Adrienne Prillaman is a student at University of North Texas and an an ISA Classmates Connecting Cultures blogger corresponding with a high school student leadership class in Keller, Texas. Adrienne is studying abroad in Salamanca, Spain on an ISA Fall 4 program.
To reiterate the end of my last post, I really could not have chosen a better city to live in! Salamanca, although a rather small city in comparison to many cities I have visited, is filled with history and has so much to explore. When I first arrived, I was clueless as to how to navigate the city, but by the third week I could finally put away the map completely (well, almost). What my friends and I did, and what I advise others to do when moving to a new city where you can walk almost anywhere, is to just spend a day or so just walking without a plan. Have a map handy, but use it to navigate where you are, not where you are going. When my friends and I did this, we learned how to navigate the city much better, as well as see sights we otherwise might have missed! Below, I have created some photo collages to show the sights we explored in Salamanca:
I love people-watching while exploring. And when there are kids around, it makes it so much more fun to watch, because these adorable children are just being children. The funniest thing I’ve seen so far was when I was walking up the steep hill to my house (which I walk at least once a day, phew) and saw a dad chasing his son down the hill because the son was on a scooter, racing down the hill at the speed of lightning. It was very entertaining to say the least!
I also love that a lot of parents dress their children up in the latest fashion, while the moms are still styling high-heeled boots and dresses while pushing a stroller or tugging along a little one. But it’s not just parents who walk around with their kids – you can often see grandparents pushing a stroller around town with a baby asleep inside. Age doesn’t stop anybody from taking a long daily stroll, hills included. Maybe they are walking alone with a cane, maybe with the aid of a family member or friend, but here people don’t stop walking around just because of their age. It’s the doctor’s orders here for people to walk daily, no matter the age. And besides walking, there are exercise parks for those of all ages!
The first time my friends and I walked to Parque de las Jesuitas close to our house, we thought this was a playground. Actually, all of these machines are exercise equipment! They all work off of your own body weight, so you can do the leg press, pull-ups, or elliptical no matter how strong you are. Many adults come here in between or after work, in clothes I consider too nice to work out in. But they don’t work out to sweat – just to get the body moving. Too bad these aren’t more common back home!
Finally, I’ll leave you with some beautiful photos of the main cathedral that I pass by nearly everyday – it reminds me how blessed I am to be having this experience and how much history is in this beautiful city I currently call home.
Until next time, adios!