Settling in to Santiago

It's only been a few days since some pals kindly helped me lug suitcases up several sets of stairs to my new piso, and I am already liking Santiago de Compostela. Of course, moving to a new city no matter the size is always exciting. So much to discover! In Lugo I seemed to know all the shops, bars, and cafés by heart. It happens. But in Santiago I have been noticing a lot more signs for activities that might interst me. Concerts and classes galore! And perhaps one of my greatest discoveries: an authentic Galician bar, where the cuncas (bowl of wine) are only FIFTY CENTS!

I went to scope out my new school as well. They've never had a language assistant, so hopefully they are left with a good impression of the program by the time I'm done. It's also bigger than my last school, which thus reminds me more of an American school. It's still probably half as big as my high school though, so it's tiny by American standards.

I have also realized that similarly to Lugo, Santiago is really just a big town. Maybe this is Galicia in general. Two degrees of separation. But well, this is advantageous even for a newcomer. Because I have friendships in Lugo who have friends here, I've met a handful of folks here through these connections. Which is way easier than just walking up to strangers and saying, ¨Hi I'm new here, will you be my friend?¨ (FYI: I would not advise doing that haha) This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Calentando Motores

The cool air and clouds announce: summer has come and past. Today was the first day of school in high schools across Galicia, although auxiliares don't start until October 3rd. I should be moving into a new piso in a new city this weekend, but until then (and since I got here last week) I've been living out of my suitcase with  Fani and Pitiña. After first arriving, I didn't really want to switch cities since Lugo is my comfort zone. But after walking around my new city and seeing all the possibilities (eateries to discover, concerts and activities to attend!), I am looking forward to it. Plus, I'll always have places to stay in Lugo Luguiño.

And here are some images from my summer travels that I never got around to blogging. I was just too busy!

Tractor shot from Festival de Cans. It's a version of the Cannes film festival, with a Galician twist! Iberian shorts are projected in barns, garages, and other outdoor venues. I'd been wanting to check it out for the last few years, and was thus as excited as a kid at Disney World when my friends Elena and Neil were willing to go too!

Elena and Neil on the Cans' red carpet. Note the hórreo in the background

Weekend in Sevilla with the girls. Nathalia and I flew down to meet two of our amigas who at that time lived in Andalucía. Wonderful weather. Loved the Moorish palace (they really knew how to awe with tiles) and the Plaza de España which has a small mural dedicated to each and every Spanish province. 

Viaje de Chicas II--A roadtrip across Andalucía with my two bestest buds Fani and Lauren. We stopped in Málaga, Granada (finally saw el Alhambra!!), and los Pueblos blancos, Absolutely idyllic.

A horse walks into a bar...

One of the Pueblos Blancos BUILT UNDER A LEDGE

In the Alhambra