This past week, I taught a lesson on Thanksgiving for my English classes. I told them about all the food we eat on Thanksgiving. I also told them the history of the holiday and how we celebrate now by having a huge dinner with our extended family/relatives. I filled them in on watching football and parades on t.v. We also talked about things that we are thankful for....there's so much to be thankful for...family, my boyfriend, friends, living in Spain, life, laughter, love, fresh air, joy, music, freedom, health, and so much more...
On Thanksgiving day, it wasn't exactly a holiday for me because I still had to work, but I got to skype with my family, which was soooo great! It made me very homesick! They were at my uncle's house in Houston, so I got see my aunt, uncle, cousin and my grandma! I also got to skype with Victor, which was soooo goooood! I can't wait to go home for Christmas and see my family, Victor, and friends.
On Friday, we celebrated Thanksgiving with friends (Americans, Brits, and Spaniards). We made a traditional Thanksgiving dinner! Kendall and Karen worked really hard to make this happen....ordered a turkey from the meat market and made yummy desserts (pumpkin pie, brownies) brussels sprouts, and dinner rolls. Carolyn made some great stuffing, Christina made mashed potatoes, and I made green bean casserole! We had about 16 people come for dinner. Some other language assistants from Santander came over to join us. There was a guy named Joe from Forth Worth/Dallas area! I had a lot of fun talking with him...we spoke a little in a Texas accent and had people cracking up. My favorites were talking about how 'everything's bigger in Texas' and how we make 'rotel dip' (we said roh-tell with a thick accent haha) with velveeta cheese and sausage (sometimes deer meat). After dinner, we went to the park and attempted to show the Brits and Spaniards how to play American football! I made a touchdown! Johnny and Ben, Irish and British respectively, were being super hilarious and therefore cracking me up...making 'pelvic thrusts' as a victory dance and as a way to distract the other team hahaha!
We were then attempting to play a tag game (bears, bees, fish) and I got knocked in the face by another guy on accident. He was trying to tag (or more like tackle) the Texas dude, who was standing next to me and ran straight in to me too. His head hit the side of my face and made me bite my lip. My lip was bleeding and my jaw still hurts! It is a good thing it was cold outside because sweet Alex (a northern Brit) handed me a beer bottle that was cold enough to take the place of ice for the swelling.
Despite my injuries and not being with my family :( , I had a great and memorable time celebrating Thanksgiving in Spain :)
Monday, November 30, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Art After Dark and a Painted Forest
November 16, 2009
This past weekend, Christina left for a trip to Paris and Carolyn went back to the U.S. (wish I could do the same...I get homesick every now and then!) So, Kendall and I had the house to ourselves. Friday night we went to Art after Dark at the Guggenheim! It's a party inside the museum at night. They had a d.j. who played good music and you could browse some of the exhibits as well! After this, we went to a discoteca called Fever. This is a huge club just outside of town in an industrial area. The ticket to the museum included free admission to Fever. I enjoyed going here...they played a lot of techno/house music...but they also had a hip-hop room featuring songs by Jay-Z, Snoop-Dogg, etc. It was a nice change from the usual techno music that can be heard in most clubs here (but don't get me wrong, I very much enjoy dancing to techno music). Everyone that we were with was ready to leave the club around 430 or 5 (yes in the a.m.!), so we all walked back to the metro. However, the metro did not open until 6! Some people decided to walk back, but Kendall and I stayed and waited for the metro with two other language assistants (they did not want to walk because their feet were hurting from the shoes they were wearing). By the time the metro opened, people (who came from the club) were pushing and shoving to get into the platform...disaster! In the end, we made it home safely and I was sooo ready to crawl into bed!
On Sunday, one of my students from my English class (Xabier who lives in Basauri) took Kendall and I exploring! We went to Bakio, Bermeo, and Guernica. Bakio and Bermeo are both on the coast and Guernica is very close to the coast. We went to an island that had stairs leading to it from the mainland. There is a beautiful hermitage at the top of the island dedicated to San Juan (John the Baptist). The name of the island is Gaztelugatxe.......http://en.wikipedia.org
/wiki/San_Juan_de_Gaztelugatxe
Bermeo is a cute little fishing town right on the coast. To our surprise, there was a food market/festival going on. There were award-winning sausage chefs there and we tried marcilla....a really yummy type of sausage. We tried various cheeses, wine and cider! I bought some Basque honey too!
