Sunday, February 16, 2014
Monday, March 2, 2009
hola a todos
Hi Everyone,
There is so much I have to update on since my last post. So, I'll do this chronologically.
My trip to Madrid with the group during the first weekend of Feburary was fun and tiring. Imagine 60 Americans, 1 French girl and a Swede in two huge chartered buses trekking across snow covered mountains (the trip was 5 hours). The snow made me feel like I was back in Illinois and during our pit stop we had a snowball fight. Also, imagine the thrill of hotel guests when they saw all of us crowd into the hotel lobby. I stayed in a room with Melissa (from the u of I) who is 1 of the three girls I hang out with here everyday (the others are Jamie (from wash d.c.) and Charlena (from grand rapids)--they were next door). Anyways, the first day (Friday) we went to the former palace of the Spanish King and Queen. It was huge and smelled like history (read that how you will). We then walked over to the Plaza Mayor (main plaza) and a very old cathedral. I have a lot of pictures of us posing like saints, climbing on cow statues that are all over Madrid, and playing in the Plaza...very American. We had a break so the four of us wondered around the city aimlessly before going back to the hotel after a long conversation in sign language on the metro (Melissa knows sign language and has been teaching us). The hotel was nice however we had every meal at the hotel buffet which was typical buffet food--mysterious and undercooked. That night we were all tired so we hung out in the hotel room and listened to music on Spanish MTV. The next day we went to Segovia which is a town an hour from Madrid and it's freezing cold. Seriously! I am now accostumed to Bilbao's oceananic climate and the weather in Segovia is miserable in comparison. We went to a Castle which was really cool and climbed to the top where you could see all of Segovia..so pretty. Also, we had an awesome tour guide who at the end pulled out a quarter collectors booked and asked us for American quarters for his missing states. HA! (I thought of you Grandma!). Unfortunately, I didn't have quarters to give him. That night our entire group went out dancing at a 7 story dance place which was fun. I learned how to salsa from one of my friends in our group who is an expert. On Sunday we woke up at 6am, had a decent breakfast, and went to el Museo de Reina Sophia. I LOVED this museum and could have spent much more than four hours exploring. Next time I'm in Madrid I know where I am going. This same museum led to a 2 hour conversation with my ama about art where at the end she exclaimed tu espanol es mucho mejor! (Yes!) After this we piled back on the bus and headed home to Bilbao and warmer climates.
Lets see, since Madrid I have had school. I really like my classes however I do not like being a commuter and spending an hour en route to class (gah). Thankfully though all my classes are blocked so I don't have long breaks where I have to make several trips back and forth a day (some of my friends are not so lucky). What else, what else. Oh, the next weekend the director of the program invited us all to come see his friends rock band (our director is in his 50s but a very lively, fun character). He also said that the five people who could dance the best to rock music would receive cds from the band... My friend Jamie took this very seriously. She would not allow Melissa, Charlena, and I to take any kind of breaks (bathroom, talking to friends, etc) throughout the entire night. But in the end, you know we won that!! The cd was terrible but it is a story for my blog.
I was sick (cold) for about two weeks in Feb before my ama finally convinced to go to the doctor. She kept saying, es gratis aqui, es gratis aqui!. (it's free here! go!). And so I had my Spanish hospital experience. Spain has socialized healthcare so it is free for everyone. You can make appointments for routine type things or whatever but for a cold you go through Urgenicias (e.r.). computer dying now finish this later
There is so much I have to update on since my last post. So, I'll do this chronologically.
