes daily, each for 80 minutes with a ten minute break between them. Grammar was first, conversation second and finally an intensive class which was a mix of both based on a different topic each day. By the end of the day I was so overwhelmed and exhausted. Not a word of English was spoken from the very start and we moved so quickly through material I was flustered. Particularly my intensive class which was on a topic the others had prepared for, I knew nothing about and obviously on day 1 couldn't talk about, I could barely introduce myself. My classmates in that class were all a week in already so were ahead but I just had to try my best and catch up. They were much younger, more friendly and bonus, could speak english! I made friends mostly with Felix from England & Lisa from Holland who were also planning on going to the 'ruta de tapas' that evening which was nice. I went off to grab a bite to eat at a tapas bar which according to trip advisor catered for coeliacs. The reviews didn't lie and when i asked sin gluten, he nodded, offered me a gluten free beer and said he would make me any pintxos i wanted simply on gluten free bread. The food was delicious, I tried a tostada with jamon, and one with steak and cheese, and both of these plus the beer was only 6 euro. I was beginning to love Salamanca more and more! I headed home and with the aid of google translate and a lot of memorising, I managed to convey to Maribel I wouldn't be having dinner because I was trying to make friends pretty much and again, I don't know how but we managed to agree to switch my main meal to lunch each day rather than dinner so my evenings were free to socialise which worked out perfectly. I sat down to my mountain of homework and tried to do a bit of extra study so I could attempt to keep up in 'Intensivo' the next day. Soon it was time for tapas so I strolled on down to school and met up with group which turned out to be quite large. It was clear the students at the school were very diverse in both age and nationality, we must have looked like a strange group sitting down in each of the 4 tapas bars speaking in a mix of English, Spanish, Dutch, German, French, Swedish and my favourite- Spanglish (which in my case was 97% English with a few Spanish words thrown in every now and then). I mostly spoke to Jessica, Lisa, Fiona a Taiwanese girl also from my intensive class and Ally an English lady who had come to learn Spanish for 6 weeks after retiring. It was a lovely evening and I was very glad I had swapped lunch and dinner so I could have more nights like it.
The next day at school was marginally better as my classmate Benno hadn't done his homework and was slow to grasp the new concepts which I found easy, so although I might be taking happiness in someone else's suffering I was just glad I was better than at least one person. We moved through the material very quickly but I could just cope with it, my intensive class still went very much over my head but it was good to practise listening and understanding. Felix, the star student of our class, invited me to dinner with everyone that night so I was excited to finally have made some friends. I headed home for my first lunch which was amazing (luckily because after 7 hours without food I was very hungry!) Grilled fish, potato salad, normal salad, soup, followed by fruit and yoghurt! I can understand why the Spanish people take a siesta if lunch is always that big! I flopped on the couch in a partial food coma and slowly worked my way through the huge pile of homework we had been given. Three Spanish tv shows later, two awkward and stilted conversations with my host mum, and a pile of homework finito'd, it was time to wine and dine with my new school friends. After this night, my place in the group seemed cemented and most nights we would go out for tapas and drinks. Felix and Lisa from my class, martijn and hjamar from holland, jessica from germany, karin from Sweden and Rory, Felixs friend from England who was on exchange at universidad Salamanca made up our group. Wednesday followed the same plan as Tuesday. Struggling through school, feasting at lunch, homework/rest/TV (except today I learnt how to put it in English- cheating I know!) and then off for tapas with the gang! Thursday again was quite similar (this is probably boring I know!) but my classmate Benno decided to say adios to Spanish school (which probably was a wise decision) however it left me in private tuition, which is great for my Spanish, but so intense and exhausting and by the end of the day I was exhausted. After class I met up with Jessica who's Spanish was one of the best at our school and she helped me post my passport to Australia to sort out an Indian visa which I was so nervous about, but a month later when I'm writing this (whoops) the passport has made it to Aus and back so her Spanish clearly worked! That night was a quiet one filled with study as I had learnt two tenses and three other grammar points that morning which needed a lot of revision before I even remotely knew them. Friday was another tough day at school but I was told it was because they were moving me up to level A3 with everyone the next week, so although I was rushing through material at least I would have friends and less attention the next week! That evening we went out for tapas with everyone as usual but I decided to stay with Felix and Rory who were meeting up with his Spanish friends from his university residence or 'resa' as they call it. One dampener on the evening was the intense downpour of rain (see what I did there?) followed by a crazy storm. The thunder was so loud I had never heard anything like it, and a listening bolt struck so close to us we could see where it hit the ground. We were literally in the eye of the storm, drenched and petrified so we all quickly ran to one of the students apartments for warmth and shelter. Once we had dried off a little we did proper introductions and started to play 'Cheers Governor' the drinking game in Spanish. I was apprehensive to play and embarrass myself with my lack of Spanish but it ended up being quite the opposite. I only made one mistake whilst an admittedly, very drunk Spanish student, stuffed up at least ten times. We were all invited to join 'Pissed in the day' the next day with all the students by the river which started at 1pm and was supplied, so we happily agreed to come along. After too many rounds and too much cheap box wine I decided to brave the rain and walk on home.