After Bermeo, we traveled to the Painted Forest of Ibarolla (the painter's name). This is a beautiful forest where the artist painted designs on the trees. When you stand in different designated places, the designs fit together to make a larger piece of work. Very cool!
We then went to Guernica and saw the Assembly Hall where the government of Vizcaya meets. We got to go inside and take a tour. While we were touring the hall, we met a very interesting Irish family. The woman and her two children were Irish, but the man of the family was Spanish. Through talking with them, we figured out that the man was the Spanish lover! The girls were talking about their dad being back in Ireland! Scandalous! After we left the Assembly Hall, we were walking in the park, briefly commenting on the Spanish lover and my Spanish student said, 'we make good lovers.' haha!
We stopped and saw the mural of Picasso's painting (Guernica) depicting the bombing of Guernica which happened in 1937. I love, love art and it was so amazing to get to see this mural. The actual painting is located in a museum in Madrid. After this, we went to an Irish pub for coffee. By this time, it was getting dark and we were tired, so we headed back to Bilbao.
I am so appreciative to Xabier (one of my students) for taking us on this trip!!!!
This past weekend, Christina left for a trip to Paris and Carolyn went back to the U.S. (wish I could do the same...I get homesick every now and then!) So, Kendall and I had the house to ourselves. Friday night we went to Art after Dark at the Guggenheim! It's a party inside the museum at night. They had a d.j. who played good music and you could browse some of the exhibits as well! After this, we went to a discoteca called Fever. This is a huge club just outside of town in an industrial area. The ticket to the museum included free admission to Fever. I enjoyed going here...they played a lot of techno/house music...but they also had a hip-hop room featuring songs by Jay-Z, Snoop-Dogg, etc. It was a nice change from the usual techno music that can be heard in most clubs here (but don't get me wrong, I very much enjoy dancing to techno music). Everyone that we were with was ready to leave the club around 430 or 5 (yes in the a.m.!), so we all walked back to the metro. However, the metro did not open until 6! Some people decided to walk back, but Kendall and I stayed and waited for the metro with two other language assistants (they did not want to walk because their feet were hurting from the shoes they were wearing). By the time the metro opened, people (who came from the club) were pushing and shoving to get into the platform...disaster! In the end, we made it home safely and I was sooo ready to crawl into bed!
On Sunday, one of my students from my English class (Xabier who lives in Basauri) took Kendall and I exploring! We went to Bakio, Bermeo, and Guernica. Bakio and Bermeo are both on the coast and Guernica is very close to the coast. We went to an island that had stairs leading to it from the mainland. There is a beautiful hermitage at the top of the island dedicated to San Juan (John the Baptist). The name of the island is Gaztelugatxe.......http://en.wikipedia.org
/wiki/San_Juan_de_Gaztelugatxe
Bermeo is a cute little fishing town right on the coast. To our surprise, there was a food market/festival going on. There were award-winning sausage chefs there and we tried marcilla....a really yummy type of sausage. We tried various cheeses, wine and cider! I bought some Basque honey too!
After Bermeo, we traveled to the Painted Forest of Ibarolla (the painter's name). This is a beautiful forest where the artist painted designs on the trees. When you stand in different designated places, the designs fit together to make a larger piece of work. Very cool!
We then went to Guernica and saw the Assembly Hall where the government of Vizcaya meets. We got to go inside and take a tour. While we were touring the hall, we met a very interesting Irish family. The woman and her two children were Irish, but the man of the family was Spanish. Through talking with them, we figured out that the man was the Spanish lover! The girls were talking about their dad being back in Ireland! Scandalous! After we left the Assembly Hall, we were walking in the park, briefly commenting on the Spanish lover and my Spanish student said, 'we make good lovers.' haha!
We stopped and saw the mural of Picasso's painting (Guernica) depicting the bombing of Guernica which happened in 1937. I love, love art and it was so amazing to get to see this mural. The actual painting is located in a museum in Madrid. After this, we went to an Irish pub for coffee. By this time, it was getting dark and we were tired, so we headed back to Bilbao.
I am so appreciative to Xabier (one of my students) for taking us on this trip!!!!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Lovely La Rioja
Wow....I need to make a point of writing more often!
So much has happened in the past three weeks! I started teaching English classes and I am enjoying it sooo much! I teach students who are anywhere from 16 to 60 years old. I teach beginner and intermediate English classes. I go into the classes for 30 - 45 minutes and pretty much teach about anything I want. So far, I have done lessons on Halloween, giving directions, and politically correct terms. I have to speak extremely slow sometimes, especially in my beginner classes, so that they can understand me.
