I am on Top of the World!

Sorry it has been a few days and what a few days it has been!

So Friday my friends from the trip and I celebrated The United State's Independence Day by going out dancing and strolling the streets of Salamanca. Well it wasn't until the end of the night where I looked down at my wrist and realized that one of the two things hanging from it was missing...my mini purse with 40 Euros and my credit and debit card in it. The weight of my camera still hanging must have kept me from looking earlier and as you can imagine I panicked. I ran through the streets frantically searching for it and turned my room upside down as well as the rooms of my friends. I went back to the place where we danced but no one admitted to seeing it. The next day I was told I couldn't attend the sight seeing excursion that had been planned because I had to clean up mess I had created for myself. What a bad day. Luckily I was able to stop my cards before any of my funds were drained and thanks to my wonderful dad and to Mom Rothman for saving my day I was able to have money wired to me through western union. I was also lucky enough not to have been carrying my license or passport so all in all I guess I got pretty lucky for being so foolish.

Enough bad news!

On Sunday I was able to attend the second excursion to Alberca Spain, a small town about an hour away. On the way there our bus stopped at cierra de francia mountains (definitely have the name wrong) and went on the most beautiful hike I have ever experienced. At the last scenic stop as high as we were going to be able to go on a short hike in a short amount of time, over looking mountains that continued for days, it was the kind of place with enough beauty and serenity to answer even the most impossible questions. It was the first time as a young adult that I found peace and I left those mountains feeling reborn with the hope of a child who only knows how to look forward to her very next moment.

After the mountains we arrived at the town. It was like walking into a story, the buildings, the designs, the history inscribed on the walls, the colors, and the traditional clothes of the locals reminded me of great writers that have illustrated this way of life for me before. A tour guide took our group on a small walk through the village and told us facts and stories of Alberca, one of oldest towns in Salamanca. During the tour we were lucky enough to witness a march for Saint Christopher, where a priest was traveling through the streets blessing the town in honor of the saint who travels (Christopher) with a procession behind him including two men carrying a simple but profound beat on the drums and townsmen and women with their heads bowed down in respect holding pictures of the saint. The town was beautiful, houses with balconies bursting with bright colored flours, and clean preserved streets and buildings. What I found most interesting was the history of the Jewish people who had once lived in the town. When Christianity came to small town of Alberca, the Jews were forced to convert or leave. The Jewish people loved their town so much that they would pretend to convert. After awhile the Christians suspected that they were faking it and would stand in the streets eating ham in front of them in order to provoke them from admitting they weren’t Christian. In order to stop the harassment Jewish families carved inscriptions above their front doors with names of saints and crosses to prove they had "converted" The inscriptions are still visible! It is incredible!

On the way back we made another scenic stop where we took more photos. A bunch of friends and I found a cherry tree and spent a half hour climbing it and picking fresh fruit to bring home for breakfast. The sweetest cherries I have ever tasted are the ones I fought to pluck as I climbed to the top of the tree that day to get just the very ripest ones.

Well it is getting late here and I promised a girl a few rooms down that I would go for a long run with her at 6am before class. She is training for a 5K. Goodnight!

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