I woke early to listen to the final minutes of the Grand Final whilst lying in my bed in Salamanca and the ominous sound of rain didn't give me much hope for the days planned festivities. I remained optimistic though, and had a big breakfast to line my stomach before meeting Felix at Plaza Mayor. At this point I was so glad I hadn't sent my new coat home as planned because the weather had most definitely turned and I was was dripping wet and cold. We strolled over to the resa and it didn't seem as though a huge river party was about to start, in fact contrary to that there was no one loitering around as per usual and I assumed people had cleverly opted for a movie day rather than being drenched outside. Rory broke the news to us that we already knew, it was cancelled, but I hung out with the boys for the day anyway. Although it was a rather uneventful day of exploring the Internet and the weird and wonderful things it provides for entertainment, one of these things was a fantastic discovery which I will take with me. The boys said, 'Do you want to do a sporcle?' and preceded to show me this website filled with thousands of quizzes on every topic imaginable, sounds dorky I know, but since then, this site has provided me with hours of entertainment. I headed home for dinner with my mummy who cooked a delicious chicken schnitzel, chips and salad and then got ready to meet the boys for a night out with the 'resa lot' or otherwise known as the 'novatos' (new kids). Little did I know it was actually like the American college movies where the older students dictate rules and are basically allowed to do whatever they please to us poor novatos. For once I had worn makeup because it was a big night out with new people and was immediately accosted and told new girls weren't allowed to wear makeup until the 3rd week. I pleaded ignorance and managed to escape but I covered my face as much as possible on the walk to the club. When we arrived we had to basically perform an exercise routine in the street in front of the club, first squats followed by what they call 'cockorocha' which basically is lying on your back and moving your legs like you are riding a bicycle. After that we were allowed in but I was instructed to go and dance with random people, skull my drink, go and get two girls drinks and then the inevitable happened I was caught and my face was scrubbed clean by the prepared senoras who clearly come armed with face wipes to make sure they look better than all the newbies. After the scrubbing came the graffiti and Felix, Rory and I soon looked like clowns with all sorts scribbled on our faces, for me it was a moustache, beard and Atletica written across my forehead (the name of a Spanish football team). Rory was the victim of one too many skulling orders so he escorted himself home which left me and Felix. We stayed in the club until 3.30 when everyone suddenly evacuated and said we were going somewhere else so off we went. Interestingly though everyone just stood around on the streets and no move was made for a new club. Felix was in hot pursuit of a Spanish girl Anna and I was freezing cold waiting until someone wanted to leave. Luckily about an hour into the hanging out period a fight broke out and everyone took that a sign to go home so the Spanish girls led me back to Plaza Mayor and I ran home from there to my cozy bed!
After nowhere near enough sleep the violent beeping of my alarm cruelly woke me up and I rushed to get ready, cursing myself for arranging such early plans. I met Karin and Jessica outside school for our day of sightseeing Salamanca and set off to stop 1 which was the incredible cathedral before crossing the river on a roman age bridge. We walked around more to see the casa de conches and have a little look at Salamanca on the other side of the bridge. Lisa wanted to meet up for coffee so we headed back into the centre of town and went to the local coffee shop just near school. The girls got chocolate con churros and I ordered what I thought was hot chocolate but instead turned out to be a cup full of melted chocolate, my mouth was very happy, but after a while my tummy not so much so I had to give up half way through. We all had to go home to our families for lunch but agreed to meet later in the afternoon. Mum and I had another feast and a big chat today so I felt my Spanish had come along and walked to meet with the girls in high spirits. We decided to try out the frozen yoghurt place on Plaza Mayor (luckily I remembered my lacteeze tablets after this morning) and it turned out to be amazing. We found a bench in the middle of the square and sat and ate our yoghurts, chatted for hours and watched the world go by in the heart of Salamanca. Just in case we hadn't eaten enough that day, we went back to the morning churros cafe but this time for some tapas before heading home to watch a movie with mum and then get an early night for school the next day.
