Submitted by Matthew Mendoza on the 2016 summer session program in Salamanca, Spain sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures…
I also spent this weekend with the daughter and son of my host family. For me, it is so important to speak in Spanish while I am here and with them I always do. We travelled to Gijon, a city about three hours north of Salamanca on the coast. It is a beautiful city, certainly not a city for tourists. The city is much smaller than Salamanca, but precious at the same time. We stayed in a residence where there were students from all different areas of Spain studying Physics, Chemistry, Biology and many other sciences. I visited the different universities, but the one that stood out most to me was La Universidad Laboral. It reminded me of Hogwarts with a plaza in the center and great stone walls. We also went to the botanical gardens close to the University which was beautiful, but nothing compared to some of the gardens that we have in the United States. Further, the nightlife is filled with people in the streets, eating, dancing, laughing, drinking and talking. For me, the coolest part about Gijon was the sidra. Sidra, or cider is the drink of Asturias, the territory in which Gijon resides. It is hard cider and it is poured into the glass from very high in the air. A lot of the times half of the cider ends up on the ground, but it certainly was an exciting and very new experience. I am very glad and lucky to have been able to go to Gijon. I am also equally if not more lucky to have met such amazing people from Argentina who I’ve created such a strong bond with.
