Last Days in Spain

Hello from the United States!  It feels really good to be back home!  It seems so unreal that just last Monday I was walking around the city of Santander.  It was incredibly hard to leave, but I'm happy to be back.

Last Friday, we had a class dinner to celebrate the completion of classes.  It was held at the Palacio de la Magdalena here in Santander.  This palace was finished in 1911 for the king and queen of Spain when they used to vacation to Santander every summer.  Now the palace is the official building of the UIMP.  But I can tell people that I've eaten dinner in a royal palace!

The dinner was so nice because our entire group was there, along with all of our professors, the directors of our program, and the director of the UIMP.  We got to eat a variety of food including, bread, croquetes, calamarie, chicken, and ham.  For a university, the food was pretty decent.

After we ate, a couple of people spoke about our experiences here in Santander.  One of the professors recited a poem about saying goodbye.  Although I couldn't understand every word of the poem, I definitely could feel the emotions that he conveyed.  A bunch of people started crying, and some how I was able to hold back the tears forming in my eyes.

On Monday, we went to the UIMP to get our grades and to correct any discrepencies.  I had such a positive experience at the UIMP.  The three professors I had were so passionate about their subjects, and I learned so much in every class.

Monday was a really difficult day for me.  Not only was I struggling to pack two months worth of stuff into two bags, but I was also very emotional.  It was hard to imagine leaving the life that had become "normal."  I was going back and forth between wanting to go home and wanting to stay.  When school was really rough, I was so ready to go home.  But when the time came to leave, I wished that we could have a couple more days to enjoy Spain.

On Tuesday morning, we had to meet at the UIMP at 5:30am to take the bus to the airport.  It was very difficult to say goodbye to my madre.  As soon as I walked into the kitchen to say goodbye, I started bawling.  I actually had to leave the room to compose myself.  We talked about what a great experience I had in Spain, and she wished me the best with the rest of school.  I will miss my madre very much.  I really appreciated the relationship we formed in the two months I've been here.  I hope that I will be able to keep in touch with her, but she doesn't have an email, so that makes things harder.

Once we got to the airport, my sadness for leaving went away and my excitement for returning home appeared.  Our trip from Santander to Madrid and from Madrid to Chicago was really smooth, although the nine hour flight was pretty long.  It was so great to see my family waiting for me and to give my little sister a big hug.  As sad as I was to leave Santander, it certainly felt great to be back home.

Pamplona and Running of the Bulls

Written Sunday July 10

Finally classes are over!  We had quite the hectic last week filled with tests, essays, and presentations for every class.  It was very rough and I was pretty exhausted, but classes are over now.  Although I am really happy to finish with class, it makes me sad because the end of classes mean that the end of our study abroad program is near.

For our very last weekend in Spain, we experienced San Fermin, the crazy fiesta in Pamplona that is known for the Running of the Bulls.

At 3:00pm on Saturday, we met at the UIMP to get on the bus.  The ride took about three hours, but went pretty fast because I took a little nap.  The bus dropped us off at the bus station in Pamplona.  Right away, we saw a ton of people filling up the streets of the city.  During los sanfermines, everyone wears white shirts and white pants with a red pañuelo (scarf) and a red belt that you tie around your waist.  We were already wearing our white clothes, so we went to a mall to buy our red pañuelos and belts.  Once we had our proper attire, we were off to explore the city.

Walking down the streets in Pamplona

The major plaza in the city

A stage in the plaza where local bands played

All areas of the city were filled with people.  It was hard walking with our big group of 27 students through the enormous crowds.  Eventually we did break off depending on what people wanted to do.  We didn't have a hotel room or a hostel, so our plan was to stay up the entire night hanging out in Pamplona.  This what people typically do during la fiesta de San Fermín- stay up all night, watch the running of the bulls during the morning, sleep during early and late afternoon, and then repet.

A person can watch the encierro (running of the bulls) in two ways.  First, you can stand on the street to watch the encierro.  With this option, you really get to witness the environment on the street and see the runners and bulls racing by.  However, this does have several negative options.  The actual encierro only lasts about 2 minutes and 30 seconds, so you would only get to see about 10-20 seconds of the people and bulls.  In order to get a spot where you can actually see, you need to stake a spot starting at 4:00am.  Even if you do get a good spot, you will have to spend four hours fighting to keep your spot.  Although it is unlikely, there is the posiblity of the bull running into the crowd.  The second option was to buy tickets to see the end of the running of the bulls where the people and bulls run into the bullfighting arena.  You are guaranteed a seat without any threat of injury.  We decided to buy the tickets to watch the end of the encierro.

