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.!!!!!

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!