Viva San Fermin!

So week two. I really need to do this more so they aren't so long. This one may end up taking everyone a week to read.

Dan was really upset that last week I failed to mention that while we were walking down the street one random afternoon, a weirdy-looking drunk man told Dan he was pretty. Dan can be so vain.

I didn't go to class at all with Dan this week. It was a Spanish Poetry class and he hated it. And said he had a hard time staying awake. I just don't think I would've lasted. We did discover this week some new tasty foods to eat, thanks to my brother's lovely wife, Jennifer. She served her mission in Madrid and had some tips on easy things to make and how to find the ingredients. I had some different but very good spaghetti after that, and a Doner Kabob which may be the best thing (That isn't sugar related) I will eat out here. And tonight we are possibly looking at some Gazpacho soup. I think that's what it is called.

Our friends also discovered the joy of this little street downtown, Calle Laurel, where there's several different cafes and pubs that each have their own specialty food. Just little things, mostly kabobs or little sandwiches. But they all cost about a euro each so you just go from place to place and after three or four things, you're full. Tuesday we also watched the Netherlands win the semi finals whilst going around that street.

This is just me playing with my camera settings

Apart from this weekend, Wednesday was the big event day. Unfortunately I failed to bring my compact camera so there are not pictures until I get back to the states. That afternoon we had our first of three excursions with our school group. We went out to a vineyard that also had a museum on wine making. Outside of the cities up here in the north of Spain, everything is pretty much vineyards. So we went through the museum which, until about the last twenty minutes (we were in their for an hour and twenty) was the most boring experience ever! Everything was in Spanish and the first part was just this giant room of modern and ancient tools used in wine making, with no explanation of what they were really for. (Not that I could read it anyway.) Once we got downstairs though there were some videos on things like bottle, barrel, and cork making which I actually found fascinating. They showed how they would do it all by hand and the glass blowing was awesome.

After the museum, we toured the actual bodega, and even though it was also in Spanish, it was really cool too. So many barrels of wine. At the end of the tour they offered us a taste of the wine. They had all these glasses set out for us to try and of the thirty of us, there were about three non-mormons who gave it a shot. I'm sure the guy was wondering what was up. Thanks but I had enough alcohol down in Mexico. Did I fail to mention that? I drank like three times because the Mexicans would get confused and bring us alcohol after we would ask for no alcohol. My favorite was at a restaurant that as we sat down, instead of giving us water they just handed us all some drink which after Jon had finished his, Dan decided to inform us it had alcohol in it. We just didn't expect it from the way it was presented. I had to start smelling my drink every time they brought one. Anyway, back to Spain. After the tour of the bodega, we bought a glass of their non alcoholic stuff. It was honey flavored and very good.

After the excursion the bus just dropped us off at the square so we could watch the Spain/Germany semi final. That was a lot of fun. There were some Germans there who magically disappeared just before the end of the game. Spain took it of course and we're really excited for the finals tomorrow night. One of the professors teaching the lower level group sat with us and it was so weird. I don't think at USU, I'd ever see a professor barely older than me, and that scantily-clad, jump on one of her students after Spain scored their goal. I'm pretty sure the three guys we sat with all have goals to make out with her.

Thursday was so hot we were just sitting around sweating in our apartment. We finally managed to walk down to the mall for the air conditioning where Dan made his first H&M purchase. I was so proud.

Friday night we headed out with Matt and Hailey to Pamplona to see the Running of the Bulls Saturday morning. That is how awesome we are. As soon as we got off the bus we were surrounded by people in red and white. There were people everywhere and and any where there were grass there were people camped out on it. We walked to where they released the bulls and found a good spot to come watch and then we walked up the route the bulls would take. The streets were jammed with people and everyone was carrying around huge jugs of wine, like the size of water cooler jugs. It was great. Once we got to the arena we took some pictures, which I will have to post later, and then just stayed there for a while. There was a group of five or six slightly inebriated British guys standing in a group singing as many Beatles songs as they could think of and then they started taking random pictures of each other. They noticed us and so made Dan come get in a picture with them and then they started talking to us about why we weren't going to run in the morning.

"How long did it take you to get here and you're not even going to run?" "Three days? That's like a thousand miles, mate!" Dan blamed me as the reason he couldn't run and so one of them started pestering me. "What's wrong with him running? He's not going to die you know?" I told him I wouldn't be able to get home if he died. He found that hilarious and told everyone else. In the meantime, the ugliest of them all was telling Dan... "You can run my friend, I'll take care of you. You just run in front of me and then the bull will just get me and you'll be safe." Lots more was said that I don't recall at this time but I was laughing so hard. They were hilarious. A couple more of them started bugging me about letting Dan run with the reasoning; "Look, do you know how many people die doing this thing? Nobody! There's only been around eight or so in the last hundred years! More people are dying from their toasters. You Americans can be at home sticking a fork in your toaster 'I can't get my pop tart out' and you'll die that way. It's much more likely you know. You'd rather risk your lives for your pop tarts."

Side note: Because we'll be spending roughly five days of this overall trip in airports, Dan and I packed some snacks like granola bars and pop tarts. Dan had brought one with us to Pamplona in case he was hungry in the middle of the night.

