Pamplona (Iruña)

(Plaza del Castillo)

On Saturday my roommates and I took a little day trip to Pamplona. It was about a 2 hour bus ride and although it's still considered to be part of the Basque country it is actually the capital of the Navarra province. We were told that it is a very charming little town, but other than the Festival de San Fermines (Running of the Bulls) in July, there isn't much to do.

We arrived at about 11am and explored the Ciudadela first. This is an old citadel fortress dating back from 1571. We wondered around the outside of the fortress not knowing there was an inside until later. So we returned at night before returning home to the inner portion where there was a beautiful park with lots of old buildings that are now exhibition rooms.

Then we walked to Casco Antiguo, or the old town where most of the things to see are. We saw the beautiful Plaza del Castillo, where a 14th century castle used to be set. This the area known for the best bars and cafes and it is where we decided to eat lunch at a beautiful place called Cafe Iruña. Also in this plaza sits the famous La Perla hotel, the hotel where Ernest Hemingway would stay whenever he came to watch the Running of the Bulls. It is said he would watch from his hotel bedroom and write about the events as they took place. He is the person responsible for making the town of Pamplona famous so there are tons of places named after him in this town. (Of course I love this!)

Then we walked up the famous street where the Running of the Bulls takes place called Calle de Estafeta and walked along it all the way to the famous Plaza de Toros. Supposedly besides the plazas de toros in Madrid and Mexico City, it is the next largest bull ring. It was also recently renovated in 2005. We didn't really get a chance to see it because inside the bullring there was a huge tent set up with a market (Feria de Navidad). We had fun shopping in there though!

We returned to Casco Antiguo to visit some of the more famous buildings including the 18th century town hall and a famous cathedral. We basically saw the entire town including a long lunch within 7 hours. But we were all glad we took the trip and walked along the famous route of the Running of the Bulls that occurs every summer. Pamplona is small but just like every other northern town, it's absolutely beautiful with so much history.

half-way through the journey

Well, it's really hard to believe but as of today, I am exactly half-way into my Spain adventures. Time has really flown by having both classes and work. My weeks have flashed before my eyes it seems. Starting Monday, my life will slow down a little. Friday was my last day of class (technically I still have one week left of classes but I am going to use them after the holidays as a refresher course). I don't even know where to begin with how much I've learned...about the language and myself.

I know the first question friends and family seem to ask me lately is: ¨so are you fluent?¨ Well, the real answer to that is no. But I would say that I have a basic fluency where I can hold conversations with anyone in Spanish and I can understand almost everything they are saying unless they are mumbling or using far too many colloquial terms. I ended up being placed in the advanced level class after two weeks into my courses and from there I have increased my vocabulary, speed and grammar understanding. But there is no doubt that Spanish is a VERY COMPLICATED language. The several verb forms (including vosotros which I never used before) the use of subjunctive in almost half the situations of speaking and getting used to the country's more widely used phrases and words when you learned different ones growing up and learning Mexican Spanish has all been quite a challenge.

I must say though that as my comprehension has increased the more and more I love the language and see its beauty. My teacher and director both told me last week that I have improved tremendously and I have had the opportunity to speak to many locals lately and they all flatter me by telling me I speak Spanish very well. I have worked really hard and I have to admit I am a little burned out after 3 months straight of intense classes. But I think that amount of time was necessary to get to where I am. Now I fear I might lose a little bit of it as I won't be taking those intense lessons in the mornings and I have to speak English for my job in the afternoons. I have come to an agreement with Nikki (my roommate) that beginning Monday we are only going to speak in Spanish unless one of us is really upset or something and can't express ourselves properly in Spanish. I am also planning on reading newspapers and books in Spanish, watching a little more Spanish TV now that I have time and I just bought 4 great new albums of popular Spanish musicians. Of course I'm sure I will need the refresher course after being away in France and England for two weeks so I was happy to hear I still have a week of classes I can take later.

As for everything else...I have met some amazing people so far and think I have found some life-long friends. That in itself was worth making this journey. So far, I have traveled to Sopelana, San Sebastian, Gexto, La Rioja (twice), Portugalete, Madrid and Pamplona. All beautiful and unique places that I will never forget and hopefully I will return to some one day. I also feel like I am constantly rediscovering or discovering more and more about the wonderful city of Bilbao and I am starting to consider it my home (even if it is only for a short while). The area here and the Basque country in general is so beautiful and the people are so unique. Everyone is proud of where they come from and they are so inviting and warm to foreigners. It is as if I was meant to meet every single person I have met and they have always expected to meet me. Truly an experience I will never forget about this place.

I still get a little homesick now and then but I have also adjusted to the point where I am happy I did this and in retrospect I will see everyone very, very soon. I really miss my cat and I think about her a lot. I also miss little things like having a clothes dryer and an oven to bake things. But it's also amazing to find that you can adjust to whatever circumstances you are given and know that you could live that way too if it ended up being your fate. Life is a bit more simple here. People take everything a bit slower and relish in the simple luxuries of life such as food, wine, siestas, friends, family and having some really good conversations. If they are lucky, they get to meet a new person and show them where they come from and how proud they are of their little circle of people with whom they pass their days.

Next on the agenda is my big Christmas break trip to France and England. I have a little less than two weeks and have already begun to prepare by buying some warmer sweaters and socks(I've been told sevreal times how cold it gets during the winter in these countries!)It will be a nice change of pace to have my mornings free to sleep in a little longer, get some much needed exercise done (there is an amazing exercise route along the river here), do some leisurely reading and whatever else I want! I will continue to work in the afternoons 4 days a week teaching English. We have semester exams coming up so it will be nice not to have to worry about teaching new material until after the break. Traveling plans include Barcelona in January and hopefully both Cordoba and Seville in February. My friend Eva is coming to visit me in February as well so that will be lovely. In between those travels, we will continue to try to discover other neat cities nearby in the Basque country. I know I will have to come back when I am not working to see some of the great places I didn't get to see this time around.

Well, that's all for now. Come back soon because I am going to post a blog about Pamplona. We had a great time there on Saturday. :)