by Katie Reed
Universidad Publica de Navarra
It has been awhile since I have been able to write anything, so this entry will be stocked with information! Where did I leave off?? Thursday! Thursday morning we got up super early at Merche's house, packed up our stuff, and got a taxi to Los Abedules (our dorm). While we were having our last breakfast at Merche's house she walked in the kitchen and had three pillows in her hand. She gave each one of us one to keep (it was soo sweet!). Once we got to Los Abedules we dropped off our bags and headed to class. It was just a normal day at class, and once it was over we headed back to our rooms to unpack our stuff. It was so nice to not have to be living out of our suitcases anymore! Later that afternoon Amanda came to my room and we spent two hours just talking. It's amazing how much you miss having personal girl to girl conversations when you don't have them that much anymore. At about 8 that night we figured it was time to call everyone and head to dinner. We wanted to try one of the local places that has "Tapas y Vino por 2 Euros". Which is like small appetizers and wine. We finally found a local place that was not completely packed that we could all six get into. We sat down, picked out what tapa we wanted and for 2 euros we got an appetizer and a glass of wine. We wanted to get one more appetizer so Amanda and I got two different ones and split them. Everything that was tried was very good, very different but good. We left there and wanted to actually find somewhere to get an actual meal, however, we didn't really find anywhere good on the way back so we just went on to our rooms considering it was like 10 or 11 at night here. We also had presentations for class that next day so we had to finish/start them. Needless to say it was about 1 or 2 in the morning before I went to bed. The next morning I got up, went to class, we all did our presentations over different autonomous communities of Spain (I did mine on La Rioja). After class Courtney and I walked over to the student information center to get some information on apartments for the semester, and then we went back and got our homework done so that we would not have to do it over the weekend. Later that evening we decided to head to the grocery store to buy some things for dinner as well as to have in our rooms. We walked at least a mile or more to the store, bought various items like milk, instant soup and pasta, bread, cereal, and then also things so that we could all make dinner together. We decided to make spaghetti with peppers and mushrooms in it as well as a salad, bread, and wine. I was able to get all of my items for just 28 euros (extremely cheap compared to home). Once we got back we all split up into two rooms and made dinner and then met downstairs so that we could all eat together. We were very impressed at how good everything was, definitely a huge success! The next morning we got up and left our dorm at 7:15AM headed to the bus station to go to San Sebastián. When we got there we walked and found a café to get a pastery and coffee and then headed on our way to explore the city. In the middle of the city we found a really cool outdoor flea market that many locals had come and set up tents at and were selling all kinds of stuff. Courtney and I finally found us a straightener! Neither one of ours from home would work here due to the voltage (even with a converter). So we found one for 20 euros and split it so we can just share it while we are here. Bobby bought a skateboard and so Suzette attempted to learn how to ride it several times throughout the day. After leaving there we headed towards the beach. It was absolutely beautiful! We found tons of beautiful buildings, HUGE cathedrals that we were able to walk into and see, and even walk down on the beach to the water. In one of the cathedrals you could put in .20 euros and light a candle and say a prayer and that candle was to represent your prayer, so that was really neat to me. We continued walking around and found another cathedral that had a band out in front playing instruments, so we got to see and listen to that. Then we decided to head up a giant hill towards an old war fort called Urgull. At the very top there were amazing passage ways, cannons, and you could see the entire city! It was gorgeous, and we took tons of pictures for sure! After heading back down we walked in some touristy stores to look around and sat by the beach watching surfers, people walking by, and Suzette attempting to skateboard. Then we got just about frozen and decided to head back to the bus station. We were about 2 hours early so we went to a little bar and got some coffee and just chilled out until it was time to head back. After getting back really late and being totally exhausted and frozen we took showers and went to bed. I was able to talk to mom and dad before I went to bed too so that was definitely a great feeling. When mom called me, however, turned out she was with the entire Sunday School class, and of course they all call me on skype as soon as I get out of the shower with no make-up, hair a mess, and nothing on but a t-shirt. Oh well, good thing they love me no matter what :) haha. This morning we SLEPT!! I did not wake up until noon and it felt amazing. I haven't had that much sleep all week. Once I got up I played around on the computer, straightened my hair for the first time all week, drank some coffee with Courtney, and then got ready to go look at an apartment. Courtney met a girl from Chile in the airport and she is studying at the private university here and needs an apartment. We were supposed to meet her at 4 but it was at least 5 before we found her. I definitely did not enjoy not being able to find where we were going. However, we found it and were able to look through the apartment. It is too far away from campus for us, so its not really somewhere that I want to live, but it was good to be able to see kind of what our options are and how they are priced. Once we left there we went to get a bite to eat and then tried to head back to campus. However, that was not as easy as we thought. We tried to find a bus stop so we didn't have to walk in the freezing cold but looking for a bus stop got us lost. Then we finally found a bus stop, waited for thirty minutes, and then a mile down the road they made us get off because that was the last stop of the night. Then we had to walk another thirty minutes back to the dorm. Oh well, we finally made it and went to Suzette's room since we were 45 minutes late to dinner with her and Bobby. They had soup waiting on us and we all sat together and ate in her room. We started watching the movie Step Brother's and then I headed on up to my room. It had been a long, interesting day and I was ready for some down time. Now I am finally caught up on my blog and ready for some rest. Class starts again tomorrow, hoping this week goes well!
