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San Sebastian, Summer II, 2005
Journal:
July 18, 2005
Last week was packed with incredible experiences...
First we had an optional excursion to "Los San Fermines" in Pamplona - the running of the bulls! We woke up early, dressed appropriately wearing white with our red pañuelos tied around our necks, and headed by bus to Pamplona. We arrived at 8am just in time to see the bulls enter the bull ring. Albeit a short 5 minute bull run, it was truly an awesome cultural experience!
Monte Igueldo is another mountain in this town boasting a beautiful view of the city from its peak. We traveled up quite luxuriously, by cable car rather than hiking! It was an enjoyable way to travel up a mountain! At the top of the mountain we were first excited with the view, taking pictures looking down over San Sebastian and pointing to where we each live, then we turned around to realize there is a small amusement park! Some of us went for a little boat ride, others found giant trampolines while some chose to simply enjoy the view over an ice cream cone.
Friday evening we escaped from the heat and enjoyed the air-conditioning provided by the local movie theater. A group of us saw Madagascar and were surprised at how our Spanish has improved- we were able to understand all the words and laugh at all the jokes! (something we were nervous about missing out on)
Saturday we headed out across the border in a private bus to Biarritz & St. Jean de Luc, two beautiful Basque costal towns in the south of France. We stopped in St. Jean de Luc to stroll through town along the beach, eat lunch and soak in the French culture. Some of us tried French Crepes with chocolate while others enjoyed sandwiches on baguettes and real "french" fries! We arrived in Biarritz to the décor and excitement of its current Surf Festival. This was fun to watch even though the waves weren't that big. After a short hike around the town, we claimed our spots on the sandy beaches and relaxed the rest of the afternoon.
Classes are going great. We're really bonding with our classmates and having a fun time in school. Lots of Spanish is being learned and confidence with speaking is increasing! It's great to hear so much Spanish being practiced inside and outside of class!
It's hard to believe that we only have one week left in this town we have all started to call home. Though the time seems to be flying by, friendships and memories are being made that will last a life time!
July 11, 2005
Back at you live from Espana!
The students are feeling more at home here in San Sebastian and thanks to the sunny weather we have been busy exploring! On Friday afternoon we hiked up Monte Urgull and took some beautiful pictures of the Cantabrian Sea from atop. When we were standing their admiring the city, a local man came up and asked where we were from and started talking to us. He proved to be a wealth of information about the city and also gave the students a great opportunity to practice their Spanish!
On Saturday we traveled to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. Below you will see the pictures of this architectural wonder! The Guggenheim in Bilbao is one of the 5 Guggenheim Foundation museums in the world and is arguably the most unique in design and presence. So far, this wins the title of “favorite museum” by the students and they all enjoyed the enormous puppy made of flowers that stands “guard” at the front of the museum walkway.
After the museum we traveled to a remote scenic trail that led all the way down to the ocean. It was unbelievable! We definitely appreciated the view after the challenging hike up – we all rang the bell at the top of the church that is located on an island. (Check out the pictures of the church on the island that is connected by “the great wall”) Those who ring the bell 3 times will have good luck.
Sunday was filled with warm sunshine and EVERYONE took advantage of it by spending the afternoon relaxing on the beach. More to come…Enjoy the pics!
July 8, 2005
Hola to everyone!
We have been busy this week getting settled in to our homestays and adjusting to the Spain schedule. I have been very proud of the positive attitudes by everyone since it has been raining off and on since we arrived on Sunday evening. The weather is supposed to clear up this afternoon and we should have a beautiful weekend.
Tomorrow we are traveling to Bilbao for the day to visit the Guggenheim Museum www.guggenheim.org and tour the city. Although it hasnt been the best beach weather this week, we have stayed busy none the less touring the city and on Wednesday we So far we have visited the Aquarium located right on the water, the girls have done lots of shopping (July is the month of sales in Spain), and the boys have still managed to surf most of the days.
All the students have taken to an old Spanish tradition in the afternoon of going out for Chocolate y Churros (hot chocolate and churros.) A great way to socialize!
More photos to come...Adios!
July 5, 2005
Live from Spain!
We had a great time touring Segovia and Burgos on Saturday and Sunday. In Segovia we were greeting by a parade of musicians playing typical music from this region of Spain. The students really enjoyed the visit to the Alcazar Castle -the place where Christopher Columbus asked Queen Isabella for money to 'discover' America. We then had a nice lunch and continued on our way to Burgos.
The hotel in Burgos is an old palace located near the famous gothic cathedral with views of the entire city. The pool was a great break from a long day of traveling. We then went out to grab dinner and quickly realized that ththe entire city was celebrated San Pedro day (a big holiday/festival for Burgos.) There were tons of street performers and the tapas festival was a great way for everyone to taste the local cuisine. We ended the night with what most everyone agreed to be the best fireworks show ever with the huge cathedral as the backdrop!
We then arrived in San Sebastian last night to meet and greet the homestay families. There were lots of hugs, laughs, and nervousness but everyone seemed to be very happy with their families. This morning the students took a placement test at school and were divided into different classes by level. Unfortunately it was raining this morning so students got a little wet heading to school - hopefully it will clear up by this afternoon for our orientation tour.
Everyone is getting along great and we definitely have a fun group dynamic - lots of laughs and memories already. More updates to come...
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