A picture here and there

I haven't found a good site to upload my pictures for you to see, so I've posted a few here.

With the Encierro statue of the San Fermines festival Pamplona is popular for.

By one of the entrances to the University of Navarra.

L-R: Carmen, Shanshan, and me in Miranda, a small city about an hour away from Pamplona. It's the hometown of Marina (who is taking the picture).

In Lourdes, by the cross.

You can see how many people there are in the TV screen. The main white tent is where the altar and the Pope were. The smaller tent on the right was for the choir.Pope Benedcit XVI as he passed by us.A night out in one of the bars. Clockwise: Janine (Germany), Molly W., Scarlett, Allison (all USA), Mimi (France), Me, Molly K. (USA), Barbara (Switzerland).

First Week of School & the Bridge Year Program

The program I'm doing now in Spain is called the "Bridge Year Program." It was designed as a gap year between high school and university or a first degree and employment. We can build our own schedule and program based on our own personal preferences and projects. Since I'm not exactly sure yet what I want to do, this year will help me reflect and think about my future. It will help me build my character and person, and of course learn and immerse myself in the Spanish language and culture.

For the first semester, I will be taking most courses from ILCE (Instituto de Lengua y Cultura Españolas) and one class in English, European Media Culture. In the second semester, when my Spanish is better, I will take regular university classes with Spanish students.

Monday was our first official day of school. For the international students, we took a placement test to determine our level of Spanish. Because ILCE is designed for foreigners, the classes are taught in different levels to accomodate each person's level of Spanish.

Two weeks before I started classes, I took an intensive course also under ILCE. Therefore, the placement test I took on Monday was the same one I took before. I'm happy to say I think I did much better than before. When we took the test, we had to mark which courses we would be taking. Since I forgot to meet with Rocio (the director of the Bridge Year Program), I didn't know which courses I would be taking. So, I just marked 'Español 1.'

After the test I went to meet with Rocio and she informed me that I would be taking Español 1, and four other courses! So I had to go back down and explain to the proctor my situation.

The courses I'm taking are:
Español 1 (grammar) A2
Uso Comunicative (communication use) B1
Cultura y Sociedad Hispanicas A
Literatura Española A
Redacción (writing) A

I was placed in A2 for Español 1, one notch above Beginners. For Uso Comunicativo I was surprised but happy to learn I was in Intermediate. For the other classes, there were only two groups, A and B, so I knew I was going to be in group A.

My classes are all in the morning. By morning I mean 9am-2pm. (Lunch is at 2pm, dinner at around 9:30. And normally, you don't greet someone 'Buenas Noches' until after 8pm.) Thursday is my favorite day though. My classes start at 11am! They end at 3pm, but still, I can wake up late(r than usual). Right now, I don't really do anything in the afternoon but next week I will look for something to take up my time.

The classes themselves have been okay so far. The first class of each course would be introducing yourself (Imagine saying "Hola, me llamo Sofia. Soy de Filipnas. Tengo 18 años¨ five times, once for each class) and basic introduction of the course. All my classmates are international; a lot are American, some Korean/Japanese/Chinese (they kind of all look the same to me), and there are a few Germans. Then there are one or two from other countries like France, Holland, Canada. I'm also happy to say that I can remember more than half of my classmate's names and match the name to the correct face. Haha.

All my ILCE classes are held in the Edifico Central, the main building. In fact, most of the time, they're even in the same room. On Tuesday I had three classes one after the other, all in the same room. I didn't even change seats! And on Wednesday I have three classes, all with the same teacher.

For the Bridge Year Students, this week was actually a "shopping week." We could attend whatever classes we want and see whether we'd like to take them or not. Unlike the rest of the students, we register for our classes next Monday. So far, I pretty much like all my classes and will be taking them.

Living in Pamplona

Living in Pamplona has been very different from Manila, yet the differences are nice and refreshing.

The center that's in charge of my apartments is called Larrabide, and it's a Club Universitario. Larrabide has five apartments each with three girls, and I live in one of them.

