David: Spain Trip - Day 13

Downtown Salamanca (Plaza Mayor)

Today was the day we had to present our presentations to people in the school. Pooja, my partner, and myself presented about skiing and snowboarding in Vermont and a little bit about Burton. Our presentation went really well all four times we did it and our video got a really nice response. Below is the video we used for our presentations. We started it around 1:20 each time. Check it out:



After our presentations, Manu and myself went to his grandparents house and ate lunch with them and his uncle. It was my first time meeting all of them and they were all really nice people. I really enjoyed my time with all of them and all the food that they had prepared. Even though it was so short, it was definitely a highlight to this trip so far.

After lunch Manu and myself met up with Connor to head back to his house for a little bit. We hung out and I beat Manu at a soccer video game again (I'm just too good). Connor finally had the chance to get onto a computer too since Luis, his host, doesn't have a computer. The good news of the day came after he checked his email. Congrats to Connor for getting accepted into UVM!

About an hour later Manu, Connor, and myself went downtown to meet up with another big group of people. Matt, Jose Juan, Santi, James, Amanda, Luis, Rachel, Luna, Kata and more were all in our group today and we went to two bars in the area. One of them had a pool table and Kata and myself played against Santi and Manu. We both got down to the 8 ball and unfortunately Manu hit the luckiest shot of his life and made it... after cheating for the whole game haha.

Pool

Matt & Connor

After playing pool it was down to just Manu, Kata, Santi, James, and myself. We all walked out of the bar and called it a night. Manu has me rushing all over the place these days. I don't think there hasn't been a day he's had me running for a car or bus haha. Manu, Manu, Manu.

Adios TKFV!
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David: Spain Trip - Day 8

Salamanca at night

Today was by far the best day that I've had while I've been in Spain. The day started off kind of boring and slow, but it got a lot better as it went on. To start, we went to a farm where they raise bulls to be used in bull fights and cows to breed them or be killed for food. I probably could've phrased all of that a little better, but that's roughly a summary of what goes on at the farm. There were hundreds of acres and different sections where they kept different cows and bulls. Unfortunately the tour got a little boring after seeing the same animals, scenery, and poop piles for an hour.

Bullring

Bulls

More bulls

Cows

After the tour was finally done, Manu and myself rested a bit before we went downtown. Once we were done resting we met up a group of kids, both American and Spanish. We started off with our friends Sofia, Alyssa, Matt, Rachel, Lucia, Amanda, and James and just walked around for awhile checking out a little more of downtown Salamanca. By the end of the night we were easily with a group of 20 or more. And at one point it was 4 guys and 14 girls which was definitely a highlight to my evening :) haha. While we were downtown we began at our friend Alba's (who is a part of the exchange) father's bar. Afterwards we began to walk around and I was able to meet a lot of new people (which is always what I look forward to on any trip I go on). We stopped in a few other bars and just hung out and had a good time. At the end of the night I was talking to my new friends Maria, Celia, and Marta. They taught James and myself some dirty Spanish words and sentences and some Spanish songs. So parents reading this back at home... We are learning so much Spanish haha. Afterwards everyone left and Manu and myself got some pizza again and now I'm at his house watching the NBA All Star game that I missed while he's passed out on the couch. Adios everyone! Tomorrow should be the busiest day of them all!

The Cathedral

Lucia & Sofia

Rachel & Matt

Food at a bakery we stopped at

Manu eating pizza at the end of the night

P.S. - I am officially a part of the family :)

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David: Spain Trip - Day 7

The Americans at Pedro Nieto's ham factory

Today, Manu's sister, Claudia, accidentally set the alarm an hour earlier than we were supposed to get up... 6 o' clock. Manu woke me up at 6:40 after he was done getting ready thinking it was 7:40 and told me to hurry up, so without thinking I threw on some clothes and right as I was about to brush my teeth my alarm went off telling me it was 6:40... A great start to the day. Luckily I had plenty of time to get ready today though haha. 

When we got to the school, all of the American students had a class for one hour about Salamanca and the districts surrounding it. Since I got up so early today I was a little tired, so I had a little trouble keeping my eyes open. Plus it felt like that class was taking forever. After the class we got on a 45 minute bus ride, where I was able to sleep for awhile, and arrived at our friend Luis' family ham factory, Pedro Nieto (also the name of Luis' dad) in Guijuelo. We had a long tour around the factory and learned the whole process of what goes through making the meat ready to sell and eat. It takes almost 3 years for one single ham to be ready. After our tour we had some food that was prepared for us and then went to Candelario, a village about 20 minutes down the road.

Some ham and I

The meal prepared for us after the tour

Chorizo

Ham

Matt

Fermin

In Candelario we just walked around and ate lunch. Nothing too special, but we enjoyed the warm weather and the scenery that it had to offer us.

After Candelario we went back to the school to get picked up and Manu and myself went downtown to meet up with Luis, Connor, and our friends, Becca and Beth. We finished the day just hanging out in a bar downtown chatting and having a good time. We had other things planned, but unfortunately those plans didn't work out. Hopefully tomorrow everything will go a little more smooth. But for now I am extremely sleepy so I'm off to bed. Ciao!

Connor & Manu

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