Hi! I’m Jayna Tang, a UML business undergraduate that will be telling y’all about our group’s third day in San Sebastián.

Our main itinerary after class for the day was a pintxos tour in Parte Vieja, which roughly translates to “Old Town”. Half of our study abroad group participated in this tour, while the rest anticipated a pintxos tour in Gros the following day. The half I was a part of visited many authentic pintxos sites, most of them being quite famous in the region, while the others dedicated their free afternoon to go to the beach. We tried the famous “Gilda” pintxo at the first location, moved on to see the underground mercado nearby, and other prominent pintxo spots in the area. The entire time, our professor impressed us with his spanish speaking skills and his influential restaurant connections within Parte Vieja that made him seemed like a residential local in the area.

Our professor took us to many places, having us try all the famous pintxos in general, and many that were specific to the district we were in. My favorite one by far was one at Txepetxa and they are famous for their housemade anchovies. I had the anchovies with trout egg, which was amazing. Before trying it, I assumed that it would be too salty or briny, and fortunately, I was wrong. The fish had a great soft texture and was almost buttery in a way. It wasn’t fishy, rather it had some herbaceous flavors. The trout eggs complimented the fish so well. Their restaurant story being that only the owners, mother and son, know of the secret recipe of the marinade to their decadent anchovies. One day, when almost losing their lives in a car accident, their first thought wasn’t just about how they almost died but that the secret recipe almost died along with them. So they decided to write down the recipe to put in a safe deposit box to keep their secret while continuing to maintain the integrity of their restaurant and their anchovies. Every so often they would leave out an ingredient in the kitchen to trick people and avoid food espionage.

It was truly an amazing experience and all the pintxo sites we visited seemed to have a story that makes the surroundings so much more lively and interesting. I think the best part was being able to bond with this study abroad group the San Sebastián way: standing at a table while eating, talking, and laughing juntos.

Before arriving in San Sebastián, I only knew two people on the trip and they were my friends and former roommates, Sabrina Mini and Lara El Amme Pingitore. As a person who keeps to herself and makes new friends through existing friendships, I was planning on staying within the trio yet I found myself socializing with other people on my own. This is surprising because it took me a couple months to get close to people in my clubs and classes back in Lowell, yet in San Sebastián I was bonding with people I’ve only known for less than a week. I figure it’s because we’re in a different environment and are able to experience the city for the first time altogether. For me, this has been a immense accomplishment for my self improvement.

After our tour, our group met up with the rest of the study abroad students on the trip at the beach. We had a great time taking in the gorgeous sights, swimming in the ocean, and sitting together on our towels and talking with each other as we tanned. It was a picture perfect beach day for us and it brought our group closer together.

For this trip, I decided to vlog the entire experience on a small, old Canon digital camera for my creative project. For the entire tour, I was video documenting our journey through Parte Vieja. At first, my project was just centered of the nostalgia and memory of the city through the lenses of my roommates and I, but now I’ve filmed everyone here. I’ve gotten vlogs of so many funny moments and future beautiful memories in the last couple days of being in San Sebastián. While not all of it is gonna make the cut for the final project, every video I make is proof of the friendships I’ve made and the experiences we have shared together. These videos are gonna last us a lifetime and hopefully will preserve the connections we made on this trip.

I’m more than excited for what the future holds!

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.

Follow students as they take learning outside the classroom and are exposed to structured situations and experiences through a Humanities lens in San Sebastian, Spain.

Chosen as the 2016 European Capital of Culture, San Sebastian offers students the best of both worlds: a modern Europe-an city with an Old Quarter that preserves its rich legacy of history and culture.

Students will be immersed in the culture of San Sebastian through field trips and excursions, on-site lectures, an examination of Basque and Spanish history, politics, culture, geography, cuisine, literature, cinema, sport, and art.

Looking for more information? Please feel free to contact us.

Please email: Julian_Zabalbeascoa@uml.edu.

For information about UMass Lowell’s Study Abroad program, please visit the International Experiences and Study Abroad website or contact Fern MacKinnon by email: Fern_MacKinnon@uml.edu.