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!
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!
Comments
this is my first posting on anyone's blog....i enjoyed reading yours.
tomorrow your mom and i will go to binondo to check out a sale of bags/suitcases. on saturday afternoon cisv will have a board mtg at your place but before that we'll have a bienvenida for amanda, kimi and sam (they haven't arrived yet when we had bienvenida part 1)and yummy lunch as well!
take care.
smiles! t.joy
i miss you a lot and i hope you are loving spain, just like me! im going there on saturday (in 2 days <3) The place im going to is called velez malaga, or something, and i think it is the old malaga. :p
love u.
hugs and kisses from ingrid :D
ingrid, i will try my best to visit you!
I was looking for some information about University club Larrabide, because next september I'm going to live there, in Pamplona, and I have find your blog.
I noticed that the date is about 2008, but if you could give me some information I will be so grateful =) (cause I'm a bit scared about Opus Dei)
My e-mail is alialamidean@gmail.com
Dew!
Sorry about my english, it isn't my native languaje!