Life As A Spaniard

Well, I succeeded in having a night out like a true Spaniard. Left my friend's apartment at 11pm, got back at 4:30am. Definitely one of the most fun nights of my life, but also not something I could make a routine of. "Art After Dark" at the Guggenheim was absolutely amazing!!! The main lobby area had a live dj playing every kind of music imaginable and all the floors/exhibits were open for us to see! There were people from all over the world so it was really cool to interact with them and at one point we were getting some fresh air outside on the balcony that overlooks the river and a group of French burst out their national anthem. We had no clue what was going on until someone informed us, but it was entertaining nonetheless. Since I knew we were going out after I didn't bring my camera because it's my dad's and I don't want to risk anything happening to it, but I plan on going back during the day so I'll be sure to get pictures because it's quite the magnificent building. After the museum we headed to a club called Fever in Bilbao. I was skeptical because the whole "loud music, crowds, touchy-feely creepers" scene isn't my thing but this was nothing like in America. There were two rooms each playing different music (I've noticed a lot of American music everywhere I go which I find odd since it's a Spanish speaking country) and everyone was just having a really fun, goofy time. I think I'm going to take my second official "siesta" (yesterday was my first after that intense test) and sleep my day away before we venture out in search of a cool new place to have dinner tonight. Adios!

I'm back, thought I'd upload a few pictures from the suspension bridge last week -

Never A Dull Moment In España

"Finalmente, el fin de semana!!!!!!" Aka, "finally, the weekend" and exactly what I chanted as I walked out of the Bilbao campus two hours ago. What a week it has been!! I remember being told by my friends who have studied abroad that time goes by in the blink of an eye, so appreciate every second of it. Not that I doubted them, but it's all making sense now. So what happened this week? Mucho. Here we go....

First, last weekend I convinced my friends to go see the suspension bridge in Las Arenas that connects Getxo to Bilbao. We were told by our program directors that it's a must-see attraction so I bugged people endlessly until they agreed to go (I knew they wanted to, we just had to find a day with nice weather). I'm not usually one for heights, but I figured while in Spain I had to bite the bullet....totally worth it!! The view was amazing!! We could see all of Getxo and the industrial zone of Bilbao (and of course the mouth of the river where it connects to the Atlantic Ocean). While I was on a roll, I figured I'd put in place some weekend traditions too, to keep us busy and give us incentives to get through the chaos of weekdays. Friday's have been designated homework days followed by exploring the nightlife. Saturday's are sleep/finish homework days followed by wandering town to find a new restaurant for dinner then searching for a cool spot to hang out and talk to locals. Sunday's are "lazy days" mainly because everything (literally) in town is closed so you have no other option. We'll see how it goes :)

On Tuesday I went on a hike with two of my friends. Well, we attempted to hike. Although we had a map from our program director, we're pretty sure it was printed in the 1990's because it no longer exists. We had a blast (and good workout) regardless, especially when we got chased by a goat!! Yes, I said "goat". People in rural Spain have the strangest lifestyles (but I love it!).

I've come to the conclusion that although this entire experience is going to be a life changing one for me, the most important lesson I will learn is patience. Something that if you know me at all, you know I lack. The busses here technically have schedules, but they basically do their own thing. For example, after class on Tuesday my 11:05am bus didn't show up until 11:40, on Wednesday morning the bus started to pull up to our stop then decided it didn't want to (even though there was plenty of room) and left without letting anyone on so we were almost late to class, and yesterday my 12:05 bus just never came so we had to wait over an hour for the next one. I found it funny that all the Americans were worried/annoyed and all the Spaniards had absolutely no issue.

After the past 5 days my brain = mush. The amount of Spanish I learn in 1 - 2 weeks at home we learn in 1 - 2 days here and I had a 7 page midterm this morning that was so intense I honestly couldn't even tell you what it was about. However, I was doing really well in grammar yesterday and my teacher said "muy bien, A+ para tú" so that's exciting! Except I still have a long way to go in the speaking realm.

