It’s hard to explain the buildup of excitement when arriving in San Sebastián, because you have to be able to see the view out of your bus window.
Heading out of Madrid, the scenery is actually quite similar to that of the Treasure Valley, and its surroundings — lots of sagebrush and patches of green surrounded by mountains. But there is a point where, in the blink of an eye, you are traveling through lush green mountains (literally, we drove inside a mountain) and you are staring in awe at the beauty all around you.
And then, off in the distance, between mountain peaks, there is an odd change of color in the lower half of the horizon. That’s pretty much when you start freaking out — you’ve made it to the ocean, and San Sebastián (S.S.) is just a few kilometers away.
Now, I was told by so many people — locals, friends who have been abroad, past professors who have visited — that San Sebastián is the most beautiful city in Spain. Now that I’m here, I think it has to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The city is small, with about 200,000 people and a one-hour walk from one end to the other, but the architecture, the people, the layout and the beaches all come together to make this an unbelievable place to live.
S.S. is in el País Vasco (Basque Country) of Spain, and when you are reading that you have arrived in S.S. it actually says Donostia-San Sebastián. Donostia is the Basque name for S.S., and much like how French is paired with English on everything in Canada, Basque is paired with Spanish on everything here.
A fun little fact I learned about the Basque language — it is one of three languages that nobody has any idea which language it was derived from. About one-third of the population in S.S. speak Basque, and everyone is required to study it in school.
The first thing I did after dropping my things off at the hotel was head to the beach and squish my toes between the silky soft sand. When my feet hit the mildly cool waters, I thought I would never leave.
After orientation the next morning, I walked back to the hotel to pick up my bags and grabbed my first taxi ever to bring me to my host family.
When I met my host mom, I swear, I completely forgot how to speak Spanish (I mean I couldn’t even remember how to say the word test … examen). Then I met my host sister, and you won’t believe it, but she is also studying Journalism at the university in Bilbao.
So while my first full day in S.S. was a lot to take in, I made a full recovery the next day, and as Wednesday rolled around and classes started, I was feeling pretty enthusiastic about the upcoming semester. My first class at Universidad del País Vasco just happened to be at 9 a.m. and I was the only student to show up (all my classes are USAC specific so it is pretty normal to have between 3-10 students in a class), but I had a blast meeting my first professor, as he told me that he actually spent a semester in Boise teaching Spanish. We talked about Idaho for 20 minutes (in Spanish obviously) and the prominence of the Basque culture in Boise.
I have now spent almost three full weeks in S.S., and I couldn’t be happier. School is challenging and takes up most of my day, but I also have Fridays off, which makes up for having class until 5:30 p.m. every day. I’ve been eating delicious food, such as mussels and gelato, and I get to walk along the beach to school. I’ve even done some traveling already to Southern France and will head to Bilbao this weekend to visit another University of Idaho student who is studying there.
So far, studying abroad has greatly exceeded my expectations, and I can only imagine the adventures that are to come.
Emily Vaartstra can be reached at [email protected]