"Time keeps on slippin' slippin' slippin' into the future..."

Yes, I just made a Steve Miller Band reference.  "Fly Like an Eagle" is an awesome song.  But it's really hard for me to write with music playing so...Pause.  Despite the constant rain, this week has been really fun.  I have to keep myself busy to avoid thinking about the time slippin' into the future.  Too much?  Yea.  Anyway, as I mentioned, I have had a lot going on this week.  On Wednesday, AIFS treated us all to a wine tasting at a local bar.  One of Gaye's friends is quite the wine enthusiast and gave us a presentation on three different Spanish wines.  After about five minutes, my entire table was itching to pop the cork.  When it comes to people our age and wine, patience is not a virtue.  We sipped wine, munched on cheese and bread, and watched the Real Madrid-Bayern Munich football game.  Madrid lost, as had FC Barcelona earlier in the week against Chelsea FC.  What a pity.  I can't believe I'm saying this, but I am actually kind of bummed that Spain will not be represented in the Final of the UEFA Champions League.  In fact, I'm shocked that I just wrote all of that.  I was never a big fan of soccer.  I guess that's changed.  Let's move on.  On Thursday, my Academic Writing class was in for a real treat.  Our professor, Carlos, has a lot of connections at the University of Salamanca, having been a student here once himself and now as a distinguished member of the Philology Department.  He was granted permission to visit the old library.  Big deal, right?  No, really big deal.  Normally, when you take a tour of the university, you can only see the old library through a glass wall because the manuscripts that it contains are very delicate.  They don't grant access to just anyone.  We were able to go through the looking glass and discover all that this magnificent room holds.  I'm a book nerd, so it was pretty darn cool.  The University of Salamanca was founded in 1218 and the library is not much younger than that.  The books that are housed in that room are centuries-old, hand-written, and gold-plated.  They are works of art.  Funny story:  If you had the chance to enter the library as we did, you would be able to look into some of the display cases that are difficult to see from the outside.  In one of these, there is a random collection of things found over time in the library:  Ripped out pages, love letters, scribbled notes, and one other very unexpected item.  Hint:  These are still used today by young couples all over the world and are usually kept in a man's billfold, just in case.  For the sake of propriety, I won't say it explicitly.  But put your imaginations to work.  Not only did we have the opportunity to enter the library, we also had time to explore the vault.  Up a narrow staircase and behind a three-foot thick metal door are some of the university's most treasured manuscripts and documents.  It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance and truly breathtaking.  To stand in that room and imagine someone thumbing through those same books hundreds and hundreds of years ago is an incredible feeling.  There was a catch, though.  I had to write a paper about the experience.  Go figure...the field trip was for my Academic Writing class.  But it was completely worth it.  Lately, I've been trying to spend as much time as possible in the places I love with the people I've become closest to.  But I keep myself open to trying new things with people that I'm not as familiar with.  If someone wants to go to a museum, I go.  If someone asks me to go out for coffee or margaritas, I go.  If someone wants to hang out at the river for the afternoon, I go.  I really appreciate it when people are open to hanging out with whoever, whenever.  This group of students for the spring semester has the ability to mingle with each other and to tear down walls between people.  They have a zest for innocent fun...almost childlike innocence.  I will always be grateful for that because it reminds me to not take myself too seriously and to never take anything for granted.  Last night, several of us went to a performance of the classic opera "Carmen de Bizet," by the Ballet Flamenco de Madrid.  They transformed this opera into a flamenco performance that was beautiful and haunting.  It was one of the coolest things I've done in Salamanca.  Flamenco is really hard to describe.  The music is loud and makes your heart ache.  At times, the voices almost sound like cries.  The dancing is fast, passionate, and incomprehensible.  I have no idea how they move their feet that quickly.  All in all, I would say it was a pretty good week.  If the rain finally stops, we are supposed to be going paddle-boating this week.  Gaye has also arranged a flamenco guitar performance for us.  We have another day off on Tuesday so I'm planning on going to a movie, getting together for an intercambio, and maybe even doing some karaoke during my free time.  I made the mistake of telling a friend (who absolutely loves singing karaoke) that I had never performed karaoke and I don't think I can escape it now.  Oh well.  Hasta pronto.  Os quiero.

Springtime in Salamanca