Hi everyone, sorry I haven't updated this blog in a while but so much has been going on!!!!! To start off, my suitcase ended up being 54 lbs.....I failed....O well. When we arrived in Madrid, it was pretty hot!!! Once we got to Caceres it cooled down a little. Caceres is a medium-small, hill town that is filled with ancient Roman buildings and Moorish/Arab castles. Its really cool to see the way modern buildings are intertwined with all the acient palaces, cathedrals and castles. It is really very fascinating. I live right by the "Paseo de Cánovas" which is a park filled with palm trees and bright plants surrounded by cafes, tapas bars and shops. I have actually spent most of my time walking around the city (and surprisingly not getting lost) because the town has this really charming and friendly atmosphere. The old part of the city, "La parte antigua" is a walled in "mini town" with gigantic old castles, palaces and cathedrals overlooking the Plaza Mayor filled with cafes and restaurants. Another interesting part about the old city is that is it where a lot of the major night life takes place. There are many cafes, restaurants, bars and dance clubs that all the college kids and other young people go to at night. Saturday night a bunch of us went to a cafe in the Plaza Mayor and drank some red wine made locally in Caceres before heading to a bar. The young spanish people in this town are soooooo kind and friendly. We made friends with this bartender who gave us free drinks! Then we met up with local kids from the University of Extremadura (the university where we will be attending classes) and they showed us some of the best nightlife hotspots. It was a really long first night out in the city and I cannot wait for the many more to come! So far the food has been to die for. My favorites so far have been the fresh baguettes, chorizo and jamon serrano. I could eat this stuff everyday LOL. My Spanish is actually been better than I thought it was! My madre and her son said that my Spanish is really good.....now they said this on the first day and I kinda think they felt bad for me and were trying to be nice. Anyways the point is I can actually converse with the locals and get my point across without sounding like a completely lost gringa (spanish word for foreigner).
Today, we all took the bus to the University of Extremadura and took a tour. It is located on the outside of the city right next to a sheep herding field.....so you could be sitting at the bar in the cafeteria and look outside and see hundreds of sheep walking around and chillin out. Its interesting! I am really nervous about classes starting on the 29th because some of them will be regular university courses with Spanish students!!!!!!!!AHHHHHHH
Well, I gotta go to a picnic in el parque de principe to eat churros con chocolate!!!! -sta luego!!!
