48 Hours in San Sebastián: Food & Friendship

Prior to arriving in San Sebastián, I truly did not know what to expect. While saying this, I made a promise to myself that I would make the most of this three-week study abroad. As the first week reaches an end, I have no doubt my confidence has grown. From navigating the airport to ordering pintxos the first night in Parte Vieja, I continue to immerse myself in the culture here in San Sebastián. Through learning Spanish at Lacunza International House, I’ve learned to not be afraid of the language barrier. The only way to learn is to make mistakes– by practicing my Spanish everywhere I go, at every cafe and bar. 

This photograph was taken at the top of Mount Ulia during sunrise. How did I get there? I hiked! I don’t usually hike, and I’m not a particular fan of waking up before the sun. However, I don’t regret this decision to the slightest degree. Alongside two of my friends (whom I met just last week!), we biked about twenty minutes to the bottom of this mountain, and then followed a trail for about thirty minutes until we reached our destination. At the beginning of this hike, the majority being all stairs, it was discouraging. I was questioning why I woke up so early to climb what felt like fifteen flights of stairs. Then, there were short times of flat terrain during the hike in which I could catch my breath. During the last portion, the sun began to peek out the tops of the trees, and after climbing up a steep rock, we were stunned by the beauty around us.

Looking to the left, there was a full view of the coast of San Sebastián, simply vibrant in color. To the right, the sun was emerging out from behind a small mountain. As I listened to the crashing of the waves and inhaled the cool air, I instantly forgot about the burn in my legs going up those stairs and any lingering drowsiness. The feeling of accomplishment I experienced made it so worth it. I couldn’t have been more content at that moment, it was the best way I could have begun my morning. This memory will hold value when I look back at my milestones that took place in San Sebastián.

Moreover, I’ve emphasized to myself that being out of my comfort zone will help me gain a new perspective and ensure I experience what the Basque country has to offer. Not even three days into the trip, the 16 students here have bonded in some shape, way, or form. Two of these students were my suitemates from freshman year. Having them with me in San Sebastián is the greatest gift but I have formed many friendships aside from them. Afterall, I went on a hike with two students who I met only last week! It is simply crazy to grasp this because of the amount of memories we have made in such a short stretch of time.

On day two, the group met Professor Zabalbeascoa for the first time. We strolled around the city to learn the history of where we are for the next three weeks and shared short introductions of who we are and why we chose to explore San Sebastián. This was simply a glimpse into what this trip has ahead. There are two aspects of the Basque culture that have stood out to me the most in my one week of exploration: food and amiability. I further embraced these aspects during my first free weekend in San Sebastián.

While pintxos are a staple of Basque society, I want to bring particular attention to the art of making and the act of drinking coffee. My love for coffee is deeper than just the taste. At home, I am always going to coffee shops with my friends to “catch up.” On nearly every block in San Sebastián is a cafe, giving people endless opportunities to connect and talk/spend time with each other in a friendly, calm environment. I’ve gotten coffee in San Sebastián alone and with my peers; I’ve noticed people are not rushed! They sit to talk and enjoy their coffee, whereas I’m used to seeing people grab their coffee on the go in the U.S. This is a reflection of the fast-paced society in the U.S. Visiting coffee shops is by far one of my favorite experiences in Spain, it gives me time to calm down and reflect on the culture around me.

On Saturday night, about seven of us decided to visit Parte Vieja. As we rode our bikes into the city, I cannot emphasize how busy and lively the environment was. It was impossible to miss. Music filled the air, people danced in the streets, and the smell of food was incredible. As the group weaved in and out of the streets, stopping at bars when something caught the eye and taking into consideration the recommendations Professor Zabalbeascoa gave during the pintxo tour earlier in the week, we were quick to fill our bellies. That didn’t mean there wasn’t room for gelato! After meeting up with more students, I was able to get to know more about my peers. Our conversations that night entailed each of our life aspirations, our morals, and philosophies we follow in daily life. Getting to know the people around me has helped me reflect on who I want to be in the future. I don’t take this personal, educational experience for granted. Even though it has only been one week, exploring these new terrains has enhanced my confidence, skills, and overall happiness. 

Pintxos: A Culinary Journey Through San Sebastián

Hello (or Kaixo as the Basque people say), my name is Paige Jurkevich and I am a rising senior psychology major here at UML. Yesterday, on July 10th me and a group of my classmates went to 4 different pinxcho bars to try a variety of different dishes. I would say that I am a big foodie, and like multiple different foods however I was a little nervous for this as I did not know if I would like the food here and if I could have any of it since I am Lactose Intolerant . Our first stop on the tour was at Casa Valles (just around the corner from Lacunza – where we have our Spanish Classes 9-1, Monday through Friday) which is known to be the birth place of the Gilda, supposedly in the 1940´s.

The Gilda consists of green olives, pickled green peppers, and anchovies
I am very interested in the Gilda, as you can tell

My classmates and I also tried some other pintxos in Casa Valles including Chorizo Cocido (Cooked Chorizo) and Jamón Ibérico (Iberian Ham), which ended up being two of my favorites.

My classmates and I enjoying the famous Txakoli wine with our pintxos

Our next stop was at La Espiga – Gran Bar (which is American cookbook author – Marti Buckley´s favorite bar) which in my opinion was my favorite stop on the tour. It was also featured in an episode of Eva Longoria´s Searching for Spain.

