Days 41 – 45: Our First Days in Salamanca

We came across an opportunity through Workaway to help English learners practice and improve their oral skills at The English School. We were contacted by the owner of the school, Ivan, and in exchange for our help, he arranged for us to receive food and hosting at the home of a local family. This was the type of opportunity we were hoping for since we left home for the road so taking it up didn’t require a second thought.

We arrived in Salamanca around noon on Saturday and met Ivan at the school so he could guide us to our hosts’ home. The home is in a nice and quite neighbourhood in a gated community that also happens to be a delightfully short commute from the school. I definitely don’t miss spending an hour sitting in rush hour traffic on the Alex Fraser Bridge when I used to commute to the office.

 

We spent the weekend getting to know our hosts, Dolores and Isaias. They’re a hard-working, fun-loving couple who turned out to be very gracious hosts. They had never tried Indian food before so Phil and I purchased some ingredients from Walmart during the week so I could cook for them as a nice gesture. I made a mild chicken curry as I wanted to keep the experience free of fiery mouths, melting organs, and the inevitable diarrhea that comes with incompatible cuisine and digestive system combinations. Mission accomplished and the food turned out to be a hit!

 

Our first class at the school was on Monday evening. We conduct conversation classes so there is no structure or outline to follow and we get to decide what we converse on. So far, the number of students have varied in each class, but the conversations have been lively and interesting, ranging from travel to ice cream to minions (obviously), so it has been a lot of fun getting to know so many terrific people.

After our first class, Ivan took us across the street for some Mexican street food and we enjoyed what were probably the most delicious tacos we’ve had since the dawn of time. We also found a new friend in Ivan in the few days we’ve been here (not just because he introduced us to the tacos… maybe…), but because he has been very welcoming, generous, and eager to show us the best of what his beautiful city has to offer.

The next evening, we went out for ice cream after class. One of the students, Félix, highly recommended an ice cream place that served “pasta” ice cream after he heard about my love for the creamy goodness. It turned out to be vanilla ice cream with a nutty flavour and colour that resembled the colour of pasta so I’m guessing that’s where the name originates from. It was delicious, as was the guava ice cream that we also tried.

 

After ice cream, Ivan gave us a tour of the city center and then we finished the evening off with beers at a little bar before heading home.

 

 

 

 

Wednesday was quiet and the evening after class got quite chilly with rain engulfing the later part of it. We had a quick bite at the same taco stand that Ivan introduced us to and then headed home.

Also, just thought our readers might want to know, our favourite biker found a Starbucks in Salamanca and we went there on Sunday evening 🙂