El Primer Dia (The first day)

Salamanca turned on its best winter weather (even though its supposed to be spring) to welcome me - intermittent showers, icy breeze, clouds and less than 10 degrees Celsius. Having said that, it is still a beautiful city with a long and interesting history. I have already fallen in love with this wonderful town.




View near the school

Salamanca is a city of approximately 179 000 people, situated in northwest Spain, approximately 200 km from Madrid and near the Portuguese border. It is a university town, the university being founded in 1218 by royal charter from Alfonso IX of Leon. I understand formal teaching has been occurring here since at least 1130. It is the oldest university in Spain. Today it still holds a strong reputation for it's teaching. However, the town itself has existed since pre-Ancient Roman times. The old city section has been granted World Heritage Status by UNESCO. From what I've seen so far, it is definitely deserving of such status. More on Salamanca in a later blog when I've had time to explore.

Today was the first day of my language course and I survived!! The exam was quite simple, 24 multiple choice questions, a short essay on learning Spanish and an oral section. This was to test my level and understanding and was not as threatening as I thought it might be. As expected, I was placed in the advanced beginners group. This week, there are only two people in my class, Freya, a young woman from Holland and myself. Freya arrived approximately 4 weeks ago and is really enjoying the city and the study. However, having only 2 people in the class makes it quite intense so my brain is reeling and may eventually spontaneously combust!

I can now confirm that whilst I know a lot of vocabulary, I am a bit deficient in some of the Spanish verb tenses, particularly the different past tenses. I also had trouble with remembering some conjugations but overall, I'm pleased with my performance today, particularly after 2 quite long days of travel, limited sleep and a early morning start (the exam was at 8.00 am today). I think I have spoken and listened to more Spanish today than in the 5 years I have been learning!! I can feel myself improving by the minute! I managed to follow all the teaching and activity instruction without getting lost and was able to engage in the conversations okay. I believe I am off to a good start.