Trip to Estella, the city of dreams...

Emanuel, Alia, Me, Estefania








Hello everyone,

I don´t know who reads this but I hope you enjoy it. I am lazy about doing it but any writing is good practice.

Spain is treating me pretty well. My classes are way to easy though, and I often don´t go because I have already learned a lot of the information. I hope the classes are more difficult next semester. We only have final tests so it could get pretty scary. We have finals on the 19th and most of my friends will be returning home. Most will return here in late January, so I will be here over christmas.

I don´t have specific plans for christmas but I know I will be with my friend tef cause she is here aswell. We will have to buy some chestnuts which they sell on the streets here and have a grand ole christmas.

Thanksgiving was great. All of us Americans played a huge game of football in the city park. It was really funny because we were infront of the bus station and I am sure the Spaniards had no idea what was going on. Later on we went to Bob´s house, to eat a huge feast of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and all the other fixings. It was really nice, and they had the nicest apartment I have been in. It overlooks the famous plaza where the running of the bulls is held. We had to all say what we were thankful for and it was just like normal. We had Spanish deserts after the meal and they have these cookies that are like Russian Tea cakes but way better. It was like eating powder, but good powder.

We haven´t traveled for a while so we went to the bus station last saturday and just picked a random destination on the wall. The town was estella, it has 14000 people and i loved it. It was only 3 euros to go there, which is super cheap. We climbed this massive mountain that contained these old roman ruins. It had a beautiful view of the city and mountains. It was a really fun time and we later on ate at a chinease restaurant and toured the cathedrals. I tried to learn the Lord´s prayer in Spanish from my friend teff, but I wasn´t successful.

The city had no people in it, and i think we were the only tourists there. It reminded me of home. We even went to an antique shop, but the lady got mad cause we took pictures with all the weird junk. It was a nice trip and we just hung out and got to know eachother really well. It is kind of weird, I have been hanging out with the same people but we typically go out and haven´t really had serious conversations. I think that is why we enjoyed this trip so much. We also have so sweet jumping pictures on the mountain... The town was only an hour away and the weather was great.

I am sorry Minnesotans but I love the weather here. The high in Moorhead, where I go to school is 9 degrees F and I don´t miss that. The high today is 45 here and sunny. These temps are perfect cause you just need a fall coat and a good walking pace to keep warm. We haven´t had much rain -knock on wood- so it has been perfect.

We are plan onm going to Madrid, the capital, next weekend because we have two days off. We also have tomorrow off because it is the day of the Saint here. They have these weird traditionals and I will be sure to get some pictures.

Some other weird news...

My roomates just bought a chipmunk, but they said it is an ardilla which means squirrel in Spanish. In Spanish there aren´t nearly as many words as in English. It is kind of sad, but we can just express more I guess. I don´t know why they bought a squirrel but to each his own.

I was almost tapped by a car when crossing the street the other day. The car was maybe moving 2 mph but it was deadly. No worries though cause I am an excellent jumper and can evade anything.

I went to mass again, which is news to me. I don´t know why I go, probably because my friend Dylan makes me, but half the service is a prep for communion and I just sit there and do nothing.

We have tons of days off coming up so I should do something exciting. I have called a few people from home, but I am kind of bad about it. Have fun in the snow and cold. I will be enjoying the green grass and the nasty pigeons flying all over.