Update~

Oops, another three weeks since my last blog. Sorry for this lack of regular blogging. 

Since my last blog, I had a major 2500 word essay hand-in from my home university for the end of April, and it consumed my life for a long time. It was a literature review - a summary of 8 sources on a particular topic, pointing out contributions and faults.. etc. Being buoyed by my great Spanish skills, I thought I could read 6 scholarly books and journals in Spanish - which is how I nearly died. But the topic was really really interesting. I chose to look at the impact of Catholicism on Spanish society and vice versa in the last 50 years. Religion here is really interesting. The Spanish Catholic Church has changed from a spiritual monopoly for the last century (before 1960s) to just another spiritual option. Whilst most Spaniards still call themselves Catholics, the whole concept has changed - it doesn't entail any religious obligations - no need to agree with the doctrine set by the pope, nor attend mass. These changes have happened within one or two generations, and so there's generations of Spaniards with completely different mentalities coexisting now.

Two weeks ago, on 26 March, the weekend before it was due, I still went to Bilbao for a day with the local christian group. It was a pity that the Guggenheim Museum (by Frank Lehry!) was just swapping expositions, so a third of the museum was closed =( But I was really excited to see the famous puppy by Paul Koon outside of it. I'd read about it and seen it in books back in Sydney so many years ago.

It's a lovely city, bigger than Pamplona. The river that cuts through the city makes it very scenic.

Another Koon's work on the terrace of the Guggenheim

The bridge across from the Guggenheim

I love the trams here! They're really modern, and it looks like they are skimming across the grass when they pass

It's got a beautiful river running through, which reminds me of a mini-thames

Funnily enough, there is a merry-go-round here

There is something called la Semana del Pincho in Pamplona from 25 May to 2 April. What it is, is a whole week of special foods. There is a custom of eating pinchos/pintxos in this region (it's the same as tapas) - a small plate of food usually eaten with a glass of wine/drink. ie. sandwiches, tortillas, etc What people usually do, is to order a pincho and drink in a bar, finish it standing or sitting at the bar; before moving onto the next bar and doing the same thing.
This week was a competition between a few hundred bars to come up with the best pincho. They were amazing, and all presented beautifully. Sadly I forgot to bring a camera the both times I ate out =( However the food was a bit more expensive - 4.30€ for two pinchos and there were so many people it was difficult to move from bar to bar. But it was really fun!

I'm excited about the new weather here! Since this week, temperatures are reaching 30 degrees, and they do lovely public garden landscaping here: they've planted lots of flowers here. And the grass is so green.

But I'm not sure what to think about summer clothing here. Despite of the 30 degree temperature, I saw less than three girls in shorts/skirts at uni. Apparently the other university has clothing restrictions (ie. girls cannot wear shorts/skirts without ankle-length tights) because they are run by the Catholic branch, opus dei. Or maybe this city is just a bit more conservative. It's a far cry from the short shorts worn by so many girls back home in Sydney. I felt stared at even though I was only wearing a skirt just above the knees. But it's seriously impossible to wear jeans!

Flower beds in the main plaza: Plaza del Castillo

The view from my uni

And last night, there was some sort of a demonstration in the streets when I went home. You can see the van in front, and it was followed by people on bikes and people running, chanting something in euskera/basque (the regional language here) I asked a bystander, apparently some pro-basque people join this march which happens every two years, throughout the basque region. Businesses sponsor them to run. 

The bible study group has been great so far! We're a bunch of six girls, and we all go almost every week, and it's great to be able to hang out, share in bible discussion, pray and sing together. This size means that everyone is comfortable with one another. Thank you to those who have been praying for this group, and I'm really relieved to have this group. There are still teething problems, but all the main thing are going wonderfully. The best thing, is that we all learn from the bible.^^


Food blog from the last three weeks!

I tried making honey soy chicken ^^ It's actually really simple. I can't believe I've made all this chinese food. Back in Sydney, I avoid it like the plague because I eat it every night at home anyway. But here I miss my dad's food so much

A friend showed me a lovely cafe, and I found a portuguese custard egg tart! I was so excited I didn't take photos until I have already started eating it. It tastes different to those in Macau, with a slightly heavier base.
I can't wait to travel to Portugal, a friend told me that the tarts there are amazing too!

Leche Frita - Fried Milk!
I got this because of its name! It's actually got a pudding texture, sprinkled with cinnamon. Yum!

The first thing I made after handing in my essay: crepes~!
I tried 3 different flavours and this is one of the flavours - banana

Lemon and honey (my Spanish flatmate thought this was a weird combo, but it's actually my 2nd favourite)

And finally strawberries and honey

Bacon and Pumpkin Pesto Pasta
I found this recipe on taste.com.au and it's pretty yummy, but I'm never cutting raw pumpkin again
and it's pretty greasy

Afterwards I felt like I needed some healthy food. So here's to boiled veggies and sliced chorizo.
Chorizo is amazing - I can just cut and eat it straight away without cooking

Then my next dish: Trout with Mushroom and Leek Cream Sauce
This is when I was making the sauce - it was the first time I've ever cooked with leek - its the one that looks like onion

Tadaa~

and today, a simple mushroom, leek, chorizo and scrambled eggs served with crusty bread 

Logroño and Life

Oops, It's been two weeks since my last blog =( It's been fairly uneventful but I have accumulated a few things. 

The most exciting thing of the last few days, has been our efforts to start an English bible study group. So we're a bunch of girls from different countries and different churches, who really want/need to study the bible and worship God in English. There really isn't anything like this that exists in this city (not that we collectively know of) It's difficult to have the same kind of a relationship with other believers with the linguistic and cultural barriers that exist. And sermons aren't the same when I'm struggling to understand it. 

