Five hours of class can be a drag, I'll admit it freely, but learning a whole lot about something and then seeing it work in the real world is a pretty nifty set-up. This week our focus was geothermal energy systems. They are neat, but our professor never sold me on the idea that they are the way to go. I'm still waiting to pass judgement on that once I learn a bit more about the costs and design flaws of the other alternative green resources.
Our first of four field trips took us Spain's first zero emissions building that is owned by Acciona Energía. We had spent a solid amount of time discussing the different technologies and architectural tricks that were implementing in the design of the building, and I think we all enjoyed walking around and knowing what we were actually looking it. Built 2006-2007 Acciona's headquarters combine bioclimatic design, solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, geothermal, and biodiesel technologies to achieve zero emission status. True, it was more expensive to build than it's neighbors in the industrial office park, but it will recover that cost in energy savings in 10 years--after 10 it's all profit and zero harm to the environment. I was pretty impressed.
We then hopped back on the bus and journeyed out to Noáin, a Bosque town whose government has decided to take an interest in sustainability and community and had made some impressive strides. Our poor professor had a time with trying to translate for us...he was required to translate from Bosque (his second language) to English (his third language which he hasn't spoken very much in 15 years). He didn't even get to use Spanish.
The main reason we were actually there was to see their main building that has a geothermal installation, but as it was already installed (and therefor buried underground and very out of sight) we all found the gardens and the other bioclimatic buildings rather more interesting.
I of course didn't remember to bring my camera, but this trip was probably the best one to forget it for because geothermally there wasn't much to photograph. The things I wished I could've snapped a couple of shots of were the community gardens/chickens, and the beautiful "Japanese Garden" that they have developed in an effort to be more sustainable. It's a pretty spectacular system and a totally different outlook on living. One thing I have found here in Spain that just always seems stronger than it is in the US is their sense of community. It's kind of nice.
We are off to Barcelona this weekend and I am so thrilled. Wish we had more than two days, but it'll have to be enough I suppose :)
Friday, June 28, 2013
Thursday, June 27, 2013
engineer pamplona
The first week of class for la ingeniería has flown past. I can't believe my time here is already half way over. But, I have to admit that each class period drags on a bit...5 hours in the same seat is tough and I get jittery or sleepy around hour number 2. Guess that says something about my attention span...ah well. Snacks have been an integral part of my success so far.
It's been fun getting to know the 9 "newbies" and helping them get adjusted and get the things they need (map, bus route map, bus card, general knowledge of the city, food...) has made the 8 of us feel pretty awesome about all the knowledge we have acquired in the past couple of weeks. We are mostly all headed to Barcelona this weekend, and I'm slightly nervous about traveling with 14. It'll be interesting to see how it pans out...
I'm super excited for my last weekend trip because it's going to be a blast, and because that means I will have some time in Pamplona during San Fermin. There is a group going to Paris for Bastille day the second weekend of the festival, but I'm going to sit that excursion out in favor of seeing the closing ceremonies here.
Today is our first field trip! I'm excited to see what It will be like :) Catch ya later.
It's been fun getting to know the 9 "newbies" and helping them get adjusted and get the things they need (map, bus route map, bus card, general knowledge of the city, food...) has made the 8 of us feel pretty awesome about all the knowledge we have acquired in the past couple of weeks. We are mostly all headed to Barcelona this weekend, and I'm slightly nervous about traveling with 14. It'll be interesting to see how it pans out...
I'm super excited for my last weekend trip because it's going to be a blast, and because that means I will have some time in Pamplona during San Fermin. There is a group going to Paris for Bastille day the second weekend of the festival, but I'm going to sit that excursion out in favor of seeing the closing ceremonies here.
Today is our first field trip! I'm excited to see what It will be like :) Catch ya later.
Monday, June 24, 2013
the third millennium!
