SAN FERMIN: The Biggest Party in Spain

Last weekend was San Fermin! It was a much needed weekend of partying and being with other travelers. San Fermin is a festival held in Pamplona, Spain, about a three hour trip away from where I’m staying in Gorliz. It is most famous for the running of the bulls! For me, this weekend was not about the traditional “events” like the bull fighting and running with the bulls, but about meeting up with other travelers and having the opportunity to see a new city with others my own age. It was such a relief to talk with people that spoke English perfectly. I even met two other au pair girls from the States.

I had been planning to meet up with other travelers on Couch Surfers. If you’re not already familiar with this site, it connects people from all around the world. It allows travelers to search for people that are willing to host them for a night or a weekend. The traveler can get a free place to stay as well as meat a local and learn about their city. It is a community based on trust and the common goal of seeing the world, and showing your world to others. I absolutely love it! It also offers a place to create activities and meet ups. This Pamplona “meet up” group of couch surfers had planned where and when to meet on different days.

As I got off my bus, I was twenty minutes early for the meet up so I walked around for a few minutes before just settling in the meet up spot. It took me about ten minutes to realize there were two guys sitting right next to me holding up a little sign facing the other way. “What does your sign say?” I asked. They faced it towards me, “CS”. Couch surfers! And that was the beginning to a great weekend!

The first guys I met were from Argentina and London, then a few minutes later a guy from Michigan, and another from Sweden showed up. We made our way to a four start hotel room. Oh, does that not sound right? That was not a typo.. a group of couch surfers known for staying with people for free stayed at a beautiful four star hotel room. How? On the couch surfers meet up discussion, a fellow couch surfer from Germany was going to stay the night and had booked a hotel room. His flight got canceled and he wasn’t going to make it. It was too late to cancel his reservation so he gave it to couch surfers, for FREE! 

The four boys went to take a nap at the hotel, still exhausted from the night before. I wandered around the crowded streets taking pictures and taking in the sights and entertainment. There were street performers on every corner: dancers, singers, musicians, and other weird little attempts at making some money off the huge amounts of people that come to their city to celebrate (check out the videos below!). Everyone wore white and red (including me). I mean everyone. I saw one or two people that were wearing normal clothes and everyone stared at them. Good thing I googled “what to wear to San Fermin”.

The next meet up, I was the one with the sign. Being the only female couch surfer at the time, my skills at writing “CS” were the highest. Next came two guys from India, an Armenian guy who grew up in Syria but was living in France (that took the whole weekend to get straight), and from there it’s a long list. But at one point there was a group of over twenty also including people from Mexico, Brazil, Ireland, Germany, and the States.

Then it was time to get the partying started. With a large bottle of Sangria in hand, we began to have a good time! 

When in Pamplona…

As the night went on, we followed bands through the small and busy streets dancing and drinking! There were water guns filled with wine and beer being squirted into everyone’s mouths. Good luck trying to stay sober at a festival like San Fermin!

I was dancing through the streets and clinging bottles for a cheers with people from all over the world. We were all so different, but had so many common goals. To see the world, meet new people, try new things, and have a great time!

So the next morning I may have missed watching the 7am bull run due to seven people sleeping through three alarms… but like I said, that wasn’t really why I was there!

“We’ll always have Pamplona!” 

How to make Tortilla de Patata!

Tortilla de Patata is a Spanish potato omelet. It was actually the first Spanish food I ate while in Spain. Go into any restaurant or bar and they will probably have one. It is a very popular pinxtos (The basque name for tapas, pronounced peenchos). It might seem more like a breakfast food but they eat it for a snack or for lunch or dinner. They are also made with meats and cheeses put into the middle, but for now I am mastering the basic Tortilla de Patata. With only a few ingredients that you most likely have at home.. give it a try!


These are pictures from when I made two small tortilla de patatas at home with my host father and sister.


My host father explained that he takes one potato per person plus 2 potatoes. So if you're making this for a family of 5, you should use 7 potatoes. If you're just making it for yourself or maybe one other person, you could still make extra and save it for the next day. Here, it is common to eat the left overs the next day on a sandwich!

Ingredients: 

6 potatoes

6 or 7 eggs (I think we ended up using 7)

half a large onion

1/4 - 1/2 cup of milk

olive oil

salt

1. Peel potatoes

2. Chop up potatoes!

You can just chop it into small-ish chunks if you'd like. My host father says his family chops it up more in random pieces like in the picture below. 

3. Heat a pan of olive oil over high heat.

Test to make sure it is hot enough by adding one piece of potato and making sure it bubbles

4. Add potatoes to the pan

Lower heat slighty

Stir every couple of minutes for even cooking

                                                                                                                                5. After the potatoes are half way done, add half a diced onion       (After about 5 or 6 minutes of cooking)

6. Cook for another 5-6 minutes or until potatoes are completely cooked and just starting to brown

7. While the potatoes are cooking...

Mix 6 or 7 eggs (about same amount as potatoes used)

Add a good splash of milk

Whisk together for a few minutes until there is no separation

Add a little salt

8. Take potatoes out of pan and drain oil

Place on paper towel to remove access oil

9. Add potatoes into the egg mixture 

10. mix together slowly making sure you don't mash up all the potatoes.

