Finally arrived in San Sebastián! I slept a lot on the bus but was more awake towards the end of the journey. We drove through beautiful mountainous countryside before arriving in our final destination of Donostia. This city is beautiful! We briefly drove through part of the city on the bus, giving me a nice first glimpse of my new home. The first night we stayed at a hotel on the western side of the city where we had a brief orientation about our roommates and where we would be living. And by brief, I mean excruciatingly long for most people. Tito loves to talk and most of the information was very repetitive for those of us who were on the Madrid tour. It was also repetitive for those who had just arrived in Spain because every point had to be made at least twice. I couldn’t tell you how many times we were told that people in Spain don’t have guests over to their homes. They go out so as to not make too much noise.
Here's what I've learned so far...
Map
There are three beaches in San Sebastián. The Western most beach is called Playa de Ondarreta, the middle beach is Playa de La Concha, and the eastern most beach is called Playa de La Zurriola. I live near this third beach in a neighborhood called Gros. It’s pronounced like ‘gross’ but this place is far from it. Another neighborhood, called el Centro, is where most of the shopping is. It is located across the river from Gros, near Playa de La Concha. El Parte Vieja is where most of the bars and night life is. This neighborhood is located between el Centro and the mountain with the Jesus statue. USAC students have apartments in all of these neighborhoods and if you live with a host family, you are probably in a different neighborhood. The school is located on the Western side of town and it takes about 45 minutes to walk there from my apartment, but it’s not a bad view…
Map of San Sebastián
View of the river from the first bridge; Gros on the left, el Centro on the right
Playa de la Concha (I walk past this on the way to school)
Town Hall
My Apartment
My apartment is a small three bedroom place on the top floor of our building. It’s amazing and we have a view of the beach from our balcony. I live with two other girls, Allison and Kenna. Allison goes to Chico, like me, and Kenna goes to Cal Poly. Kenna has been here since the fall semester so she showed us around the apartment. Our landlord’s name is Miguel and he is the sweetest old man who lives in our building. It was hard to communicate with him at first though since he only speaks Spanish and Basque. I’m getting better though! The only downside to our apartment is the lady who lives below us. She get’s mad if there is ever any noise at all. She yelled at us because my phone accidentally fell on the floor once. Luckily Miguel doesn’t listen to her.
View from my balcony
View from my balcony
Iris, Allison (roommate), and me
Me and Kenna (after getting soaked by the rain)
Food
The food in San Sebastián is very good. In most of Spain, people eat tapas, small plates of various types of food. In the Basque Country, they are called pintxos (pronounced peenchos). Here, they have their own take on Thirsty Thursday called Pintxopote. In Gros, my neighborhood, all of the bars sell a pintxo and a drink for only 2 euros.
Pintxos
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