Larrabide is an Opus Dei Center, but so far it's nothing really scary. We have some house rules and curfews. The Larrabide center is on Iñigo Arista Avenue, a few minutes walk from my building. The center has a chapel, living room, computer room, and study room. It extends to the next floor above, where there are sleeping quarters.

My apartment is in a building on Calle Esquiroz. The apartment is nice and I have my own room. My room is not too small and not too big. There's a lot of space to move about, I could easily do yoga in my room. (Not that I do yoga.) There are two bathrooms and I share one with Marina. Bea gets het own bathroom since she's the head of the apartment. We have a kitchen and a laundry room, and a living room which has our dining table.

We live on the 6th floor, and the other Larrabide apartments are in front, beside, and below us. I usually have meals at home and eating we go to whoever's apartment to hang out and talk.

It's easy to get around Pamplona, and the street I live in is kind of a main one. Right beside the entrance to my building is a hygiene store where you can buy shampoo, soap, cleaning products, etc. Directly across my building are a small café and a supermarket. A few meters behind the supermarket is a building called Civivox. It’s a recreational center. To the right of Civivox is a small church where I go to mass. It’s so near and very convenient, and I try to go to mass everyday.

I walk everywhere and from my street, it’s easy to get around. My building is near the corner and the street perpendicular to mine, Iturrama, is a main street. It has lots of banks, mobile carriers, supermarkets, and bars. If you head straight south (from my street), you’ll hit the University, and if you head straight north you’ll hit the city center. From my apartment to the Edificio Central, where I have my classes, it’s about a 15-minute walk. From my apartment to the city center, it’s about 15 minutes as well.

I’ve gotten to know my way around Pamplona. I can get to the parks and main streets without a map. In the city center, I can make my way to a few of the main plazas and streets where shopping is plentiful. Walking around is beautiful; there isn’t much garbage or graffiti. The parks are beautiful as well and you can see a lot of animals.

The weather here varies a lot. On most days it’s cold in the morning, about 10-15°C, and it gets warm in the afternoon, 20-30°C. Some days it stays cold throughout the day and other days it rains in the afternoon. My flat mate said that in Pamplona, you could get the four seasons in one day.

I have to go now and check out what level of Spanish I'll be taking my classes in. Today was the first day of classes, but that's another blog entry!

Welcome Week at the University of Navarra

Since September 8 I've been taking an intensive course for Spanish. But the past week was the official welcome week for the International Students.

Tuesday morning we registered, and I was overwhelmed by the number of students. There were so many! I met a lot of people whose faces I remember but names I forget. After everyone registered they ushered us into a conference room and began the orientation. We were introduced to a bunch of important people who told us a lot of stuff. Most of it was in Spanish but I was seated beside a guy from El Salvador who was nice enough to translate the important points to me. There was a lot of talk about the International Office, registration of classes, University Clubs, and other things.

After the orientation we were divided into smaller groups and went on a tour around the campus. At the end of the tour we had lunch outdoors and they served us paella from the "Paella Gigante." It was a HUGE paella, and very delicious. I ate with and got to know a girl from France named Mimi doing the Bridge Year Program like me, the guy from El Salvador named Javier who is 17 years old and studying Law!, Matias from Lithuania also studying law, and Allison from the US studying Economics.

I was extremely forgetful today. Not only had I left my camera in my apartment, but I left my keys in the apartment as well. So here is a picture of the Paella Gigante I downloaded off the internet. It was seriously that big!

On Wednesday we had more orientation, more talks and everything. Then we were divided up according to what we would be studying. I and the other students doing Bridge Year transferred to a smaller room. We were few, about ten or so, most where from the United States. Rocio gave us a brief introduction then left us with previous Bridge Year students who answered whatever questions we had. I sat with Mimi, the French girl, who doesn't speak much English. So during the Q&A, I was translating for her. I probably spoke in the wrong tense and with the limited vocabulary I had, but still it was something!

In the afternoon we had another orientation about the library then divided into groups and went on a tour of Pamplona. The students from the International Committee pointed out various sites, bars, parks, stores, libraries, etc. We ended up in Plaza del Castillo then walked down to two bars where we got free pinchos! (Pinchos are Spanish appetizers, called 'Tapas' in other parts of Spain.)