I would like to start by saying that the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar is one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever been in. The amazing care and attention to detail of the paintings on the ceilings blew my mind. We spent a good two hours there on our first day, and when we had a little time in the afternoon on Sunday I decided to go back again. Majestic might be the right word for the appearance, but inspiring is the word that comes to mind for me.
Zaragoza was another adventure for sure. This time I decided to look at the public transportation before we got there and I determined the quickest and most failsafe way for us to arrive at our hostel from the train station, so that went much more smoothly on weekend two. Thank goodness.
We have decided that we don't have room to be surprised about anything in terms of hostels. Last time it was an adventure finding it, this time the shock came when we were told that bedding was an extra cost. Apparently this is rather common. Who knew?
Once we had sorted all that out, we decided to take our picnics that our host families had given us and lunch in La Plaza del Pilar. I'm so glad we did :) Buildings like that really make me think--there was some great emotion (love or fear maybe?) that made those people build such a massive monument. It's fascinating.
We then decided (from a recommendation) to cross the river and see the buildings that had been constructed for the World Expo that Zaragoza hosted in 2008. The Tercer Milenio. I don't think we realized how far away it was. At least I was an interesting trip...?
The buildings were quite impressive, but the area was utterly desolate. We were actually the only people there. Every once in a while a car would whiz by on its way to somewhere else, but we were the only living beings in the third millennium. We decided that it all made sense because everyone else just needed a few hundred more years to arrive. We were simply early to the party. It was a strange feeling.
After we made it back to present day Zaragoza (por fin!!), we were informed that we had somehow luckily arrived on the same weekend as El Noche en Blanco. We had no idea, but it meant we got to see some pretty neat stuff for free. Some of the guys even got Abrazos Gratis from a couple of local girls too (apparently that's pretty common too because I remember that happening in Madrid too).
We got to see a couple of museums of archeological digs dating back to CaesarAugustus for free and an "orchestra" concert that made me and Sammi want to dance. It was so lively and I'm pretty sure it was an all night gig. There were pages and pages of information in the booklet we got from tourist info but there was no way to do it all.
It had been a long day on our feet and we were all pretty tired and grumpy so we rewarded ourselves with ice cream cones (I still think that ice cream was one of the better purchases I have made so far) and returned to the hostel to sleep like babies. We were so grateful to sleep in Sunday morning for the first time all trip.
Sunday morning the Aljafería is free, so after a typical Spanish breakfast of toast we toured around in there. Again, the detail was astounding and I enjoyed every second of it. It's so impressive to me that all of that history has been preserved so well and I'm super lucky to get to see it.
The plaza was our go to for lunch of course, and then after we had some more time to kill. Naturally, we found the nearest chocolateria and snacked on churros y chocolate. ¡Que rico!
I was very pleased with our decision to ride the elevator to the top of one of the basilica's towers and see the view. Well worth 2€.
It was getting to be that time, so we headed back to the hostel to gather our bags and then back to the train station to grab some snacks to hold us over until late dinner at home. It was a great weekend and I'm looking forward to Barcelona soon!!
Monday, June 17, 2013
bilbao and san sebastían
We are well into our second week abroad now, and some little things still throw me for a loop even when I'm expecting them. I feel better about all that now though since a Canadian native who has been living in Pamplona for 40 years told me on the bus today that there are some things that it is impossible to understand or to become accustomed to. The day to day life is still quite exciting and entertaining, but nothing yet compares to our adventures this past weekend in Bilbao and San Sebastían (especially Bilbao).
We arrived by bus in Bilbao around 12:00pm super excited to see the Guggenheim and to wander around the city. We had booked our hostel, and we thought we had all our ducks in a row... 3 hours later (after we had taken a lovely tour of the highways on the outskirts of Bilbao on foot) we finally found where we were supposed to be. 15 minutes after that we realized that there was a metro stop at the bus station that had a line that ran directly to our hostel. This would've cut our travel time down to around 10 minutes, but at least we got a good little stroll in.
