Julia Comes to Spain
I'll try to keep this one shorter so I can finish it tonight as opposed to a millenium from now. Sorry about last week's post, as it took me so long to finish my Madrid entry. I didn't hit this past weekend quite as hard, so I'm functioning rather well this Monday.
Julia arrived on Thursday, and my two friends, Yiota and Kara, accompanied me to the airport to find her. I had a feeling that with her Spanish ability she would be taken advantage of by a taxi, so I just told her to meet me outside baggage. It's really poignant here in Europe how much nowadays we rely on cellphones and how much our modern functioning would be inhibited without them. Uh oh. The reliance on technology is taking over our lives (oh wait, it already has!). Anyway, we found her rather easily, with my friends spotting her before I could. Got home, introduced her to my eclectic family here, and then took her on a little tour of the neighborhood and a little Bilbao history, all before partaking in some AWESOME pintxos (pinchos in Spanish, tapas in other regions of Spain http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapas). My host father was correct that this bar a block away from our house has some of the best pintxos in the area. Anyway, came back for a little dinner here at the house, then out to some Erasmus festivities. The first bar, in fact an Irish one, for which I got a free pint card earlier that day at school, allowed me to enjoy some good beer, for once, in Spain. The Guinness was surprisingly good, and the bartender even used the double pour method. My friends showed up, and then we went to the main Erasmus gathering. This was the first official one of the semester, and I must say I haven't experienced a crowded bar like that since Fordham. Wow, was it hot, smoky, and tough to move around. However, it was a lot of fun. Basically, a big club in which we had to dance on the benches on the side just to get some room to move. That made for some fun times, though, and interesting encounters with people. I must say, though, that Spanish guys do not know how to approach a woman in a club. I don't know if this is common, but from what I have seen thus far and from what all my girl friends have told me, they can be rather creepy.
Anyway, Friday morning I had a tour with my professors of Casco Viejo (the old port). It was a requirement for my Basque Culture class, but as I figured it would be interesting, I asked earlier in the week (just out of respect) if it would be all right if my sister came along. "Oh, we'll think about it and get back to you," they responded. Okay, I guess that's normal procedure. They come back and say no, because you can't have anyone from outside the program. Wtf, mate? She's my sister, I said, and can't you make an exception? They replied no, and needless to say I was a bit angry--my host mom shared in that too. Anyway, I think Julia just caught up on some sleep during my absence. Later that afternoon, we went out and toured the town. Went back to Casco Viejo, showed her some cool stuff, including the churches of that section, and ascended the big hill to Begona, on which sits an amazing church as well as a view of the city.
Friday night. We hung out with some of my friends until some others were ready to go out, and we were all led by a friend of a friend of mine who lives in Bilbao--actually a girl I met the other night with a group of people. Awesome person, who knew where to take us, and we had a lot of fun. Oh, trying to use bathrooms in a city is such a fun--or terrible--experience. Walking around isn't quite like driving in suburbia, in which there are plenty of fast food joints and gas stations in which you can easily make a free pit stop. Anyway, Friday night was a fun one--more dancing, not too much drinking. Not enough food tho, haha. Late night doesn't exist in Bilbao--kinda frustrating.
Saturday. To San Sebastian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donostia). Beautiful beach, beautiful hills overlooking the city, beautiful casco viejo. Food is amazing, tho very expensive, which is a problem for the student traveler. Pintxos aren't gonna cut it for a meal after a day of walking, without breaking your wallet. I wished we had seen more of the city, but we were just takin it easy. Spent some time at the beach just walking, spent some time gazing off into the distance, and just chilled out. Some people in the group turned out to be more tired than expected, and when it started raining, we called it quits and headed back. I could feel my throat tickling from sickness in the afternoon, and I knew when I returned that if I went out, I would add a few more days to my malady.
Thus, Julia went out with my friend, Danielle, who's studying here with me and whom Julia knows from when she visited. They went out in a group of girls, and I hit the sack as soon as possible.
Sunday morning. Mass with my host mom. Interesting experience, to say the least. This is the second Sunday morning Mass I've attended here in Spain, and this one wasn't much longer than the last--only 40 minutes. Strange thing. My host mom took us on a tour of the church (she's very involved, evidently), meeting the priest and such.
