21 February - back in Blighty

Lynne says...

I was beginning to crawl up the walls by the end of my second week in Salamanca. My tiny, basic bedroom and constant frustration at my inability to understand a word anyone said on the telly had begun to drive me crazy; the television is a universal Spanish obsession - it was on all the time. My last language lesson was great though - I now know how to say terrible things in Spanish. Will no doubt come in useful in the months ahead.

I was tempted to stay in on the last night but ended up going out with some of my new German friends from the language school. We attempted to speak Spanish all night - with English and German thrown in to the mix - and it was great fun. Spain really is ridiculously cheap; we drank beer or wine and ate tapas in about five different bars and went to two clubs all for around 15 euros. Bizarre though - babies and toddlers in smokey bars at 10pm in the evening - can't be good for them but they didn't seem to mind and the parents didn't seem bothered at all. Now there's a cultural difference for you.