LA FERIA

Hannah McDonald
Jun 7, 2017
3 min read

This morning I started my day with a baguette and a kiwi. Makaela then met me downstairs and we began our walk to school. Today we had a slight detour but managed to find our way back. We will get it eventually. During our first class, we reviewed the four past tenses and the differences between the preterite and the imperfect. During the second class, we looked up interesting facts about a city you and your partner wanted to visit. Faye, a German student, and I did Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Turns out it has held the largest concert in the world on one of its beaches in 1994. Following classes, we had time to work on our project, which our group began filming during. Turns out, it definitely isn't as funny as we initially anticipated.

Following the usual lunch in the park, our group and the other group we do activities with began the walk to the old amusement park. On the way, we saw graffiti on an underpass stating "tourists go home." Intrigued, I asked Mike, our activities guide, where a lot of the city's income came from. He responded, "tourism." I proceeded to ask why they would want us gone then. The answer makes sense: the prices in the city have risen for tourists, but locals are also having to pay those inflated prices. I thought this was an interesting concept to ponder. Anyways, the amusement park is over 100 years old and on top of a mountain at the far end of the bay. It was quite a walk to that end of the bay, but, luckily, we got to take a one-car train to the top of the hill. On the train, Makaela and I talked to the students in the other group. They are all from Ireland and around seventeen or eighteen years old. That's where all the students Makaela and I's age are.

Once at the top, the view was absolutely stunning. You get to look back on the bay that runs into La Concha beach and the whole city. It was beautiful. I would imagine it is one of the best views in the city. Mom, Dad, Joey- I want to take you there.

Mike was finally able to peel everyone away from the view and to the roller coaster. We went in two separate groups because there are too many of us. In the first group, someone remarks at the last minute, "is this a loop rollercoaster?" Another quickly responds, "I hope not... we're not strapped in." Don't worry: it wasn't a loop rollercoaster. It was fairly short, but had another beautiful view off the coast and at least one drop that made you scream. Following the rollercoaster was a turtle race and bumper cars. We then had the next hour to do what we wanted. There was a gelato shop up there, which is when I realized just how many gelato shops San Sebastian has. There is one on almost every street I'm pretty sure.

Once tons of pictures had been taken and we had walked back to the Plaza, the night was ours. Makaela had shopping in mind. We proceeded to the area of the city with the most clothes shopping. I was low on food-energy and dragging along, so imagine both of our excitement when we found a nice, big supermarket. Food: something we had been looking for since we arrived here. After a quick swipe through, we returned to the bread station. Not only were there empanadas, there were vegan empanadas, with vegetables. This was the first I had really seen of vegetables the whole trip. Finding food that fits my diet has been a struggle for me, so I was over the moon when I found something vegan. I have never appreciated vegetables more in my life. I won't complain about them anymore Momma.

With a little more energy, the shopping continued. We went to Zara, which was huge, along with other clothing stores in the area. Makaela having had success, we began the walk home. Having learned our wandering lesson, I asked someone which direction the river was in. Once the river was found, we knew our way home. This time we made it without any detours.

For dinner I had a soup with pasta noodles, beans, and even a few vegetables.

Today was another exhausting day, and tomorrow we have our extra long surf lesson. It's time to get some sleep.