Salamanca is in Castilla Y León in Spain. The city is about 50 miles from the Portugal border and 124 miles from Madrid. In addition to its monuments like the Casa de las Conchas, a palace from the late 15th century and Palacio de la Salina built in 1546, it is home to the University of Salamanca.
The University itself was founded by Alfonso IX de León in 1218 making it the oldest university in Spain and the 5th oldest western university. The University educated some of the most distinguished men of early times such as Diego Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, the writer of Don Quixote, Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, the man who led the Spanish in the fall of the Aztec empire, and even Christopher Columbus lectured there after his discoveries.
Some of these students even established the Spanish law for life and liberty for the indigenous people in the Americas. This is notable even though the law wasn’t put into practice due to the lack of authority upon those Spaniards in the Americas, but that’s neither here nor there.
The University of Salamanca has as about 36,000 students. This student population is just below that of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The night life for the students provides the largest economic activity in the city. The city has the second highest bar to inhabitant ratio in Europe (first is Bilbao).
Friday, June 4, 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Old post from
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Great Expectations
I have one semester left before graduation and then it is either “Hello career,” or “Hello second degree.” Having to choose between leaving academia and continuing my education has me asking a question I have been asking for 4.5 years: Why is it expected for a young adult to choose a major/career so early in life? It’s true that some people grow up knowing what they are going to do or they figure it out somewhere along the way, but for those who don’t have the luxury of knowing, why must the world pressure then to choose?
At this point, the pressure from family and the University, through financial aid, to choose what I want to do for the rest of my life is overwhelming. I personally have not had enough exposure and experiences to make that decision. When I feel pressured to make a decision, I always say, “I’m only 22, I have the rest of my life to figure it out.” Usually the response is, “You are 22, and old enough to make the decision. Take the responsibility and make it.”
I think the journey in life is more important than the endpoint. I don’t understand how if you follow your heart and make good decisions, you can end up in a place you will not be happy. I have chosen to go into nursing because I believe it is the best fit for me with the exposure and experiences I have had. I have yet to start my nursing education, but I will have my zoology degree finished when I do begin. Finishing my zoology degree has been a nice midpoint between my family and I. As long as I have a degree in something, they seem to be happy.
Through my time in college, I have come to terms with the fact that I may never find that one career that will fit me perfectly. I have even come to understand that what I really want to do with my life is not actually something I can study, more, something that happens. I have come to realize that my time in college has been a way of connecting the dots in order to achieve my real goal. I guess my life after college will further connect the dots until I achieve my goals.
Great Expectations
I have one semester left before graduation and then it is either “Hello career,” or “Hello second degree.” Having to choose between leaving academia and continuing my education has me asking a question I have been asking for 4.5 years: Why is it expected for a young adult to choose a major/career so early in life? It’s true that some people grow up knowing what they are going to do or they figure it out somewhere along the way, but for those who don’t have the luxury of knowing, why must the world pressure then to choose?
At this point, the pressure from family and the University, through financial aid, to choose what I want to do for the rest of my life is overwhelming. I personally have not had enough exposure and experiences to make that decision. When I feel pressured to make a decision, I always say, “I’m only 22, I have the rest of my life to figure it out.” Usually the response is, “You are 22, and old enough to make the decision. Take the responsibility and make it.”
I think the journey in life is more important than the endpoint. I don’t understand how if you follow your heart and make good decisions, you can end up in a place you will not be happy. I have chosen to go into nursing because I believe it is the best fit for me with the exposure and experiences I have had. I have yet to start my nursing education, but I will have my zoology degree finished when I do begin. Finishing my zoology degree has been a nice midpoint between my family and I. As long as I have a degree in something, they seem to be happy.
Through my time in college, I have come to terms with the fact that I may never find that one career that will fit me perfectly. I have even come to understand that what I really want to do with my life is not actually something I can study, more, something that happens. I have come to realize that my time in college has been a way of connecting the dots in order to achieve my real goal. I guess my life after college will further connect the dots until I achieve my goals.
It's Been a While
So, I have been keeping true to my word about following the tangible path for my life. I finished my first year of nursing school and will be traveling abroad in just a few short weeks. Spain and Portugal. I decided to further my knowledge of Spanish so my language skills would be better suited for the Peace Corps and working.
Many of my friends have asked me to blog about my escapades while in Spain and I guess this is a reason I came back to blogging. I will be living in Salamanca, home of the oldest University in Spain and one of the oldest of Europe. I can't wait to get there and do everything. No doubt, there will be adventures to be had. The first of which will be to Portugal. Lisbon, Fatima, Ciudad Rodrigo...and the beach!!! Historical cities, beautiful beaches, and barely clothed men. What could be better? Second, Galicia, Castilla Y Leon. Thirdly, Segovia. Adventures!
I was told by a teacher at Marian to just ignore the piropos that would surely come my way. Look up the word if you are not savvy. Ignore the piropos- yeah right, this of course is not the way I do things. The piropo-givers of Europe need to prepare themselves for my wittiness and banter. They are in for a surprise. I think this is more of what my friends are looking for in my escapades...where the piropos lead...
Many of my friends have asked me to blog about my escapades while in Spain and I guess this is a reason I came back to blogging. I will be living in Salamanca, home of the oldest University in Spain and one of the oldest of Europe. I can't wait to get there and do everything. No doubt, there will be adventures to be had. The first of which will be to Portugal. Lisbon, Fatima, Ciudad Rodrigo...and the beach!!! Historical cities, beautiful beaches, and barely clothed men. What could be better? Second, Galicia, Castilla Y Leon. Thirdly, Segovia. Adventures!
I was told by a teacher at Marian to just ignore the piropos that would surely come my way. Look up the word if you are not savvy. Ignore the piropos- yeah right, this of course is not the way I do things. The piropo-givers of Europe need to prepare themselves for my wittiness and banter. They are in for a surprise. I think this is more of what my friends are looking for in my escapades...where the piropos lead...
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