Afterwards, there was a Basque open-air market set up between church and home, so Julia and I took a pass through that. Some delicacies from the region including cheese, meat, wine, fruits and vegetables, and other such products. Julia bought some good food to take back with her to Ireland (such products I'm guessing you can't find there...), and we headed home for lunch. Little siesta time, then out to a different vista over Bilbao. Damn I love it up there, just looking out over the city. It was a beautiful day, almost too sunny to take pictures, not too hot either. Then we went up north towards the beach, to hang out with Danielle a little and see another side of Bilbao, in its beaches.
That's that. Monday comes, another weekend gone.
This evening, I tried a university class, to see if I want to take on another one (I would probably have to drop one of my CIDE classes, which I don't want to do). Needless to say, I was a little nervous. The class is listed under Anthropology AND Religious Sciences, as it's called The History of Religions, I guess focusing from an interesting view? I went to the classroom (I couldn't find it at first) with a couple minutes to spare, and no one was there. After a few minutes of worrying and trying to locate the class on some fliers they had posted, I finally just asked, and was referred to the room behind me--257, not 253, as I was told by my advisor. So, there are 5 people in the class. They're all visibly older than me. Uh oh, what have I gotten myself into. They all know each other too. Cool. So I'm just chillin there, trying to listen to all of them talk at once (not quite that easy. Then, someone quickly turns to me and says something. Shit, I didn't understand what he said; I was forced to say the "I don't understand," and then quickly make up for that by assuring them I can speak Spanish. So, after their initial discovery that I was a foreigner, we had a nice conversation. It was kinda funny tho, as the professor never came, so we all left at 8:30 (it was supposed to begin at 8). They were very nice to me, and it was easier to understand them after they started talking to me. It's still tough to comprehend people who don't open their mouths while speaking. Oh well, I'll get used to it.
Life is still good. Bilbao is a great city, and I'm very glad I chose this program and this place. I'm loving my classes, doing fairly well (I've had some papers/tests in a few classes, but we have yet to see how difficult they will continue to grade...), and having a great time. Family is good, friends are better, and my experience continues. Hasta pronto todos--
Paz y amor--
AMDG,
Anthony
Julia arrived on Thursday, and my two friends, Yiota and Kara, accompanied me to the airport to find her. I had a feeling that with her Spanish ability she would be taken advantage of by a taxi, so I just told her to meet me outside baggage. It's really poignant here in Europe how much nowadays we rely on cellphones and how much our modern functioning would be inhibited without them. Uh oh. The reliance on technology is taking over our lives (oh wait, it already has!). Anyway, we found her rather easily, with my friends spotting her before I could. Got home, introduced her to my eclectic family here, and then took her on a little tour of the neighborhood and a little Bilbao history, all before partaking in some AWESOME pintxos (pinchos in Spanish, tapas in other regions of Spain http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapas). My host father was correct that this bar a block away from our house has some of the best pintxos in the area. Anyway, came back for a little dinner here at the house, then out to some Erasmus festivities. The first bar, in fact an Irish one, for which I got a free pint card earlier that day at school, allowed me to enjoy some good beer, for once, in Spain. The Guinness was surprisingly good, and the bartender even used the double pour method. My friends showed up, and then we went to the main Erasmus gathering. This was the first official one of the semester, and I must say I haven't experienced a crowded bar like that since Fordham. Wow, was it hot, smoky, and tough to move around. However, it was a lot of fun. Basically, a big club in which we had to dance on the benches on the side just to get some room to move. That made for some fun times, though, and interesting encounters with people. I must say, though, that Spanish guys do not know how to approach a woman in a club. I don't know if this is common, but from what I have seen thus far and from what all my girl friends have told me, they can be rather creepy.
Anyway, Friday morning I had a tour with my professors of Casco Viejo (the old port). It was a requirement for my Basque Culture class, but as I figured it would be interesting, I asked earlier in the week (just out of respect) if it would be all right if my sister came along. "Oh, we'll think about it and get back to you," they responded. Okay, I guess that's normal procedure. They come back and say no, because you can't have anyone from outside the program. Wtf, mate? She's my sister, I said, and can't you make an exception? They replied no, and needless to say I was a bit angry--my host mom shared in that too. Anyway, I think Julia just caught up on some sleep during my absence. Later that afternoon, we went out and toured the town. Went back to Casco Viejo, showed her some cool stuff, including the churches of that section, and ascended the big hill to Begona, on which sits an amazing church as well as a view of the city.
