Over the River, Through the Woods: The halfway point.

I'll start off with this just because I forgot to include it in the last post. These young children were also at the bull ranch the day that we were. They were there for a party, most likely after church as they are definitely in their Sunday clothes. They enjoyed themselves watching the American students fight the baby bull.

6.20.11

On our last day in Salamanca we toured the University of Salamanca. One of the oldest universities is Europe, right behind Bologna, Italy. There was an astounding amount of history in their campus. There is a tradition that when someone received their masters degree they had to pay for a bullfight, in which there were the ones to fight the bull. After they fought the bull to the death, they would take the blood of the bull and paint on the walls of the University a big "V" for "victory" and then their initials and the date underneath. The tradition of the painting on the walls still lives on to this day, only now they use rust colored paint in the place of bull's blood. My favorite place in the university that we visited that day was the preserved 13th century library. You're only allowed in if you are escorted by one of the professors of the university and have an appointment. Thank goodness that Celia, the director of the Conexiones program, has so many good connections. As soon as you step into the temperature controlled room you get goosebumps, and the musty smell of old books swirls in your nostrils making you wonder what stories these books have to tell. You wonder not only of the stories preserved on their pages, but of the hands that wrote them, printed them, held them. You feel as though you need to hold you breath, not because of any foul smell, but out of reverence for the past. Sadly, we weren't allowed to take photographs in the library, which was killing me not to document the experience. I suppose that makes it all the more special and makes us all the more privileged, since it is impossible to share the images with anyone else. It will be an experience burned into my memory forever.

6.21.11

Finally more than one day's picture in a post! This was our second evening in Trujillo, and we were already hard at work, or socializing. This is our favorite cafe on the plaza. I'm sure we all go there at least once a day.

6.22.11

This is the view from my classroom window. We have class in a place called La Coria which is a restored convent. Those ruins in the distance are the remains of another old convent. Trujillo had a surprising number of convents. Many are restored and now have other purposes like my school, and hotels. More pictures of La Coria to come soon.

Here is a closer up of the remains of the convent in the distance.

You can't tell from the photo, but this is one of the steepest hills in town. It's affectionately called the "hill of blood".

There is a old wall that surrounds the old part of the city, just like any medieval fortress from the movies. If you peek over the wall this is what you'll see, the rooftops of the more modern part of town and the vast expanse beyond.

We went to the teachers' house for a meeting that evening, and this was walking back to the plaza. In all the old part of town and up the hill there are rocky cobblestone streets.

The church in the plaza is one of the smaller churches in Trujillo. In front of the church proudly stands a giant statue of Fransisco Pizarro, the conqueror of the Incas, who was from Trujillo. He's a sort of hero here. Don't talk bad about him in Trujillo, because you never know who's listening and if you'll offend them.

6.23.11

One night walking home from the plaza I decided to take some photos because the light was so nice. Around ten or ten thirty at night is when the light is pretty nice. During the day it's way too bright. The street on the left is the street where the mercadillo is every Thursday. Also, the direction to Madrid.