Bienvenidos a Pamplona

After a grand total of twenty hours of travel, including three separate flights, I arrived in Pamplona, Spain the evening of January 6^th. Unfortunately, nothing was open because the Spanish give and receive Christmas presents on this day, which is known as Día de Reyes, or Day of the Kings. So I spent my first evening in Pamplona getting the key to my flat, or piso, and moving in. My roommates weren’t back from their holidays yet, so I had the whole place to myself.  Below are highlights from the week and half since my arrival. Checkout the picture of Pamplona from the city outskirts!

Piso

My piso is about 5 minutes from campus and 15-20 from the city center in a neighborhood called Iturrama.  The location is perfect because everyone walks everywhere here. I live with two permanent UNAV students, one from Spain and one from Ecuador. The piso has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and a balcony. I live right next to a supermarket called Eroski, which is very convenient for daily shopping trips rather than buying a week’s worth of groceries all at once. Both of my roommates are very nice, so it’s worked out very well so far.

Classes

I am taking 5 business classes in English and one Spanish class through UNAV’s language program, ILCE. Most of my classes are fairly small, from 10-30 people. It’s hard to tell for sure, though, because this past week was the add/drop week, during which students are allowed to attend any classes they would like to get a good idea of the course and professor. Next week classes become permanent. (Pictured below: the newly built economics building and the more traditional Edificio Central, or Central Building)

Language

One of the most interesting aspects of study abroad thus far has been the number of people who speak English and the high quality of their abilities. There are over one hundred exchange students, and every individual I’ve spoken with has had impeccable English, often in addition to one or two other languages outside of their native tongue. Some even say that they came to Spain to improve their English with the other exchange students. The term that comes to mind for me is “English Privilege”. Everyone here seems to know at least a bit of English, and the English speakers simply do not have to speak Spanish if they don’t want to. That being said, I’ve had several opportunities to practice my speaking, not just with Spaniards but with students from all over Latin America and other parts of Europe.

Social

Pamplona, though a small city, is always teeming with life. The streets are almost always full of people socializing and running errands. There are lots of pastelerías, or bakeries, as well as bars where friends gather to talk and spend time together. Socialization is clearly a very important factor in Spanish life, and something that I have greatly appreciated during my short time here so far. I have already had the opportunity to meet some native students of UNAV, including my international mentor, and many exchange students from all over the world. It’s somewhat mind-blowing to be sitting at a café with friends, and realize that out of the entire group no one is from the same country. Even though we come from different cultures and backgrounds, everyone is very friendly and I’m finding that those of our generation share many similarities despite geographic diversity.

Some of the standout events so far have been a day trip to the Basque city of San Sebastian, juevintxos, and watching the local soccer team play a game. The trip to San Sebastian was organized by the international committee and was a great opportunity to meet other exchange students as we walked around the beach and the city. juevintxos (pronounced Hue-veen-chos) occurs every Thursday and is a combination of the words pintxos (tapas) and jueves (Thursday). During juevintxos, people from all of the city go to bars to sample different pintxos and drinks which are only 2 euro apiece. During juevintxos, the streets are packed not only with college students but with adults of all ages. It’s a very popular event and many people go every week. Finally, the international committee provided tickets for the exchange students to see Osasuna, the local fútbol team play. The stadium is twenty minutes away by foot, and is home to some of the most passionate fans I’ve ever seen. Though the final score was 0-0, the fans never stopped singing and cheering for a single moment.

I’m finding that Pamplona is already starting to feel like home. It’s a very comfortable and quaint city, and I’m so happy to be able to share it with all of you! Adios for now and thanks for reading!

(Photo 1: The local soccer stadium, home of the Osasuna! 
Photo 2: A sand artist in San Sebastian
Photo 3: The bay at San Sebastian-pretty, but very cold)

 (Photo 4: The crowded streets during juevintxos
Photo 5: A typical juevintxo)