11. Heat pan and add a little olive oil

We used a smaller pan and made two because they're easier to flip (so I suggest doing this)

You could also use one large pan instead

12. If using small pans like we did, add half the mixture to the pan, then decrease the heat to low-medium

13. Cover and cook

Keep an eye on it... you want it to be more than half way cooked through so you're able to flip it onto a plate.. but the top should still be raw egg and you don't want the bottom to be burnt

About 8-12 minutes maybe

14. Now is the tricky part... The Flip!

I took a video of my host father doing it so you could see what to do. 

Flip the omelet onto a plate

Turn up the heat and add more oil to the pan

Slowly return the omelet to the pan, raw egg side down of course

15. Cook for just another 1-2 minutes and its done!

This one was mine! YUM!

Ta-dah!! Tortilla de Patata, a Spanish omelet! Give it a try and let me know how it turns out!

Hola Gorliz!

Getting ready to leave for Spain, I was more nervous than when I was leaving for Africa. For studying in Botswana I had pre-departure orientations which included power points and discussion on what to expect. I knew I was going to be taking classes and living in a dorm and I knew there would be other international students in the same situation. For Spain there was more fear of the unknown.

I had met a family through one of the two au pairing websites that I created profiles on – greataupair.com. I sent and received over a hundred messages between the two sites from families all over the world. I finally found a family that was the perfect fit!

WHERE AM I?

I am now in Gorliz, Spain in the beautiful Basque Country. It is along the northern coast about 40 minutes away from the city of Bilbao. It is about 4 hours from Madrid, in central Spain. The Basque people are their own ethnicity with their own language (completely different from Spanish and I have heard it is extremely difficult to learn). My family, made up of a mother, father, and two daughters (8 and 12), live in a nice, simple home 15 minutes walking distance to the beautiful beach! 

THE FOOD

I was nervous about the Spanish cuisine as well. My travel book told me that squid, octopus, and baby eels were a common treat in the Basque country. None of which I even had the slightest desire to try. But when I got here, my first meal with the family was spaghetti! They had homemade tomato and pesto sauces. My second night: hamburgers! Had I even left the States? The food has been pretty wonderful. There are different Spanish dishes, but they are simple and have similar flavors to foods I am used to (so far). The most popular dish in Spain I am told is Tortilla de Patata (I had guessed Paella but was wrong). My host father taught me how to make it! It is basically a potato omelet.. and then you can put anything in it that you want. Soon, I’ll try to make my own and see how it comes out. I’ll take a picture to show you guys.

[Chicken and Pork paella prepared by my host father]

Although they do seem to fry a lot of things here, I do feel like I am eating healthier. Salad dressings do not even seem to exist. I’ve given up my fatty Ranch for olive oil and either balsamic vinegar or lemon juice (my brother Corey will be so proud).  Eating fruit and yogurt after lunch and dinner is expected, and keeps me from eating too much of the main meal so I have room for the healthy dessert.

Every week day I eat lunch with my little sister at her grandparents’ house. They prepare a full on meal, so delicious! One day last week they baked chicken with whole apples, to make the chicken a little sweet and moist. Then, I got to eat one of the baked apples like a dessert, yum! The other wonderful thing about eating with the grandparents is that they don’t speak a word of English. I do my best to make sense of what they’re talking about or asking based on the little Spanish that I know and gestures, and if unsuccessful, my little sister translates.

MY JOB

So, if you don’t know, an au pair usually is like a nanny; takes care of the children and commonly lives with the family. It is also common for families to look for au pairs from other countries to help their children with that language. In my case, I am taking care of two girls who are learning English. My job is to take care of them and entertain them while only speaking English. They must only speak English to me as well during my “work hours”. My normal hours will start next week: 9-2:30 Monday-Friday. For the first two weeks I have been working 7:30-1:30 because the youngest girl is still in school. Here is an example of a work day.

7:15 – Wake up and somewhat get ready

7:30 – wake up the youngest girl, and get her ready for school (make her breakfast, etc).

8:10 – Walk to the bus stop

8:20 – Return to the house and finish getting ready and making my bed (its in my contract to keep my room clean!... even though they have a house cleaner that cleans my room)

9:00 – Wake up the older girl

9:30 – go for a walk – to the beach, along the beach, and back home

10:30 – return home and get ready for the beach

11:00 – Go to the beach

1:00 – return home and get ready

1:30 – go to the grandparents’ house for lunch

What can I say, it’s a difficult job.

I have so much more I could say, but it is hard to pick and choose and I don’t want to write too much in one post! I am making plans to start traveling on weekends to nearby cities, so far I have only been to Bilabo. My next posts will be about learning Spanish, favorite foods and recipes, and then my travels to other cities, and life in the Basque country. I might do some all picture blog entries as well. If you have any specific questions about my travels, let me know!