During my first few weeks in Salamanca my program gave us a tour of the city and local history. On one of the tours, we passed by the House of the Shells (Casa de las Conchas) and it was explained to us that the shells represented a safehouse for those on the Way of Saint James (Camino de Santiago), a spiritual journey that people take from all different parts of Spain and France to get to the town of Santiago de Compostela, where a shrine to the Saint is located and where his remains are rumored to be. Learning about this path and seeing that it was close to my house reinforced that I was in the right place. It got me thinking about how this is my own type of spiritual journey and pilgrimage of my soul. Breaking out of my comfort zone and becoming my own person in a country where I am familiar with the language but not fluent is very scary, but I knew it was important for me to find out who I am and do things for myself. Even though it was a small part of the tour but it left a mark on my heart that I will never forget.
I started classes with locals in February, after my intensive classes finished. I had a little bit of trouble with my schedule but in the end it all worked out and it just so happened that I got my Fridays free so I can spend more time with my local friends and do more tourist-y things. One of the culture shocks is how little is open on Sundays. Most shops and some grocery stores aren’t open which makes it hard to go out and do touristy things like tours and gift shopping, but it gives me more time to spend time just walking around and going to parks to spend time outside.
What I have learned to love about Salamanca is how walkable it is. I can get anywhere I need to within 30 minutes walking and the places I frequent are 15 minutes or less from my homestay. It also lets me people watch more and observe nature. It took me a few weeks to figure out that there weren’t any squirrels near where I live. Additionally, it let me look at nature in a different way, as there are a lot of birds around. I think the coolest nature experience I’ve had so far is watching a stork build its nest. There’s a stork nest on a bell tower that weights 1000 lbs and the stork couple had been laying eggs there for years! There’s also a man I see often who feeds the birds and they will sit on his arm and today he let me feed them and hold them, it was really a unique and fun experience that I don’t think I could get anywhere else.
I am so excited to continue my study abroad experience. Honestly, if I could move Salve anywhere in the world, I would move it to Salamanca so I wouldn’t have to choose between my two favorite places. Honestly though, being able to say that I am a student of one of the oldest universities in the world (University of Salamanca) and one of the most beautiful universities in the world (Salve Regina University) is something I will tell my kids and grandkids for years to come. I can’t wait to see what the future holds!
Eliana K. is studying psychology and Spanish if and studying abroad at International Studies Abroad in Salamanca, Spain.
Comments are closed.