About a couple weeks ago (I'm not very good at keeping up with time anymore) a group of 17 girls from a school in Cleveland came to Pamplona on a short term exchange between their school in America and mine.
And the chaperone allowed myself, Tabs and Alex to join them on their field trips in and around Pamplona! This may not sound terribly exciting to others, but we were excited to miss a week of school.
We visited the city hall, bullring, a desert in southern Navarra, conquered a ropes course in northern Navarra, learned about Basque witch trials, were taught how to make pintxos and saw the cathedral in Pamplona. The three of us had a great time getting to know the girls and were so thankful we even got to join them.
The girls were all very nice and eager to hear about our long term exchanges (theirs seemed more like a vacation in comparison). It was great to be around fellow Americans and to show them our lives in Pamplona. And then they left and we had to go back to school:( When I cam back after being absent for 6 days, my homeroom teacher said "Homebre Natalie, cuanto tiempo sin verte!" Translation: "Natalie, it's been so long since we've seen you!" Yeah, 6 days didn't seem that long to me
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Some People Do This To Make Money
...But that doesn't make a middle aged man in an ill fitting Spiderman costume any less unappealing or less creepy.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Carnaval
I forgot to mention this in the blog about my trip.
Carnival (think the big floats and parades in Brazil this time of year-yup, that's Carnival) is celebrated in Spain and Portugal.
My fellow exchange students and I found ourselves in Lisboa during Carnival. And what a great place to be to celebrate it for the first time! Celebrations in Portugal aren't as big or elaborate as Brazil, but it was still fun nonetheless.
During the day you'll find most kids dressed up, with pirates and princesses being the most popular costumes for kids by far. At night, it's the adults turn to dress up.
Like this guy.
This begins the season of Lent. It of course ends with Easter (or some Holy day around there). And for that day, I plan on being in London. I know, I can't believe this is my life either.
Carnival (think the big floats and parades in Brazil this time of year-yup, that's Carnival) is celebrated in Spain and Portugal.
My fellow exchange students and I found ourselves in Lisboa during Carnival. And what a great place to be to celebrate it for the first time! Celebrations in Portugal aren't as big or elaborate as Brazil, but it was still fun nonetheless.
During the day you'll find most kids dressed up, with pirates and princesses being the most popular costumes for kids by far. At night, it's the adults turn to dress up.
Like this guy.
This begins the season of Lent. It of course ends with Easter (or some Holy day around there). And for that day, I plan on being in London. I know, I can't believe this is my life either.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Andalucia & Portugal: Rotary Trip
I guess since I've been back five days, I should write something about this trip.
In short, it was fabulous.
In long, the Pamplonians and I left for Madrid early Tuesday morning, arrived before lunch, lunched at Starbucks and explored the city. Museums were visited, many pictures taken, and much was seen. Wednesday afternoon we joined 45 of our fellow Rotary exchange students. Then we departed for Granada. Thursday in Granada we saw the famous Alhambra, then left for Cordoba to see la mezquita (the former mosque converted into a church), then boarded the bus once again for Sevilla. Friday we spent the day in Sevilla, seeing most of the famous sights there (as well as the night life).Saturday we again boarded the bus for another city, this time Huelva. Huelva--no offense--did not offer much and the weather sucked. It was cold and rainy. This, added to the fact that we stopped to see recreations of Christopher Columbus' ships, bored pretty much everyone.
It felt good to back in the South, even though it wasn't the south of my native country. Like the south in the US, people from Andalucia have accents that can be difficult to understand (even for the Spanish) and the way of life appeared a bit more relaxed. Also, the architecture was incredibly different from northern Spain. Andalucia was controlled by Moors for several centuries, thus leaving southern Spain with buildings and structures more similiar northern Africa than northern Spain.
