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It is nearly 2 months now that I have been in Salamanca - I cannot believe it! It feels like much longer, which I'm not sure is a good or a bad thing... However, my parents are coming to visit this weekend for a week so I'm really looking forward to that and doing some touristy/exploring-y type things!
I have seen on some other people's blogs that making lists of what you've learnt/couldn't survive without is quite popular, so I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon as well. First of all, here is the list of things I have learnt whilst here in Spain:
- Don't try and do ANYTHING important after 2pm. This refers to going to the bank, going to health centres, any general public services... They will all be closed. Apparently the Spanish system is of the belief that anything urgent becomes not urgent after the hours of 2pm. How wrong it is...
- Central Spain gets cold from October onwards. Really cold. And no clouds means that you will wake up shivering at night, you will not be able to feel your hands and feet, and you will start creating your own onesie by tucking your pj bottoms into your socks, your pj top into your pj bottoms and doning a jumper in bed...
- University doesn't exist between 2pm and 4pm. It does, however, continue until 9, even 10pm!
- Absinthe here is strong. It will get you absolutely f***ED.
- You have to be organised... Because no one else is!
- Alcohol is ridiculously cheap.
- Even after living here for a while now, and walking the same way into uni every day, the beautiful architecture and surroundings of the city still amaze me.
- Being rude is no where near as, well, rude as it is in Britain. Phrases that we would think are slightly blunt are the norm here. If you say 'Puedo tener...?' ('Can I have...?') you get laughed at - of course you can have it! The appropriate saying is 'Me das...?' ('Give me...?).
- DO NOT attempt to deep fry chips when drunk. IT HURTS.
- In fact, don't attempt to cook anything. Just go to Yunque.
- No matter how much fun you are having, or how great things are, nothing really compares to home.
- But, above all, experiencing a different and foreign way of life is truly amazing. You learn new things every day, meet all kinds of interesting people, and do things you would not do otherwise.
As for things I couldn't survive without...
- Nocilla. I am not a breakfast person but I could not get through morning lectures without a toasted nocilla sandwich. WHY DO THEY NOT HAVE THIS IN ENGLAND?!
- Really, really unhealthy sandwiches. I'm talking bread, cream cheese, slice of processed cheese, chorizo, slice of processed cheese, cream cheese, bread. Fried. AMAZING.
- Tea. Yes it is British, no they don't have it here. Bring your own, boil water in a saucepan (because kettles apparently don't exist here) and enjoy. Better than coffee any day.
- Coffee. 9am/10am/11am/12pm... It's all the same. When in uni, you are tired all the time. Cafe con leche is cheap and does the trick!
- My legs! I have not taken a bus, driven in a car, rode a bicycle or done any other method of transport you can think of whilst being here (apart from the occasional piggyback...).
- Wordreference.com. Especially when two of your friends are Mexicans, and their Spanish differs significantly from Castellano.
- Facebook! Adding people you will never see again is even more the norm here than at home!
- A basic knowledge of Spanish. Obviously.
- Kind, clear speaking lecturers.
- Skype.
- Surfthechannel.com/stagevu.com/Megavideo. Life without 4OD and iPlayer sucks, but this makes it somewhat better...
I realise that most of the above have been food/drink orientated but hey, I did say 'survive'!!!
I'm hoping that my entries will be a bit more interesting these next few weeks, following the things I get up to with my family. I am also hoping to go to Morocco in November so that will definitely make things more exciting on this page!!
That's all for now!
C xxx
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