I cannot believe how fast these past two weeks have come and gone with only about eight more days to go! We have been all over Salamanca, and today was no different. Yesterday, as per usual, we all gathered at Mester for our three hours of class. After lunch and a siesta, we met our fearless leader, Carlos, who took us to the Museum of Salamanca, which is also known as the Museum of Fine Arts. It is located near the University of Salamanca. The building was built in the 15th Century and belonged to Fernando Álvarez Abarca, who was the doctor to Queen Isabella the Catholic.

Throughout the museum there was a multitude of artwork ranging from the 14th Century to the present day. One of the coolest pieces I saw was an art piece done by an artist from Chicago, which is where I (Marissa) live! The piece is called “Depende de tu punto de vista” (“Depends on your point of view”) by Jerry Sheerin. He was born in 1933 in Chicago where he was an architect up until 1969, until he moved to Madrid to become a painter. Overall, the artwork we saw in the museum was pretty interesting to look at, but my favorite part of the day was by far our trip to a factory where they make guitars by hand.

The guitar place (called Guitarras Marce) is owned by a man named Marce, where both his daughter and son also work. Marce has been making guitars for about 40 years and Ana, his daughter, has been making guitars for about 20 years. While we were there, we saw them construct different components of the guitar and put one fully together. Ana told us that it takes about 200 hours for one guitar to be made perfectly! A few of us got to participate in making different parts of the guitar, which was pretty amazing to watch! We ended the tour with one of our own, John, playing a few chords on a guitar. It was a great end to the day and we’re looking forward to the activities we have left in this amazing city, Salamanca.