To be completely honest I'm writing this post in order to avoid studying for final exams...I hope you'll enjoy it all the same. :)
The last week has been spent just enjoying the city and the people around me, I've been trying to soak up as many memories and as much of the language as I possibly can. This week is special because of la puente - two Spanish holidays fall in the same week, Tuesday was el Día de la Constitución Española and today (Thursday) is the Immaculate Conception - so basically Spaniards take the whole week off. Combined with the weekend it makes a great time for a quick vacation or in my case, time to enjoy the place I'm in just a few hours more. Because we didn't have classes on Tuesday, Katie, Allison, and I all decided we wanted to take a day trip so we put on our hiking gear and took the autobús about an hour south of Salamanca to a little town called Béjar. From there we hiked a little under two hours to another smaller pueblo called Candelario. Candelario is a tiny little village at the foot of a mountain, which I believe is part of the Sierra de Béjar. It was at one time a Moorish village and se nota in the architecture and city planning. Alongside the streets runs fresh water that started as snow hundreds of feet higher in the mountains. It's a gorgeous, quaint, quiet little place. After wandering around there for awhile we hiked another couple of hours into the mountains around Candelario. Pictures can't capture the beauty of that place, but they're better than words, so enjoy:
(Thank you Allison for the photos! Check out her blog here: Dancing Through Life!)
Our first glimpse of Candelario.
¡vacas en las montañas!
conquered rock
a bit of Candelario
my favorite part about the day: FRESH AIR.
Candelario again.
The water running alongside the street.
The weather was perfect for senderismo and we had an amazing time just hanging out in the nature all day.
Today, as it is the Immaculate Conception, Allison and I went to mass and we invited a few friends that we've met at En Vivo. I can't be sure, but I think at least they didn't hate it ha. Again I was struck by the oddest feeling of being at once at home and being horribly out of place, the gestures and structure of the mass are all the same but the differences in language and execution of said gestures are enough to make the service feel very foreign. In any case, I feel like I understood a lot more of what was being said this time in comparison with the first few times I went so I take that as a sign of improvement in the language!
On my walk home I took a different route than usual and thought to myself wow, this could be the last time I walk this sidewalk and see these trees and buildings and people. I guess it's time to start saying my goodbyes, with 8 days left and the majority of those days filled with studying/exam taking/packing...time is flying.
In keeping with the season, my señora decorated the apartment for Christmas! We now have a beautiful nativity/Bethlehem village scene set up in the hallway and various other Christmas appropriate decorations scattered throughout the house. The city has decorated too, there are vibrant Christmas lights hanging over all the streets and streetlights. I've also begun listening to Christmas carols in earnest...'tis the season!
Well, I should really continue studying...thanks for reading again, I hope you are all having a wonderful Thursday. :)
BONUS FOTOS!
Katie, my housemate, and I at a little cafe in Madrid!
On top of el Palacio de Comunicaciones in Madrid.
Inevitable picture of me drooling over sweets...
It's cold here now, I miss this weather :(
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