Camping

No one told me I would be spending the semester camping. There is really no other way to put it. I am camping for the next five months.

Here are the top 10 reasons that I know I am camping:

1.     I can only wash my socks and underwear because nothing else will dry.

2.     The apartment is colder inside than it is on the street. I have been living in my boots just to stay warm!

3.     My debit card doesn’t speak Spanish. Not only am I cold, I am broke!

4.     Showers are a maximum of 10 minutes and only about 3 of those involve hot water.

5.     The phrase ‘if it’s yellow, let it mellow’ applies here

6.     I am eating the worlds saltiest food

7.     Wi-fi gets turned off at night

8.     There is no trashcan in the bathroom

9.     I had to use nail scissors to make flashcards out of paper

10. And…my host family hates chocolate

With all that being said, I think you can agree I am roughing it here! It seems I am more of a princess than I thought!

On top of a week spent camping, I experienced the largest festival of the year. It is called La Tamborrada. It is twenty-four hours of drumming in the street. There are about 120 groups of drummers that walk through the streets dressed in either chef’s outfits or military outfits. The outfits represent the persons experience in La Tamborrada.  A band and a few dancers also accompany the drummers. My professor told me that there are not enough musicians in San Sebastián so musicians have to be bussed in for the festival. The children also drum during the day and there is a special ceremony for them. It was great to experience it and see how excited people got about it. Garbine compared it to the 4^th of July, but it is ten times crazier! Since history is not my subject, here is a link if you want to know a bit of the history behind the festival. http://www.spanish-fiestas.com/san-sebastian/festivals/ 

I was able to see more of the city this weekend. My friend, Sophie, and I explored a lot of the weekend. We found the other beach, which is better for surfing. The waves and the rocks were enormous so it made sense surfing is easier there. We also encountered some pastry shops with our other friend Caitlin. These pastries may be a problem for me. There are just so many to try!

 The water hitting the rocks at the surfing beach.

The Cathedral in the center of the city called Buen Pastor. 

Things are getting better with my host family. I am understanding them more and I think they are getting used to me being around. Garbine calls me Eiri, which is pretty cute. I also learned that my last name here is a bad word so it seems I will be going by Eiri Haley for the next five months. It adds some spice to my life!

I know I will have lots to report this week. I start my cooking class and also start an intercambio. Intercambio is where I meet with a Spanish girl and we practice both Spanish and English. We haven’t met yet, but by her emails I can tell we are going to get along well!

I think that is all for now! I am trying to motivate to do homework. It feels like vacation here so homework is the last thing on my mind!

Besos,

Erin