Thursday, the third and last day, was a full day excursion to San Sebastian, a nearby city. We met up on campus then took a bus to San Sebastian. It was a short trip, an hour, I spent most of it talking with Mimi. In San Sebastian we started off with a tour from one of the girls fro the International Committee. After, we had the whole day to do whatever we wanted. I went around with different people talking, drinking coffee, walking on the beach, talking, and eating.

Classes start on Monday already but for the Bridge Year students, we spend the week "shopping for classes." We'll attend various classes then next Monday we'll register for the ones we want to take.

Lourdes - Pope Benedict XVI

The Pope was in Lourdes from the 13th-15th of September to celebrate the 150th year anniversary of the Apparitions (of the Immaculate Conception to Bernadette.) I had classes on Saturday so I opted to go for the day on Sunday with my flat mate Bea.


I woke up at around 4am, showered and dressed. As Bea and I were getting ready, she received a phone call and we found out that the person who was supposed to bring us to the meeting point was sick! So we quickly got all our stuff and left. We walked to Plaza Merindades which is in the city center. It wasn't that far, about a 15 minute walk, but it was early in the morning and pretty cold. We got to the plaza on time, and boarded the bus. We left Pamplona at around 5am. The trip to Lourdes was around four hours. We stopped only once in a gas station near the border where it was freezing cold. I had breakfast on the bus as well.

When we got to Lourdes, the bus parked in the parking lot, and we walked to the site a few meters away. It was crowded with people, but very organized. Before we entered the field, we were given a foldable stool, which had a pocket to store your things in, bottled water, and an envelope which contained papers about the event, etc. The field was divided into sections and each person had a card which indicated the section we were in. We were in sector 56, which was mostly people from Pamplona. We managaed to find our section and Bea and I saw the other girls from Larrabide (the center that runs the apartments I live in). We settled down just in time for the mass to start. We were a little far from the tent where the Pope was in, but there were large screens where videos were projected.

The Mass of the Triumph of the Cross started at 10am. It was celebrated for the special intentions of young people. It was mostly in Latin and French, but some parts were said in different languages, like the responsorial psalms . We had a pamphlet though to follow the mass, and there were some portions in English. The Pope gave his homily in French. After the mass we walked to a less crowded area and had lunch. We rested awhile then proceeded to the Grotto. We didn't go in the grotto because the line was very long, but we sat down nearby and prayed. I prayed the rosary and the special Jubilee prayer.

In order to fully celebrate the Jubilee year, the "Jubilee Way" was designed as a spiritual route for pilgrims to follow. It took one through four important places in Bernadette's life, with prayers and things to do in each stop. The four places were the parish church where she was baptized, the Cachot where her family lived, the Grotto where the apparitions took place, and the Hospice chapel where she received her first communion. Unfortunately, when we were there the only place that was open was the Grotto.

After praying we went back to the field for the Blessed Sacrament Procession. This time, we sneaked into a different sector so we were closer to the front. The Blessed Sacrament Procession was really long, and there was a lot of chanting and singing. The choir though was very good, it was composed of people of different ages. The youngest members must have been about 12 years old. The Pope joined in at the end and gave the final blessing. After the blessing he went somewhere behind the tent.

We moved closer to the barriers so we could see the Pope when he passed by. While waiting for the Pope, there were many Spanish people (mostly the girls from Larrabide) cheering on the Pope, shouting Viva El Papa!, and others. Finally the Pope came out from behind the tent in his special white car. There was louder cheering and waving as he rode pass the people. I was able to get a good look at him and we didn't stop waving and cheering as he passed by.

After the Pope left, Bea and I said goodbye to the other girls and went back to our bus. It was eight in the evening and another four hours back to Pamplona. Back in Pamplona it was freezing cold and Bea and I half walked half ran back to the apartment.

It was a really great day and an amazing experience for me. You can read more about Lourdes, the Pope, the Jubilee year by clicking here.