Hey guys sorry I have not posted an entry for the past few weeks. I was on vacation for two of the weeks and I just started classes this past week. First off my trip was awesome. I traveled for 10 days and spent 2 days in Seville Spain, 1 day in Granada Spain, 2 days in Madrid, and 5 days in Rome, Italy. Seville is a city located in southern Spain. There I toured the winter palaces of the Spanish Royal Family as well as many chapels and museums. There is a big river that runs through the center of Seville and on my second day there we encountered a group of local kids that did not look older then 12. They were very friendly and started talking to us (they didn’t speak a word of English). I was impressed that I was actually able to comprehend 80% of what they were saying. We noticed before we started talking to them that they were jumping of a ledge down into the river. Shortly after talking to us they invited us to join them. Out of the six I was with three girls were in dresses, one guy doesn’t swim, and the other guy just didn’t want to. So I decided to be the brave one and jump in. I was in my shorts and t shirt and I didn’t have a change of clothes so I just stripped down to my boxer shorts and jumped into the river with the 12 year old kids. After we were done they shared their towels with me and gave me a coca cola and continued to talk to our group and ask about America. It was the most fun I have had in Europe this far because it was truly a moment where I felt excepted into the Spanish culture. Granada was an interesting city only because it contained the Alhambra, another palace for the Spanish Royal Family. At the Alhambra I stood in the exact room where Christopher Columbus got permission to sail to America. The next day I headed back up north to Madrid. Madrid is a very big city. There I just explored the lay out of the city and saw some of the parks and monuments. I also explored Barajas Airport, the Biggest Airport square foot wise in the world. I found out where I needed to go the next day for my flight to Italy and the different check in counters etc etc.

I flew to Rome on Tuesday 9/22 and stayed there for 5 days. It was really nice to see Shelby and explore Rome. In Rome I saw the Trevi Fountain, The Coliseum, the Vatican, Palatine Hill, and the forum. My favorite was the Coliseum just because it seemed like it had the most history to offer. On Saturday we were so tired of seeing tourist sights that we decided to go to the beach on the coast. It was a very nice beach about an hour outside of Rome. It was not packed with tourists, which was really relaxing. The food in Italy was some of the best food I have ever had in my life. The pasta was very light and fluffy. After five days of pasta though I was ready for something different, don’t get me wrong I am not complaining by any means.

Like I said classes started this week and they are off to a great start. We had to take another placement exam when we returned from vacation and I ended up moving up a couple levels in Spanish, which I was really happy about. This semester I have two Spanish classes and two classes in English. My first English Class is called Spanish Culture and it is a sociology course about Spanish history and customs. My second class in English is called Economics of the European Union, it’s a class where we learn all about the European Union and its history and compare it to trends in the United States.
Mom and Dad are coming this Tuesday and I am traveling with them to Madrid for the weekend after there three day stay in Salamanca. I hope all is well with everyone at home.

Hey guys, I hope everyone is having a good week. Things in Salamanca this week have been crazy with tourists. Every town in spain has a patron saint, and each year there is a two week celebration for the patron saint. The festival called "Feria" started monday 9/7 with the best fire work (fuebos artificiales) show ive ever seen in my life. The fire works were followed by a concert in the plaza mayor. The plaza mayor is known as "the living room of spain", its an inclosed outdoor plaza filled with shops and resturants. Its the perfect place to sit and nurse a cup of coffee. Like I mentioned before the celebration goes for two weeks, and each night there is a different concert in the plaza. In addition there are little stands of food set up outside all over the town to sample what the different resturants have to offer. Its similar to the italian festival held in lawrence each year. Everything else in spain is going great, you truely learn something new each day. This week I learned that in the 1200s when a student was tested in the university he had to sit in a chair in the center of a square room and answer questions from more than 13 professors seated around the room. My home stay is going very well. My roomate evan and I get along very well, each night we watch the simpons in spainish before cena (dinner) at 9:00 PM. My senora candy continues to cook new creations each day. The only thing i said no to this week was a banana and a hard boiled egg. Other than that i have been eating everything she has made, including asparagus salad. The other night we were telling her how much we love to eat bacon and eggs in the U.S. and later that night she made us an egg and bacon bocadia (Sandwhich). It was the cardiac special ive been craving for two weeks.

The weather over here has been great, mid 70's during the week but it cools down at night. Ive been in Europe for two weeks and i saw rain for the first time today. The classes are going well too. Its very different from the U.S. in some ways, for example we have class for five hours a day straight from 9-2, and we take our final exam tommorow but the class ends wed, go figure. This past saturday we took a walking tour of salamanca, and went into some of the chapels that date back to the 1100's. The alters and stain glass were amazing. This thursday I start my fall break and I will be traveling to southern spain with my program then I will be spending two days in madrid with some friends in my program followed by five days in Rome with Shelby. I will be back sunday 9/28 and I will post more shortly after. Until then I have added all my photos thus far on facebook. Have a good couple weeks.

Hey everyone. Sorry its been more than a week since my last post. Friday august 28th i left the united states and flew to london. I sat in the middle of the economy class between two large englishmen. I didnt get to sleep because i was worried about someone taking my carry on, which had all my valuables. We arrived at the hotel in london shortly after 10 am. After some rest i was able to met the other students that i would be traveling with. One girl goes to my school and it is really nice having her on the trip because i can easily relate to a saint mikes student. In london I saw buckingham palace, westminster abbey, the memorial to prince albert, the high end shopping district, london bridge, tower bridge, i went in and toured the globe theater, the albert and the victoria museum. My favorite was buckingham palace and and the prince albert memorial. People in london are the craziest drivers in the world, not to mention they drive on the wrong side of the road and the wrong side of the car. People to this day still put flowers outside the store that princess diana frequently shopped at. I also got to ride a double decker bus, which was really fun.

We arrived in spain on Monday and Salamanca is a beautiful city. Its comparable in size to Worcester in terms of population. The city is 2.5 hours by bus from madrid and there is nothing interesting to see along the way. I live in a flat (apartment) with my senora, her son who is around 30, and my roommate from Florida Evan. Breakfast consists of toast and water. Comida is the big meal of the day around 2:30 pm, its like supper in america. My host senora is a very good cook, the only thing i have said no to since ive been here is flem for desert. In the past week for comida we have had chicken and rice, fish, pork, and chicken. Cena is dinner and it is usually around 9 30 pm and is comparable to lunch in America. Comida (the lunch meal previously descriped) is followed by a nap until 5 pm. I am in an intensive spanish orientation class right now that meets from 9 until 2 every day for two weeks before classes begin. Sorry there is no pictures this time but hopefully with in the next couple of days i can upload some. I miss everyone back home. thanks for reading

I set this blog up to share my abroad experinces in spain with friends and family around the world. Friday night I am flying into London and spending a couple of days there before heading to Salamnca Spain next monday.