What a Wonderful World!

So, today was pretty much the best day ever! I totally needed it. There were so many triumphs and great moments. I feel so blessed! My “honeymoon” stage was a little late in coming, but boy, is it ever here now!

I’m getting to the point where I feel very comfortable walking to and from many places in Pamplona. If you’re as directionally challenged as I am, you will understand the sense of euphoric victory which comes with successfully navigating a large area. Since I always depended on other people when I went places at home, I never had to find the way for myself, so this confidence and pride is something that is quite new to me. And let me tell you, it’s intoxicating!

Today was full of so many fun experiences! I was finally able to catch the bus this morning, which was glorious, since I have to walk really far on the days that I have my first class in the Social Sciences building. And I only had two classes today, so I went exploring in Iturrama for a while with a couple of friends. Iturrama is a section of the city just north of the university, where we found a store that sells school supplies, a tobaco shop (these are sort of all-purpose shops; they sell more than just tobacco – things like bus cards, magazines, etc.), a grocery store, and a Civivox. I’m hoping to go to the Civivox someday soon and finally get a chance to Skype!

Another fun little moment was when my host mom had me go to the frutería (where they sell fruits and vegetables) and the panadería (the bakery) to get some things for lunch. And I got exactly what she had told me to get, so that was a good time :-)
Anyway, after the Iturrama expedition, I made it safely home on my own – this was especially significant for me because I used a route that I had gotten lost before and was able to recognize where I had turned wrong. I was so proud of myself! I feel so intrepid :-) After chilling at the piso for a bit, I used the same path I had just familiarized myself with to meet my friends Lauren and Maja at the Corte Inglés (if I haven’t already said, this is the huge and very popular - though expensive – department store, rather like a Macy’s or Saks Fifth Avenue). We chatted and shopped for a while and then met up with Lise and Kristen M. From there we went and found a young ladies’ clothing store that we’ve wanted to visit, called Mango. This store is sort of similar to Forever 21 in the U.S. We enjoyed ourselves by looking around for a while, and then we had a bit of an issue with the trying-on process. Apparently the Five Items Only rule is strictly enforced at Mango, and we weren’t able to try on the things that the clerks had us leave behind, because they had put the items away by the time we’d finished round one. But, you know – c’est la vie. And most of us ended up with some cute things, so it worked out okay.

After Mango, we went walking around a bit and had fun listening to Lauren’s hilarious stories about her host mom, and we took a bunch of pictures in front of the fountain in the plaza. That was a well documented moment, as Kristen M. very aptly said.
Pretty soon after that, Kristen M. and Lise left to head back home, since their host mom was making a big dinner for them and they needed to be home in time. Lauren, Maja (that’s pronounced like “Maya,” by the way – she’s Norwegian) and I were thinking about finding a café or bar to eat dinner in, but after walking around the streets a bit, we found out that the only places that looked promising to us were already closing, so we decided to go back to the Corte Inglés and have a snack in the nice little Cafetería on the 8th floor of the store. The food was lovely – I had a little chocolate soufflé (sort of like chocolate lava cake, or whatever we call it in the States) and some delicious coffee. So, I’m pretty set for the week, as far as sugar is concerned :-P And we had such a fun conversation – the consensus was that, even though the first week here was difficult, we’ve all gotten over the initial stress of it all, and feel that we’re adjusting quite well. We’re finding that we really are capable, and it’s such a good feeling! And we’re all enjoying the fact that we get to meet so many wonderful people and that we’ve been blessed to have people to help us and befriend us just when we needed it most.

And so, as of today, I’ve realized that I absolutely love it here! It’s such a relief to finally feel that way. And I’m looking forward to so many things. I finally feel like this experience will be worth everything it took to get here. I’m so excited to find out what happens next!