two weeks in the states

It's been two weeks since that horrendous travel day, and the great parts of being home haven't worn off.  I know I appreciate my lifestyle more now than I did before.  There is just something so comforting about about free ice water and free refills in restaurants :)

I have returned gladly to my large breakfasts of eggs and toast and sautéd veggies, and happily to dinner before 9:30.   I miss everything being in walking distance all the time, and sometimes even the bus system, but I do love my independence to zip around on my scooter or in a car.  We are so much more spread out here in the US.  I don't think it's good or bad; it's just different.

The European lifestyle was great to experience.  I'll miss those late nights out with the group dancing in the discotecas until 3 and singing karaoke until 4.  I'll miss how laid back everyone seemed to be.  I'll even miss the craziness of San Fermín.  I wouldn't have traded a second of anything that happened in Pamplona (or any of the other cities we visited) for anything,  Not even the Chupinazo, or that second biomass plant, or random men being sketchy on the streets.

I miss my compatriots from Kentucky.  And U Penn and Auburn and U Illinois @ Chicago.  But we'll all see each other again :) We already have plans for a reunion sometime down the road.  It was a beautiful experience from start to finish and I learned so much about so much.  Most of it not necessarily academically related.  It's hard to summarize and categorize all my thoughts and feelings, but I wouldn't hesitate to tell anyone to go. To get out. To experience. To learn. To be uncomfortable beyond measure.  It's so worth it.  Every nanosecond of it--the friends you make, the experiences you have, the problems you encounter.  It was grander than I could have imagined going into it.  I had heard about all those things from other students who had studied abroad before me, but to experience them!! How wonderful it was, and how lucky I am.

I have the bug now.  I want to go again.  We shall see.  Thank you all for following along with my adventures.  I hope you've found it worthwhile to read my attempts at conveying my experiences.  This is it.  The last post of my journey.  I suppose it will be here forever.

And now back to business!! WPS! Razorback Soccer Season is near!!

My wonderful classmates :) 

the 30 hour day

Uff, there is nothing like a horrible travel day to make you want your own shower and bed.  I'm so relieved to be off of transportation and back on solid ground.

la despidida

Photos from the dinner :) 

Stephanie, Gemma, Sammi, Carmen

Carmen and me! 

Stephanie, Nick, moi. 

The Elite Eight (the 6 weekers) plus Michael and Gemma! Celebrating Gemma's love of heavy rock. "Two much rock for one hand!"  

the last field trip

Well what a joyful morning we had on this last Friday...

Another Biomass day and oh boy did it smell.  Not only were we literally surrounded by feces, we were all exhausted from dinner and karaoke the night before.  I going to honestly say that I don't think any of us would've been happier with the situation on a full night of sleep, but it definitely didn't help that we were running on fumes.

I'd rather not dwell on the situation if I can avoid it, but just know that cow, chicken, and yogurt waste mixed together to make energy does not smell pleasant.  I didn't take pictures because I was too busy trying to keep myself from vomiting when the wind blew... If you want to hear more about it you'll have to ask me directly.  I don't want to type about it any more.  I'm not a squeamish human being usually, but...

Ew.

the last night out :(

Tonight we have our farewell dinner.  It's so strange to think that 6 weeks is already up.  Just when we were all getting really comfortable with the city and it was REALLY starting to feel like home.  I'm going to miss these guys for sure.  It's amazing how close we all got in such a short period of time.  I'm a little bummed that they are all going back the Kentucky without me :(

But we play at Kentucky this year and they all promised they'd be there!! It's been a great time with a great group and I've made some stellar friends.  I'm looking forward to some of the comforts of home (especially food wise), but I am so sad that our time here is coming to a close.  We've tried to wring every ounce of fun out of our time and I think we have succeeded admirably.

I'll be seeing y'all soon. <3

biomasa e hidráulica

I have forgotten to fill you in on our field trip last week! 

We went to a biomass plant that uses all the refuse from the wine making processes in the region to produce energy.  It smelled like concentrated alcohol all over the place...I think it may have actually been possible to get drunk off of the fumes.  It was a really interesting plant, but it was definitely a place I wouldn't want to be stuck alone at night--looked like a set for the latest saw movie.  

The second destination of the day was a dam in Estella.  It was a neat little place that was run by some rather interesting souls: I'm pretty sure there was a small batch of marijuana plants in the garden there.  Whatever floats your boat.  

Neither of the places smelled like roses, but it was a fun experience and I learned a lot about both technologies.  Especially dams.  I thought I had a pretty solid grasp on how those worked, but there were quite a few things that I hadn't thought of.  Good thing I didn't design them :) 

Hasta la próxima. 

los heridos

The calm encierros didn't last.  6 and 7 were disasters. 

I watched both of them from home with Nerea, and both of us were terrified.  The 6th running there was a leading bull and a trailing bull.  The two most dangerous things that can happen.  They both managed to get their horns into people, but the trailing bull was the worst.  

I felt horrible for the man who was attacked for a solid 40 seconds by the trailer, but I felt even worse for the poor bull--he was so confused and turned around and lost and it was horrible to watch...  The man didn't make his situation much better by trying repeatedly to get up.  He made it easy for the bull to get a horn in his leg (which was disgusting by the way).  As far as I know, everyone who was injured survived, but some of them were definitely in critical condition. 

The danger of the 7th running was the ridiculous amount of people that ran.  There was only one goring, but there were many trampled people at the mouth of the bull ring.  It was a literal mountain of bodies and the bulls slammed right into them.  One Australian man was "flattened" (the only thing that was funny about it was how it translated into English).  Thankfully no one died that day either.  

The 8th run was fun to watch again from the inside of the ring.  We had much better seats this time and we could see everything very clearly when the bulls thundered into the plaza.  It was a good last running for the week.  We decided to rest for most of the day so that we could go to the closing ceremony at 24:00 in the same plaza as the chupinazo.  It was really beautiful and calm.  Much the opposite of the antics of the opening ceremonies.  

This morning walking around the city it was so strange not to see anyone in their red and white garb.  And to see Pamplona return to its calm self.  It'll take weeks for it to recover completely, but we are all relieved to have our quiet city back.  I can't imagine having to see the city take that much abuse every year.  

I've enjoyed the fiestas, but I am rather excited to settle down for a few days.  Only one more week :( See y'all soon!