This past weekend, Liz came to visit me!!! We met up in La Rioja (wine country). My roomies and I rented a car and I drove to La Rioja. We went to a wine museum:
(http://www.dinastiavivanco.com/inicio.asp)
The scenery and the colors of vineyards are beautiful!!! We learned so much about the history and the making of wine...there's so much richness in the culture of wine!!! We got to do some tasting here...but I only had a few sips so I could be a responsible driver :)! After this we drove to Logrono, the capitol of La Rioja, to pick up Liz from the bus station. We then traveled to a vineyard called Ysios in Laguardia.
After this, we went to get pintxos in the center of town and then decided to head back to Bilbao. Heading back to Bilbao was stressful....Karen, our GPS navigator, had an australian accent and would pronounce the spanish street names very badly! It was so funny. Karen, however, did not do a good job of navigating us back to the car rental place so we could drop off our car. A one and a half hour trip back to Bilbao turned into a three hour trip and most of it was spent driving around Bilbao....looking back it is hilarious, but at the time, it was super annoying! We finally made it home and then Liz and I went to get kabob's at a restaurant near our piso. These kabobs (gyros) are the best I have had...yum!
The next day (Saturday) Liz and I went to Ikea so that she could get some things for her apartment. At Ikea, we ate hotdogs and donuts for lunch...so healthy haha! We also went to El Corte Ingles so she could get a straightener. That night, the roomies and I had some friends over for a little gathering...Kendall and Carolyn made some yummy finger foods (bars and bruschetta). A few Spaniards came to the party, as well as other language assistants from the area. Some of them played flippy cup on our patio...while Liz and I and others chatted in the kitchen and living room. Martin (our British friend) brought his ipod speaker and soon enough, we were jamming to spanish music, justin timberlake, and beyonce...jamming turned into a dance party in our living room. This was a fun night and it was great to hang out at our apartment instead of go out for the night because none of the language assistants had gotten paid yet!
Sunday...Liz and I went to see the Guggenheim Museum. There was an exhibit of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright and I got to see some paintings by Picasso, Kandinsky, and many others! So exciting! We also went salsa dancing at Mozart's in the evening. I got asked to dance quite a few times. Most of the guys who asked me to dance were older. They did a lot of spinning me around. I learned some salsa steps, but still need some more lessons! They have classes on Mondays and Thursdays...so we are going to go back one day because you get one free lesson!
Liz and I got to skype with Victor when we got back, which was fun! He was being so hilarious! We toasted our 'webcam reunion'...I had wine, Liz had water, and Victor had a mojito drink (which he ran to get from the convenient store haha). Good idea on the toasting, Victor ;)
Liz had to go back to Siguenza on Monday morning...I was sad to see her go, but am looking forward to traveling with her to other countries!!
So much has happened in the past three weeks! I started teaching English classes and I am enjoying it sooo much! I teach students who are anywhere from 16 to 60 years old. I teach beginner and intermediate English classes. I go into the classes for 30 - 45 minutes and pretty much teach about anything I want. So far, I have done lessons on Halloween, giving directions, and politically correct terms. I have to speak extremely slow sometimes, especially in my beginner classes, so that they can understand me.
This past weekend, Liz came to visit me!!! We met up in La Rioja (wine country). My roomies and I rented a car and I drove to La Rioja. We went to a wine museum:
(http://www.dinastiavivanco.com/inicio.asp)
The scenery and the colors of vineyards are beautiful!!! We learned so much about the history and the making of wine...there's so much richness in the culture of wine!!! We got to do some tasting here...but I only had a few sips so I could be a responsible driver :)! After this we drove to Logrono, the capitol of La Rioja, to pick up Liz from the bus station. We then traveled to a vineyard called Ysios in Laguardia.
After this, we went to get pintxos in the center of town and then decided to head back to Bilbao. Heading back to Bilbao was stressful....Karen, our GPS navigator, had an australian accent and would pronounce the spanish street names very badly! It was so funny. Karen, however, did not do a good job of navigating us back to the car rental place so we could drop off our car. A one and a half hour trip back to Bilbao turned into a three hour trip and most of it was spent driving around Bilbao....looking back it is hilarious, but at the time, it was super annoying! We finally made it home and then Liz and I went to get kabob's at a restaurant near our piso. These kabobs (gyros) are the best I have had...yum!