Our last Sunday was about planning how to start a bible study group, and the coming Sunday, we will really get into it. It's truly exciting! I'm so thankful that I've been able to see how a bible study group operates in the last two years (with my home church in Sydney) and help set it up. God willing, we will be a small church (5 people so far) being nourished by God's word and reaching out to any other internationals (or locals); whilst serving at our local Spanish church. 

I've been fighting off a cold for the last few days, and thank God for stocking my local asian grocer with ginger and my fav chinese veggie! (which is also the only fresh vegetable that they sell) I made chicken ginger soup, a hot honey and lemon drink, and got some medicine from my friend. It has been one of the things I've been most worried about: getting sick in a foreign country, and not having anyone to look after me. It's good that I haven't been so sick I can't get out of bed though. Thank God for providing for me. 

Halfway through writing up this blog, I skyped with my boyfriend and saw his little toddler sister. She went, an-gie. youre beu-ti-fu. She's totally adorable! Apparently I'm not the first to hear it, but still... 

Daily Life in Pamplona

I thought it was about to snow again at one point, but no.
This is the beginning of spring now, and a lot of trees are putting out beautiful blossoms. It's lovely

8 March was the International Day for Women
This the Plaza del Castillo, where a group of women in crazy outfits were protesting for women's rights
(But I think Spain has made heaps of progress in this area in the last 10 years, especially with Zapatero's policies)

Friday night two weeks ago was a masquerade party to celebrate the carnaval
I had fun dressing up and pre-drinks at a girls flat, but I regretted actually going to the party. They had converted the venue from a restaurant to a bar/club. I had banned clubs for myself after being convinced it was dishonouring to God.
I had assumed it was not a club, because it had been a restaurant the last few times I'd been.
Nothing bad happened, but saw a guy fall facedown onto the floor, off the chair he had been sitting on. Not everyone gets that drunk, but there is something seriously wrong about clubs that makes it normal for these things to happen.

Day Trip to Laguardia y Logroño

There are some American missionaries here in Pamplona. They organise things like an English club and on campus bible studies. The last week, they had a group of students from their home church in America come over to help out with these ministries during their spring break. 

It's been amazing to be able to hang out with fellow believers in Christ, almost like being at my home church again =) Sharing the same songs, and not having a language barrier has been really cool. So we all went on a day trip together for their last day in Spain.

A lovely view from the little town of Laguardia

With a funny little clock with figures that come out at dance at noon

This is actually a lovely little hotel

A fancy wine cellar just a few minutes drive away from laguardia
This region is famous for its wines (and they make a good profit too!)

Food market in Logroño: Bunnies

First time I've seen it: its for recycling oil

This is the real thing! Totally did not expect it

Original text: The Camino de Santiago (a pilgrimage following the footsteps of the apostle James) is made in stages.
Modified Text: The Camino de Santiago is made for tapas (small plates of food) 

Now how did that get in there? 

My food blog (last 2 weeks)

I thought this was pretty funny
It says Super Big Eggs. I knew that Spaniards love putting "Super"in front of everything, but I had thought it was just a colloquial thing. Apparently not! 

My San Choi Bau filling on bread and cheese!

Flan from a packet... yum

Pepper Chicken in White Sauce
yummy and simple, if a little unhealthy

Hainanese Chicken!
I had a craving, and it was really easy, albeit a little greasy

I had an dessert party with a bunch of other girls ^^
This is apple crumble with corn flakes for the topping served with vanilla icecream

Since it's my food blog section, I thought I'd post up the types of wine tasting we're doing in class (in between dead-boring theory lessons: we spent 1.5 hours on corks in spanish)
These are some dessert wines

Our last class, we tried a gran total of six glasses: 2 white wines, 2 rose wines, and 2 red wines
The whole point is to see the difference between recently bottled wines, and the not-so-recent; and the difference between one that had been matured in wood, and one that hadn't.
It was the most interesting class ^^

Olite Day Trip =)

Has been a great weekend, very full on. I caught one screening on Friday at the international documentary festival here in Pamplona. It was pretty good, but sadly didn't get to visit the rest. =(

Saturday was the day trip to the small town of Olite, only 40 min by bus from Pamplona. It's a beautiful sleepy little town, with a wonderful (restored) palace and a nice wine museum. Some photos are up on facebook, here are some others

This is the view of the town from the top of the palace

With cute towers (these are the restored ones I think)

Nice little courtyards

This is the windy street leading up the entrance of the Palace

Cathedral right next to it...

And a lovely grassy area to the side

Then I went home to cook food to keep in the fridge for the rest of the week. So I had one stove for frying the minced pork, then one stove for cooking rice, and the oven on for the vegetables, when everything stopped. Then I was panicking, because everything was broken! Later I discovered I had just tripped the circuit, and reset it, and everything worked again. I'm so proud of myself. And here's the infamous food:

Angie's version of San Choy Bau! (生菜包)
haha, the veggies weren't cooked before everything stopped (it's microwave cooked)

Some of the cooked veggies! 

The Spanish church was pretty cool, but it went for soo long. It lasted from 11.30am - 2pm: with singing/worship in the beginning, open testimony for whoever wants to share prayer points or things to thank God for, then singing, and a sermon. I found it hard to concentrate for the whole time, but generally understood the gist of the service. The sermon was great, because the speaker was old and spoke slowly and clearly. It was about humility based on the passage from Luke 18 about the pharisee being proud in front of God, and the tax collector crying out for God to have mercy on him as a sinner. Ultimately it was about having Jesus as the ultimate example (from Philippians 2:6-11) And we sang some songs to finish, and the very last was "shout to the Lord" - immediately I perked up and understood every single word, haha

I'll try and make it to the night service for young people next week, apparently it's shorter, and hopefully it will be easier to understand and follow the whole service ^^ I'm excited for it