A Day in the Vida

Since February has largely been my month to stay home in Pamplona and experience the city, this post is dedicated to a typical day in Pamplona. While my schedule varies depending on classes and social activity, this is a little taste of what it is like to be at UNAV.

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     Wake-up: My earliest class at UNAV is 9:00am twice a week. My other days start at 10:00 am and noon, with Friday being class-free. Since I live about 10 minutes from the university, I generally wake up 40 minutes before class and have plenty of time to spare.

-          Class: Classes at UNAV last longer than those at USC. My longest class is 2.5 hours once a week, but all courses are broken up with a 15 minute break every hour. I like this model as it makes it easier to concentrate for a longer period of time, and also results in fewer classes in a week. The classes themselves are largely discussion based and free flowing. There is also considerably less physical work than in American universities. My only consistent assignment is a bi-weekly case analysis. There are also very few tests, meaning that the bulk of one’s grade comes from just a few tests and participation. This has its pros and its cons: while I appreciate the lack of busy work, there is a lot of pressure to do well on exams.

-          Lunch: After my morning class I come home and make lunch. This is more of a challenge than in the United States because “instant” isn’t a part of many food description in Spain. Frozen foods are pretty limited and unhealthy as well, so I’ve had to embrace cooking in earnest. While this took a little getting used to, I’ve finally moved past daily pasta dishes.

-          Siesta: That’s right, the siesta is real and it is glorious. This socially acceptable afternoon nap can be as short as 20 minutes, and it makes it much easier to reboot and go back to…

-          Class

-          Physical Activity: At this point in my day, I’m done with class and enjoy getting some exercise in. This varies from running around the Ciudadela or Yamaguchi Park or taking long walks through the Old Town, both of which provide great views and people watching opportunities.

-          Dinner: Dinner is fairly late here, and I’ve finally adjusted to waiting until seven, eight, or even nine to start cooking. It’s also generally a smaller meal than lunch.

-          Social Time: Spain is a country that values social time. It’s very common to meet up with friends in bars for a glass of wine or the local bakery for a pastry and talk. The study abroad students are always looking for new places to hang out, and there’s generally a group gathering at someone’s piso for movies, games, or chatting. 

Hope you enjoyed this walk through a day in Pamplona-Adios until next time!

(Pictures in order: La Ciudadela; Pastries from my favorite bakery; The Amigos Economics Building, The Bull Fighting Stadium)