My trip to Madrid with the group during the first weekend of Feburary was fun and tiring. Imagine 60 Americans, 1 French girl and a Swede in two huge chartered buses trekking across snow covered mountains (the trip was 5 hours). The snow made me feel like I was back in Illinois and during our pit stop we had a snowball fight. Also, imagine the thrill of hotel guests when they saw all of us crowd into the hotel lobby. I stayed in a room with Melissa (from the u of I) who is 1 of the three girls I hang out with here everyday (the others are Jamie (from wash d.c.) and Charlena (from grand rapids)--they were next door). Anyways, the first day (Friday) we went to the former palace of the Spanish King and Queen. It was huge and smelled like history (read that how you will). We then walked over to the Plaza Mayor (main plaza) and a very old cathedral. I have a lot of pictures of us posing like saints, climbing on cow statues that are all over Madrid, and playing in the Plaza...very American. We had a break so the four of us wondered around the city aimlessly before going back to the hotel after a long conversation in sign language on the metro (Melissa knows sign language and has been teaching us). The hotel was nice however we had every meal at the hotel buffet which was typical buffet food--mysterious and undercooked. That night we were all tired so we hung out in the hotel room and listened to music on Spanish MTV. The next day we went to Segovia which is a town an hour from Madrid and it's freezing cold. Seriously! I am now accostumed to Bilbao's oceananic climate and the weather in Segovia is miserable in comparison. We went to a Castle which was really cool and climbed to the top where you could see all of Segovia..so pretty. Also, we had an awesome tour guide who at the end pulled out a quarter collectors booked and asked us for American quarters for his missing states. HA! (I thought of you Grandma!). Unfortunately, I didn't have quarters to give him. That night our entire group went out dancing at a 7 story dance place which was fun. I learned how to salsa from one of my friends in our group who is an expert. On Sunday we woke up at 6am, had a decent breakfast, and went to el Museo de Reina Sophia. I LOVED this museum and could have spent much more than four hours exploring. Next time I'm in Madrid I know where I am going. This same museum led to a 2 hour conversation with my ama about art where at the end she exclaimed tu espanol es mucho mejor! (Yes!) After this we piled back on the bus and headed home to Bilbao and warmer climates.
Lets see, since Madrid I have had school. I really like my classes however I do not like being a commuter and spending an hour en route to class (gah). Thankfully though all my classes are blocked so I don't have long breaks where I have to make several trips back and forth a day (some of my friends are not so lucky). What else, what else. Oh, the next weekend the director of the program invited us all to come see his friends rock band (our director is in his 50s but a very lively, fun character). He also said that the five people who could dance the best to rock music would receive cds from the band... My friend Jamie took this very seriously. She would not allow Melissa, Charlena, and I to take any kind of breaks (bathroom, talking to friends, etc) throughout the entire night. But in the end, you know we won that!! The cd was terrible but it is a story for my blog.
I was sick (cold) for about two weeks in Feb before my ama finally convinced to go to the doctor. She kept saying, es gratis aqui, es gratis aqui!. (it's free here! go!). And so I had my Spanish hospital experience. Spain has socialized healthcare so it is free for everyone. You can make appointments for routine type things or whatever but for a cold you go through Urgenicias (e.r.). computer dying now finish this later
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Interuppted Blog-time!
Hello Everyone!
I haven't had internet time lately so it has been awhile since my last blog-post. I came to a Basque cafe down the street to use their wifi. I came in and there were about 3 other people here casually sitting. Suddenly about 50 people jammed into the tiny place playing various music instruments (accordians, drums, etc) and caroling and carrying big wooden sticks which they bang on the ground as they chant! HA! Today is a holiday (I believe it is called Santa Agreda) and this is the tradition. Everyone has been walking up and down the street doing this today... No worries, I got some pictures. Anyways, so my blog time was interuppted and now I just feel awkward.
I'm having a really wonderful time still. Went to San Sebastian during the weekend...sooooo beautiful-I can't wait for spring here! I will write more when there aren't people chanting all around me. Love you all. Bye!
I haven't had internet time lately so it has been awhile since my last blog-post. I came to a Basque cafe down the street to use their wifi. I came in and there were about 3 other people here casually sitting. Suddenly about 50 people jammed into the tiny place playing various music instruments (accordians, drums, etc) and caroling and carrying big wooden sticks which they bang on the ground as they chant! HA! Today is a holiday (I believe it is called Santa Agreda) and this is the tradition. Everyone has been walking up and down the street doing this today... No worries, I got some pictures. Anyways, so my blog time was interuppted and now I just feel awkward.