Monday morning was much better with school, although I was in a harder level I didn't feel too out of my depth and the pressure was eased enormously with 8 other classmates, which also made school a bit more fun! We agreed to meet for dinner as usual and I told Felix I had a place in mind. I forgot to mention that in our adventure on Sunday we stumbled across a gluten free Italian restaurant so regardless if anyone else wanted to go there, I was determined. Thankfully everyone was keen for a change from our daily tapas routine so we set off to Restaurante Giovannini. The gluten free sign in the window wasn't wrong and I was amazed you could get practically everything in a gluten free version. I opted for pizza since my last one had been back in Rome in June! The pizza didn't disappoint and was complimented very well by a gluten free cerveza. Everyone else enjoyed their meals too and vowed we would return so I was a happy girl! As it was Monday we headed to 100 montadillos the usual pitstop for the cheapest beers in Salamanca, especially on Mondays. A few pints later the boys were satisfied and my food baby was still enormous so it was home time for all. Tuesday was another typical Salamanca day. School, home for a delicious lunch, watching sea patrol with mum, then an American auction show, and finally how I met your mother, all in Spanish of course. Homework came next although there was a lot less in this class now that i wasn't trying to play catch up, and then tapas with the usual suspects. Wednesday again followed the same plan but everyone was tired so I opted for a night in with mum and my host sister who had just returned from Morocco so we chatted a lot about that! Thursday school was good but I started to get sad with the realisation my Spanish lessons were almost at an end. The two weeks had absolutely flown by!
I was determined to go and get my hair cut that day and even finally take the plunge and get a bit of blonde put in it. I don't know why I finally got the courage that day or while i was in Spain and no one could speak English so clearly the risk was exponentially larger. Despite all of that I bumped into mum at the supermarket and she took me to the hairdresser and booked an appointment for after lunch (no specific time but clearly that's how the Spaniards roll). All through lunch I was freaking out but Isabel, my sister helped me with some translation of key phrases and I had my pictures ready, so after demanding them both to wish me luck I walked down there with my heart in my throat. It was along two hours and I was very nervous but everything worked out perfectly! I got a cut, wash, dry, straighten and a touch of blonde balayage all for 50 euro (70 bucks) and I was unbelievably relieved as I walked back home. Mum was full of compliments but couldn't really see the difference, which was the same response I got from everyone, but I would rather it be less noticeable than a complete disaster that EVERYONE would notice. Jessica was leaving early on Saturday morning so suggested we went out for tapas to say goodbye so I rushed from the hairdresser to meet them. We decided to stray from circa de plaza mayor where we usually frequent and check out another more local area 'calle van dycke' which is renowned for good and even better, cheap tapas. It lived up to its reputation and we got two big and tasty tapas dishes plus 3 sangrias for 8 euro each. After this Jessica went home with the others but Lisa, Karin and I met up with the boys and after a few more drinks were convinced into a night out. We made stop offs at the cerverceria, then gatsby's, and finally ending up at Camelot, the most well known and trashy club in Salamanca. I was hoping to leave without paying a visit to this landmark but it turned out to be quite fun and Martijn was up to his usual activity of shouting everyone shots so I danced all night and was kept drunk for free but at 5am I drew the line because I had my last day at school the next day and wanted to at least be able to make it.
School was a huge struggle, and every teacher asked me what I did last night so clearly my suffering was visible to everyone. I made it through though and even did my homework in class before we went through and corrected it so I escaped unscathed. Even though I felt like a siesta and nothing else it was my last day and Rory and Felix wanted to come and do some more sightseeing with me so we went for a walk all along the river, the university district and then had a look through the Art Deco museum which was cool. We had a farewell tapas dinner and drinks and everyone came which was really nice. I had made such such good friends in a short period of time and was so sad to leave them so I decided to come back and visit everyone and what better occasion than Martijns 18th birthday in just over two weeks? We also planned a weekend in Seville and although I was skeptical about that I knew it wasn't goodbye for good because I'd be back!!
My bus left at midday so I had a wild morning of packing up, running around Salamanca trying to find a cool university jumper, dropping my coat and Spanish books at Rory's so I didn't have to carry them around (and to force me to come back!) and then saying goodbye to my family. I will admit it, I got teary and after some family selfies, my final lick from tor, and big hugs and kisses from Maribel and Isabel I left for the bus station, secretly wishing I could stay in Salamanca for the rest of my trip and never leave!
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