History Lesson

I'm going out of order. I'm sorry- for some reason I want to write this one first.

The lectures in my history are the hardest to understand, but the professor is the nicest lady ever. She talks so fast that I can't pick out many details from the lecture. I can tell you whether it's about economics, culture, social class, etc., but that's about it. She could tell I was completely lost in the very beginning so she gave me a list of books to read and write about in place of the exam. One of these books is about the Camino de Santiago, in which I took a special interest. I told her that I want to ride the entire Camino, and she printed off a list of hostels in each of the stops for me.

She wanted the class to meet in front of the historical archive in dowtown Pamplona for a little field trip last Wednesday. I was the only one who showed up so it was just a one-on-one time with her. I think I learned more that day than in all the lectures up to this point. She didn't allow much time to stop and read everything in the museums. She knew it all so she explained it verbally. I'll never look at the shield of Pamplona the same way again now that I know what it means. I saw some seals dating back to the medieval period, and learned that there cave men in Navarra, so to speak. After leaving the first museum, we went to a bar (remember "bar" has unlimited meanings in Spain) for coffee. I don't normally drink coffee. I think this was the first time I actually enjoyed the coffee instead of tolerating it. She said it would be "rapidísimo" (very fast). We were actually there for ten minutes. She asked me if I could translate a paper she wrote into English because English is the international language and whoever she's giving it to wants it in English as well. I'm really looking forward to doing it to repay her kindness a little. I'm also touched that she's given me this responsibility of faithfully representing her work.

The people of Navarra are obviously very proud of their history, and rightfully so. Navarra is probably as significant as the rest of Spain combined because it borders France. I wondered before how my professor could know so much about history that she doesn't even look at notes when she lectures, yet she does not speak English. While we were touring the museums, it occurred to me that when you love your country (or nation, rather) so much, you don't feel a need to learn another language and/or culture, even if it is the international language. After all, non-native Spanish speakers are few and far between in the United States.