by Katie Reed
Universidad Publica de Navarra
made it! I am now in Spain. I left Saturday morning and arrived here yesterday evening. It was a looong trip and I was exhausted. I had some trouble in the Chicago; one lady wanted me to pay 60 more dollars for an extra suitcase when I had already paid for it in Knoxville, but I got it worked out. Then she sent me back to terminal 5 to get my tickets for my next two flights. When I got there the guy asked me why I was there and said that the lady at terminal 3 should have printed my tickets for me rather than me having to come all the way back to terminal 5. However, he printed my tickets and also printed me a priority access pass and sent me through the front of security and on a small bus over to my next flight rather than me having to walk the entire airport again (Super sweet man!) After I finally made it to Pamplona I met up with Kara as we were claiming our bags and we got all our stuff and grabbed a taxi outside the doors. We got everything in the van and headed to Merche's address. (A few days before arrival we recieved and email saying that the water at our dorm was broken so we would be staying with a family for the first four nights.) When we finally arrived the taxi driver said we were there and he got out of stuff and dropped us off. The address was Monesterio de Fitero, 31, 1C. He dropped us off at building one, and then we soon figured out that we were supposed to be at building 31 and room 1C. Therefore, we walked all the way from apartment complex 1 to 31 with all our luggage in the dark. We made it though and all was well. Merche is soooo nice! She is an older lady who is extremely excited for all of us girls to be here with her. We have decided to call her our "abuela espanola" (spanish grandmother). There are three of us (me, Kara(from Indiana) and Courtney(from California)). Merche made us dinner soon after we arrived (beef in a tomato sauce with bread, soup, and oranges). It was very good! After getting to the internet, eating, showering, and talking it was time for bed! Seven o'clock came very early and we were off to class. We had a quick breakfast at the house (toast with peach "jam"). We took the bus for about 25 minutes to the school and arrived about an hour and a half early. We needed to search out our class so we would know where to got. We went up to the third floor because the room we needed was 316. We soon found room 316 and headed back downstairs to find coffee. We found a vending machine that had coffee in it, so we put in our .4 euros and had instant coffee. Much smaller and stronger than in the U.S., but it was very good!! When it was about 10 minutes before class we headed down to our class. We heard people talking so we walked in and turns out 316 was a professor's office. The two professors in there gave us a very strange look and then one proceeded to help us. He gave us all maps and sent us to the other side of campus. He would occasionally throw in a few english words (the man with a key) and we would all laugh together. Finally after getting to the other side of campus and walking all over one building asking many people for help we finally found our classroom, 15 minutes late. However, we were still the first ones to class. Then we got started and later two other students came in (Amanda and Bobby) and later another girl came in (Suzette). Turns out there were only six people in our class so thats pretty cool. Class went great; we have two and a half hours of spanish grammer with a thirty minute lunch/snack break and then two hours of culture class. For lunch we went down the cafeteria and I got cafe con leche (coffee with milk) and a ham and cheese sandwich because we could not read most of the menu..haha..The coffee had two packaged sugar cubes on the side rather than sugar packets. I thought that was really cool and different. However, after lunch we went back to class and talked about the culture of Spain and Navarra in general. After she talked about Navarra we each had to present on the state that we are from. Anyways, after class we headed out and about. We walked around the city to many different shops and cafes. We soon discovered that not only are many places closed during the afternoon until 5, but if you go to a cafe that is open they do not serve actual food until at least 6 or 7. We managed to find a place that had wifi and got a pastry and more coffee. When we finally left there we were heading back to Merche's house, and stopped at a small store were we bought bigger bottles of shampoo, lotion, etc since we just brought travel size things on the way here. Then we continued on our way back to Merche's house. It is now 7:50 or 19.50 in Spain and we are waiting on Merche to get home and we are all going to have dinner together. We have walked around all day since 3, so we are very tired. It has been an overall great day. :) Thank you so much to all who have been praying for me and helping me throughout this whole adventure. You have no idea how much it means to me and has helped me!