Fortunately the hostel was as nice as it looked online and the receptionist was absolutely the most friendly woman I have encountered in the hospitality field, so it made up for the misunderstanding at the bus station that walking through the old city to get there was "un buen idea." After checking in, we decided to rest for a little while before heading to the Guggenheim for some more walking around and standing up.
I was absolutely floored by the architecture of the Guggenheim! It's impressive in pictures, but in real life it is astounding. I have to be honest, I wasn't super impressed with the temporary collections. I am not progressive enough nor have I studied enough to appreciate modern art, but I was very impressed by the permanent exhibit by Richard Serra. It's called The Matter of Time, and it is rather big. It's hard to describe the feeling that the gigantic metal structures give a viewer, but when I was walking through them I felt like I could feel the gravitational pull of them on me. Their shapes influenced the way I moved and how I held myself while I meandered around and through them. I think it is fair to say that it was everyone's favorite part about el museo.
After we had had enough of art for the evening, we decided to wander through Casco Viejo to find some dinner. As for that experience--at least the food was good.
Included with our stay in BBK Bilbao Good Hostel was a ticket to a discoteca called Fever. We decided why not, and the 8 of us meandered around in a relatively sketchy set of warehouses in the general direction that the man at the front desk had pointed us in. We found it and were relatively impressed by the interior. As we were attempting to "travel light" none of us had the right type of clothes for this venture, but we made the most of it and had a blast dancing inside the cushiony airspace that surrounded and separated us underdressed Americans from the rest of the dancing crowd. We danced until 2am and just when the party was really getting started decided that we should leave since we had to catch an 8:40 bus to San Sebastían the next morning. We slept hard and woke up bright and early to hit the metro and arrived just in time to board the bus.
After a not long enough nap on the bus we arrived in San Sebastían ready for some beach-napping (don't worry mom--I put on sunscreen!). Once we had rested a little more we headed into the Casco Antiguo to find lunch. San Sebastián was overall a much more enjoyable experience than Bilbao because we were just a little more prepared...
We arrived by bus in Bilbao around 12:00pm super excited to see the Guggenheim and to wander around the city. We had booked our hostel, and we thought we had all our ducks in a row... 3 hours later (after we had taken a lovely tour of the highways on the outskirts of Bilbao on foot) we finally found where we were supposed to be. 15 minutes after that we realized that there was a metro stop at the bus station that had a line that ran directly to our hostel. This would've cut our travel time down to around 10 minutes, but at least we got a good little stroll in.
Fortunately the hostel was as nice as it looked online and the receptionist was absolutely the most friendly woman I have encountered in the hospitality field, so it made up for the misunderstanding at the bus station that walking through the old city to get there was "un buen idea." After checking in, we decided to rest for a little while before heading to the Guggenheim for some more walking around and standing up.
I was absolutely floored by the architecture of the Guggenheim! It's impressive in pictures, but in real life it is astounding. I have to be honest, I wasn't super impressed with the temporary collections. I am not progressive enough nor have I studied enough to appreciate modern art, but I was very impressed by the permanent exhibit by Richard Serra. It's called The Matter of Time, and it is rather big. It's hard to describe the feeling that the gigantic metal structures give a viewer, but when I was walking through them I felt like I could feel the gravitational pull of them on me. Their shapes influenced the way I moved and how I held myself while I meandered around and through them. I think it is fair to say that it was everyone's favorite part about el museo.
After we had had enough of art for the evening, we decided to wander through Casco Viejo to find some dinner. As for that experience--at least the food was good.
Included with our stay in BBK Bilbao Good Hostel was a ticket to a discoteca called Fever. We decided why not, and the 8 of us meandered around in a relatively sketchy set of warehouses in the general direction that the man at the front desk had pointed us in. We found it and were relatively impressed by the interior. As we were attempting to "travel light" none of us had the right type of clothes for this venture, but we made the most of it and had a blast dancing inside the cushiony airspace that surrounded and separated us underdressed Americans from the rest of the dancing crowd. We danced until 2am and just when the party was really getting started decided that we should leave since we had to catch an 8:40 bus to San Sebastían the next morning. We slept hard and woke up bright and early to hit the metro and arrived just in time to board the bus.