Friday night. We hung out with some of my friends until some others were ready to go out, and we were all led by a friend of a friend of mine who lives in Bilbao--actually a girl I met the other night with a group of people. Awesome person, who knew where to take us, and we had a lot of fun. Oh, trying to use bathrooms in a city is such a fun--or terrible--experience. Walking around isn't quite like driving in suburbia, in which there are plenty of fast food joints and gas stations in which you can easily make a free pit stop. Anyway, Friday night was a fun one--more dancing, not too much drinking. Not enough food tho, haha. Late night doesn't exist in Bilbao--kinda frustrating.
Saturday. To San Sebastian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donostia). Beautiful beach, beautiful hills overlooking the city, beautiful casco viejo. Food is amazing, tho very expensive, which is a problem for the student traveler. Pintxos aren't gonna cut it for a meal after a day of walking, without breaking your wallet. I wished we had seen more of the city, but we were just takin it easy. Spent some time at the beach just walking, spent some time gazing off into the distance, and just chilled out. Some people in the group turned out to be more tired than expected, and when it started raining, we called it quits and headed back. I could feel my throat tickling from sickness in the afternoon, and I knew when I returned that if I went out, I would add a few more days to my malady.
Thus, Julia went out with my friend, Danielle, who's studying here with me and whom Julia knows from when she visited. They went out in a group of girls, and I hit the sack as soon as possible.
Sunday morning. Mass with my host mom. Interesting experience, to say the least. This is the second Sunday morning Mass I've attended here in Spain, and this one wasn't much longer than the last--only 40 minutes. Strange thing. My host mom took us on a tour of the church (she's very involved, evidently), meeting the priest and such.
Afterwards, there was a Basque open-air market set up between church and home, so Julia and I took a pass through that. Some delicacies from the region including cheese, meat, wine, fruits and vegetables, and other such products. Julia bought some good food to take back with her to Ireland (such products I'm guessing you can't find there...), and we headed home for lunch. Little siesta time, then out to a different vista over Bilbao. Damn I love it up there, just looking out over the city. It was a beautiful day, almost too sunny to take pictures, not too hot either. Then we went up north towards the beach, to hang out with Danielle a little and see another side of Bilbao, in its beaches.
That's that. Monday comes, another weekend gone.
This evening, I tried a university class, to see if I want to take on another one (I would probably have to drop one of my CIDE classes, which I don't want to do). Needless to say, I was a little nervous. The class is listed under Anthropology AND Religious Sciences, as it's called The History of Religions, I guess focusing from an interesting view? I went to the classroom (I couldn't find it at first) with a couple minutes to spare, and no one was there. After a few minutes of worrying and trying to locate the class on some fliers they had posted, I finally just asked, and was referred to the room behind me--257, not 253, as I was told by my advisor. So, there are 5 people in the class. They're all visibly older than me. Uh oh, what have I gotten myself into. They all know each other too. Cool. So I'm just chillin there, trying to listen to all of them talk at once (not quite that easy. Then, someone quickly turns to me and says something. Shit, I didn't understand what he said; I was forced to say the "I don't understand," and then quickly make up for that by assuring them I can speak Spanish. So, after their initial discovery that I was a foreigner, we had a nice conversation. It was kinda funny tho, as the professor never came, so we all left at 8:30 (it was supposed to begin at 8). They were very nice to me, and it was easier to understand them after they started talking to me. It's still tough to comprehend people who don't open their mouths while speaking. Oh well, I'll get used to it.
Life is still good. Bilbao is a great city, and I'm very glad I chose this program and this place. I'm loving my classes, doing fairly well (I've had some papers/tests in a few classes, but we have yet to see how difficult they will continue to grade...), and having a great time. Family is good, friends are better, and my experience continues. Hasta pronto todos--
Paz y amor--
AMDG,
Anthony
posted by Anthony Damelio at 4:11 PM
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