The bullfighting arena in the city

Fences lined up along the streets in preparation for the running of the bulls

For the entire night, we just walked around the city, danced at a club, and watched a concert in the plaza.  We even participated in a parade through the streets.  It was a lot of fun, and the time surprisngly went by pretty fast.  Our group did a really good job keeping track of everyone.  With thousands of people packed into the streets, it was very easy to get lost.

Watching the concert at night

Some locos climbing up the light posts during the concert

To basically sum up the atmosphere in Pamplona, the best word I can use to describe it is "crazy."  I have never been to anything like this in my life.  I suppose it is probably pretty similar to Marti Gras, but I don't really know.  The streets are filled with trash, empty bottles, and cups, but to be honest I was expecting there to be more trash than there actually was.  People cover every inch of the street, and their crisp, white clothes have now changed to the color pinkish purple. 

Around 3:00am, we were getting pretty tired, so we decided to hang out in a park.  It was located on the outskirts of the streets, so there weren't nearly as many people.  Like most of the people in the park, we actually fell asleep in the grass!  Some of the people come prepared and bring sleeping bags, but we just layed on the ground.  It was really cold!  I actually think I got at least 45 minutes of sleep, so that helped me get through the rest of the trip.

At 5:30, we decided to get seats to watch the encierro in the bullfighting arena.  We got there when there weren't to many people in the stands, so we got great seats.  A tradicional band played music while we waited for the running of the bulls to start.  The crowd kept us entertained by singing some songs, chanting, and doing the wave.  By the time 8:00 came around, the arena was packed and some people even had to stand because there weren't anymore seats.  A group of Spanish teenagers from Madrid sat next to me, so it was great to be able to talk to them and ask questions about what was going on.  I was really proud to have an effective conversation with people my age!  They did think I was a bit of a dork when I said that I liked the art museums in Madrid.

A band playing music prior to the encierro

The group of medics meeting before the running of the bulls

Even though we couldn't see the bulls running through the streets, we did see the encierro on a screen that was set up in the arena.  The race begins with the racers singing to San Fermín and asking for his protection during the encierro.  Then a rocket goes off to signify the beginning of the running of the bulls!  Hundereds of brave people run through the narrow streets trying to avoid the bulls.  You can get seriously injured from the bulls, but the major danger is avoiding the other runners.  It's easy to get knocked down in the huge crowd, and both people and bulls can trample you.  While we watched the encierro from the saftey of the stands in the arena, we did see a few people fall and get trampled.  Fortunately, there were no serious injuries or deaths during this particular encierro on Sunday.

Singing to San Fermín

The encierro begins!

To finish the race, all of the runners and bulls run into the arena.  A huge flood of white enters the arena, and later parts when the bulls enter.  The bulls are directly led into their pens.  These bulls will be used in the bullfights that take place every evening around 6:00pm.

The men starting to run into the arena

Here come the bulls!

Once everyone settles down from the excitement of the encierro, younger, weaker bulls are released into the crowd of runners.  I don't really understand the purpose of this, but the bull just runs around the sand of the arena.  This bull has a special apparatus placed onto its horns so that it doesn't injure the people.  Some runners try to touch the bull, while others (in my opinion) torture the animal.  They pulled its tail, grabbed onto its horns, and tried to jump on its back.  Apparently these actions are considered unacceptable, and other runners actually tried to beat up those who treated the bulls very poorly.

Trying to touch the little bull

When the little bull enters the arena, it jumps over the men who lay down in front of the pen.

Six different bulls are released into the crowd of runners.  Many people got trampled because they enticed the bull, but they got back up without any problems.  One person though got thrown off the bull when he tried to climb onto its back.  This man was carried off of the sand by other runners and given to the medics.

I really enjoyed watching the encierro or the running of the bulls, but I was unsure of how I felt about the little bulls running around the arena.  I really did not like how people would tease the bull, try to touch it, and sometimes go to far with their actions.  The crowd was really into it, but I didn't know who to cheer for- the runners or the bull.  I kept gasping whenever someone would fall or get very close to the bull.  The Spanish kids next to me kept telling me, "no pasa nada (don't worry)," but it didn't make me feel much better.