The next day (Saturday) Liz and I went to Ikea so that she could get some things for her apartment. At Ikea, we ate hotdogs and donuts for lunch...so healthy haha! We also went to El Corte Ingles so she could get a straightener. That night, the roomies and I had some friends over for a little gathering...Kendall and Carolyn made some yummy finger foods (bars and bruschetta). A few Spaniards came to the party, as well as other language assistants from the area. Some of them played flippy cup on our patio...while Liz and I and others chatted in the kitchen and living room. Martin (our British friend) brought his ipod speaker and soon enough, we were jamming to spanish music, justin timberlake, and beyonce...jamming turned into a dance party in our living room. This was a fun night and it was great to hang out at our apartment instead of go out for the night because none of the language assistants had gotten paid yet!
Sunday...Liz and I went to see the Guggenheim Museum. There was an exhibit of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright and I got to see some paintings by Picasso, Kandinsky, and many others! So exciting! We also went salsa dancing at Mozart's in the evening. I got asked to dance quite a few times. Most of the guys who asked me to dance were older. They did a lot of spinning me around. I learned some salsa steps, but still need some more lessons! They have classes on Mondays and Thursdays...so we are going to go back one day because you get one free lesson!
Liz and I got to skype with Victor when we got back, which was fun! He was being so hilarious! We toasted our 'webcam reunion'...I had wine, Liz had water, and Victor had a mojito drink (which he ran to get from the convenient store haha). Good idea on the toasting, Victor ;)
Liz had to go back to Siguenza on Monday morning...I was sad to see her go, but am looking forward to traveling with her to other countries!!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Across the Atlantic...
Today marks my third week in Spain!!! Time seems to go by so fast! I have now settled into my apartment with 3 other girls who are doing the same program as me. There's Kendall who is from Canada, Christina from Boston, and Carolyn from Arizona. I am having lots of fun living with them! We live in an area called Santuxtu....it's a great area....there are several parks in the area with running/bike trails, basketball courts, and playgrounds. I live just around the corner from an inexpensive fruit and veggie market and a bread bakery! I can get fresh bread whenever I need it for around 1 euro! There are mountains and hills surrounding the city. I have gone hiking twice now and it is soooo beautiful to look down on the city of Bilbao.
There are several things I have to make note of in no particular order...
1. Maria Pia and Friends
haha....this is our landlady, Maria, who we have named Maria Pia. She is hilarious....I don't think I can describe the extent of her hilariousness, you just have to meet her. I have met so many new people and it is wonderful! I have met quite a few British folks from my program and it is so neat to hear their accents.
2. Nightlife
So far, I have been out to a few bars and clubs around Bilbao....there is an older part of town called Casco Viejo that has a nice social scene. Reggaeton, techno, and basque music are very popular! Another popular American song that is played a lot at clubs is "I Got a Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas. People here stay out very very late...usually until around 6 in the morning. I haven't quite made it to that time yet, but have stayed out until about 4 am. The clubs stay open all night! There is a bar that has salsa nights on the weekends! I have gone once so far and the lady bar tender came out from behind the bar to show us a few moves...I learned some salsa steps and danced a song with the lady bar tender!! There was a really good, but very sweaty haha, guy that danced with two of my roomies and was showing them some moves too! My roomies and I are looking in to dance classes!!!
3. Lights
This is totally random, but the light switche go down to turn the light on and up to turn the light off.
4. Biking
The city has a free bike rental program. I rented a bike with my roomie, Carolyn, and we went biking along the river. It was absolutely gorgeous. The city is very bike friendly...there are several bike paths along the roads.
5. Transportation
The city has an underground metro, which is great for getting around. There are also city buses and trams. The school that I will be teaching at is just outside of Bilbao in a town called Basauri. I have to take the metro and a city bus to get there, but the trip doesn't take long at all. Other than taking the metro, I walk everywhere and even though it can get tiring, I love it!!!
