Hetal Chirag
As a part of our MBA exchange program from Ryerson University, we went on a summer exchange program to Copenhagen Business School (CBS). We planned our trip in such a way that we could travel to different cities during the weekends and complete our academic credits during the weekdays. On one of the weekends in July, we planned a trip to Pamplona, Spain to try something adventurous – we decided to run with the bulls.
We travelled from Madrid to Pamplona using 4 different modes of transportation which included a flight, an inter-city bus, a metro, and a shuttle. As soon as we entered the city, we started seeing people in red and white. It turns out that the red neckerchief and the white attire is a traditional dress code for the San Fermin Festival. The very first thing we did was to buy our outfits and join in the festival spirit. We purchased our outfits right at the bus stop and checked into our hostel. People from all over the world come to Pamplona during this week so all the hostels were overbooked and overpriced.
After freshening up and putting on our red and white outfits, we went out to explore the city. It seemed like the whole city was a big street party. Everyone, including young kids, teenagers, adults our own age and elderly ladies and gentlemen, were all dancing, singing, and enjoying the music on the street. It was the first time I ever saw people using sangria squirt guns. Everyone was in a great mood without a care in the world. It seemed like the whole city was a big street party. We joined the crowd and enjoyed the music, dancing, sangria and fireworks.
The next day we woke up at 5 a.m. to run with the bulls. When I look back, I can definitely say that it was one of the craziest things I have done in my entire life. From where we began, it took us barely 20-30 seconds to enter the ring and finish the run. But the adrenaline rush was certainly worth the madness.