I'm having a really wonderful time still. Went to San Sebastian during the weekend...sooooo beautiful-I can't wait for spring here! I will write more when there aren't people chanting all around me. Love you all. Bye!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Besos de Bilbao
Hola todos,
I am writing from a cafe across from the beach. It's 4:30pm here, raining and dreary but the beach, imo, is still beautiful. I just had a huge lunch with my host family and am now having a cafe con leche (espresso) at the cafe. We had a vegetable cream soup, a fish fillete, and bread with cream cheese for lunch and a baked apple for dessert. As big of an eater as I am I have a hard time finishing lunches here. I had cereal for desayuno (breakfast) for the first time since being here. She asked me if I wanted the milk heated for my cereal and I just kind of gave her a blank stare thinking milk...warm...in cereal. ha!
We start school again tomorrow and I have a little bit of homework to do tonight. The weekend was nice. We don't have class on Friday so Thursday the director of our program invited everyone to listen to a live band. About 40 of us went and had a lot of fun. They sung a lot of American songs like "Sweet home Alabama" with a spanish accent. It was fun and entertaining. Friday after another huge lunch with my host family I went with 3 other girls into Bilbao and walked around. We had delicious Churros from a street vendor and then walked to Zubarte which is a big mall in the center of Bilbao. We walked around for a few hours but I didn't find anything I wanted, aside from a large diet coke at the foodcourt's McDonalds. It was so delicious! I've been missing my fountain drinks but now I know where I can find them. Friday night there was a cyclone!! My friend Jamie lives in an apartment like 3 blocks from me so I walked there to visit her. My ama told me "hold onto the walls while you walk!" When I first walked over I was like "yeah ok, this is like another day in chicago!" but when I returned like 3 hours later the wind had really picked up! It wasn't like a tornado in Urbana but it was pretty windy and parts of Bilbao ended up losing power later that night.
Saturday (yesterday) was rainy too. I had lunch with my ama and Inigo and then went to meet my friend, Charlena, in Las Arenas (about 3 metro stops from Algorta). We went for cafe con leche (espresso) and when it stopped raining we walked to the beach in Las Arenas. The beach in Las Arenas is more like a harbor and has a much smaller sand beach than Algorta but it is still pretty. And the houses along the water are beautiful! Last night I hung out with ama. We watched American movies on tv that have been dubbed in Spanish. After she went to bed I stayed up and read for awhile and started looking into flights for traveling. We have a four day weekend in March when I think I might try going to Rome... we'll see.
Prices- My mom was asking about prices here, Bilbao is I believe cheaper than most of Western europe. Some things are cheaper here than in the states but most things are about the same price HOWEVER the euro is worth more so if something is 4 euros here and 4 dollars in the states its cheaper in the states with the exchange rate. But the espresso I'm drinking now was 1 euro...I think in the states it would be more expensive. I haven't bought anything yet aside from like going to cafes so I don't exactly know how much everything costs. I take that back, I bought a phone and minutes and a metro pass too. My metro pass is an unlimited month pass which was 35 euros. My phone was like 20 euros and I bought 20 euros of minutes which are still going strong!
Today is my ama's granddaughters 9th birthday! She is so sweet. She came over last week and we played Oca Loca (I think I already wrote about this). She and her family are coming over tonight for birthday cake. I really like my host family and think it will be fun to be with them during a "family get together" and of course, for the good chocolate cake.
Basically, I am having a really good time here. I still can't really believe that I am in Spain and living here--more or less!! I've loved it since the beginning but I think at first I was like OMG 5 months I'm going to get homesick. Now, I've had a change of mind and I'm thinking "ONLY 5 months!" Don't get me wrong, I do and will miss all of you but I think this is going to go by really fast and then I'll be back and probably will never study in another country again (not bc I don't want to but bc I'll be graduating soon). I told Charalena, "We're twenty, so we've been alive about 250 months so 5 months is like a blink!"...I think she thought it was weird that I had figured out how many months we had been alive but agreed that she loved it and could'nt belive how fast time is going....hahaha!
Observations--I think people here have a greater appreciation for rest and relaxation than in the US. It isn't to say that people don't work hard here but their job isn't their identity. I think in the US your work kind of becomes who you are. My spanish culture teacher the other day was talking about how there is no spanish translation for "work ethic". It's hard to explain my point but talking about your work is just plain taboo here. People talk about their family, what they like to do, where they'd like to go. They have long breaks for lunch were they go home and take their dog for a walk, and have a long lunch. After work, people meet friends for an early evening espresso and talk. People bring their dogs (you would love it mom!) and babies to cafes and relax for like 3 hours before dinner. I don't know, it's quite lovely I think. Also, I think it is why their life expectancy is longer than in the US (84 for women and 79 for men).
