10 days come n gone

I have been in Pamplona for 10 days now...(it feels much longer hehe!!) Today the weather was absolutley beautiful. It's amazing what 1 day can do. I woke up and EVERYTHING was beautiful and green. Blue skys, and the sun was out. It was such a great feeling to walk to school, and look out the window all day to see this. I had a very busy day today b/c i was again trying out different classes as I'm still trying to pick my final class to take. This morning I went to Cultura y Civilizacion, and i LOVED it. A grad student teaches it, but it is very useful info to learn, b/c she teaches us all about the geography and culture and government of Spain,,(things that locals think you know,,when you dont but really want to learn!!). Plus, my friend Maja and 4 other Cord. students are in the class. Plus, the class takes several trips throughout the semester to Madrid and another city (so this is a perk!! Free travel guidance..well almost..there's a pricetag on everything!!). Me and my friend Ellen were just talking about how amazing it is that we feel we are always paying for things..Spaniards seem so non-chalant with their money..we don't understand were it all comes from. It's so different b/c you can go practically 3 weeks in moorhead without spending a penny on fun, etc,,but here it's everyday. But we are conservative :) but also have fun. In between classes, we walked to a bookstor in the neighborhood of Iturrama. It was a beautiful walk..i took pictures of the mountains, etc, and even was sweating a bit when we finally got there! i had to take off my coat :) Ahh..now this is the Jan. i like !!! The bookstore was out of our books, so we placed an order and they should be there next week. I had literature class this afternoon from 1-230pm. I also liked this class alot. It will be work, but it will be fun i think. Then, my friend Ellen and I planned on staying around campus to attend an Ethics II class that started at 4pm so we went to the cafeteria. Our mom's had made us each bocadillos (sandwiches...on their amazing, thick -hard break..they had pork and another type of ham on them :) I bought a coca-cola light (their 'diet-coke' here). I hadn't had one since New years eve, so it was amazing..mom their diet cokes are better here!!! They use sugar cane in them for sweetner. i wish u could have a sip! Then we went to this ethics class.
Unfortunately, it was very challenging. It's a level 2 course, plus entirely in spanish. I realy give us credit, as we have been trying ALL week to sit in and find a course we like and can handle in which to get a 'core-curricula' crdt accomplished, but they are just so challenging. After the course, a nice guy named Pablo who is a student at Navarra but his parents live in CT, befriended us and told us the prof. was terrible (a bit**) and that we should pick another class! Ellen and I were thankful for his honesty and help. But at least now her and i can say we really did try. ..sociology, ethics, and filosofia. I think it will be best for me to stick directly in the foriegn exchange ILSE program and take my spanish classes as planned. --afterall, that is what i'm here to do..improve and continue to study the language and culture :)
By the time i got home, it was 645pm, and I was starving. Julia made me a soup tonight that wasn't my favorite (another veg. type) but I ate it up anyway! Then she'd made me this meet stuffed with cheese. i didn't lik the cheese..lol..but again i ate it :) and an orange of course! It's wonderful to be treated to the traditions tho! I remind myself that i won't get this again...so i savor the moments. She always sits and talks with me while i eat (she always eats before or after me..she told me she prefers this b/c then she can serve better). She is too sweet.
At 745pm, i met my friends Maja and Kristen at Corte Ingles and we sprayed on perfume (this has become a daily routine, and my fave fragrance is this Clinique Happy Heart,,besides my beyond paradise..) so we always joke that by the end o the sem the store won't have any of this perfume left cuz eveytime we go in we put it on lol. We dubbed it 'our' scent tonight..it was a special initiation!! Then we walked around Casco Viejo. It was fun b/c the weather was beautiful for walking..so it wasn't too cold. We discovered the movie theater is very close to my house, & on Mond. night's it' cheap so we want to go see Avatar, and also the Morgans, and It's complicated!!! They are all playin ghere in Spanish! will be fun! Then,i was craving chocolate SO bad, we found this really cute cafe called Cafe Iruna and bought two pieces of this chocolate pudding-type cheese pastele ..with choc shavings on it. I feel like such a pig cuz i basically just ate my whole own lol but just hadn't had 'real' dessert for awhile lol!!! no more for me his weekend lol!!!!but it was amazing. We also bought awesome coffee and put choc. in it. I will never forget our night :)
Then Maja and I walked home b/c tomorrow we have a very big day!! I am so excited..it is supposed to be gorgeouse, and the ILSE/ERASMUS foreign Exchange students are going on a trip to San Sebastian, a city on the coast of the Bay of Biscay. very close to France. We are taking a bus and it leaves at 930 am so i will walk to the university at 845 am. It is about an hour drive, and we will get a tour an then have the rest of the day to walk and discover the city and beach and views. (and food!) Not warm enough to put our swimsuits on, but we plan on going in April or May on a SAturday to soak up the sun! I will get back about 9pm tmrrow night.
I have some homework, but it's a weired feeling b/c it's not what i'm used to. I plan on studying on Sund, and then in the afternoon i am going on a tour with a group..i will tell you more about this soon! I also plan to go for a morning run on Sunday since the sidewalks in the huge park across from my house are finely dry. I SO need to move my butt and get those endorphins flowing !!..it's funny tho..we were saying our legs are a bit sore from all the walking we do!
Today was also wonderful b/c i recieved a very nice email from a close friend of mine back home. It is nice letters like this that make my night :)..and help sustain me as I adjust :)
Julia washed my clothes today. It was so cute b/c when i got home tonight she had some folded and carefully placed on my bed. Shefolded them a different way than i usually do, but i put them away that way b/c it's special b/c it's 'her' way. I really do like her.
This week seemed to drag on forever, but i think that was b/c of all of the adjusting and learning about how the semester will work. I am looking forward to a set routine, and getting into my activities soon. volunteering should start next week, and dance first week in Feb.
Mom,,thank you for that note too today. I love you so much.give lady a kiss for me, and Ben kick a** tomorrow against Wayzata. I'll be thinking of you. Have fun.
I love you guys, and
i'll keep you all posted on San Sebastian tomorrow..w/many pics of course :))
xox Lauren