This is the exterior of the bar – it is a very popular spot for tourists and locals alike

At La Espiga – Gran Bar, this was the place where I felt the most out of my comfort zone prior to eating. However, once the professor brought the plates of food over, it was time to conquer my fears – and I can say it paid off and I will be visiting here again before we leave. The first pintxo we had here is actually my favorite one in all of San Sebastián. The name of that first pintxo is Delicia which roughly translates to delightful. This pintxo consists of a piece of sliced bread (probably a baguette) topped with a boiled egg, mayonnaise, finely diced white onions, and chopped parsley.

This is the Delicia and the flavors all blend so nicely in your mouth, which I did not expect
As you can see when I first got the plate, we were all excited

Also, at La Espiga – Gran Bar, I tried something that I did not expect to like, but will for sure in the future. This pintxo was the Squid in its own Ink with White Rice. For me, I have issues with certain textures, but this was an outlier for sure. We found out it was the professor´s favorite pintxo, as well.

Side Note: Per Professor Z´s advice – Be careful to not let the ink stain your clothes – it would not come out

After finishing at La Espiga – Gran Bar, we quickly made our way to the more modern neighborhood across the river called Gros (pronounced Gross), as we were running out of time (the bars in the afternoon are open from 12-4 and then reopen later in the day for dinner) and we still had two more pintxo bars to try. Our first stop in Gros was Adamo Plaza – La Tortilleria. This place was a tiny hole in the wall, known for their Tortilla Patatas which consist of mushrooms, potatos, and a very runny egg yolk with a piece of bread. This was not my favorite, as the yolk being runny was a texture I did not like.

Me with my tortilla patata

By the time, we reached the final Pintxo stop on the tour – most of us were stuffed and could not eat another thing. Our last stop was Ezguzki which according to the professor is the most innovative bar in the city, as the workers actually make most of the pintxos at home and then do the final prep at the bar. Only a few people got food here because then the professor announced we were getting dessert which changed everyone´s mind about being full.

I was excited that they had dairy-free options

Overall, this was an amazing culinary journey, which truly opened my mind to a world of dairy-free eating in a foreign country. Thank you to San Sebastián for being such an accessible city for my dietary restrictions. Here´s to many more amazing food journeys across the globe.

Pamplona, a City Where Even the Horses Dress Up

On Thursday July 8th, Professor Zabalbeascoa took our class on a day trip to Pamplona in order to experience the Fiestas de San Fermín, a festival honoring Saint Fermín. After our daily class with the Lucunza school, we met up with Professor Z and took a bus ride over to the city, where on the way we got to see the beautiful scenery of Spain, looking at vast mountains covered in lush greenery as we drove by. When we got to Pamplona, we walked around a little bit while the Professor explained some of the traditions such as the “running of the bulls”, an event that happens at 8 am everyday during the festival where people run with bulls from a farm down to the arena where the bull fighting takes place later on. One of the main traditions of the fiesta is dressing up in all white and wearing red accessories such as a bandana, hat, and sash. All of us on the trip decided to dress accordingly and we took a nice group photo in the city in front of the Ernest Hemingway statue as seen below.

  After this we went to a place where we could all sit down and we discussed the book The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, which is the reason for this fiesta being so popular to begin with. During this discussion we talked about a few different things, with the one that really stood out to me being how different generations will interpret the message of the book and the novel as a whole. For context, the book follows a group of men who just got out of WWI and are dealing with the angst of such an event. Our group talked about how as the world goes further and further away from that war, will younger generations still understand and be able to feel the emotions that Hemingway is trying to convey. I thought this was really interesting to think about and it really stuck with me because it made me realize how the state of the world changes so many times in the span of a century. After our discussion we went our separate ways to explore for about an hour, I went with my buddies and we walked around the food stands nearby. While there we saw a wide variety of food consisting of things such as smoked meats, fried food, sandwiches, pizzas, and much more. After walking for a little we found ourselves in a bar, where we got small portions of food called tapas, which included things such as a deep fried, hard boiled egg with cheese surrounding it, at least we thought that’s what it was. We hung out at the bar enjoying these tapas and some nice refreshments for a little while, then we went back to the food stands and got some fried potatoes.

Whenever we finished up we started to walk back towards the meeting point we were given, and although we got lost for a second, we eventually met back up with the group and walked back to the bus. The ride home was quiet, which is most likely because a lot of people, including myself, slept the entire time. This trip was overall a lot of fun, it was interesting to see how different the city of Pamplona is compared to San Sebastian. It was, from what we were told, the first time a session has ever gone to Pamplona and I personally think it was worth it. Seeing a big part of Spanish culture, being fiestas, firsthand was incredible and has definitely been one of the best parts about this trip so far. The day as a whole was great and I will be able to look back on it in a positive manner, and while we were leaving we did see horses walk by with bandanas on, hence the title of the blog.

Pintxos: From Food to Friendships

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.

Picture taken by Lara El Amme (not in photo) at a pintxos bar.

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.

Lara El Amme (left) and I (right) at the beach.

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!

Sabrina and I looking over photos I took. Photo taken by Lara El Amme (not in photo).

Arriving in San Sebastián: A Journey Through History, Basque Culture, and Unique Experiences 

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.

A view from above of the surrounding beaches, houses and water in San Sebastian, Spain.

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. 

Jake’s chocolate croissant and small coffee during our break!

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.

A great landmark located adjacent to the Bus station that took us to Pamplona!

Welcome!

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.

A view from above of the surrounding beaches, houses and water in San Sebastian, Spain.
San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia, is a resort town on the Bay of Biscay in Spain’s mountainous Basque Country.