This week--As I stated before, school starts again tomorrow but we have wednesday off for St. Thomas holiday. It is suppose to be nice wednesday so I'm taking a bus (a hour) to San Sebastian. San Sebastian is a beach community an hour north from here. I hear it is beautiful and is a summer hotspot for European travelers. It's also on the French border. Jess's (my former roommate) parents have been and loved it so I guess we will see if I agree!
I still haven't posted pictures but I will try uploading some tonight--I promise!
Ok, the clouds have cleared and the last remnants of my espresso are cold so I'll sign off now.
Love you all and thank you for the comments.
Besos y Abrazos,
Marissa
I am writing from a cafe across from the beach. It's 4:30pm here, raining and dreary but the beach, imo, is still beautiful. I just had a huge lunch with my host family and am now having a cafe con leche (espresso) at the cafe. We had a vegetable cream soup, a fish fillete, and bread with cream cheese for lunch and a baked apple for dessert. As big of an eater as I am I have a hard time finishing lunches here. I had cereal for desayuno (breakfast) for the first time since being here. She asked me if I wanted the milk heated for my cereal and I just kind of gave her a blank stare thinking milk...warm...in cereal. ha!
We start school again tomorrow and I have a little bit of homework to do tonight. The weekend was nice. We don't have class on Friday so Thursday the director of our program invited everyone to listen to a live band. About 40 of us went and had a lot of fun. They sung a lot of American songs like "Sweet home Alabama" with a spanish accent. It was fun and entertaining. Friday after another huge lunch with my host family I went with 3 other girls into Bilbao and walked around. We had delicious Churros from a street vendor and then walked to Zubarte which is a big mall in the center of Bilbao. We walked around for a few hours but I didn't find anything I wanted, aside from a large diet coke at the foodcourt's McDonalds. It was so delicious! I've been missing my fountain drinks but now I know where I can find them. Friday night there was a cyclone!! My friend Jamie lives in an apartment like 3 blocks from me so I walked there to visit her. My ama told me "hold onto the walls while you walk!" When I first walked over I was like "yeah ok, this is like another day in chicago!" but when I returned like 3 hours later the wind had really picked up! It wasn't like a tornado in Urbana but it was pretty windy and parts of Bilbao ended up losing power later that night.
Saturday (yesterday) was rainy too. I had lunch with my ama and Inigo and then went to meet my friend, Charlena, in Las Arenas (about 3 metro stops from Algorta). We went for cafe con leche (espresso) and when it stopped raining we walked to the beach in Las Arenas. The beach in Las Arenas is more like a harbor and has a much smaller sand beach than Algorta but it is still pretty. And the houses along the water are beautiful! Last night I hung out with ama. We watched American movies on tv that have been dubbed in Spanish. After she went to bed I stayed up and read for awhile and started looking into flights for traveling. We have a four day weekend in March when I think I might try going to Rome... we'll see.
Prices- My mom was asking about prices here, Bilbao is I believe cheaper than most of Western europe. Some things are cheaper here than in the states but most things are about the same price HOWEVER the euro is worth more so if something is 4 euros here and 4 dollars in the states its cheaper in the states with the exchange rate. But the espresso I'm drinking now was 1 euro...I think in the states it would be more expensive. I haven't bought anything yet aside from like going to cafes so I don't exactly know how much everything costs. I take that back, I bought a phone and minutes and a metro pass too. My metro pass is an unlimited month pass which was 35 euros. My phone was like 20 euros and I bought 20 euros of minutes which are still going strong!
Today is my ama's granddaughters 9th birthday! She is so sweet. She came over last week and we played Oca Loca (I think I already wrote about this). She and her family are coming over tonight for birthday cake. I really like my host family and think it will be fun to be with them during a "family get together" and of course, for the good chocolate cake.
