My Violinist and His Dog

Last night, our JMU group went to the theater and saw a French film (dubbed in Spanish of course) called Bienvenidos al Norte (Welcome to the North). It was hilarious! And what's more, I felt so gratified that I could actually understand most of the dialogue to know it was supposed to be funny. While my speaking abilities may not have dramatically improved since I've been here, my listening skills undoubtedly have. Afterwards, we all returned to our respective homes. Allison and I enjoyed pizza and salad for dinner. I also enjoyed being super lame (by Spanish standards anyways) and stayed in to do homework and sleep on a Thursday night. I’ve been SO tired lately despite lots of sleep at night and siestas during the day. At least 10 people in our group seem to be sick at any given time so I’m trying to stay well.

Went on my fifth run of the trip yesterday! I discovered this beautiful park about a half a mile from our apartment called Parque de los Jesuitas (Park of the Jesuits, just in case that wasn’t already obvious enough). It’s huge and full of fountains, playgrounds, dirt paths lined with white stone, and of course, plenty of old people. The weather has been perfect the last few days: clear blue skies and in the fifties. Despite receiving some passing remarks from a few grandpas, I think I’ve found my new running spot.

For the past week, people have been dressing up and parading the streets as if it was Halloween and until a couple of days ago I didn’t know why. Tomorrow, several of us are going to Ciudad Rodrigo (about an hour bus ride from Salamanca) to dress up and be a part of these Carnivales. We’ll watch the bulls run and hopefully be able to see the bull fight! We’re so cultured. This afternoon, Allison, Alex, Colleen, and I went searching for costumes, where else other than the Chino Stores. This literally translates as Chinese Store (sounds almost racist, but really just means dollar store). What a jackpot for costume ideas! Alex is dressing up as an 80’s chic, while Colleen, Allison and I are going as fairy princesses. Super guay (very cool).

I went to café del arte today (the one where the bartender yelled at me the first week I was here). It was my first time back since the fiasco and I can’t say I didn’t feel a rush of adrenaline when I walked through that door again. Only after I had already purchased my café con leche, I found out that their WiFi hasn’t been working. Poop. I still consider my visit a victory.

And of course I can’t forget the inspiration for this post: my violinist and his dog. I say “my” violinist because I have recently become a patron of his art. Most mornings on my walk to the University, Calle Toro is filled with the sweet, melancholy sound of his violin. I always know where to find him, and can expect that his precious little mutt is enjoying an early start to his day-long siesta along side his working master. I almost feel like I'm in a movie, clicking my heels on the cobblestone streets of Salamanca, Spain, working my way through the bustling morning crowd, and being serenaded by my violinist. It's so picturesque and probably a little cliche, but one of these days I'm going to snap a black-an-white of this scene.