After a not long enough nap on the bus we arrived in San Sebastían ready for some beach-napping (don't worry mom--I put on sunscreen!). Once we had rested a little more we headed into the Casco Antiguo to find lunch. San Sebastián was overall a much more enjoyable experience than Bilbao because we were just a little more prepared...
After lunch some of us climbed the mountain to Jesus (large satue of the Sacred Heart) and others returned to the beach for nap time round two. Can't say I blame them, but climbing was super fun and a cool experience that I'm glad I didn't forego. We reunited with the whole group for dinner and then decided to walk the streets a bit more before our late bus back to Pamplona.
What an interesting weekend it was! But we learned a lot and are already planning next weekend's excursion to Zaragoza. This time we have a little experience and I think that will help a whole awful lot. ¡Hasta luego!
Saturday, June 15, 2013
week one in pamplona
Our first week of exploring has come to a close. It's hard to believe I've already been abroad for 10 days, and I'm loving every second. We've already fallen into a comfortable weekly routine of going to classes in the morning, finding a small place for lunch, and then wondering around the city until it's time to do something again.
Monday we started our food adventures at Hemingway's Café Iruña. We had no idea that this was a tourist destination. It wasn't until the next day when our teacher asked us how our first day was that we knew anything about it being THE café where Hemingway went...obviously none of us are up on our history of Pamplona...
After our first (of many I'm sure) experience of food not being quite what we expected, we wandered around the city with no particular destination in mind. We walked and talked and looked and eventually stumbled upon a gorgeous old place called La Cuidadela (the citadel). I think so far that is my favorite place in the city. Built 1571-1645 under the orders of King Felipe II of Spain and considered one of the finest examples of military architecture of the Spanish Renaissance, the citadel has now become a green space in the city that is a perfect spot for the afternoon siesta.
Tuesday I decided to go on a little adventure by myself and eat at Okapi Taberna. After a wonderful little meal of pintxos (I'm still learning all the food words so I'm honestly not sure what I ate, but I learned that bacalao is cod and is very common here), I walked around the city trying to find a public restroom for a few hours before it was time to meet back up with the group. Turns out the public restrooms have hours. 4:30-till sometime before 10:00. How strange.
We met up with the Clemson, Alabama, and Auburn group for a pick-up game of soccer on one of the lawns near la Cuidadela. I was one of 3 girls to play, and I had a blast. We ended up playing for 2 hours before calling it quits. We all decided to meet up for pintxos that night at Kiosko in Plaza del Castillo. The night bus ends at 12:10 on weeknights so I cut out "early", but there were nearly 30 of us there all talking and having a grand time.
Wednesday we lunched at Argileku--Basque for "place of light." Afterward the 8 of us took over one of the basketball courts in Mendillori and played and chatted for about 3 hours. There is the nifty little outdoor "gym" that is designed so that all the machines use your bodyweight instead of cables and such. There are so many different types of public spaces here. It's fascinating.
Thursday we needed a break, so after a lengthy lunch (it seems to be a trend) at a small paella place, we all returned to our respective houses to rest before juevintxos--jueves y pintxos combined for a lovely night of vino y pintxos for only 2€.
Friday I had every intention of taking a nap, but instead I was again convinced that 3 hrs of basketball after eating in the café Florida was a good idea. So, I hd yet to take a siesta and was definitely starting to feel it...
I love my neighborhood. I'm about as far east as you can get in Sarriguren (the first bus stop on the way in and the last bus stop on the way out), so I'm right next to the countryside. It's a fantastically beautiful place to go on a run through the farmland and around trails at the base of the surrounding mountains. I have eaten more carbs in the last 10 days then ever in my whole life, but with the basketball and the walking and the soccer and the running it seems incredibly necessary.