Universidad Publica de Navarra
made it! I am now in Spain. I left Saturday morning and arrived here yesterday evening. It was a looong trip and I was exhausted. I had some trouble in the Chicago; one lady wanted me to pay 60 more dollars for an extra suitcase when I had already paid for it in Knoxville, but I got it worked out. Then she sent me back to terminal 5 to get my tickets for my next two flights. When I got there the guy asked me why I was there and said that the lady at terminal 3 should have printed my tickets for me rather than me having to come all the way back to terminal 5. However, he printed my tickets and also printed me a priority access pass and sent me through the front of security and on a small bus over to my next flight rather than me having to walk the entire airport again (Super sweet man!) After I finally made it to Pamplona I met up with Kara as we were claiming our bags and we got all our stuff and grabbed a taxi outside the doors. We got everything in the van and headed to Merche's address. (A few days before arrival we recieved and email saying that the water at our dorm was broken so we would be staying with a family for the first four nights.) When we finally arrived the taxi driver said we were there and he got out of stuff and dropped us off. The address was Monesterio de Fitero, 31, 1C. He dropped us off at building one, and then we soon figured out that we were supposed to be at building 31 and room 1C. Therefore, we walked all the way from apartment complex 1 to 31 with all our luggage in the dark. We made it though and all was well. Merche is soooo nice! She is an older lady who is extremely excited for all of us girls to be here with her. We have decided to call her our "abuela espanola" (spanish grandmother). There are three of us (me, Kara(from Indiana) and Courtney(from California)). Merche made us dinner soon after we arrived (beef in a tomato sauce with bread, soup, and oranges). It was very good! After getting to the internet, eating, showering, and talking it was time for bed! Seven o'clock came very early and we were off to class. We had a quick breakfast at the house (toast with peach "jam"). We took the bus for about 25 minutes to the school and arrived about an hour and a half early. We needed to search out our class so we would know where to got. We went up to the third floor because the room we needed was 316. We soon found room 316 and headed back downstairs to find coffee. We found a vending machine that had coffee in it, so we put in our .4 euros and had instant coffee. Much smaller and stronger than in the U.S., but it was very good!! When it was about 10 minutes before class we headed down to our class. We heard people talking so we walked in and turns out 316 was a professor's office. The two professors in there gave us a very strange look and then one proceeded to help us. He gave us all maps and sent us to the other side of campus. He would occasionally throw in a few english words (the man with a key) and we would all laugh together. Finally after getting to the other side of campus and walking all over one building asking many people for help we finally found our classroom, 15 minutes late. However, we were still the first ones to class. Then we got started and later two other students came in (Amanda and Bobby) and later another girl came in (Suzette). Turns out there were only six people in our class so thats pretty cool. Class went great; we have two and a half hours of spanish grammer with a thirty minute lunch/snack break and then two hours of culture class. For lunch we went down the cafeteria and I got cafe con leche (coffee with milk) and a ham and cheese sandwich because we could not read most of the menu..haha..The coffee had two packaged sugar cubes on the side rather than sugar packets. I thought that was really cool and different. However, after lunch we went back to class and talked about the culture of Spain and Navarra in general. After she talked about Navarra we each had to present on the state that we are from. Anyways, after class we headed out and about. We walked around the city to many different shops and cafes. We soon discovered that not only are many places closed during the afternoon until 5, but if you go to a cafe that is open they do not serve actual food until at least 6 or 7. We managed to find a place that had wifi and got a pastry and more coffee. When we finally left there we were heading back to Merche's house, and stopped at a small store were we bought bigger bottles of shampoo, lotion, etc since we just brought travel size things on the way here. Then we continued on our way back to Merche's house. It is now 7:50 or 19.50 in Spain and we are waiting on Merche to get home and we are all going to have dinner together. We have walked around all day since 3, so we are very tired. It has been an overall great day. :) Thank you so much to all who have been praying for me and helping me throughout this whole adventure. You have no idea how much it means to me and has helped me!