6. Euro stores and Grocery Stores
Euro stores are kind of like dollar stores in America. There is one just outside of our apartment building. They have everything at inexpensive prices. The main grocery stores here are called Eroski and Simply Market. One thing I have trouble finding here is peanut butter...this sucks! I love love peanut butter. I did find it at Simply Market, but it is around 4 euro which is close to 6 us dollars...so I have to be very conservative with the pb!!! However, wine and liquor is very cheap here. A bottle of wine is around 2 euro and the most expensive vodka in the grocery store is 12 euro. In light of this, the roomies and I have had a glass of wine with our meals on quite a few nights. A glass of red wine a day is supposed to be good for you though :)
7. Ikea and El Corte Ingles
There is a huge Ikea here. I have never been to Ikea before in America and I was so glad I was able to go to it here. It is inexpensive and has cute stuff and yummy food! We went here to get sheets and a few household items for our apartment. El Corte Ingles is a huge department store (with a supermarket inside too) that has a variety of things. You can find several American things here, however, they are expensive.
8. Siestas and Fiestas
Everyday from around 2 pm until 5 or 6 pm, all the shops and businesses shut down for 'siesta' or nap time. The streets are usually dead during this time too. This can be annoying sometimes when I want to go to the store or something during the middle of the day. However, during this time I will either go on a run or take a nap, which is quite nice!!!
There is always a fiesta, or huge party in the streets, going on for something...these mostly consist of lots of drinking and live music.
9. Traveling
So far, I have traveled to Vittoria (a town about an hour away for orientation), Plentzia (a beach just outside of Bilbao), and San Sebastian (about an hour and 15 minutes from Bilbao). The beaches are gorgeous! In San Sebastian, we walked around the city, had a nice lunch (I ate paella-a rice dish and fish), and played frisbee on the beach :)
10. The Naked Running Man..."I think I'll go on a jog tonight, naked."
I almost forgot...one night, my roomies, our friend Martin and I were walking to salsa dancing. We walked along the river to get there. Along the river, there is a bike and running path, so there are always people biking, running, or skating in this area. I notice a man running towards us and did a double take...he looked as though he was wearing a nude colored shirt, but no...he was completely bare-a** naked and barefoot, just running along the river! We could not stop laughing after seeing this!!
In closing....I am having a wonderfully amazing time, but I miss everyone that I know and love in the U.S.!!!!!
There are several things I have to make note of in no particular order...
1. Maria Pia and Friends
haha....this is our landlady, Maria, who we have named Maria Pia. She is hilarious....I don't think I can describe the extent of her hilariousness, you just have to meet her. I have met so many new people and it is wonderful! I have met quite a few British folks from my program and it is so neat to hear their accents.
2. Nightlife
So far, I have been out to a few bars and clubs around Bilbao....there is an older part of town called Casco Viejo that has a nice social scene. Reggaeton, techno, and basque music are very popular! Another popular American song that is played a lot at clubs is "I Got a Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas. People here stay out very very late...usually until around 6 in the morning. I haven't quite made it to that time yet, but have stayed out until about 4 am. The clubs stay open all night! There is a bar that has salsa nights on the weekends! I have gone once so far and the lady bar tender came out from behind the bar to show us a few moves...I learned some salsa steps and danced a song with the lady bar tender!! There was a really good, but very sweaty haha, guy that danced with two of my roomies and was showing them some moves too! My roomies and I are looking in to dance classes!!!
3. Lights
This is totally random, but the light switche go down to turn the light on and up to turn the light off.
4. Biking
The city has a free bike rental program. I rented a bike with my roomie, Carolyn, and we went biking along the river. It was absolutely gorgeous. The city is very bike friendly...there are several bike paths along the roads.
5. Transportation
The city has an underground metro, which is great for getting around. There are also city buses and trams. The school that I will be teaching at is just outside of Bilbao in a town called Basauri. I have to take the metro and a city bus to get there, but the trip doesn't take long at all. Other than taking the metro, I walk everywhere and even though it can get tiring, I love it!!!
6. Euro stores and Grocery Stores
Euro stores are kind of like dollar stores in America. There is one just outside of our apartment building. They have everything at inexpensive prices. The main grocery stores here are called Eroski and Simply Market. One thing I have trouble finding here is peanut butter...this sucks! I love love peanut butter. I did find it at Simply Market, but it is around 4 euro which is close to 6 us dollars...so I have to be very conservative with the pb!!! However, wine and liquor is very cheap here. A bottle of wine is around 2 euro and the most expensive vodka in the grocery store is 12 euro. In light of this, the roomies and I have had a glass of wine with our meals on quite a few nights. A glass of red wine a day is supposed to be good for you though :)
7. Ikea and El Corte Ingles
There is a huge Ikea here. I have never been to Ikea before in America and I was so glad I was able to go to it here. It is inexpensive and has cute stuff and yummy food! We went here to get sheets and a few household items for our apartment. El Corte Ingles is a huge department store (with a supermarket inside too) that has a variety of things. You can find several American things here, however, they are expensive.
