La vida cotidiana

Annaleigh:

It was the first day of camp. I went up the tower. I got Ice cream. I got dinner.

Autumn:

I recently realized that in addition to dividing this trip into three destinations, I also unwittingly divided it into three different types of experiences. Santander was very much a typical family vacation. We went to the beach, we hiked, we visited parks...all of the standard recreational activities. Madrid, when we get there, will be more about culture and history, with a couple of tours and at least one museum. Salamanca, on the other hand, is much more about living la vida cotidiana - daily life - as much as possible the way a local would. 

This morning we had a light breakfast, walked to the corner, and caught one of the city busses to the neighborhood where Annaleigh’s camp is located. I dropped her off in the very capable hands of the friendly director and made my way on foot to the historic side of town, where the conference is located. 

One of the most helpful details related to conferences is that you are usually gifted a tote bag upon check-in. The tote bags for this year’s AATSP conference are bright red, which make them very easy to spot. When I am unsure about whether or not I am headed in the correct direction, I simply follow the majority of the red tote bags. I actually met several lovely teachers that way today: a cohort from Florida, a person from Massachusetts, and another from Oregon. A few of us went to a very interesting 9:30am session about ways to get students speaking more in the Target Language. I took notes and picked up some fun new games and strategies to try with my students in the fall. Then everyone walked down to the Palacio de Congresos and filed into the auditorium for the opening convocation. 

On the stage were the conference coordinator, the president of the University of Salamanca, the mayor of Salamanca, the president of the AATSP, the president of el Instituto de Cervantes (an organization that promotes and fosters the study of Spanish), and the president of the Real Academia Española (RAE; the official authority on the Spanish language and its history, similar to the Oxford English Dictionary). Each one took their turns welcoming us and giving a brief speech on the significance of this event. Several of them referenced the great minds who came out of then University of Salamanca and went on to share their talents with the world (Lope de Vega, Unamuno, etc.). They also spoke about the global reach of the Spanish language and its ever-growing presence in the United States. 

The president of the RAE gave a follow-up discussion in which he talked about the innate human ability to speak a language, the history of Spanish, and the effect that political correctness has had on definitions in the RAE dictionary.

After the speeches, there was a reception downstairs with free drinks and tapas. I snacked a bit and enjoyed a glass of wine while I chatted with friends, but pretty soon I had to leave to get Annaleigh. She had a lot of fun at camp! She and the other campers cooked, did arts and crafts, and played games. She’s looking forward to going back tomorrow.

We took the bus home, had lunch, and then in perfect Spanish fashion, Annaleigh took a nice siesta. I even dozed off for a few minutes after doing some chores around the apartment. We were both refreshed and ready to head back into the city center by around 5:00pm, this time on foot.

Our main goal was to climb the cathedral tower, which we did with my friend Elena and her daughter, Cristina. I’m not going to go into the history of the old and new cathedrals here, as I already did that in a post on this blog three years ago. Instead, I’ll simply share photos that highlight our path that wound from the bottom through different parts of the cathedral, onto part of the roof, and up into the bell tower.

After climbing the tower, we went in search of stamps and water and ran into Donna, my friend and classmate from my program in Salamanca a few years go. Then we continued on to find a place for dinner. Many of the outdoor terraces have TVs set up so that people can watch the Word Cup while they’re eating, and we had a pretty good view of the Spain-Morocco game from our table. Even though we didn’t stay to watch the whole neck-and-neck match, it was very exciting when Spain scored their first goal, with everyone on the street cheering and clapping.

Following a requisite cup of ice cream, we headed back across the Roman Bridge to our neighborhood, but at Annaleigh’s request, we took a brief stroll along the Río Torres before returning to the apartment.

It was a day that managed to be both busy and low-key at the same time. We’re looking forward to returning to camp and the conference tomorrow, and to going about regular everyday tasks that are enjoyable even in their mundanity.