Half way post

Hello! I have a lot to update with, yes? Yesterday was the first day of the second half of my time here. WHOAAAA. But really, how is it already the middle of July?

Last time I updated I had just gotten back from Valencia. Since then I have been to Los Sanfermines, which many of you may know as The Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain. More on that later :)

Monday last week, as some of you in America might have realized, was the Fourth of July. Because it just felt too strange to do nothing, TJ, Curt, and myself had the most American style picnic we could create in Retiro park during the evening. We went to the huge grocery store trying to find anything American, but failed. Instead, we caved and went to the one and only KFC in the center of downtown and bought a bucket of chicken. We spent a few hours watching the sun go down in the park, still in recovery mode from the previous weekend in Valencia. It was also during the time that the two of them convinced me to go to Pamplona the next weekend. Peer Pressure at its best.

In the park with my super-American outfit.

On Tuesday I met up with Laura and we actually returned to this same park during the evening. She is lending me Harry Potter in Spanish, and we read that together for a while. She also is reading a book in English that I helped her with. Tonight we are meeting up again and seeing the Royal Palace.

On Wednesday it was Gonzalo's (the other intern) last day at work. We had become really good friends the past five weeks, and it was seriously tough to say goodbye. He was also  upset saying bye to the office, but being 25 and working an unpaid job has to come to an end eventually. On Thursday at work, 3 representatives from UNHCR in Geneva came by for a briefing on our PR operations. I was able to sit in at this meeting, which was conducted in English, and it was pretty awesome. It's so interesting to see how this different representations of the UN, like UNHCR in Spain for example, conduct operations with the others.

Wednesday and Thursday after work we planned for Pamplona, buying food and drinks to bring with us instead of having to deal with buying things there. Ending up being a really smart idea. I left work early on Friday, and by three we were all on the bus to Pamplona. The group from Madrid was TJ and one of his roommates, Mario, and Curt and Curt's co-worker, Glenn. Glenn had been two previous years, because he lives near the Spanish/French border very close to Pamplona. Having someone who had been there before was definitely helpful.

Pamplona was insane upon arrival. I have never seen so many people wearing the same thing in my entire life. Actually, I'm not sure I have ever seen so many people in my entire life! There was an AMAZING fireworks show as soon as we got there, and we just sat in the huge field with thousands of other people drinking and eating. Afterwards we went out to the bars, where the streets were just a solid mass of people. By 6AM we went to street where the bulls run, in hopes of finding a spot to see. This was unsucessful, however, and we ending up waiting two hours to have a pretty terrible view by 8AM. Ironically, seeing the running of the bulls was the most anti-climatic part of the entire trip.
Afterwards however, was probably one of the greatest moments of my entire time here in Spain. It was just Curt, TJ, and myself at the this point, and we were walking down the street the bulls had just run down. People had flooded the street, and the balconies were all full of the lucky ones who had apartments with a view. All of us, for no reason that we understood, were in such good moods! It was 8AM, no one in the city had any sleep, but everyone was out, the bars were once again full, and the spirit was just nothing I had experienced. So we bought orange juice and champagne and went back to the field we had been at the night before to take a nap with the rest of the city.

After an hour of sleep, we hung out in the park for a while before meeting up with Glenn's friend's from Madrid. One was from Peru, one was from Romania, and one was from Pamplona (I think). None of them spoke any English (Glenn also did not), so we spent the remaining time with them all speaking Spanish in our own weird accents. We hung out in a park all day, and then for dinner went to an apartment they were renting in the city with a huge outdoor deck where we ate questionable frozen pizzas.


That night we saw another fireworks show, and encountered a really random and fun outdoor concert in the center of the city. After grabbing a few hours of sleep we got on our bus by 10 AM the next morning.

Pamplona was crazy. Super crazy. But incredibly relaxed at the same time. It was a great half way point in my trip. Here are some pictures :)

Waiting for the fireworks show. people people people

original group

Typical street packed with people. A parade was rolling through at the point

this was a "quiet" part of town

My view of the bulls... waiting for it to start.

People running! Flash of bulls was all I got.

After the race. Greatest street.

Nap time!

Awesome balconies

Every where we went the parks were just filled with people sleeping/drinking. This is where we hung out all day Saturday

Hanging out with Glenns crazy friends. Full Pamplona gear! 

Fireworks on the second night. Curt and myself attempting to carry Glenn.

 

Half-wayness:
There are still a ton of things I want to do before leaving here. For one, I just want to see more of Madrid. I am excited to spend the upcoming weekend here and have plans to do some exploring but also just taking the weekend to relax. Madrid is such an incredible city that I want to continue to take full advantage of, if I can.

I also really want to have a stronger grasp on the language in the next 6 weeks. For instance, today at work I struggled so hard to understand every conversation I had. Sometimes I feel so confident, but many times, especially at work, I realize how far I still have to go.

I also want to feel like I am getting more out of my internship. Today Rosa talked to me about starting a video project at the end of this week or next week. I hope I can possibly start to stand out more as their employee, and not some American who can't communicate with them.

Finally, as much as I want to see more of Madrid, I hope to travel more as well. At the end of the month I will be going to Oporto, Portugal, and after that I hope to do some day trips of out Madrid. I realize there are some cities in Spain I am not going to have time to see, like Granada, which is upsetting. However, if I can see a couple more cities closer by, I am going to feel pretty well traveled.

Three days left of the work week, and then I'm in for a pretty fun weekend in the city. Please please please feel free to email me or send a facebook message! I miss everyone so much and it would be great to hear how you all are doing. <3

Un abrazo,

Liz