I think I'm finally done booking trips!! By the time I come home in December I will have been to roughly 11 cities in 4 different countries!! Spain: Madrid, Toledo, Segovia, San Sebastian, Sevilla, Barcelona. Ireland: Dublin and Cork. England: London (maybe Bath or Brighton too). France: Paris and wherever my mom and I go the second weekend she's here. I REALLY want to go to Geneva or Rome but ticket prices and class schedules don't seem to be meshing so if they happen it will be on a whim.

My roommate blew a fuse in our apartment yesterday so we haven't had internet (or lights) in almost 24 hours. So annoying! Especially since it's dark when we wake up - try doing a morning routine in the dark...difficult. I'm going to "Art After Dark" tonight at the Guggenheim so I'll have another update later, just thought I'd get the chunk of info out today. Phew, yet another novel for the blog. Hope everyone has had a great week!!

Lessons I've Learned Thus Far...

Hey all! 

I can’t believe I’ve only been here 17 days, it seems like I’ve been here much longer for all I’ve experienced! This is going to be a long one, so get ready. Where to begin, the last week has definitely been an interesting one. I’m finally getting the hang of the grocery stores, and can read the food labels! My main complaint is you can only find peanut butter in Bilbao (30 minute metro ride away) and it’s imported from America – go figure – and comes in crazy small containers that cost 5 Euros. Mom and Dad, you can imagine my disappointment. Luckily I have friends at school who are shipping me some (Costco size I hope!). The food in general is really good here though! I only eat out on weekends, but I’ve ordered some pretty interesting things (some on purpose, some due to pronunciation errors). Today we went to a Txoko (pronounced Cho-co) as a group activity after class. It’s basically like a fraternity; only men are allowed to be members, only 60 members at a time, you can’t join until someone leaves (aka dies – my translation) but the one we went to is dedicated to the youth soccer team in Bilbao so it was decked out with soccer pictures and trophies!! The whole point of a txoko is to eat - to put it simply. You eat pinxos (or tapas/appetizers) and at the end of every month you pay for what you ate. I didn’t know we would be allowed to take pictures so I didn’t bring my camera but ohhhhh man was the food good/funky. The first plate we got had a flakey buttery bread stuffed with sea food (I couldn’t get myself to try it, but others enjoyed it) then we got a plate of chorizo (heaven) then a plate of specialty peppers only found in the Basque area, then a plate of Spanish tortillas (“tortillas” here are basically an omelet – eggs and potatoes mixed together), then a plate of blood sausages (I think that’s what it’s called?) I pretty much tried everything that was placed in front of me as soon as I could, before they told me what was in it and I had a chance to get grossed out. What a once in a lifetime opportunity!! I went out to explore the nightlife in Las Arenas last weekend, which was a blast; I love how people of all ages are out wandering the streets until late hours and are so friendly to foreigners. It was my friend’s birthday so we taught a bar tender how to say “happy birthday” in English and then she gave us free drinks to thank us! We headed home around 1:30am (which we assumed was good since we left for dinner at 8pm) and while on the metro were lectured by a 70-year-old couple about how we were going home too early. Looks like I’ve got some adjusting to do! Maybe I’ll do better this weekend. It's supposed to start raining soon so I really want to get out to the suspension bridge to get some cool pictures!! The Guggenheim can wait until a rainy day. Classes are still going well, very intense but I’m really enjoying them and am learning a lot! I tell myself every night “just think about how much you’ll appreciate this hard work once it’s over” – I spend an average of 3 to 4 hours a day on Spanish homework after the 2 hours in class (my culture class is easy). It’s strange to say so soon in the semester, but I can already feel a personal growth in myself and have come to appreciate every aspect of my life back home so much more. That being said, I can't wait to see what the next 3 months bring!! Hope all is well with everyone!!

A Bilbao/Getxo Sorta Weekend

Hey all!