One guy from our group decided to run despite our begging him not to run.  He fortunatley did not get injured during the encierro or during the end with the bulls in the arena. He did say that he was a little too scared to go and touch the bull.

We got out of the arena at about 9:00, and our bus was coming at 10:00.  We decided to just walk back to the bus station and wait for the bus to come.  We were all really tired and dirty.  On the bus ride back, I think everyone slept the entire time.  We got back to the UIMP around 1:00pm.  I walked to my casa, ate some lunch, took a shower, and then napped for a couple more hours.

Overall, I am really happy that I went to the San Fermín/Running of the Bulls in Pamplona.  I do not think that I ever will want to go back to Pamplona for los sanfermines, but it was good to experience it once.  As a future Spanish teacher, I also think that it was beneficial to go.  Instead of just lecturing about the Running of the Bulls from a book, I can actually describe my experiences to my class.  It was a the perfect way to spend our last weekend in Spain.

Barcelona Day 4

We got up early again to finish our packing and check out of the hotel. We still had a little time before we had to go to the airport, so we walked to Casa Milà, another apartement designed by Antoni Gaudí.

The outside is known for its interesting shapes, but the most impressive part about this building is its terrace.  Unfortunately, we didn't go into the building to see it.  Gaudí basically designed the roof as a plesant area for the residents to walk around.

 

Casa Milà

Looking directly up from the ground

After we took lots of pictures and walked around the gift shop, we took a bus back to the airport.  The bus stop was located directly next to the 15M protests!  It is always very interesting to see the different protest sites in the different cities we visit.  The 15M protests in Barcelona are located in Plaza de Cataluña, a major plaza in the city. 

15M protests in Plaza de Cataluña

Another area of the protests.  It's very tiny and hard to see, but the people made a treehouse to sleep in the tree located on the far right of the picture.

The bus ride to the airport and the flight back to Santander went very smooth.  We really did have a great weekend visiting Barcelona.  We had plenty of time to see the sites we wanted to see without rushing.  Surprisingly, I wasn't too exhausted after the trip.  When I arrived back at my casa, I got a nap and prepared for another busy week at school.

Barcelona Day 3

Our Saturday began early at 8:30am when we quickly ate breakfast and got ready for more sightseeing.  We walked back to la Sagrada Familia so that we could beat the crowd to tour the inside of the church.  The line was fairly long when we arrived, but it moved pretty fast.

Walking into la Sagrada Familia was simply breathtaking.  Here are some pictures:

The ceiling is just so cool!  I love looking at all of the interesting shapes.

Another view of the ceiling

Stained glass windows located in the front of the church

Inside la Sagrada Familia

Inside la Sagrada Familia

The front of the church

Look at all the intricate details!  Every inch of the facade is covered in these decorations.

I was especially excited to take the elevator to the top of the church.  As I walked around, my legs were shaking because we were so high up.  The views of Barcelona were great.  It was especially cool to see views of la Sagrada Familia from another perspective.

View of Barcelona from on top of la Sagrada Familia.  You can see the Torre Agbar in the background.

Another view of Barcelona

We were so high up!

You could either take the elevator back down or you could climb down the 350 stairs.  We decided to take the stairs.  We got some more great views of Barcelona and la Sagrada Familia.  However, it was kind of scary climbing down the tiny, spiral stairs without having a rail to hold onto.

Inside of the tower looking down

Difficult spiral steps that we climbed down

After our great visit to the Sagrada Familia, we got lunch at a Mexican restaurant called Frida's.  This is the second time that I've been to a Mexican restaurant here in Spain.  Let me just say that the Mexican food in Spain is amazing and possibly better than the Mexican food that I've eaten in the United States.  I got the "Gringo," which were pretty similar to quesadillas.  It had meat prepared in the "al pastor" syle with cheese.  Very yummy!

Gringo tacos

Following our lunch, our group broke off.  The majority of the group went back to the hostel for a nap and shopping, while four of us (including myself) went to tour Camp Nou, the fútbol stadium of FC Barcelona.  I was especially excited to see the stadium because FC Barcelona recently won the UEFA Champions League's championship.

FC Barcelona is one of the two major fútbol teams in Spain.  Although there are many teams that play in the first division in Spain (like Santander's team!), Barcelona and Real Madrid are the two strongest teams.  This year, Barcelona won both La Liga (the championship for all first division teams in Spain) and the Champion's League (championship for the top fútbol teams in Europe).  The majority of FC Barcelona players also play for Spain's national team, so FC Barcelona is pretty good.

