Sofia Somewhere

It's been quite a busy week. Sunday evening, the Larrabide pisos had our Christmas dinner. It was a short but fun evening. We had pinchos for dinner, talking and laughing, a toast to the new year followed by Christmas carols. Then Wednesday evening another Christmas dinner, in Larrabide this time, with all the other girls Monday I had my first exam, Uso Comuicativo. It was ten minutes only (talking and talking). I was pretty nervous but I think it went fine. I studied most the whole afternoon for my exams the next day. Tuesday I had my Spanish and Literature exam then spent the afternoon studying again. Yesterday I had my last exams, Redacción and Cultura. Redacción was probably my hardest and I had to think a lot, but everything's all done and I'm receiving my grades later this afternoon! I still have one class today though and another tomorrow. And in between writing Christmas cards, packing, and finalizing my Christmas plans, I barely have time to do anything else. Tomor

I made a mistake in my previous entry. The Faculty of Medicine was the Student Body's pick and Colegio Mayor Ayete was the one that one first prize. (Faculty of Communication came in second place and Belagua Fase I in third). The contest was also transmitted through the University's Radio Station 98.3. They have in their website all the contestant's songs and you can listen to them here: http://unav.es/98.3/noticias/08/12/081211.ht m. Ours is there too, Club Larrabide. You can also see pictures of various groups here: http://www.unav.es/noticias/121208-12.html .

Every year the University holds a Concurso de Villancicos (Christmas Carols Contest), organized by the Department of Cultural Activities and the student body with the collaboration of UAS, Universitarios por la Ayuda Social (Social Help). This year is the 21 st time it is being held, and it was held yesterday. Every year the UAS also has a "Campaña del Kilo" (Kilo Campaign), and in ties with the UAS, each participant must contribute one kilo of any food to the campaign. Students from the University of Navarra can join. All the groups though were either Colegio Mayores (University Residences kind of like dorms), Faculties (like the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Communication), or University Clubs (like us, Larrabide).

Recently, we've celebrated quite a number of fiestas in Pamplona: November 29- San Saturnino December 3- San Francisco de Javier December 6- Spanish Constitution December 8-Immaculate Concepcion After the fiestas of San Saturnino and San Francisco, I got interested in knowing more about them. San Saturnino is the patron saint of Pamplona, along with San Fermin (whose fiesta is celebrated by the popular running of the bulls). San Francisco de Javier on the other hand is the patron saint of Navarra. But as to why these people are the patron saints of these places, I have yet to find out. I also found out that Saint James the Great is the patron saint of Spain, as well as the Virgin of Pilar. The Virgin of Pilar is also the patroness of Zaragoza in particular, but her feast day is celebrated all over Spain. I’ve been dumped with work this whole week. Last week I had to hand in my Literature paper, my European Media Culture Abstract, and then on Friday I had to present my Expos

I totally forgot to blog about San Miguel, I only remembered yesterday when I got the pictures from Winifred. I go to mass everyday at a Parroquia nearby home. One Sunday each month, the Parroquia has a Youth Mass (Misa de Jovenes). The mass is celebrated with intentions for the youth, there is a youth choir, the reading are read by Catholic school students, etc. In October's youth mass, after the mass, an announcement was made asking for volunteers to help monitor kids for an excursion that the Parroquia is planning. Maria asked Winifred and I if we wanted to volunteer, and we said okay. Next Sunday we woke up early, met up with the others and went to the bus stop. Where I saw about a hundred kids! I didn't realize that it would be that many. These were the kids taking Catholic lessons at the Parroquias, but apparently, this excursion was for all the Parroquias in Navarra. We took the bus to San Miguel, a city about 30-minutes from Pamplona. The ride went by even faster with

So I finally figured out how to work Picassa, and it's much simpler and faster than Flickr. and with a bigger limit too, so I'll be using that instead. The link is: http://picasaweb.google.es/sofiainspain.pictures Sorry if there's any confusion!

