Halfway through our time studying in Madrid, we took a trip to a small village in the mountains of Salamanca, Spain. The town, Candelario, is known for its really good meat. The buildings are tall, which was good for drying the meats on the top floor. The doors to houses had a short gate-like-door and then an actual door. The shorter door that was in front of the actual door was so that if a person left their windows and doors open, the pigs and cows that roamed the streets wouldn’t wander inside. There were also metal hooks on the sides of many of the buildings, where they would tie the animals so they could slaughter them right there. It was interesting to see the purpose behind the architecture of the town. It was crazy that certain things had been around since Roman times and had lasted this long.
It was really nice to see a different part of Spain with people that lived in a totally different way than the bustling, lively people of the city. We stayed in a charming hotel. I really appreciated having everyone together on the same trip. It was really nice that we were all living together and eating good, free food. On the last day in Candelario myself and a couple other girls made pottery with a local. I was able to bring the box that I made back to Madrid. I’m not sure if it will make it back to the states but it’s worth a shot. Now that I only have 3 days left in Madrid I’m really sad to be leaving. This experience was incredible and I wish I could stay longer now.