8. Siestas and Fiestas
Everyday from around 2 pm until 5 or 6 pm, all the shops and businesses shut down for 'siesta' or nap time. The streets are usually dead during this time too. This can be annoying sometimes when I want to go to the store or something during the middle of the day. However, during this time I will either go on a run or take a nap, which is quite nice!!!
There is always a fiesta, or huge party in the streets, going on for something...these mostly consist of lots of drinking and live music.
9. Traveling
So far, I have traveled to Vittoria (a town about an hour away for orientation), Plentzia (a beach just outside of Bilbao), and San Sebastian (about an hour and 15 minutes from Bilbao). The beaches are gorgeous! In San Sebastian, we walked around the city, had a nice lunch (I ate paella-a rice dish and fish), and played frisbee on the beach :)
10. The Naked Running Man..."I think I'll go on a jog tonight, naked."
I almost forgot...one night, my roomies, our friend Martin and I were walking to salsa dancing. We walked along the river to get there. Along the river, there is a bike and running path, so there are always people biking, running, or skating in this area. I notice a man running towards us and did a double take...he looked as though he was wearing a nude colored shirt, but no...he was completely bare-a** naked and barefoot, just running along the river! We could not stop laughing after seeing this!!
In closing....I am having a wonderfully amazing time, but I miss everyone that I know and love in the U.S.!!!!!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Bilbao, Here I Come
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Today is the day I traveled to Bilbao! I took a bus from Madrid to Bilbao. It took close to 5 hours to get to Bilbao. I took the metro (underground) to the bus station...I had to haul my luggage around which was tough because i had two rolly suitcases. At the bus station, I met this cool guy from Africa...he spoke English, but I still had trouble understanding him because of his accent. His name was Simon, but he pronounced it see-moan. On the bus, I sat next to a girl named Ainara, who was from Bilbao. She also spoke English and was very helpful. She gave me lots of good information about living in the city. She was traveling back from getting her masters degree in music from a university in England! She plays the viola! We got to take a pit stop in a town called Lerma. The bus ride from Madrid was beautiful. I got the very front window seat. The farther north we drove, it was greener and more mountainous!
When I arrived in Bilbao, I went to a hostel that was recommended to me, but it was full :( So, I was walking down the hill to go to another hostel and a group of 5 handsome rugby players and one girl (that were staying the hostel that I was leaving) from France lent me a hand carrying my luggage! Their accents were dreamy! Tomas was the one who knew the most English, so we talked along the way and he told me about their rugby team. They helped me get to the tram, which I took to get near the other hostel. It was so nice of them to carry my bags for me and show me where to get off on the tram.
I have been staying at hostel akelarre for the past few nights. (www.bilbaoakelarrehostel.com)--i would recommend this hostel if you are traveling in Bilbao.
On my way to the hostel, I ran into a girl that I knew from facebook (she was in the group of people who are doing the same program as me). She called out my name and I stopped and we were like..."oh, you are the girl from facebook!" I ended up going to dinner with her and a group of people from the hostel. I got tapas (appetizers). Except this time, there was one that was like a mini sandwich with tuna and ham. In Bilbao, the tapas are called pintxos (pronounced pinchos). A lot of slang here comes from the Basque language (an indigenous language) since this is the Basque region.
Dinner was fun!! I have met so many people from different parts of the world!
Today is the day I traveled to Bilbao! I took a bus from Madrid to Bilbao. It took close to 5 hours to get to Bilbao. I took the metro (underground) to the bus station...I had to haul my luggage around which was tough because i had two rolly suitcases. At the bus station, I met this cool guy from Africa...he spoke English, but I still had trouble understanding him because of his accent. His name was Simon, but he pronounced it see-moan. On the bus, I sat next to a girl named Ainara, who was from Bilbao. She also spoke English and was very helpful. She gave me lots of good information about living in the city. She was traveling back from getting her masters degree in music from a university in England! She plays the viola! We got to take a pit stop in a town called Lerma. The bus ride from Madrid was beautiful. I got the very front window seat. The farther north we drove, it was greener and more mountainous!
