I’M the son of the London ambassador to Spain. As such, I was enticed to study Spanish courses and perhaps distinguish the Castilian from the Spanish language. When I browsed online, I noted a university not from Madrid or Barcelona but from another province called Salmanca which is kinda old and historic that I was curious about the place. It was called Universidad de Salamanca. When I told my dad about it, he was pretty excited too that I’m interested to learn Spanish courses. He told me that Universidad de Salamanca is one of the best universities in Spain and perhaps I can learn a thing or two from here even though I’m just gonna be studying for a couple of semesters. He says being a student of the world is so exciting because you’ll learn lots of information from other places. You’ll also be learning the varied cultures and you’ll learn how to tolerate other races. He says that learning other cultures spawns respect and respect spawns peace. I like to be a diplomat like my dad.

In short, I’m currently here in Universidad de Salamanca taking up a degree in international relations immediately upon graduating from high school in our neighborhood in Notting Hill. Coming from Notting Hill where all you’ll see are typical teenagers like me rocking to the music of My Chemical Romance and Yellowcard, landing here in Salamanca is something of a surreal experience. The girls are still darn beautiful but they have their own tastes here. Not many teenagers here are fluent in English and that is one factor of course. Although at night, the discos here are filled to the brim dancing to the latest collaboration between Paul Oakenfold and Benny Benassi.

Universidad de Salamanca was constructed in 1218. I’m currently one of the 30,000 students in the university or so. They do accept foreign students who are curious in taking up Spanish languages and so, I have American, Filipino, German and Chinese friends here. We aliens occupy 13 percent of the total student population at 4,000. That’s a lot! This is my first taste of internationalism here and my dad was right in saying it’s a totally satisfying experience. We hang out with my classmates in every corner of the wide campus, in its cafeterias and even in malls outside the campus walls. We even get to play various sports here in the campus which has a total of two student gymnasiums – the Polideportivo Universitario and the Complejo Deportivo Salas Bajas. We play tennis, football, badminton, rugby and volleyball.

Outside the university campus, there are other sights to see. There’s the Plaza Mayor, the 12th century cathedral, the 15th century House of Shells made of 350 sandstones and the Roman bridge circa the 8th century. Never have I experienced a sense of history so profound. Here in Salamanca, there are festivals here the whole year round. That is one of the reasons why I’m curious about my dad’s place of assignment. It’s in experiencing some of these fiestas. With my semester barely starting, that’s something to look forward to.