I told them well of course we've got a pop tart right now. "No you haven't! There is no way you have actually got a pop tart with you! You can't have seriously. You're just trying to be the stereotypical American!" We pulled it out and I believe it may have been the funniest thing they've ever witnessed. I offered it to them, "Sorry miss, but I don't pollute my body. Cheers." (He was holding a pint of beer which I thought was ironic.) We parted ways soon after but about two minutes later we saw them all dancing and singing as they led the parade through the streets. I think they might be my favorite people.

We walked around a little more doing our best not to have alcohol spilled on us which was a challenge. About half the people you saw were covered in it. We caught some fireworks in the square, where we also saw two thirteen year old boys walking around with a cooler, selling wine. And I successfully avoided some man trying to lean in and kiss me.

Around one thirty we went back to the spot where we wanted to watch the bulls to camp out for the night. It was a really good spot just past where they released the bulls and with a good view up the street a ways after they passed us. Plus it was up above a ways so we'd be looking down at the scene and not have guys trying to climb over us to avoid the bulls. And there we sat. At first I tried to just lay my head in Dan's lap to rest but then people would come by thinking I was wasted (They actually were) and would stroke my hair and say "Be careful, be careful." with their various accents. We also took turns with Matt and Hailey to go have a look at the actual bulls. They were huge. The size of small houses. There was also a fair that could challenge Lagoon behind where the bulls were kept. After we got that out of our system and got too cold to move we just stayed in our spot. Best people watching ever.

We saw all kinds of drunks staggering around (We were on a bit of an incline which made it even better. Plus a few meters away there was a small, random step that was often tripped over.) I saw one boy who couldn't have been more than 15 nearly falling on his face. I was scared he really would or that he'd fall over the railing down to the other street below. It also seems that the wall across from us was the most popular bathroom in town. At one point there were five guys using it as a urinal at once. Then not two minutes later I watched a drunken woman trying to sit down and then just topple over and lay down right where the five guys had just...been... We watched a woman on the street below sit down on the curb and then refuse to get up no matter how much her boyfriend tried to pull her up. She eventually puked and then ended up sitting in it in her struggle to not stand up. I don't know what became of her as after about twenty minutes of struggling and slapping her boyfriend in the face a few times, he gave up and left her there. Two VERY classy people. But the best was this man wearing a sparkly pink backpack who stopped right in front of us. He put down the grocery sack he was holding and pulled out what appeared to be a two liter of soda, only filled with wine, and poured himself some into a plastic cup. Then he gave the jug a most loving look and gently kissed it before placing it back in the sack. He then raised his glass in a toast until some passerby noticed and toasted with him.

Also throughout the night several people would just come over and talk to us. They thought we were crazy for not partying and just waiting at the fence. One French boy just B-lined it over to our friend Krista and after talking to her for about two minutes tried to lay down in her lap. Another time while the two boys had left to find an actual bathroom some guys came and tried to talk to me and I was glad Krista was there as they were only speaking Spanish. She made them go away. Then there was the most annoying, rotten-toothed man who was trying to take our spot and chain smoking in our faces for several hours, making Dan so mad I was scared he would punch him. He kept touching Dan's head and shoulder and at one point he kissed Dan's hand. Finally I slapped his hand off of Dan and glared at him and then he left him alone. I sure wished I knew enough Spanish right then to tell him off.

Eventually more people from our group came and the sky began to lighten. We had all been huddling together to keep warm so this was a very welcome sight. We were also apparently right over the spot where they put the statue of San Fermin, the saint who watches over the bull run. They all sing a song to him three times just before the run begins each morning. We had been so confused most the night when people kept stopping and singing at this empty hole in the wall and taking pictures. Apparently they only put the statue there during the run and then take it away again so no one steals it. We had a great view of all the runners waiting for it to start and watching all the different emotions on their faces. It was great. And then the bulls came. Dan recorded on my little camera which I can't seem to get to upload and I attempted to take pictures but my DSLR has had some serious issues lately (like not working or not saving pictures) and it decided to stop working after one picture of the bulls approaching. Bugged. Most of the people just ran to the side as soon as they came out but we saw two or three get caught up in the midst of the bulls as they ran and one bull fall over as they got to the curve in the road. All in all it took about ten seconds from their release until they were out of sight. Completely worth it.

Just After Getting There

Walking the Route

Outside the Stadium

The British Chaps

Runners Getting Ready

The Only Good Shot I Got of the Bulls

Just after the run.

Hot Air Balloons Were Everywhere in the Morning

 
Afterward, we attempted to walk through the streets to go see a church and then get back to the buses. Most disgusting experience of my life. Sam would've passed out. You couldn't walk without stepping in garbage and booze and puke and urine. I was near impossible to breathe. We couldn't wait to get out of there. Oh and the church? It was closed.

The Only Clean Street In Pamplona

 What the Rest of the Streets Looked Like

I Stole This One From Week In Pictures But I

Thought It Showed the Nasty Streets Well.

The Wet Streets?  That's Not Water...

A San Fermin pedimos, por ser nuestro patron, nos guie en el encierro, dandonos su bendicion!