We are on our first excursion outside of Pamplona now. As I type this we are heading to Bilbao to see the city and the Guggenheim, then Sunday on to San Sebastián for a day in the city and at the beach. I think I may have to renege on my promise not to post more than twice a week...even though I'm trying to keep track of everything, writing about it days later seems stale and list-like and uninteresting. And I can promise you that my experience thus-far has not been anywhere close to any of those things. I'll consider 3 times a week and see how that goes.
I'm loving the group, loving the adventures, loving the life (except for the plethora of white bread and the tiny breakfasts). I'll be in touch!
Sunday, June 9, 2013
the first 24 hours
After a bone shaking flight on the smallest plane I've ever boarded from Chattanooga to Charlotte, I met up with 6 of my 7 fellow travelers that I will be spending my first two weeks with: Rob, Brad, Sammi, Nick, Jason, and Sam (Alejandro was a new addition that none of us knew about until last week and have never spoken to and we aren't entirely sure if he actually made it or not...however, we assume due to his name that he will be fine and will find his way to Pamplona without incident. We also recognize that this may be a form of racial profiling, but that didn't stop us from entertaining ourselves with a little game we like to call "¿Dónde está Alejandro?").
Finding each other was quite the adventure, and after accidentally introducing myself to 5 different people that were wearing "a dark gray shirt and jeans," I finally found the right one. After that I developed quite a keen sense for spotting our other compatriots (generally one would be standing awkwardly by a trash can and looking around intermittently between shooting a text to someone), and soon the group was assembled and sat down for lunch in the terminal.
Our flight was long and rather uneventful. Sleeping was nearly impossible, but I nabbed a little shuteye in between the captain's announcements to (for our safety) "please keep your seatbelt fastened while seated."
Our flight landed early, and after the longest taxi of my life--I think we may have actually landed in a nearby city and then drove the remaining miles to Madrid--we finally disembarked and headed to get a quick stamp on our passports and to find the nearest aseos to freshen up and relieve our bladders. Fortunately all our luggage arrived without incident, and then it was off to find our bus. We journeyed from T1 on to T4, and I am ashamed to admit that our first stop after we had located our departure point was the all too familiar Golden Arches...
We got a good laugh out of the menu, a McFish featured alongside a McPollo, and our ordering in nervous and broken Spanish provided us some small entertainment to distract us from our weariness and dehydration induced headaches.
We had some serious time to kill before the bus rolled out for Soria, so we made camp in a corner and I was introduced to a new card game called Eucher. This is possibly the strangest card game I have ever encountered. Cards change suits and the Jack is often higher than an Ace, but only if it is a certain color. I still don't entirely understand what was going on, but my team won so I figured I was doing O.K.
On the first leg of the bus ride, sleep wouldn't come even though my head and eyes were begging for it, so instead I settled in to watch a Spanish subtitled cartoon about a disgruntled, albino, Chinese, Kung-Fu master peacock who had previously been exiled and now was planning his revenge on the whole kingdom of China. My brain was too fatigued at the time to find that combination odd.
I woke up in Soria to our driver telling us that the bus on the right would continue on to Pamplona in five minutes. I was relieved to realize I'd finally slept, and then immediately concerned that five minutes would not be a sufficient amount of time to navigate the melee of people trying to switch their luggage to the next bus and find the restrooms. Bus two took us through the Spanish country side past idyllic houses in La Rioja. Beautiful. Whirling wind turbines dotted many of the higher ridges, looking like giant cousins to the wild flowers scattered along the hillsides. There is something majestic about those huge structures.
We passed Parques Solares de Navarra, and other smaller installments of solar fields. Old ruins of once ornate houses and new modern buildings were mixed together haphazardly along the roadside in some areas, and somehow the juxtaposition of all this had a strange allure to it.