Universidad Publica de Navarra
It has been awhile since I have been able to write anything, so this entry will be stocked with information! Where did I leave off?? Thursday! Thursday morning we got up super early at Merche's house, packed up our stuff, and got a taxi to Los Abedules (our dorm). While we were having our last breakfast at Merche's house she walked in the kitchen and had three pillows in her hand. She gave each one of us one to keep (it was soo sweet!). Once we got to Los Abedules we dropped off our bags and headed to class. It was just a normal day at class, and once it was over we headed back to our rooms to unpack our stuff. It was so nice to not have to be living out of our suitcases anymore! Later that afternoon Amanda came to my room and we spent two hours just talking. It's amazing how much you miss having personal girl to girl conversations when you don't have them that much anymore. At about 8 that night we figured it was time to call everyone and head to dinner. We wanted to try one of the local places that has "Tapas y Vino por 2 Euros". Which is like small appetizers and wine. We finally found a local place that was not completely packed that we could all six get into. We sat down, picked out what tapa we wanted and for 2 euros we got an appetizer and a glass of wine. We wanted to get one more appetizer so Amanda and I got two different ones and split them. Everything that was tried was very good, very different but good. We left there and wanted to actually find somewhere to get an actual meal, however, we didn't really find anywhere good on the way back so we just went on to our rooms considering it was like 10 or 11 at night here. We also had presentations for class that next day so we had to finish/start them. Needless to say it was about 1 or 2 in the morning before I went to bed. The next morning I got up, went to class, we all did our presentations over different autonomous communities of Spain (I did mine on La Rioja). After class Courtney and I walked over to the student information center to get some information on apartments for the semester, and then we went back and got our homework done so that we would not have to do it over the weekend. Later that evening we decided to head to the grocery store to buy some things for dinner as well as to have in our rooms. We walked at least a mile or more to the store, bought various items like milk, instant soup and pasta, bread, cereal, and then also things so that we could all make dinner together. We decided to make spaghetti with peppers and mushrooms in it as well as a salad, bread, and wine. I was able to get all of my items for just 28 euros (extremely cheap compared to home). Once we got back we all split up into two rooms and made dinner and then met downstairs so that we could all eat together. We were very impressed at how good everything was, definitely a huge success! The next morning we got up and left our dorm at 7:15AM headed to the bus station to go to San Sebastián. When we got there we walked and found a café to get a pastery and coffee and then headed on our way to explore the city. In the middle of the city we found a really cool outdoor flea market that many locals had come and set up tents at and were selling all kinds of stuff. Courtney and I finally found us a straightener! Neither one of ours from home would work here due to the voltage (even with a converter). So we found one for 20 euros and split it so we can just share it while we are here. Bobby bought a skateboard and so Suzette attempted to learn how to ride it several times throughout the day. After leaving there we headed towards the beach. It was absolutely beautiful! We found tons of beautiful buildings, HUGE cathedrals that we were able to walk into and see, and even walk down on the beach to the water. In one of the cathedrals you could put in .20 euros and light a candle and say a prayer and that candle was to represent your prayer, so that was really neat to me. We continued walking around and found another cathedral that had a band out in front playing instruments, so we got to see and listen to that. Then we decided to head up a giant hill towards an old war fort called Urgull. At the very top there were amazing passage ways, cannons, and you could see the entire city! It was gorgeous, and we took tons of pictures for sure! After heading back down we walked in some touristy stores to look around and sat by the beach watching surfers, people walking by, and Suzette attempting to skateboard. Then we got just about frozen and decided to head back to the bus station. We were about 2 hours early so we went to a little bar and got some coffee and just chilled out until it was time to head back. After getting back really late and being totally exhausted and frozen we took showers and went to bed. I was able to talk to mom and dad before I went to bed too so that was definitely a great feeling. When mom called me, however, turned out she was with the entire Sunday School class, and of course they all call me on skype as soon as I get out of the shower with no make-up, hair a mess, and nothing on but a t-shirt. Oh well, good thing they love me no matter what :) haha. This morning we SLEPT!! I did not wake up until noon and it felt amazing. I haven't had that much sleep all week. Once I got up I played around on the computer, straightened my hair for the first time all week, drank some coffee with Courtney, and then got ready to go look at an apartment. Courtney met a girl from Chile in the airport and she is studying at the private university here and needs an apartment. We were supposed to meet her at 4 but it was at least 5 before we found her. I definitely did not enjoy not being able to find where we were going. However, we found it and were able to look through the apartment. It is too far away from campus for us, so its not really somewhere that I want to live, but it was good to be able to see kind of what our options are and how they are priced. Once we left there we went to get a bite to eat and then tried to head back to campus. However, that was not as easy as we thought. We tried to find a bus stop so we didn't have to walk in the freezing cold but looking for a bus stop got us lost. Then we finally found a bus stop, waited for thirty minutes, and then a mile down the road they made us get off because that was the last stop of the night. Then we had to walk another thirty minutes back to the dorm. Oh well, we finally made it and went to Suzette's room since we were 45 minutes late to dinner with her and Bobby. They had soup waiting on us and we all sat together and ate in her room. We started watching the movie Step Brother's and then I headed on up to my room. It had been a long, interesting day and I was ready for some down time. Now I am finally caught up on my blog and ready for some rest. Class starts again tomorrow, hoping this week goes well!