This past weekend I had the opportunity to go to someone's house and meet a few Spanish people. This is what I have been missing in my experience here. I have been told I should be making Spanish friends to improve my Spanish speaking abilities, however finding and making Spanish friends is harder than it seems. I have been to discotecas a few times and have gone to tapas bars, to try and encounter Spaniards, but to be honest they seem to have no interest. This past weekend we went to a discoteca and there were a group of Spaniards dancing by themselves, and a group of us American's by ourselves. There were not a lot of people at the discoteca during this time, and instead of trying to meet other people the Spaniards would not give us any attention, even one of my friends asked if they wanted to come over by us. Overall, that is part of the Spanish culture I am lacking...Spanish friends. I have attempted to but it just isn't working out. I have a meeting with a Spanish speaking student tomorrow where I will speak Spanish to him for awhile and he will in turn practice his English on me. We call it an "intercambio" partner. Maybe he will be able to introduce me to some of his Spanish friends.

I have taken the advice of people who have studied here before and traveled to places in Spain to learn more about Spanish culture. With my program I have gone to Ronda, Córdoba, and Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, I leave the weekend after next for Madrid, and I am also going to Sevilla and Barcelona. I have also seen many things in Granada including the Alhambra, and have hiked in the Sierra Nevadas. Because I have done this I feel I am more integrated with the culture. I feel like I have experienced Spanish food and traditions such as the siesta and different meal times. I feel like I am lacking the cultural experience of watching flamenco dancing and having Spanish friends. I plan to go to a flamenco show soon, and like I said I am definitely working on meeting Spanish friends. I could have gone to a bull fight a few weeks ago to even broaden my cultural experience, but chose not to attend because of what it entails. I don't think my stomach could handle seeing 6 bulls be stabbed back to back. I am not a big fan of blood, and for this reason I didn't want to go. When I go to Madrid or Barcelona I wish I could attend a soccer game, because that is another cultural aspect of Spain. However, this week I am starting to play inter-mural indoor soccer with my program, as part of our university. I am looking forward to it but the last time I played soccer I accidently broke someone's shin, so I am hoping this isn't going to be very competitive. Also this week, I start volunteering at an elementary school with 11 and 12 year olds once a week. Since I want to become an elementary school teacher I feel this is going to be a great experience, because not only will I have the chance to improve my Spanish by communicating with students and teachers, but I also will get to see how teaching at a young age differs here compared to the US.

I think by becoming involved in these activities this week I will be able to open myself up more to the culture and hopefully gain some Spanish friends in the long run!