I've been pretty neglectful of the blog for a while so I thought I'd do an update. Last week was exam week which was pretty stressful since I was pretty much out of order due to food poisoning (my own diagnosis and own fault) for most of Saturday and Sunday. I think I did okay on my finals, I think it was my Cuba paper that suffered the most, but I guess I have to wait and see. It was weird to say goodbye to everyone when I didn't really feel like I was leaving, I had a big dinner with all my friends Thursday night at a Mexican restaurant which was delicious and a really great time.
I left Friday morning to catch the 8 oclock bus but I wasn't thinking about the holiday (something with San Isidro, Madrid's patron saint) and that everyone had a long weekend, so that bus was full and I was lucky to get a ticket for the 10 AM one. But after a little bit of a wait and then a 5 hour bus ride, I arrived and went upstairs to wait for Irene but she was running all around the bus station looking for me. I had a sandwich with them and we headed out and went to Irene's English classes that she gives. They are in an English teacher named Maria's house and students come at certain times based on age. There was a group of 3 eight year old (I think) boys who we played boggle and hangman with. Irene beat me in boggle by three words... pretty sad. After we took the bus to the center of town and walked around for a while. It's a really pretty city, not too big but still has lots of shopping.
After I had the exciting task of sitting in the back of the car as Irene had driving lessons. In Pamplona it is much more difficult because they have to learn on a standard and in a city. Anyways it was quite a nerve-wracking experience, she wasn't that bad, it's just her stops were a little abrupt. Afterwards we met up with her mom and her mom's friend and cousin in a bar near the plaza. I said goodbye to Irene for the weekend so she could go stay at her grandmother's house and study for a big Chem exam on Monday.
I got the feeling the bar was kind of "their place" because they knew everyone that worked there. We went to the terrace which was a covered outdoor seating place and sat with an older gentleman whose sons I think own the place (I'm not exactly sure but that's what I got out of the conversation). We ordered ham, a Spanish specialty, and some sort of variety of chicken fingers. They then proceeded to all fight over the check and the older man ended up paying for all the wine and tapas. I was so ready for bed after a week of exams and a day full of bus riding and going around Pamplona. They have a pretty long car ride home because they actually live in a small town about 35 minutes outside the city. But it is very peaceful, with a river flowing by and they even have two horses.
The next day the weather was beautiful. I sat out in the sun for a while reading a book in Spanish about Hemingway's experience with San Fermin, the running of the bulls festival that I will be here to experience in July. I've heard a little bit about it at least every day, so I'm getting really excited for it. After I read a little bit I went to the store with Mercedes, Irene's mom, to look for a bigger paella pan for the big lunch she was putting on. I helped her with as much as possible but she was running around getting things ready so mostly I just opted to stay out of her way. I met a bunch of their friends and it was a great time. Tons of good food, lots of wine, and lots of laughs. Anne Sophe (the student from Canada they are hosting) and I took a Spanish style siesta after dinner and they all found it funny that the two non-spanish girls were the ones to take a nap.
The next day was another big food day. We went to Huesca up in the mountains for Nieves' birthday (Mercedes' cousin I think) Because the night before they had chuleton, a big steak, for dinner and I was still too full to eat after the paella, Anne Sophe and I decided to order it for lunch. It was HUGE. I think it gets translated to T-bone steak, although it wasn't exactly, maybe prime rib but not that good. I got a piece that was way too hard to cut though so I pretty much just destroyed it and I felt like a little girl when Mercedes had to cut it for me. And of course there was birthday cake, and I HAD to try both kinds, so on top of salad, sausage type appetizers, and a monster steak and fries, I had to eat too slices of cake. Needless to say I didn't eat dinner again.
Monday and Tuesday while Irene had more exams I was just kind of lazy around the house, reading a bit, unpacking my suitcase, and watching tv with Mercedes (which eventually turned into napping on the couch). We did however go to their version of Sam's club or Costco called Makro to help out with the shopping and we loaded up on food. Today Irene doesn't have any exams or school so we'll get to hang out, maybe go for a run, and do a bit of sunbathing if the sun doesn't go away.
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