Spain: Lessons and First Impressions

Last week, I began my five-month exchange term in Pamplona, Spain. Here is a list of highlights and lessons from my trip so far.

1. Pack light and be careful

Madrid’s Atocha Station

Anticipating what I would need for a full five months away from home was difficult, because it involved packing for all seasons and situations. However, as I started making preliminary travel plans, I realized that transporting my belongings from city to city would be difficult and that having less was better.

Travelling is also full of many unexpected events, both welcome and unwelcome. After waking up at 5:30 to catch a train from Madrid’s Atocha Station to Pamplona, I carelessly decided to put my backpack down. After looking away briefly to answer a stranger’s question, I turned back around to discover that my backpack was gone. I was in complete shock because despite warnings from family and friends, I truly couldn’t comprehend something like that happening to me. This made for a pretty rough start to my exchange term. This unexpected and rather negative turn of events brings me back to the benefits of packing light. When you pack less, there’s less to watch over and less to lose and while this was a hard and expensive lesson to learn, I’m glad I figured it out early on in my term.

2. My new apartment

A typical street of apartment buildings in Pamplona

I made my living arrangements through Unicasa, an organization that rents out apartment units in different buildings. My apartment in Spain is approximately 15 minutes walking distance from the University of Navarra. When I first entered my new apartment, I was surprised by its large size. With a spacious living room, four bedrooms, two washrooms, and a kitchen, the unit is comfortable and big enough to accommodate four people. My roommates are three girls, randomly assigned by Unicasa. There’s Victoria from the U.S., Sonia from Canada and Susan from the UK. Because our place is larger than other student units, my roommates and I have already hosted friends for small gatherings and yoga sessions.

3. Food and groceries

Express is one of the few grocery stores in Pamplona that opens on Sundays

Food here is delicious and surprisingly inexpensive. Grocery stores come in small shop formats and can be found on most street corners. Most stores will sell either vegetables and fruit, meat or bread; however, some stores stock all food groups. During my first trip to the grocery store, I came out with pasta, oil, sauce, eggs, vegetables and bread. My bill came out to just over €10 and the groceries sustained me for most of the week. Convenience stores also have groceries, sold at a slightly higher price-point. Alcohol is also more easily accessible and affordable, starting at €2 to €3 for a bottle of wine.

My first time trying pintxos at a restaurant in Old Town, Pamplona

New to the Spanish culture, I am excited for any opportunity to go out for food. Spanish tapas are called pintxos here and every Wednesday and Sunday, a restaurant chain called 100 Montaditos sells small dishes for €1 each. In the old town, several restaurants serve pintxos everyday for €2 each. These dishes usually consist of a small sandwich with some combination of meat, egg, cheese and vegetables.

4. My new city

Plaza del Castillo in Old Town, Pamplona

Pamplona, the historical capital of Navarra, is a small city with a population of 196,000. In the area surrounding the university, buildings are relatively new compared to older European-styled buildings you might come across in the old town. The entire city is within walking distance and every block seems to have several grocery stores, cafes and restaurants, shops and other service providers. My overall impression of Pamplona is that it is safer and less daunting than cities like Madrid and Barcelona. Although most of the population does not speak English, people are helpful and welcoming which has allowed me to settle in quickly and feel at home.

Old Town, Pamplona

Pamplona is most famous for the Running of the Bulls which happens every July in the old town. Old town is a 20 minute walk from my apartment and is separated from my area of Pamplona by a park and citadel. The area consists of roundabouts, narrow alleyways and old European architecture. One particularly memorable street consisted of tall, narrow, colourful buildings, reminding me a lot of the houses in San Francisco. It also rains almost every day in Pamplona making it even more similar to the Northern Californian city.

5. Fiesta and Siesta

The Running of the Bulls in Pamplona

The international student community in Pamplona is strong and much like an orientation week at a Canadian university, the first week at UNav is packed with nighttime events. Bars are casual and affordable in Spain; students are comfortable going out in a regular sweater and jeans and can get away with paying less than a few euros for the night. Clubs in Pamplona only start to get busy at 1 a.m. and often do not empty until 6 a.m. With the active nightlife, it’s not surprising that the entire city needs a nap during the day. Most cafes and shops will close at some point between 2 and 5 p.m. and reopen for dinner, allowing the working population to spend time with their family and friends during the day.  

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