Shannon Cain '13

Classes are officially done, we have received our diplomas, and in only one day, I will be arriving in Leon. The excursions of the past week include a wine tasting, a trip to Loyola (the birthplace of St. Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuit order), and a day in Bilbao spent at the Guggenheim museum of modern art. I wouldn’t say that I’m a huge fan of modern art because I really haven’t seen much until now, but it was interesting to see some of the exhibits. Sure, there were some things that I did not have a clue how they ended up there, but overall, I really enjoyed walking around there for a few hours. Our final weekend here also consisted of a couple of birthday celebrations at one of the discotecas as we spent our last few days together as a group before we separate.

Looking back on these past three weeks, I have had an amazing experience and I can’t believe that the time went by so fast. Before arriving in Pamplona, I didn’t have many expectations about this orientation program. I had been told by previous students that these would be some of the best three weeks, and I’ve gotta say, my time here has been incredible! I had no idea that we would all become so close with each other and that I would feel so comfortable here. This was definitely a great preparation for this year and I’m so happy to have had this opportunity.  Even though we’re all a little sad to be leaving each other, it will be great to go to our respective cities (Leon, Coruna, and Palma).

At this point, it still feels pretty surreal that I am living in Spain for the year and not just visiting for a few weeks. I am definitely excited to go to Leon, but also very anxious/nervous as to what to expect. I’ve communicated with my host Madre a little via email but I am definitely anxious to actually meet her. At the same time, I’m also really excited to be able to get to know the city of Leon. After only three weeks in Pamplona, I felt like I started to get a sense of where everything was. Sure, it may have taken going on a run by myself, a couple wrong turns, and getting slightly lost in order to finally get a sense of direction in the city! I didn’t even mind that my quick run turned into 50 minutes long because everything around me was beautiful.

Overall, I’m very excited to see what Leon has to offer and my next update will be from my home for the next ten months!

¡Hasta pronto!

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Today marks the first day of classes for everyone back at HC! While I’m missing my friends who have been busy settling in for another year on the hill, I really can’t imagine being anywhere else right now.

We’re currently wrapping up our classes in Pamplona, and there’s exactly one week until I will be in Leon, my permanent residence for this year!  We’re getting ready to take exams for our classes and we have one final weekend with all of us together in Pamplona.

Last Saturday, we had an extremely busy day and we travelled nonstop. Our first stop was to a huge gorge in Navarra, known as the Foz de Lumbier. It was an absolutely beautiful walk along the gorge, through two pitch black tunnels, and over the “Devil’s Bridge” (just as scary as it sounds). It was a great way to start the day and we quickly moved on to our next destination: Ochagavia. As we got off the bus, we saw the picturesque town; I felt like I had stepped back in time as all of the locals dressed up in traditional clothing and horses, sheep, and cows roamed the streets. It turns out that the townspeople were celebrating a festival that day and I was very entertained by the sight.

From there, we stopped at a town called Roncesvalles. Located on the border of France, this is where the Camino de Santiago begins. The Camino is a religious pilgrimage that goes through the northern portion of Spain and is renown throughout Europe. It’s 750km long and usually takes at least a month to complete. I decided in class today that I would add this to my bucket list for sometime in the future, so I definitely have an excuse to return! From there, we crossed the border and headed into France for a few hours. (I know it sounds crazy but it really was that simple).  Despite the fact that I know maybe 5 words in French, I had a great time walking in the small town of San Juan de Pie del Puerto. Naturally, I was determined to get some crepes while in France (I highly recommend them) and spent time browsing through the shops. This excursion made me realize how excited I am to take weekend trips to different European countries because it is so easy to get from one place to another.

In the past two weeks, we’ve also had the chance to go to two different castles in Navarra: Olite and the Castillo de Javier. Both were incredible! Seriously, how often do you get to spend an afternoon walking around a castle? The castle of Olite was the home to the King and Queen of Navarra and the other was home to San Francisco de Javier- a companion of Saint Ignatius of Loyola who founded the Jesuits. They were both very interesting and it was a lot of fun (not to mention a good workout) climbing up the narrow stairs to the highest tower!

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It’s hard to believe that our first week here in Pamplona is already over! After a week, I’ve been starting to miss family and friends and it’s definitely hard to be away from home (Thank God for Skype at least!)  However, all of us here have really begun to get to know each other and it’s nice to be together for an orientation. We’re finally settling into our hotel (it took us a week to: 1. find the dish soap in the cupboard, and 2. realize that the “bin” we were using as a trash can ended up being an umbrella holder. At least the housekeeping staff was nice enough to put a trash bag in there for us. I can’t imagine what they might think of us!).

On Thursday, we all went to a dance class so that we could learn how to rumba, and I learned how uncoordinated I really am. Despite the lack of rhythm, I had a lot of fun learning some of the steps. My favorite part about the class was definitely the classical Spanish dance that our instructors performed for us in the end.

