Taking the Scenic Route

Thus far, my weekend has comprised of determining travel plans, watching movies, and looking around Pamplona. The travel plans are stressful, but everything else has been very nice.

Why am I making travel plans? Well, I'm going to go meet up with my good friend and sorority big sister, Tyler, in Paris. She has been an au pair in the Normandy area for almost a year. This month is her last month, so we want to see each other before she heads out. This is my first time navigating the buying of transportation myself. Ah, growing up. Through the advice of my parents, Carmen, and Rick Steves, I think I found my best option: flying. I looked at trains and buses, but all in all, they were about the same price and took longer. I really want to take a train somewhere, but I suppose I can save that for later.

The travel planning took most of the morning. After lunch, however, Carmen and I went for a walk around Pamplona. She showed me some beautiful parts of the city that I hadn't seen before. She showed me some locations that are a part of San Fermin and just some other lovely places. We went to the oldest part of the city and we kept running into the same couple, which was funny. To get to this part, you have to walk through a gate. They were there, just making out on a wall. Then they left. I took some pictures. Carmen and I walked to another part and there they were, making out. That happened two more times. It was really funny. I guess they wanted to mark each spot with a make out session.

I think my Spanish is really coming along! However, it is surprisingly exhausting to try and speak another language. I feel like I'm tired all the time. It's like the SAT brain drain.

The girl who I met to talk Spanish with was so nice! We really hit it off. We're going to meet at least once a week for an hour or so and spend half the time talking in English and the other Spanish. She wants to practice English, I want to practice Spanish. This last time, she brought her boyfriend who is a business major and also wanted to speak English. They were both so nice and wouldn't let me pay for my pintxo.

The book club didn't meet this week, but they will next week. I'm very excited about meeting them. I hope they'll be cool with me coming. I won't be able to contribute too much, but it'll be fun to listen and try. Maybe by the end of the semester I'll be able to. We shall see!