LA PLAYA DE LA CONCHA
- Hannah McDonald
- Jun 6, 2017
- 3 min read
This morning Makaela and I packed our things for school, including surf clothes, and began our walk to school, by ourselves. Considering yesterday's street wandering we were conflicted about feeling slightly more confident about finding our way to school and slightly more nervous. None the less, we made it on time. Our first class consisted of reviewing the past tense, and our second class consisted of simple conversation about where each of us are from. After two classes, our group has forty-five minutes to work on the week's project. This week our group is supposed to put together a comedy skit. Using the cultural backgrounds of the students in the class, we are making "Tourist Tour: La Película." Summed up, there is a group of tourist from Germany and a group of tourists from the United States, both on a tour of San Sebastian. Cultural differences will be pointed out while common language mix ups are used. Hopefully it will come together by Friday. During the school day, Makaela and I were informed that the surf lessons would be canceled due to bad weather. The waves were too big and the sky was cloudy. Thinking through a new plan, we decided, "why not go to the beach?" It is close, and we don't have to swim. Stomachs talking to us, we decided to find some food first. After yesterday's adventure and the suggestion of a classmate, we thought we knew the perfect place. However, we soon found ourselves wandering the streets again. Yesterday we had found an Italian restaurant in the old part of the city that looked good. Not wanting to wander mindlessly anymore, we went there. A waiter came up to us and began speaking to us in English. When I responded in Spanish, he almost looked relieved. Makaela and I, proud of ourselves, started the meal with bread and then moved onto pastas. It was all delicious. So fresh. Content and re-fueled, we headed to the beach. We went to La Concha. The beach is named "La Concha" because the bay and the sand are shaped similarly to a shell. Pictures were first, of course. Then, we decided to try the water. Makaela returned saying it felt so good and refreshing. I, on the other hand, thought it was an ice bath. I asked myself how I was going to surf in it on Thursday, concluding simply that the wet suit better be really warm.
Feet sandy, it was time to find our way home. We were confident in the walking route, but that meant no adventure. Keeping the exploration spirit alive, we picked public transportation: the bus. The bus number we knew, but which stop to get off on wasn't so clear. Figuring we would recognize it, we scanned our cards. We did recognize it, just one stop late. It dumped us right in front of a market though, something we'd been looking for all afternoon. I bought some nuts, and then we began home. We made it back with just a few retraced steps: a pretty big accomplishment for the day.
Once back, Makaela came to my family's house where we looked over the day's pictures and had dinner. Tonight it was a potato and egg quiche of sorts, without the crust. It was surprisingly good considering I don't typically like potatoes, which is another win.
The nights here seem to pass so quickly because it stays light for so long. The sun doesn't set tonight until 9:45 pm. I'll look at a clock and find myself saying, "woah, it's 9:00 pm." However, I find the days exhausting and end up in bed long before my host family. It's bueñas noches for Hannah.
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