Back to School

As I wrote last weekend, we had a placement exam on Monday morning.  I'm happy to say that it went very well and I'm loving my classes already.  They are challenging but that's the point.  I am taking four courses this semester:  Latin-American Literature, Grammar, Academic Writing, and Translation.  Sounds like fun, right?  But in all seriousness, it's nice to be taking classes that force me to work everyday.  I'll stay busy and I know that I'll learn so much this semester.  On Monday night, AIFS treated us to a little meet-and-greet party.  It started off with all of us full-year students clumping together but eventually I branched out and met a bunch of people who are new to Salamanca this Spring.  Free pizza, dancing, old friends, new friends...you can't beat that.  It was so much fun.  For the most part, my life here in Salamanca picked up right where it left off.  I have been going for a "paseo" and studying every day.  I still love to watch the news with Angelita and Fabi.  It's comfortable.  Angelita jokes with me all the time that I'm "the girl who doesn't go out."  That's okay with me though.  However, I have promised a couple of my friends that I will go out for an official birthday drink when I turn twenty-one.  On Wednesday night I attended a Flamenco and Sevillana dance class.  I am certainly not a dancer but I enjoyed it.  Flamenco and Sevillana are two traditional Spanish dances.  My partner and I were doing more of a hoedown "swing your partner round and round" sort of thing.  What's important is that we tried our hardest.  Not much else is going on here in Salamanca.  Although, everyone is talking about this Siberian cold front that has infiltrated the country.  It is cold.  When I go for walks, I wear two scarves, gloves, a headband, and my heavy winter coat and all I hear on the streets is the whistle of the wind and people shuddering, "Que frío..."  Spain is in a panic but it feels just like a Chicago winter to me...minus the snow.  At least it's sunny.  Hasta pronto.