When I arrived in Bilbao, I went to a hostel that was recommended to me, but it was full :( So, I was walking down the hill to go to another hostel and a group of 5 handsome rugby players and one girl (that were staying the hostel that I was leaving) from France lent me a hand carrying my luggage! Their accents were dreamy! Tomas was the one who knew the most English, so we talked along the way and he told me about their rugby team. They helped me get to the tram, which I took to get near the other hostel. It was so nice of them to carry my bags for me and show me where to get off on the tram.
I have been staying at hostel akelarre for the past few nights. (www.bilbaoakelarrehostel.com)--i would recommend this hostel if you are traveling in Bilbao.
On my way to the hostel, I ran into a girl that I knew from facebook (she was in the group of people who are doing the same program as me). She called out my name and I stopped and we were like..."oh, you are the girl from facebook!" I ended up going to dinner with her and a group of people from the hostel. I got tapas (appetizers). Except this time, there was one that was like a mini sandwich with tuna and ham. In Bilbao, the tapas are called pintxos (pronounced pinchos). A lot of slang here comes from the Basque language (an indigenous language) since this is the Basque region.
Dinner was fun!! I have met so many people from different parts of the world!
Monday, September 28, 2009
Madrid with Company!!
Monday in Madrid was bunches o fun!!! I met up with Liz at her hostel. It was so nice to see a familiar face! I left to go move over to a new and less expensive hostel. I had to share a room with 5 other people this time (the night before I had a room to myself) which was interesting because I got to meet a lot of new people! Liz and I met up again and had tapas (like appetizers) and salad at a little cafe and we got to sit outside. The salad was interesting because it had raw or cured? salmon in it. It was really good! After eating, we walked to the parque del buen retiro...this is a big beautiful park in Madrid. There were tall trees with beautiful orange leaves, guys playing soccer, couples having picnics. We swung on the swings in the playground area! It was nice to see all the active people....people riding bikes, working out on the playground equipment, rollerblading, skateboarding, and even rollerskating! After the park, we stopped by el corte ingles...a big grocery center/shopping mall. We bought a few little things like apples and tuna with crackers for snacks. We decided to go back to our hostels before meeting again for dinner. When I went back to the hostel, I met some more new people, including an English teacher from California who was traveling through Spain for vacation (he was with family but decided to stay longer). His name was Carlos and he was super outgoing. I ended up inviting him to dinner with Liz and I. We went to a place called Tapas y Vino. I never realized there are so many ways to top a piece of bread. I ordered tapas or inexpensive appetizers...one was a piece of bread with salmon and a really good cheese on top and the other was bread with ratatoiulle and a slice of boiled egg on it. It was nice to have Carlos with us because he was more comfortable speaking in Spanish than me and he helped me order. He also taught us a little about the Portugese language, like the difference between Brazilian Portugese and Portugal Portugese...one of them sounds prettier than the other. Carlos invited us to a pub crawl, but we were tired and it was a Monday....a pub crawl is where you pay a certain amount and you get to have so many drinks/shots and get into a certain amount of bars or clubs. Liz and I just decided to call it a night!
I had so much fun with Liz on Monday!!!!!
I had so much fun with Liz on Monday!!!!!
Madrid Cuidad Candidato!!!
After my flight to Amsterdam, I got on another plane to travel to Madrid! I got another window seat...yay! This flight was a lot shorter than the other at about 2 hours. I arrived in Madrid and took a taxi to my hostel (note to self: do not take a taxi unless absolutely necessary, it was expensive). Upon arriving at my hostel, I skyped with my family!!! I then freshened up to take a walk around this grand city! As I was walking around and looking at the beautiful architecture, I began to hear music and decided to follow the sound and the gajillion people heading in that direction. I came upon a huge festival for Madrid being chosen as a candidate city for the 2016 Olympics! I got handed a yellow poster and there was a big stage with a man playing music that made you want to move (ie: Shakira, Black Eyed Peas, techno and some good music in Spanish) and announcing things about Madrid being chosen and asking for the people's support--"con todo nuestro apoyo a Madrid 2016." He called out different colors (amarillo, verde, azul, etc.) and I discovered that he was referring to our posters. When he called out my color (yellow), everyone would hold up that color and cheer. I could not believe how many people were out in the streets for this event! I can't believe how many people are out at any given time in Madrid, let alone at this festival! Whenever I am walking there are always tons of people everywhere. There are also all kinds of shops everywhere too!! I made it back to my hostel just as it was getting dark and skyped with another friend...skyping is officially awesome...I've never skyped before!
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