The real adventure began once we arrived in Pamplona. We had now reached the unscripted portion of our journey: taxi cabs. This was the point where we all split up, and we were all rather reluctant to do so. It was especially comforting when I handed my driver my address and he stared at it for a long while in contemplative confusion, pulled out a map, said "ah, si...", and then after a few more minutes of contemplation took off in what I hoped was the correct direction.
I arrived safely in the home of Narea and Rubén and chatted to the best of my ability about the trip and a little about home and what they do and things in Pamplona and school. I think I did well for the most part and they were very sweet and encouraging to me. "Poco a poco" is their favorite phrase for me and their confidence that I am going to love my time here and learn so much was reassuring. Their "very quiet dog" turns out to be my size, but he is a sweet and beautiful pup named Taco. We are already fast friends :)
My companions seem friendly and smart and nerdy and I think we will all get on just fine. I'm one of two girls here so far and I'm definitely the baby. The majority of them are rising seniors, and one a rising junior. I hope they can handle six weeks of my weirdness... We are mostly spread out around the city, but I'm sure once we get our bearings a little more we will be just fine. I'm so excited to be here and so looking forward to what is to come. All the best to those stateside!
Finding each other was quite the adventure, and after accidentally introducing myself to 5 different people that were wearing "a dark gray shirt and jeans," I finally found the right one. After that I developed quite a keen sense for spotting our other compatriots (generally one would be standing awkwardly by a trash can and looking around intermittently between shooting a text to someone), and soon the group was assembled and sat down for lunch in the terminal.
Our flight was long and rather uneventful. Sleeping was nearly impossible, but I nabbed a little shuteye in between the captain's announcements to (for our safety) "please keep your seatbelt fastened while seated."
Our flight landed early, and after the longest taxi of my life--I think we may have actually landed in a nearby city and then drove the remaining miles to Madrid--we finally disembarked and headed to get a quick stamp on our passports and to find the nearest aseos to freshen up and relieve our bladders. Fortunately all our luggage arrived without incident, and then it was off to find our bus. We journeyed from T1 on to T4, and I am ashamed to admit that our first stop after we had located our departure point was the all too familiar Golden Arches...
We got a good laugh out of the menu, a McFish featured alongside a McPollo, and our ordering in nervous and broken Spanish provided us some small entertainment to distract us from our weariness and dehydration induced headaches.
We had some serious time to kill before the bus rolled out for Soria, so we made camp in a corner and I was introduced to a new card game called Eucher. This is possibly the strangest card game I have ever encountered. Cards change suits and the Jack is often higher than an Ace, but only if it is a certain color. I still don't entirely understand what was going on, but my team won so I figured I was doing O.K.
On the first leg of the bus ride, sleep wouldn't come even though my head and eyes were begging for it, so instead I settled in to watch a Spanish subtitled cartoon about a disgruntled, albino, Chinese, Kung-Fu master peacock who had previously been exiled and now was planning his revenge on the whole kingdom of China. My brain was too fatigued at the time to find that combination odd.
I woke up in Soria to our driver telling us that the bus on the right would continue on to Pamplona in five minutes. I was relieved to realize I'd finally slept, and then immediately concerned that five minutes would not be a sufficient amount of time to navigate the melee of people trying to switch their luggage to the next bus and find the restrooms. Bus two took us through the Spanish country side past idyllic houses in La Rioja. Beautiful. Whirling wind turbines dotted many of the higher ridges, looking like giant cousins to the wild flowers scattered along the hillsides. There is something majestic about those huge structures.
We passed Parques Solares de Navarra, and other smaller installments of solar fields. Old ruins of once ornate houses and new modern buildings were mixed together haphazardly along the roadside in some areas, and somehow the juxtaposition of all this had a strange allure to it.
The real adventure began once we arrived in Pamplona. We had now reached the unscripted portion of our journey: taxi cabs. This was the point where we all split up, and we were all rather reluctant to do so. It was especially comforting when I handed my driver my address and he stared at it for a long while in contemplative confusion, pulled out a map, said "ah, si...", and then after a few more minutes of contemplation took off in what I hoped was the correct direction.
