David: Spain Trip - Day 14

Sofia & Manu talking at the TIE Spain exchange farewell banquet

The Spain TIE exchange is coming closer and closer to till end. And on top of things my converter blew out this morning so I can't charge my laptop or anything else I own besides my iPhone since Manu has what I need to charge it. I'm without a razor though, so I might be a little grizzly when I come back. 

Today we went to the school for the whole school day and went to classes and played with the younger kids in the school. Connor and I were assigned to a classroom of four year olds and for about 30 minutes we played blocks and attempted to start a domino line, but it kept getting knocked down by the kids after we put up more than four. After the class Connor, James, Matt, and myself played basketball outside for a few hours to kill time before we went downtown. I slowly was getting my shot back and for those that don't know, yes, I used to be an athlete, but these days I'm 100% for TKFV, music, fashion, and I guess school can be cool too... sometimes.

Connor

Pooja, Becca, & the little kids at the school

When school was finished, Manu and I went downtown to meet up with Connor. Manu and Sofia had to work on their presentation for the farewell banquet tonight, so Connor and I had a little time to ourselves to just hangout and relax. The weather wasn't that nice out later today so we went to a bar to just sit, talk, and watch the soccer games that were on... and for the parents reading here on TKFV, going to bars is just a part of what kids do here in Spain. People simply go to just hangout with friends or watch a big sporting event. Seems like everyday we've been going to bars, but parents we are the most amazing kids in the world and you have nothing to worry about :). Anyway after Manu and Sofia were done we met up with Lucia, Amanda, and our friend Maria. We were with each other for a few minutes and then we went to the farewell banquet.

At the farewell banquet, Manu and Sofia began their speech talking about memories and things we experienced in both Vermont and Salamanca. At the end every Spanish student talked about their American students and gave us a gift. Manu gave me churros (a Spanish food that's really good) and a University of Salamanca hoodie, which I've wanted this whole trip. So Manu if you're reading this, thank you for everything you have been the best host anyone could ask for!

After the banquet we had our dinner. I was munching on the churros for a bit earlier so I was a little full, but I was still able to eat when I was there. The whole time we just socialized with each other as a big group and had a good time. 

Me & Sofia

Gonzalo & I

After dinner Gonzalo, Sofia, Manu, Santi, Alyssa, James, Jose Juan, Matt, Cristina, Sarah, and our friend Kata went downtown to the same bar we were at last night with the pool table. I sat and watched Real Madrid win seven nothing and then I completely destroyed in fusbol and got destroyed in pool. One more full day to go and I hope it ends up being a good one. I really am going to miss everyone here. It's going to be hard finally leaving. But for now I'm signing off. I can't charge my computer and now I'm down to 60% battery life. Just enough to hopefully do another one tomorrow.

The end of the game

Santi

Adios!

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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 12

A part of the cheese factory/farm

Today we had a tour around a cheese factory. We started off walking to check out some of the animals on the property and saw a few sheep to start. Next we saw some tamed bulls that weren't harmless and kept their distance and never charged. So we were actually able to walk into their area and try to interact with them. The whole time I found myself dodging poop piles and hoping my nice dress shoes that I wore on this field trip stayed in tact. But don't worry TKFV I was successful and kept my distance and kept my shoes clean!

Sheep

Tamed bull (at least I think that's what they said it was)

After our outdoors visit we went over to the factory where they make the cheese. They had a nice little lunch ready for us too with fresh cheese, meat, water, and bread. I swear I haven't eaten much cheese as good as what I had today. I couldn't stop hogging the plate just to myself I loved it that much. I'll even be carrying a small package of cheese back to the US with me because it was so good.

Food they prepared for us

After the cheese factory we stopped in a small town to walk around for a few moments. I snapped one picture of the view of the town when I was there.

