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.