Navarre

By now you probably roll your eyes when I tell you that I've been busy. Its truly incredible though; every week feels like the busiest week of my life...until the next week comes. I guess this can be seen in the number of posts/ frequency of my posts on this blog.

Two weeks ago (after returning from Florence) we did not have classes for IES and, instead, had a 'study week'. This was not a week off. Monday through Thursday IES hosted 'conferences', lectures from various professors on a broad range of topics from economics to politics to culture to the movie 'Vicky Christina Barcelona'. I attended a lecture on the current financial crisis and the differences between the housing and banking systems of Spain and the U.S., as well as what Spain can do to avoid a collapse similar to that of the United States. It was pretty interesting to hear why Spain has been able to avoid the credit crisis that many countries in the world are currently facing. I would be happy to share what I learned with anyone who is interested.

Thursday morning we had to wake up bright and early to head to Navarre, a region to the West of Catalunya, where we would spend the next 3 full days. On the way to our destination, Pamplona, my bus stopped in a small town called Olite. We were supposed to grab a quick lunch and then have a formal walking tour of the town. I don't think either of the two Olite restaurants were quite prepared for 400 American students wanting to have a quick lunch. That, combined with the terrential rain, made the walking tour seem like an impossibility. After finally finishing lunch we had about 10 minutes until we had to be back on the bus. I decided to lead my own walking tour and ran up to the top of the castle in the town.

After Olite we continued on to Pamplona. Here we discovered the rediculous rule requiring bus drivers to stop and take a break every two hours. I was flambergasted...I couldn't even make it down to school without stopping if this were required in the United States. Finally we made it to our hotel in Pamplona. We checked in, had a horrible dinner provided by the hotel, hung out at a local bar for a little bit, and went to bed. Roommates were randomly assigned by bus (busses made up of several Spanish classes of the same level) Ironically I was assigned Bryan Dinninis, Matt's roommate here, as my roommate in Pamplona.

Friday morning our phone rang at 8:20. I answered to one of the IES staff members saying, "they are waiting for you at breakfast." We were supposed to get up at 7:45 and be down to breakfast by 8:15. Knowing that everyone else probably received the same call we causally made our way down to breakfast. Friday we started out by going to a vineyard. Our German (Australian sounding) tour guide translated the Spanish vineyard tour guide into English-probably unnecessary for the Advanced bus. I really enjoyed seeing how the vineyard functioned, as well as seeing the 75 year old bottles of wine. The 'wine fountain' out of the wall was pretty cool, as well. The vineyard was attached to a monestary that we walked through and learned a little about-not as cool.

After the vineyard we went to another nearby town (only an hour away). Another old Spanish village, more old churches, more crowded places to eat. At least there is a real rhythm to these mandatory IES trips. Then back on the bus and back to the hotel. After a much needed siesta we had another horrible dinner at the hotel. I then went across the park outside our hotel to a hotel across the way to hang out with some kids there before heading back to the same local bar as the night before.

Saturday morning was, shockingly, early. 7:45=wake up call...I pick up and hang up the phone without even putting it to my ear. 8:20= call #2...I put the receiver to my ear and start hearing the beginning of the same sentence I had heard the day before- hang up. 8:55=call #3. "Your bus is waiting for you." Damn, time to get up. Bryan and I quickly gathered our things and ran downstairs. As I walked into the breakfast room I was told there was not time to eat. I forced my way in to grab a quick piece of bread and a glass of water before running down to the lobby where we...waited for the bus for 20 minutes. Another theme of IES trips: hurry, hurry, hurry, wait.

The bus finally got on its way to downtown Pamplona. We walked around the city for a bit, saw the path of the running of the bulls, learned about the city hall and the towns history, walked into the bull fighting ring, and...waited. It was interesting to learn about the Ernest Hemingway connection to the city though. After about an hour of standing around the bus picked us up to head back to Barcelona. We only had to stop twice (every two hours) en route to a 6 1/2 hour return trip.

Sunday morning I slept in.