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 5

Manu in his kitchen

I had to wake up at 7 today... but the whole being 18 and it being my birthday made it worth it. I started the day off normally with cereal, toast, and Spanish coffee. Then I went to Manu's school for the first time and struggled listening to what was going on in every class, but I made some new friends and somehow stayed awake the whole time.

Math class

After our classes we were introduced to a small group of teachers and students. Manu said some words about me in Spanish that I hope were good because I couldn't really understand anything he was saying, but oh well haha.

From there we left school and relaxed at Manu's house until we left to go meet up with our friends, Luis, Connor, Austin, and Fermin. We walked around for a bit and we helped get Connor a jacket that he had been wanting the whole trip and then met up with the rest of our friends at a bar downtown to watch the UEFA Champions League match between Real Madrid and Lyon. Manu and his family got me a Real Madrid jersey for my birthday and the game, but unfortunately the game ended up tied 1-1.

My new Real Madrid jersey 

The game on TV

The bar

(From left to right) Amanda, Luis, & Sarah

Luna

(From left to right) Sofia, Lucia, & Rachel 

Rachel & Luna

At the end of the game I was getting a little hungry so Manu, myself, Sarah, and our friends Matt, Jose Juan, and Cristina all went to get pizza at a place around the corner. I learned how to say bacon in spanish... Bacon. And I shared a bacon and pepperoni pizza. It was better than I expected it would be. And after we were done, Manu and myself went home and now I'm about to go to bed to start day 6 tomorrow!

Jose Juan & Matt

Cristina 

Bacon & Pepperoni pizza

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