Carmen, one of the girls from the Larrabide pisos, is moving to Madrid because she found work there. To celebrate, we had a despedida for her last Saturday night. We dressed up in red and white (colors of San Fermin, patron saint of Pamplona) and had pinchos at her apartment. After eating, we were just talking then someone started playing music. Next thing we knew we were dancing until about 2am in the morning. I'm really going to miss Carmen, especially since I just got to know her.

It's not yet snowing over here but it's supposed to start snowing this week! I'm so excited but I'm not sure if I'll freeze or not. It's pretty cold though now and it's also raining which makes it extra cold. Classes are great and I think I'm really getting the hang of Spanish. I can basically understand pretty much the whole class and I don't even need to open my dictionary anymore.

Here's a link to my photos. Only problem is there's a 100mb limit, so I was only able to post the pictures of Angelo, Roberto, and Tala's stay here. The site is: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sofiainspain I'm still trying to get the hang of it, but I think the easiest thing to do is click on sets, and then you'll see all the pictures combined in an album.

Last week was a pretty hectic week, and I didn’t find much time to blog. By Thursday, I had to have read the prologue and Chapter 1 of El Quijote for my Literature class. On on Friday I had a Redacción Exam, a presentation about El Camino de Santiago, and a paper to hand in about the current law of tabaco in Spain. Needless to say, I spent the whole week researching, studying, preparing, reading, and staying up late. Come Thursday, Literature class went pretty well and I was able to understand what I was reading. The Redacción Exam was pretty hard, and I handed my exam in five minutes before time was up. I was so nervous during the start of the presentation that I completely forgot the history and origin, but thankfully, everything else went well. But at least now, that’s all done!

Hey everybody, Yes, I'm still alive. And happy, and safe, and sane, and well, and fine, and nineteen ! It's been a busy week and weekend and I'll be blogging as soon as I get the chance. Lots of love, Sofia

Yesterday, I and the rest of the ILCE students went on an excursion to Olite, Javier, and Leyre, cities in Navarra. The past few days it had been raining, but yesterday morning it was bright and sunny. Our first stop was to Olite, some 30 minutes away. The city was very pretty. It was old and medieval like and I couldn't stop taking pictures. We visited the Royal Palace where we had a guided tour then had about an hour free time. Olite, beautiful city.

Welcome to winter time in Spain, where a scarf is not merely an accessory but something you wrap around your neck to keep you from freezing and when you wear three layers of coats not caring if it makes you look fat, so long as your warm (and I’m still not). Gloves keep your hands warm and your skin from cracking, and boots are a must if you want to feel your toes. It’s getting really cold here. Really, really cold. And it's not even winter, winter yet. It scares me to think, if I feel cold now, what more when winter really comes. Another thing is that the sun is starting to rise later than usual. It's harder to wake up in the morning and I get so tempted to go back to sleep. Other than that, everything else has been great. Classes are getting a little harder, and I’m forced to think and study. I have a vocabulary test tomorrow, which I should be studying for right now. Halloween here is nonexistent. Especially compared to the Philippines where everyone dresses up and eat

Angelo, Roberto and Tala were here for two days to come see Pamplona and me. It was great having them around; I enjoyed the Filipino company (and two days off from school). They arrived on Monday night. I took the bus to the train station to pick them up. It was raining and we took a taxi to their hostel. Their hostel was pretty nice, and about a 15-minute walk to my apartment. We chilled awhile in their room then walked to my apartment. It was cold and they had a cup of hot chocolate before leaving. We had dinner at a nearby bar with two of my friends, Maria and Winifred. On Tuesday we took a daytrip to Bilbao. We went to the bus station early to buy our tickets then had lunch at the café. It was a long two hour trip and we slept most of the way. When we arrived in Bilbao, it was raining pretty hard. We took the metro and decided to see the Guggenheim first. I had already been in the Guggenheim with my parents, but still, I couldn’t help admiring the building all over again. A

As some of you may have heard, there was a car bombing yesterday morning at my school, the University of Navarra. I was sitting outside the classroom on the third floor doing last minute homework when I heard a loud 'boom' and the floor began to shake. I looked up, out the window, and saw a huge cloud of black fumes. After a few minutes of just staring at the smoke, I gathered up my stuff and joined the rest of my classmates evacuating the building. When I reached the first floor, I saw a lot of people filing out, some crying, and a few with blood on the side of their faces. When I exited the building I looked to the left and saw a lot of black smoke as well as police officers. The fire on the left side of the building.