Once we returned back to the school, James and Matt came with Manu and myself to my house. Manu had to study so I worked on my Spanish presentation on snowboarding and skiing for tomorrow morning and then played a soccer game with them (of course I won I'm too good). Afterwards we went downtown where we met up with Luis, Connor, Amanda, and my new American friend, Kata, who I mentioned yesterday. We all went to the same bar we've been going to almost the whole time this trip and just talked. Jose Juan, Matt's host, our friend James (pronounced Hi-me), and Luis' cousin all came later to sit and enjoy the rest of the evening. Everyone then left except for Manu, myself, and Kata and then our friends Sarah and Cristina joined us for awhile and we watched the first half of the Manchester United versus Chelsea game. Once the first half ended we said goodbye to everyone and went home.

Right now I need my sleep for this presentation tomorrow though. I'll be letting everyone know how it goes! Adios!

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David: Spain Trip - Day 11

Inside the cathedral in Salamanca

Sorry everyone, but I didn't take many pictures today. I'll try to explain everything with the few pics I have though.

To start, we walked around downtown Salamanca and checked out the cathedral, some of the monuments, and the university. The tour was okay, but it was very windy and kind of cold this morning so it was kind of a distraction when we were outside. It seemed like we had stepped into our 50th cathedral while we've been on this trip too since I've seen or been in so many. Besides the cathedral, the monuments, and the quick stop outside of the university though, we stepped inside a cafe where we ate churros and drank hot chocolate. Definitely the highlight to my morning that's for sure.

Another picture inside the cathedral

After our morning festivities Manu, Connor, and myself, met up with a friend of mine who I met on a bus named, Kata. She's also here for an exchange program with a group of American students, but she'll be here until June... so she'll definitely be 10 times better at Spanish by the time she leaves compared to me haha. All of us met in Plaza Mayor and went to a bar for a little bit. We hung out and talked and just chatted about whatever happened to come up. We also started the beginning celebrations for Connor's 18th birthday. After the bar Manu, Connor, and myself had to head to our friend Fermin's house who was having people over. Everyone from the exchange was there and once again I ate way too much to handle. It's been such a struggle over here when it comes to food haha.

The birthday boy Connor enjoying his 18th

After Fermin's Manu and myself went downtown to meet up with Kata again for a quick second. We were only able to walk around for a few minutes before we had to go though. We ran home... and by the way TKFV readers I recommend you never run in two jackets, a t-shirt, skinny jeans, semi dress shoes, and a beanie in low 50 degree weather. I felt like asthma when I got back. And since I still feel like asthma I'm going to get some sleep. I've never been so tired in my life haha. Goodnight!

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David: Spain Trip - Day 10

Segovia

Lazy Sunday wasn't so lazy today. Manu, his family, and myself all went to Segovia and Ávila for the day, both different provinces in Spain. First we drove about an hour and a half to Segovia where we spent the first half of the day walking around town, checking out El Alcázar (a castle in the city), and finished off the rest of our time there at a restaurant. I've eaten a lot this trip, but I think I ate the most today. I started with lamb and a salad accompanied by bread and finished off the meal sharing two desserts with Manu. When I'm back in the United States I think all I'm going to be eating is salad for about a month or two.

Another view of Segovia

Manu & myself 

Manu, Myself, Manu's dad, and Manu's sister Claudia

Claudia, Manu's mom, and myself

The cathedral

Another view of Segovia

The menu (I ordered the cordero lechal asado with Manu)

Myself & Manu

Lamb

After Segovia we drove about 30 minutes to walk around in Ávila for a few minutes. We were only there for a little bit because we had to get home, but Manu's family wanted to show me another area of Spain. I enjoyed the views and watching the sun set for the few minutes we were there. After Ávila we got back into the car and went back to Salamanca.

Ávila

Another view of Ávila

When we got back to Salamanca Manu and myself met up with our friends Sofia, Alyssa, Santi, James, Amanda, and Lucia. We hung out for about an hour and then Manu and myself went back home. We ate dinner (and I don't know how I did after all that food I had for lunch) and now I'm about to head off to bed. Goodnight TKFV! 

P.S. - For those watching the Oscars tonight can you let me know how they are?

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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 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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