But! after that it was off to Portugal! The Portuguese have one of the most beautiful countries I've ever seen and I wouldn't mind at all going back there someday. Lisboa isn't a very large city compared to other European capitals, but I loved it nonetheless. It's Manuelian architecture is a bit distinct from that of Spain. We visited a few towns outside the capital, as well as some gorgeous beaches. Lisboa is easily my favorite city of the trip. The city, the people, the language, the night life--all were beautiful and fabulous.
After a few days in Portugal (I really don't remember how many), we departed for Caceres to see some Roman ruins and then for Salamanca (cuz it's old).
Missing school and sightseeing were of course some of the highlights of the trip. But what most of us enjoyed was getting to talk to other exchangers. It was so wonderful to talk to people who have experienced the same things and understand better than anyone what this year is actually like.
Coming back to real life is hard after such an amazing trip, but unfortunately we all had to. Friday we arrived in Madrid after almost two weeks together, new friends made, old friends reunited, all sad to leave each other.
For lunch Friday, and this was one of my favorite meals just because of its familiarity, the Pamplonians and I, plus some of our new friends, dined at Taco Bell. The taste and smell were just like the American counterpart--the only difference being price. Taco Bell in Spain is not as cheap as it should be.
Also, I did a lot, I mean A LOT, of shopping on this trip. Many gifts and postcards were bought and some lucky people out there can expect gifts! Some of you reading this, well, you just aren't as lucky.
In short, it was fabulous.
In long, the Pamplonians and I left for Madrid early Tuesday morning, arrived before lunch, lunched at Starbucks and explored the city. Museums were visited, many pictures taken, and much was seen. Wednesday afternoon we joined 45 of our fellow Rotary exchange students. Then we departed for Granada. Thursday in Granada we saw the famous Alhambra, then left for Cordoba to see la mezquita (the former mosque converted into a church), then boarded the bus once again for Sevilla. Friday we spent the day in Sevilla, seeing most of the famous sights there (as well as the night life).Saturday we again boarded the bus for another city, this time Huelva. Huelva--no offense--did not offer much and the weather sucked. It was cold and rainy. This, added to the fact that we stopped to see recreations of Christopher Columbus' ships, bored pretty much everyone.
It felt good to back in the South, even though it wasn't the south of my native country. Like the south in the US, people from Andalucia have accents that can be difficult to understand (even for the Spanish) and the way of life appeared a bit more relaxed. Also, the architecture was incredibly different from northern Spain. Andalucia was controlled by Moors for several centuries, thus leaving southern Spain with buildings and structures more similiar northern Africa than northern Spain.
But! after that it was off to Portugal! The Portuguese have one of the most beautiful countries I've ever seen and I wouldn't mind at all going back there someday. Lisboa isn't a very large city compared to other European capitals, but I loved it nonetheless. It's Manuelian architecture is a bit distinct from that of Spain. We visited a few towns outside the capital, as well as some gorgeous beaches. Lisboa is easily my favorite city of the trip. The city, the people, the language, the night life--all were beautiful and fabulous.
After a few days in Portugal (I really don't remember how many), we departed for Caceres to see some Roman ruins and then for Salamanca (cuz it's old).
Missing school and sightseeing were of course some of the highlights of the trip. But what most of us enjoyed was getting to talk to other exchangers. It was so wonderful to talk to people who have experienced the same things and understand better than anyone what this year is actually like.
Coming back to real life is hard after such an amazing trip, but unfortunately we all had to. Friday we arrived in Madrid after almost two weeks together, new friends made, old friends reunited, all sad to leave each other.
For lunch Friday, and this was one of my favorite meals just because of its familiarity, the Pamplonians and I, plus some of our new friends, dined at Taco Bell. The taste and smell were just like the American counterpart--the only difference being price. Taco Bell in Spain is not as cheap as it should be.
Also, I did a lot, I mean A LOT, of shopping on this trip. Many gifts and postcards were bought and some lucky people out there can expect gifts! Some of you reading this, well, you just aren't as lucky.
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