Well my first weekend here is drawing to a close, it's only Sunday morning but in risk of my internet not working later I wanted to get a post in before the craze of classes begin again. On Friday we went to a Jai Alai championship game on the other side of town. I had no clue what to expect but it was really neat! For those of you who don't know what it is, I suggest google searching it because although I enjoyed it I never really comprehended the true rules haha It's really fast paced and nothing like I had ever seen before though so a great experience! Yesterday I booked tickets for trips this semester!! We have a week break in December (the 5th - 9th which I find odd since we come home the 17th, but oh well can't complain) so my friend Lauren and I will be flying from Bilbao to London on a Thursday, staying until Monday night, taking a quick ferry ride to Dublin where we will stay until Friday! I'm so excited! We are also going to San Sebastian the last weekend in September (a small beach town 45 minutes from here - my study abroad group set it up, one of the free excursions) and in November we have a few long weekends so Lauren and I are going to use one to go to Sevilla and Cadiz, Spain where her friends are staying (she's going to be my travel buddy because we get along really well and both don't like the drama of planning with others so they can join but we're jumping the gun for now). Oh, and of course we can't forget about PARIS WITH MY MOM in October!!!

Laundry is an all day process here because we only have a washer (not a good one at that) and then you hang dry it on our balcony but there's only room for one person's clothes at a time out there and apparently I slept in too late cuz someone beat me to it. That being said, I guess I'm stuck in a swimsuit today so I'm off to the beach before it gets cold/rainy in a few weeks!

The Night I Fell In Love With Getxo

Hola!

So I was going to wait until Sunday night to create a new post, but after the night I had I just can't wait. After completing 3 hours of homework my friend and I decided we needed out of our apartments so we would go walk around and do a little exploring. What began as a quick tour turned into the best 4 1/2 hours since I got to Spain! Algorta (where I live) seems to be mostly residential so there isn't much to do; beaches and nightlife are all in the sectors north and south of us. Something must have clicked for me today because when we started to get bored I blurted out "let's just get on the metro and see where we end up!" which resulted in us finding Las Arenas - slightly to the south, where my friend Lauren lives. We walked around town for a little and it seemed quaint, sort of a rich people area in our opinion. Then we turned a corner and found a folk festival! It was really cool, but we got there early so we took off on another stroll, this time we ended up at the beach. Description - breathtaking. In my opinion, puts all California beaches to shame. Not only were the views spectacular (we are going back tomorrow and Sunday to tan/go swimming because it's supposed to be really hot the next 3 weeks) but there were teenagers hanging out and entire families walking along the board walk. Amazing. After cruising the beaches (and looking like total tourists in awe) we headed back just as the festival was beginning - and men on stilts were appearing. We found a really fun little bar on the corner of the festival so we stopped in to get a drink - first legal drink! - and then enjoyed some great music! I can honestly say I fell in love with this place, so many things to discover I can't wait! Tomorrow night our program is taking us to the championship game of Jai Alai (don't know what that is - I'll update you when I find out). Miss you all and thanks for following on my adventure with me!

I figured it out! Visual summary of my past week!

 This is the El Prado Museum that I mentioned in an earlier blog

 This is Plaza Mayor in Madrid which everyone found really cool, but I loved because its picture has been in my Spanish textbooks for years! At night it is a huge hang out area for locals, music and street performers, lots of bars and tapas (appetizers) and restaurants.

 This is the Royal Palace, the one with over 2,000 rooms!

 Here was my first view of Toledo (see why I instantly fell in love??)

Breathtaking Cathedral in Toledo...words cannot accurately describe it, both inside and out.

Jewish Synagogue in Toledo (wonderful interior design, but the guards were iffy about us taking pictures)

2,000 year old aqueduct built by the Romans at the entrance to Segovia (no longer in use but still amazing!)

Cathedral in Segovia, we didn't go in because we had to pay (and didn't want to ruin our previous cathedral experience - we got local dessert instead!)

One of the castles used to inspire Walt Disney!

In case you forgot what I look like :) Just kidding! This is my friend Lauren from Boston who I roomed with at the hotel in Madrid and is staying with a host family in Las Arenas (about a 10 minute metro ride from my apartment).

Speed Bump One - Conquered!

Hello all!