I arrived safely in the home of Narea and Rubén and chatted to the best of my ability about the trip and a little about home and what they do and things in Pamplona and school. I think I did well for the most part and they were very sweet and encouraging to me. "Poco a poco" is their favorite phrase for me and their confidence that I am going to love my time here and learn so much was reassuring. Their "very quiet dog" turns out to be my size, but he is a sweet and beautiful pup named Taco. We are already fast friends :)
My companions seem friendly and smart and nerdy and I think we will all get on just fine. I'm one of two girls here so far and I'm definitely the baby. The majority of them are rising seniors, and one a rising junior. I hope they can handle six weeks of my weirdness... We are mostly spread out around the city, but I'm sure once we get our bearings a little more we will be just fine. I'm so excited to be here and so looking forward to what is to come. All the best to those stateside!
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
t-minus 3 days till takeoff!
Hello, everyone :)
Disclaimer: this is the first time I've ever blogged about, well, anything. I'm not sure I am entertaining or insightful enough to merit your appreciation, but I'm going to give it a go. I hope you can garner some vicarious enjoyment from my posts as I live and learn on the other side of the Atlantic. I have learned so much from this whole process already and I am so grateful to everyone who has given me a little boost along the way.
On to the details: this is my first post of probably no more than 15. I plan to attempt to get my thoughts up at least once every week (maybe twice if I am under the impression that I have another important idea to share). This pre-departure post is mostly just to get used to the whole set up. No worries though--I will not subject anyone to a post-a-day... :)
I have (kinda) begun the packing process. It's more difficult than I imagined to pack for a 6 week foray into a different culture. Generally, "packing" means piles of clothing scattered about my suitcases and the impossibility of seeing the carpet in my room. I keep promising myself that the things I need will make it into my bags soon enough. I can't count how many times I've put that extra pair of shorts into my suitcase and then reconsidered and taken it back out. So far, the best packing advice I've received came from a seasoned traveler: "Pack lots of empty space..."
Now you understand my dilemma about that extra pair of shorts.
Besides attempting to determine what the essentials are, working out the last minute details of arrival and accommodation has filled up this last week with bundles of excitement. I will be hosted by a "young, married couple that has a very quiet dog." I have an address in Sarriguren to taxi to after I get off the bus in Pamplona. This is all. This is not much...
Well, I suppose that is all I have to report for now. Happy Summer, and I'll be in touch.
Disclaimer: this is the first time I've ever blogged about, well, anything. I'm not sure I am entertaining or insightful enough to merit your appreciation, but I'm going to give it a go. I hope you can garner some vicarious enjoyment from my posts as I live and learn on the other side of the Atlantic. I have learned so much from this whole process already and I am so grateful to everyone who has given me a little boost along the way.
On to the details: this is my first post of probably no more than 15. I plan to attempt to get my thoughts up at least once every week (maybe twice if I am under the impression that I have another important idea to share). This pre-departure post is mostly just to get used to the whole set up. No worries though--I will not subject anyone to a post-a-day... :)
I have (kinda) begun the packing process. It's more difficult than I imagined to pack for a 6 week foray into a different culture. Generally, "packing" means piles of clothing scattered about my suitcases and the impossibility of seeing the carpet in my room. I keep promising myself that the things I need will make it into my bags soon enough. I can't count how many times I've put that extra pair of shorts into my suitcase and then reconsidered and taken it back out. So far, the best packing advice I've received came from a seasoned traveler: "Pack lots of empty space..."
Now you understand my dilemma about that extra pair of shorts.
Besides attempting to determine what the essentials are, working out the last minute details of arrival and accommodation has filled up this last week with bundles of excitement. I will be hosted by a "young, married couple that has a very quiet dog." I have an address in Sarriguren to taxi to after I get off the bus in Pamplona. This is all. This is not much...
Well, I suppose that is all I have to report for now. Happy Summer, and I'll be in touch.
¡Viva España!
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