My name is Ethan Hicks, I am a UML student attending this year’s San Sebastian Basque and Cultural Immersion Summer course where I am studying abroad in San Sebastian Spain. I am happy to say that so far I am having an amazing trip with much more to come with only having been here two whole days.
Travel Day!
Nonetheless, I would love to tell you how my journey over 3388 miles was like! First I had finished my final packing and began heading to Logan Airport to meet up with some buddies who are taking a part in this trip. Shortly after and once cleared customs and initial checking we boarded our 7 hour flight to Munich, Germany. From Germany we boarded another flight from Munich to Bilbao, Spain! After these long flights and with Jet lag we made our way to the bus terminal outside of the Bilbao airport where we met the director of education for Lacunza, Ignacio. Lacunza is the school in San Sebastian where our collective group is taking Spanish classes. Once checking our names and boarding the bus to head towards San Sebastian, all I could notice were the highs and lows of such beautiful mountains and valleys being much different then at home. As I was tiredly gazing out the bus window and with still popped ears from the altitude change from the last flight I heard my name being called by Ignacio and took my placement exam for my Spanish class.
City Life and Initial Experiences!
After a short bus ride, we had arrived in the beautiful city of San Sebastián, our new home for the next three weeks. I made the mistake of laying in bed for a short period of time after being so jet lagged and had to fight the urge to sleep so that I could fix my sleep schedule. After a battle, myself and some buddies ended up meandering around and really just trying to get lost while still exploring such an unique city full of many beautiful sights.
After a visit to the local supermarket and a small dinner we all began heading back to Olarain our housing for the next 3 weeks and quickly fell asleep.
The next day, now rejuvenated and ready for our first day of Spanish class, we walked through the beautiful city admiring just how intricate the architecture in the part of the city they call Antigua.
And during a break at 11 we were able to eat great pastries and coffee at a local cafe. Now with a full stomach, we resumed our Spanish classes until 1pm. And after some time, we met up with Professor for a tour of what to come next in San Sebastián again passing some of the great sights and hidden gems while learning about our itinerary of the upcoming weeks.
Thoughts and Expectations!
All in all, these two first days of travel and class were a great experience and I look forward to experiencing the rest of San Sebastián with this amazing group of students, a great professor, and the wonderful people at Lacunza.