Well, the first 2 days in Bilbao/Getxo are done and guess what? I survived! Probably no shock to you, but a great comfort to me. We had orientation the past two days at both campuses (there is one in Leioa where Spanish classes are held, and one in Bilbao where business classes are held - I live in Getxo, kind of confusing) which was pretty cool. For my schedule I will be mostly at the Leioa campus. In order to get there I have a 10 minute walk to the bus stop from my apartment then about a 25 minute bus ride (unfortunately I can't walk, I asked my program director and he looked at me like I was insane...oops) To get to the Bilbao campus I have a 5 minute walk to the metro, then about a 25 minute metro ride. I am taking 4 classes throughout the semester. My three spanish classes are part of a track. I'm in "track 3" because I have completed 4 semesters of spanish at home, so I will be taking Spanish Composition 1, Spanish Composition 2, and Advanced Spanish 1. They are taken consecutively, so Composition 1 starts tomorrow and lasts until the beginning of October (I have a final for that) then Composition 2 goes until mid-November and I'll take a final, then Advanced Spanish will go until the end of the semester. These classes are from 8:45am - 10:40am Mon-Thurs at the Leioa campus, and Friday at the Bilbao campus (aka I will need to get used to waking up EARLY again). In addition to these classes I am taking Basque and Iberian Cultures (taught in English - it counts for my last elective credit at NAU) which is the entire semester on Monday/Wednesday from 12:30pm - 2pm. I'm pretty excited for classes to start so I get a routine going!

We went to one of the beaches today and it was amazing! There are multiple in this area so I'm going to try to get to as many as possible before the weather gets cold/rainy (apparently that hits in October so I have a month). We also have built in activities we can choose to participate in for free, so I'm definitely going to take advantage of that! They are Friday's so I'll keep you posted. My spanish is improving, I went on a walk/to the grocery store by myself today so that was a good ice breaker. Starting to get my bearings and the hang of things. My roommates are really nice, our personalities (aka partying trends) just don't mix but I'm keeping an open mind about it.

Alright, that was long enough for today I'm sure. Oh! Quick story - apparently in Spain it's socially acceptable for old men to come up to girls and tell them how beautiful they are? Not in a scary way, but a few of us after the beach went to a cafe to hang out and this man came up and started talking to us then did the whole "dos besos" (2 kisses - one on each cheek) thing and we were all like ummmm that was awkward/he smelled like gross cologne. Gotta love different cultures!

For all of you waiting for pictures I will try to get some up later tonight!

The start of Bilbao/Getxo

Hello all,

So here I am...finally moved in to Getxo (a small city outside of Bilbao). The transition process has not been the best, but I'm hanging in there. Madrid felt like a little vacation, but moving in yesterday hit me hard - realizing that this is officially "home" for the next 15 weeks. My apartment is pretty nice, better than I was expecting. My room is about 1/4 the size of my room at home (mom and dad - my whole room is probably the size of my side of the room in Flagstaff). Yikes. I found a place for everything though so it works. As far as my roommate situation goes, I have 3 of them (all girls). They seem very nice, but are all from the same school so they are rather "clicky". I am making the best of it though, taking it day by day and looking forward to becoming more familiar with the city! Boy is America different. We had orientation today so I have my classes and schedule for the semester (when we have breaks/days off/group trips/etc.) so I'm very excited to get a routine going as I think that will help lessen my culture shock. That's it for now, I'm off to conquer the Basque culture (I hope)!

Adios,
Amanda

Segovia

Hello all,

Today we traveled to the city of Segovia which is about an hour from Madrid. It is an ancient city with amazing sights. The first thing we saw when driving in on the bus was the aqueduct. It's a 2,000 year old structure built by the Romans. When it was constructed they didn't use mortar or any substance to help it stay together so it is truly a miracle/awe that they were able to place rocks (aka freaking huge stones) together and create a water system that at one point significantly helped the city, and today stands as a magnificent tourist attraction. As we made our way through the town, similar to Toledo in the sense that the streets are cobblestone/narrow and hills everywhere, we passed through the town square where a beautiful cathedral is and then at the opposite end of town was the castle!! It was one of two castles that inspired Walt Disney to create Sleeping Beauty's castle at Disneyland. The tour was interesting, not as decorated as the Cathedral in Toledo, but the outside construction was beautiful and had great views of the city. There was a wishing well on the back ledge that I tossed .05 euros in (if it's based on how much you toss in my wish won't be coming true! haha) Overall it's a cool city that I'm so glad I saw, but not my favorite of places so far. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia where Picasso and Salvidor Dali are showcased.