This week, I’ve been working on getting my residency card, which will allow me stay on Pamplona (since my visa is expiring on October 28). I was able to completely finish registering and paying for my tuition on October 3. Only then could I start working on my visa. There’s a guy, Aires, at the University’s International Office that helps students out before having to go to the police station. I e-mailed him, but the earliest appointment he gave me was for October 10. I met with him and he told me the list of documents I would have to get. When I told him my visa was expiring on October 28, he told me I needed to move fast. He told me to get all my papers ready and meet him again on Tuesday. One of the requirements was a Certificado de Empadronamiento, which I had to get at the Ayuntamiento (Town Hall). I started worrying because the Ayuntamiento is only open from Mondays-Fridays and in the morning. On Monday, I had no choice but to skip classes. I went to the Ayuntamiento right

Yesterday, Sunday, I went to Zaragoza with ShanShan and Isabel to join in the celebration of the Virgen del Pilar. La fiesta de la Virgen del Pilar lasts about one week in October (Sunday being the last day) to commemorate the patron saint of the Aragon region. There are plenty dances, performances shows, games, parties, parades, flowers, and masses all day long, all week long. A little background which I looked up on the internet. The history of the Fiesta del Pilar began when the Apostle James came to Spain to preach the word of God to the pagans. While traveling in Aragon, the Virgin appeared to him and asked him to build a church on the marble pillar he was standing on. The Virgin disappeared but the pillar remained. Later on Santiago granted the request of the Virgin and constructed the beautiful Basilica del Pilar. The pillar, which is supposed to be the symbol of the strength of the church and a road linking Heaven and Earth, is the basis of the feast. The most important tradi

If anyone’s been wondering how I wake up in the morning, I simply wake up. I can’t really explain it but my body seems to know just what time to wake up. I normally wake up at 8 on a school day, one hour before my classes start. I shower, dress, eat, fix my bed, and then leave at quarter to 9. It’s been working pretty well for me, and so far I’ve never been late for class. On the weekends, I don’t pull down the blinds completely, so that when the sun is strong, the sunlight wakes me up. (And therefore, I don’t waste the whole morning in bed.) This morning however, I woke up at 8:30, and my classes start at 9. Sunlight didn’t wake me up because at 8:30 the sun is still only rising. I took the quickest shower I’ve ever taken, dressed myself in the first clothes I saw, stuffed my books in my bag, got some biscuits, and ran out the door. To complicate things, there were workers working on the elevator so I had to walk down 7 floors. I walked to school as fast as my legs would take me e

On this side of the planet, the weather's been as unpredictable as usual. In the morning, I open my window, stick my hand out, and determine how much layers of clothing I have to put on. If I'm uncertain, I look to see what passerbys are wearing. So far, my predictions have been pretty accurate. The weather's been okay the past couple of weeks, but lately it's starting to get harsher. Yesterday it remained 10-15 º the whole day. Today it dropped down to about 8º and it was windy and raining. (At night I sleep with the window closed and with four blankets!) I walked to school as quickly as possible. During my first class, my hands were so numb i was copying down notes really slowly. Thankfully, the school is equipped with radiators, and I warmed up a bit. Also, all except one of my classes are in the same building, so I don't have to go outdoors to change classes. Speaking of school, it's been great for me. My lessons are not difficult but they're not exa

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.

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.

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

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. Aft er 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

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.