June 4:

We woke up for breakfast at the dorms and then each of us headed back to our rooms. I finished uploading photos and cleaning my room. Around 12, we decided to get some lunch at a place called Wok to Walk. It was really good and the workers were super friendly. After that we walked to the supermarket to get some food that would keep. We had to be back by 2:30 to catch the bus for class. We were running behind, so we had to rush back. We went over logistics in class that day, received a tour of the grounds, and took had a reception to get to know our fellow classmates better. We returned to our dorms around 9:00 and then decided to head out for the evening. We walked to Old town and found a place to sit an chat. It was a lot of fun getting to know the others and roaming the city. Around 11:30 I headed home to get some sleep for class the next day.

June 5:

 I woke up around 8:30 to prepare for class and get breakfast. We had to be on the bus by 10 to be at class at 10:30. We began to dig into the class and it is really cool. The professor is very cool and the information is interesting. Even though the days are long, it is broken up well. Every day is different, but class starts at 10:30 and ends at 12. We have a coffee snack break for 20 minutes and then have class 12:30-2. At 2 we go to lunch and then on Tuesdays we have cultural events led by a local. We walked to the old city and saw where the running of the bulls takes place. Our tour guide discussed how they start and how they make sure the buildings aren't damaged. We also saw a memorial for the people who defended Spain and the walls of the city to keep invaders out. We walked past the hotel where Hemingway wrote his book The Sun Also Rises. The buildings where very cool and old. (Many pictures on FB)

I think we are going to try and go back to old town this weekend. There are many cool shops and restaurants we want to try! After old town, we walked back to the dorms. I got cleaned up and around 9pm a group of us headed to the park to chat and eat bread. The park is really close to the dorm and over looks a nice little pond. Again, it was nice to hang out with everyone and get to know them.

< Beginning of Running with the Bulls

 

June 6:

I had to be at the bus by 9am the morning because we were headed to Southern France. It took about 2 hours to get there and I slept the whole way, which was a good thing because the road was super curvy in the mountains. The town we visited was St Jean Pied de Port. It was a very cool little old town. It was very small and beautiful. We didn't have much time there because we were headed to go rafting. We grabbed lunch and then made our way to rafting. Rafting was so amazing! I had been twice before with OTEAM, but rafting in the mountains in Spain was so different. We had a captain and were able to do a lot of "tricks." We got to experience the emergency position during a rapid, so in case we would fall out. We also got to jump into the rapids from a rock and float down stream. After that, we made our way down stream and were able to jump from a 20ft cliff. That was very exciting and the water was freezing! We also flipped our raft, so the guide could show us how to pull others in. We played a few games in the raft like attacking other rafts by throwing people out and walking around the edge of the raft in circles. It was a perfect day, I mean what isn't perfect about rafting with cute French boys! :)

 After rafting, we loaded on the bus to go pick up the rest of the group that decided to go hiking. After driving up the mountain in a charter bus, we got stuck. Since the roads are so small, everyone was pretty nervous. We unloaded the bus so the driver could get turned around, but it was a perfect time to take pictures! It was beautiful! We hung out there for a bit waiting to figure out were everyone was and next thing we noticed the bus driver hoped in a car and drove off. We later found out he went to the top of the mountain to see if the bus would make it. Everyone made it back to the bus safely and we made it make to our dorms in one piece. :)

 

Getting stuck ^

 The view from being stuck ^

Once we returned we ate dinner and came back to our places. I decided to catch up my blog and upload pictures. So now I am up to date!



On a side note, I am really enjoying Spain! I'm making a lot of new friends. Pamplona is not what I expected, but it is beautiful. I thought it would be a very small, old city. There is an old part, but we are in the new area. I thought time would fly when I was here, but I can't believe I have only been here a week. I feel like it's been weeks! This is good because summer normally goes so fast. I miss my family and friends, but I'm staying busy enough not to think about it. The time change is hard to deal with to talk to anyone, but I'm making it work. I'm starting to adjust to the food and finding places I like. I believe at the end of this trip I might go into a carb como! In all, Spain is amazing and I can't wait to continue my adventure!

St Jean Pied de Port, France >