Outside of Camp Nou

The trophy room

The European Champion's Club trophy for winning the Champion's League in 2011

The field and stands.  The seats read, "More Than a Club."

Visitor's seats 

Press box

View of the field from the press box

After our tour of the beautiful stadium, we went back to our hostel and met up with the rest of our group for dinner.  We didn't stay out very late so we could pack and get ready for our return trip the next day.

Barcelona Day 2

After a pretty good night's sleep, I woke up at 9:30 in the morning.  Right away, we all went to get breakfast.  The hostel had a decent breakfast spread including toast, muffins, cereal, and café con leche.  Once we finished eating, we got ready and then headed out to see Barcelona!

Our first stop was Casa Batlló.  As I mentioned before, this is an apartment designed by Antoni Gaudí.  When you walk down the street, this building immediately catches your attention because it's like no other building you've seen.  Using designs found in nature, Gaudí makes his building look like an under-the-sea paradise.  Apparently, the inside as well as the terrace areas are just as impressive as the outside facade.

Casa Batlló.  The balconies are designed in the shape of a mask.

Detail of Casa Batlló

From there, we walked to la Sagrada Familia, an enormous, impressive, and beautiful church designed by the architect genius Gaudí.  Gaudí began working on the project in 1883, but his death in 1926, as well as other factors like the Spanish Civil War, caused delays in the completion of the church.  La Sagrada Familia is still currently underconstruction with the goal to complete it by 2026, the one-hundred year anniversary of Gaudí's death.

The outside facade of the church is filled with intricate details and designs that combine nature decorations with visual representations of the Bible.  Here are some of my pictures from the outside of la Sagrada Familia:

Front of la Sagrada Familia

Front and side view of the church.  The lighter facade on the left is the part that has been constructed more recently.

Back of la Sagrada Familia

Detail of the facade on the back of the church

We wanted to go inside the church, but the line was really long and moving slowly because we arrived later in the day.  We decided that we would get up early on Saturday so we could see the inside and take an elevator to the top of the church.

Once we finished taking lots of pictures of la Sagrada Familia, we then traveled to another one of Gaudí's projects, Park Guell (built from 1900-1914).  It began as a housing project, but the idea was soon abandoned.  Now, it serves as a beautiful park that all can enjoy.

Words cannot express how amazing this park is.  I try and fail to come up with adjectives to describe the use of interesting shapes and landscapes.

So pretty! 

View from the opposite side.  I love the flowers.

View from the top of the structure

As you continue walking, you arrive to the open space plaza area.  This was originally constructed to be a market for those who lived in the houses.  From the balcony area, you can view the entire city of Barcelona and even see Gaudí's Sagrada Familia in the distance.

The balcony which doubles as a bench located on the plaza area.  It looks out over a beautiful view of Barcelona.

Another cool structure that you can walk through.  This is shaped like an ocean wave.

Then, we walked underneath the plaza to the front entrance of the park where we saw the lizard, which is the symbol of the park, and the gingerbread houses.

Front entrance to Park Guell.  The top of the building is where the the plaza is located.

The gingerbread houses in the front of Park Guell.  I'm not sure if they are actually called gingerbread houses, but they get the nickname because they look like a gingerbread house from Hansel and Gretel.

Even though it feels like we saw so much of the park, we actually only walked around a very small portion of it.  Someday when I return to Spain, I would love to spend an entire day walking through the park.

Since it was quite the walk to Park Guell, we decided to take the bus back to our hostel.  We got a little nap in before we began our fun evening.

Our hostel was great because it provided many tours throughout the city.  For our evening entertainment, we took a tour where we got tapas at a local restaurant and watched a flamenco show.

Tapas!  The two on the left were croquettes with chorizo while the three on the right were ham and cheese.

The flamenco show was really cool.  We have learned a lot about flamenco in my culture class, so it was neat to actually see a performance.  A drummer, guitar player, and a male and female singer made up the "flamenco band."  Two female dancers performed together and then did solo dances.  It is incredible how fast they are able to tap their feet!

Flamenco dancers with the band behind them

Up-close on the dancers

After the performance, we decided to return to the hostel to get some sleep before our early day on Saturday.