Salamanca, Spain

Salamanca es una ciudad en España. La ciudad es muy bonita y limpia. Mis amigos y yo comemos tapas a los restaurantes de tapas por la noche. Tambien nosotros caminamos en las calles y miramos a los edificios. Salamanca es una ciudad para los estudiantes de la universidad. La ciudad es muy divertida y son muchas cosas hermosas.

 The city of Salamanca, Spain is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. The streets are of cobblestone, the buildings, restaurants, houses, apartments, and hotels all have the look of magic. The city is modern yet, historical. Salamanca is like a city straight out of a fairy tale. There are many wonderful attributes that can hardly be described by words. The above picture is of the plaza mayor. This is where everyone in the city gathers. There are an abundance of restaurants, shops, and markets that are all unique and captivating in their own way. At night, the plaza mayor is luminated and becomes magnificent in every way.

While in Salamanca, my friends and I met many people in the Plaza Mayor. While there, we would meander in and out of the many clubs and bars and then would meet back up in the Plaza before heading back to our hotel. We even ran into students from High Point, NC. It was so much fun to practice the Spanish language with the people. (After our trip, all of us came home much more comfortable with conversing in the language.)

Salamanca is known for being a "college town". The above picture is one of gorgeous catholic universities. The city is very youthful and is overflowing in culture. The city is also fairly compact and everyone there travels by foot.  I learned an immeasurable amount while visiting there from the different people and places of the city.

Skin Cancer Prevalence in Spain

http://www.euroresidentes.com/Blogs/2005/05/uv-protection-in-spain.htm

Skin cancer and prevalence of it, is a topic in which I am extremely interested in. When asked to find an article that is related to the Spanish culture, I knew instantly that this was where I wanted to start. Since the age of 17, I knew that I wanted to help people with skin conditions and during that same year I visited ten different cities in Spain.  While there, I took great notice in the amount of sunbathing  and time spent outdoors. The Spanish people are, in large part, extremely active and healthy in their lifestyles but it does seem that there is a lack in skin care protection in regard to sun exposure.

This article is a perfect illustration of my point and idea for the first entry.  The opening statement of the article explains the slow process of “waking Spaniards up” to the awareness of sun protection. As I noticed while visiting the country, it also brings to point the variance in their motives for using a lotion with SPF compared to a very fair skinned person who would use it. Most residents have only the intention of getting that deep, dark tan, instead of using the sunscreen to prevent sun damage. Because of the mindset of a preferred tan rather than protected skin, many children of the country are exposed to harsh UV rays at too early of an age, therefore increasing greatly their chances for developing potentially deadly skin cancers, such as melanoma. The parents want to protect their children but aren’t necessarily sure how. The article directly addresses this issue and brings to light the development of clothing with SPF for children. SolKids is a company developed by a couple who moved from Australia to Granada, and know all-too-well the importance of sunscreen and related products.

I felt like this article was directly relevant to me and my interests and also coincides with Spanish culture. I am choosing to minor in Spanish to help reach out to people and spread the awareness of protecting your skin. Many Spanish speaking countries are very close to the equator and the risk for skin damage from harsh UV rays is very high. The culture of the people of Spain, as mentioned earlier, is to spend quality time with friends and family outdoors. This even includes sitting outdoors for meals at home and restaurants. The goal is to not change them culturally but to keep the people healthy so that they can enjoy these activities for much longer.