Yesterday we had our first weekend excursion to San Sebastian. We have trips planned each weekend while we are here in Pamplona and we were all very excited to go to the beach. It was about an hour drive from Pamplona to San Sebastian and we arrived at about 10am. After walking around the city for a little with the entire group, we had the whole day to ourselves and we enjoyed the free time.

After walking around the city, a few of us decided to grab some lunch at a café and I enjoyed an awesome tortilla sandwich. After this delicious meal, I cannot wait for some home-cooked Spanish cuisine instead of the university cafeteria food! As we finished eating at the café, we saw a large group of protesters walking down the street. We learned that they were protesting for the independence of the Basque country: a province in Spain that considers itself completely different from the rest of the country and seeks autonomy. I had learned about this in previous Spanish classes, but I found it to be very interesting to be seeing this protest firsthand.

After lunch, we then headed to the beach where we relaxed, took a nap, and swam in the water. We had a good chance to relax and enjoy the amazing weather! This past week has been extremely hot, so it was really nice to spend some time on the beach. Aside from a little sunburn, overall we had a great day in San Sebastian!

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After a long and exhausting day, we arrived in Pamplona on Monday!  I travelled with Brooke and Kelsey, two students who are also studying in Leon this year. We flew together from Boston to Madrid and arrived very early on Monday morning.  Out of the three of us, Brooke is the only one who has been to Spain before and she stayed with a host family in Madrid for six weeks. She had arranged for them to meet us at the airport and they were a HUGE help with our luggage, talking to us about the city, and helping us get to the train station. Because we each had two big suitcases (I attempted to pack lightly), it would have been really difficult on our own. I honestly don’t know what I would have done without them.  From the airport, we took the metro to get to the train station. While waiting for our train, we stopped to get an authentic Spanish breakfast: tortilla Espanola. ¡Muy deliciosa! We also had time to take a quick tour of Madrid by car. The city was very pretty and drove by the Royal Palace, museums, older historical buildings, and beautiful parks. I would definitely love to spend some more time in Madrid later on but I was very anxious to get to Pamplona.

From Madrid, we took a train to Pamplona, and later a taxi to our hotel. The hotel is very nice and it’s about a 10 minute walk to the university from there. We’ll be staying here for the next three weeks (altogether there are 22 Holy Cross students here who are studying abroad in Spain). The city itself is somewhat small, but very beautiful and surrounded by mountains. We explored the older district of the city, including the cathedral, the main plaza, and some of the shops in the city. This was exactly what I had pictured in my head of a typical Spanish city and I LOVED walking around. We also learned a lot about the history as we toured the city, including the festival of San Fermin, which is what most people associate with Pamplona. This festival that is held annually in July is deeply rooted in tradition and includes religious celebrations, and the infamous running of the bulls, also known as the “encierro”.

In the past couple of days, we have been busy with classes, exploring the city, and settling into our hotel. Each morning we have class from 9:30am to 1:30pm in Spanish culture and grammar. It’s definitely been helpful to brush up on some grammar and learn more about the culture here.  After classes and lunch, we have time for a siesta (DEFINITELY one of my favorite parts about the culture), and we either have free time or activities planned in the evenings. Even though I’ve only been here a couple of days, it feels like I’ve been here A LOT longer and I’m definitely beginning to enjoy my time in Spain.

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¡Hola Todos!

It’s hard to believe that in less than a week I will be on my way to Spain to begin my study abroad experience. This summer seems to have flown by and I’ve certainly kept myself busy with an internship, spending time with family and friends, trying to obtain a Spanish visa (trust me, the consulate doesn’t make it easy for you), and travelling.  Just a couple of days ago, I returned from a week-long trip to Honduras as a part of Medical Ministry International with fellow Holy Cross students. I volunteered my time working in a medical clinic in rural Honduras, where I spent a large portion of the trip translating and working alongside doctors. This was an incredible experience and it even gave me a chance to practice my Spanish. After a 3 month break of speaking Spanish, I was happily surprised that I actually felt comfortable conversing with the locals there. While I know that I’m far from being fluent, I’m sure that I’ll be learning a lot shortly.

Even though I will be departing in less than a week, I haven’t started packing and I’m far from being ready. I feel like it hasn’t even “sunk in” that I’ll be living in Spain for a year. Honestly, I don’t think it will until I step off the plane, jet-lagged, in Madrid. As of right now, I am feeling pretty nervous because I feel like I don’t really know what to expect. Even though I’ve talked to students who were abroad and I’ve tried to prepare myself for this point, I know that there are a lot of things that I can’t prepare myself for until I am actually there. While I’m dreading saying my goodbyes to family and friends, I have been assured that this will be an amazing experience.

As of right now, I have a very busy week ahead of me as I prepare for my last couple days of work, packing up all of my belongings, and saying goodbye. Before you know it, I will be in Pamplona with my fellow students for the 3-week orientation program!

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