Third Time's the Charm; weekend's party in review

Plaza Mayor Meet Up Spot

Chupitos = shots

     On Thursday night, I went out with my Wisconsin sister and her friends at 11:15pm.  Everyone meets up in the Plaza Mayor before they decide where to go.  After picking up more Wisco students and a British boy in my class, we walked to La Chupitería (chupito=shot.)   They had 1 euro shorts, but we were pretty early.  My Emory friend Alexis came 30 minutes later with International Business grad students in my business class.  I joined Alexis's group and walked to Paniagua, a slightly grungy bar with more artsy people.  The veterans of the group ordered a tasty drink called Agua de Valencia, champagne + whiskey + orange fanta.  There, Alexis and I met two German grad students, one of which lives in the same German city called Münster that my sister lived in last year.  Our final destination of the night was a discoteca called el submarino.  Flashing, blue lights and loud house music facilitated some good, hearty Jersey fist pumping.  I also practiced my Spanish talking to a Brazilian boy taking classes at my university.  For my first night it was pretty fun.

American Mob

     The next night, we met in the Plaza Mayor again and had a group of over 20 people from about 15 different states.  American students taking classes at the University have a funny way of finding each other and sticking together; at least at the beginning of the semester.  It is not my plan to only hang out with English speakers, but Spanish students have exams until the end of January and I am still working on making international friends.  We went to and filled various bars, but it seemed like no one was out. Regardless, we still had a great time and Alexis and I ended up meeting two Brazilian lawyers.  One of them complemented me on my Spanish... his ability to lie assured me that he was probably a decent lawyer.

Brazilian Friends

     After two strike outs of meeting Spaniards, Alexis and I hit the jackpot.   This time, we met up around 1am, and it was only two of us.  From the Plaza Mayor we followed the music to a densely populated street full of bars, including the one that we visited on Thursday, Paniagua. We hopped around, starting conversations with anyone who would listen to our less than perfect Spanish.  Alexis and I were straight up pimps getting cell phone numbers left and right on our flip phones, just like we used to back in middle school... except my flip phone in middle school actually had a camera.  After I had used up my Spanish capabilities for the night, I called it a night and took a taxi back to my apartment.

Some Wisco kids :)

      It's true that your speaking improves the most at the bar.  This is true for some or all of the following...

1. Its easier to approach someone when you are in an informal setting (and looking mighty fine)
2. Bar convos are slightly less difficult than analyzing Spanish literature or responding to your teacher's question that you don't even know the answer to in English
3. If you can properly formulate questions, you don't have to do too much talking
4. A little bit of alcohol solves self confidence issues
5. Salamancans don't mind broken Spanish after a few shots
6. A laugh and a smile mean the same thing in every language

     Now that I know where the party is, Salamanca will definitely be seeing (and hearing) more of me.  After all, practice makes perfect :)