Still debating what to do with the rest of my time in Madrid, all 14 hours of it. The timing of meals in Spain I'm finally adjusting to (dinner around 9 or 10 is still strange) but the food itself I'm not sure about. It seems we have a love/hate relationship; some things I love, but it hates me and other things I'm "ehhh" about but has no effect. We'll see how adventurous I get within the next 3 months. Off to Bilbao tomorrow!! By the way - I have taken roughly 100 pictures so far, all of which are posted on my facebook account. I don't know who is reading this (I sent the link to my parents and asked them to spread the word) so if we aren't friends on facebook I am going to try to figure out how to upload some to here or create an account on a photo sight. Not sure how all this works yet.

Adios,
Amanda

The first 48 hours

I wasn't planning on keeping a blog while abroad, but many of my friends are and the more I think about it the more interesting it seems. So, here it goes!

As you all know, I set out on this huge adventure Tuesday, August 30th. Completely unaware of what to expect, I sat alone at my gate in LAX airport seriously considering finding the gate for Arizona and slipping off to my comfort zone. However, soon I was surrounded by 6 other wide-eyed, concerned college students. We realized everyone was in the same boat, so we quickly became acquainted and it was smooth sailing for the rest of the wait! For my first flight (LA to London - 10 hours) I was sitting next to a Swedish couple who spoke very little English and were completely engrossed with their new iPad - boring. The movie system on the plane didn't work so I was left to my own devises. Luckily I got 5 hours of sleep and when I woke London was beneath me! The flight attendant made fun of me because when I realized I was staring down at London apparently I "looked like a kid on Christmas morning" so he knew I had never been out of America. After a confusing 3 hour layover (everyone's tickets had different departure times, even though we were on the same flight to Madrid, and the signs in the airport didn't have our flight posted) I boarded a 2 hour flight to España. I'm in Madrid until Sunday, then I move to Bilbao for the duration of the semester.

The next day, Thursday, we toured Madrid. Besides our 4 program leaders we were accompanied by 3 tour guides. We walked through the city, visited the Museo del Prado and the Royal Palace. My tour guide (who I also had today) was perfect! Witty sense of humor and totally knowledgeable about everything in this country (we quizzed her). For those of you who haven't been, it's amazing. I'm not usually one for walking around a museum for 2 hours, but when our tour was over I wanted to stay! Unlike my experience in American art museums, the work I saw here had so much depth and history to it, very fascinating! Next we rushed across town for our appointment at the Royal Palace. Let me start by saying - HOLY COW. Not only is it gorgeous on the outside, but the inside is so intricate. Every room (all 2,800 of them - not an exaggeration) was stunning. Fun fact - King Phillip the fifth ordered an extension be built because there weren't enough rooms for his lifestyle (never happened). There is a beautiful courtyard outside where weddings/special functions are sometimes held if there are more guests than the palace can accommodate (which I found hard to believe because the dining room table alone can fit over 100 people) and a great view of outer Madrid.

Today, we took a day trip to Toledo. I was very excited because my friend who studied abroad in Seville last year told me if I don't go anywhere else in Spain make sure I get to Toledo. After the 4 hours I spent there, I completely understand. It's one of those cities that takes your breath away when you look at it (at least in my opinion - maybe I'm just in the "honeymoon phase"). We visited a cathedral, synagogue, and a painting by Greco (it is wanted by the Prado in Madrid but is too large and delicate to be moved from it's original church location in Toledo). The cathedral was unbelievable! For knowing basically nothing about any religion, I was in awe with everything our guide was telling us; from the history of the architecture to information of past cardinals. The synagogue was equally impressive, but on a different scale. While the cathedral was decked out in intricate gold details, the synagogue was simple but beautiful.

After the scheduled part of both days we were given free time in which my friends and I have used to wander the given city and find food. Yesterday we got lost in Madrid and were forced to put our Spanish skills to use when talking to a police officer and today I almost got hit by various cars because not only are the streets tiny, but there seems to be a lack of "rules" when it comes to driving in Europe. As far as food goes, I'm trying to be as adventurous as possible but sticking to simple things for now.

Phew, this was a much longer post than I expected! I will try to keep up with it on a more regular basis so my fingers don't cramp up and whoever is reading this doesn't feel like they're reading a novel! I am so excited to be here and can't wait to see what the next 3 months has in store! Miss you all! I'm off to explore Madrid more...