Basically, I am having a really good time here. I still can't really believe that I am in Spain and living here--more or less!! I've loved it since the beginning but I think at first I was like OMG 5 months I'm going to get homesick. Now, I've had a change of mind and I'm thinking "ONLY 5 months!" Don't get me wrong, I do and will miss all of you but I think this is going to go by really fast and then I'll be back and probably will never study in another country again (not bc I don't want to but bc I'll be graduating soon). I told Charalena, "We're twenty, so we've been alive about 250 months so 5 months is like a blink!"...I think she thought it was weird that I had figured out how many months we had been alive but agreed that she loved it and could'nt belive how fast time is going....hahaha!
Observations--I think people here have a greater appreciation for rest and relaxation than in the US. It isn't to say that people don't work hard here but their job isn't their identity. I think in the US your work kind of becomes who you are. My spanish culture teacher the other day was talking about how there is no spanish translation for "work ethic". It's hard to explain my point but talking about your work is just plain taboo here. People talk about their family, what they like to do, where they'd like to go. They have long breaks for lunch were they go home and take their dog for a walk, and have a long lunch. After work, people meet friends for an early evening espresso and talk. People bring their dogs (you would love it mom!) and babies to cafes and relax for like 3 hours before dinner. I don't know, it's quite lovely I think. Also, I think it is why their life expectancy is longer than in the US (84 for women and 79 for men).
This week--As I stated before, school starts again tomorrow but we have wednesday off for St. Thomas holiday. It is suppose to be nice wednesday so I'm taking a bus (a hour) to San Sebastian. San Sebastian is a beach community an hour north from here. I hear it is beautiful and is a summer hotspot for European travelers. It's also on the French border. Jess's (my former roommate) parents have been and loved it so I guess we will see if I agree!
I still haven't posted pictures but I will try uploading some tonight--I promise!
Ok, the clouds have cleared and the last remnants of my espresso are cold so I'll sign off now.
Love you all and thank you for the comments.
Besos y Abrazos,
Marissa
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Flip Video
Thank you Matt and Amanda for introducing me to flip video! I absolutely love that little thing. I'm going to try to post videos here as well.
RAY- I will start narrating during my videos. At first I felt creepy talking while there were other people walking around me but now, after two weeks, I'm nearly a native and I have no shame :)
RAY- I will start narrating during my videos. At first I felt creepy talking while there were other people walking around me but now, after two weeks, I'm nearly a native and I have no shame :)
Lluego es mejor que Nunca!!---later is better than never (i think?)
Hola Everyone!!
I'm sorry I haven't updated sooner. As most people know, I'm terrible with phones, facebook, text messages, and apparently blogs.
There is so much to say about the last two weeks so I won't be able to update on everything but I will post what I can and make a few observations.
First, Bilbao and the area where I live, Algorta, is beautiful! Bilbao is surrounded by rolling hills and my university is across from the Guggenheim museum (which looks amazingbtw). It is along the river (which is filthy and contaminated) but there is a really beautiful walkway/boardwalk that is lined with trees and huge, historic apartment buildings. Modern bridges allow you to cross the river about every quarter mile. Bilbao has strange architecture that kind of makes you feel like you are in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. I like it. Algorta is north (I think?) about 30 minutes by metro and is a beach community with cliffs, playas, and old buildings. It is really beautiful. I take the metro into class everyday. The metro is nice, clean and kind of boring as there are no homeless people peddling, playing music or serenading you during your commute.
When I first arrived my host mom (her name is Marisol but once she heard that other people were calling their host mom's ama then she requested I do this too--ama is like mom in spanish) and her daughter (who has a basque name that i still can't understand) picked me up from the airport, drove me through Algorta and eventually to her apartment (piso). I got really sick the night before and morning of the flight so it wasn't enjoyable but I made it! The apartment is small but nice. It has beautiful old wood floors and all the furniture is custom made. My room is the essential old lady room. There are two twin size beds with pink and green floral bedding, two giant armours, a nightstand, a built-in wood headboard with shelf and best of all, a view of the ocean, mountains and the city of Algorta.
My ama is adorable. She holds my hand when she talks to me, spends her days knitting baby clothes, and helps me practice my spanish. My spanish has improved since being here but I still stumble a lot and probably don't make sense half the time (maybe the same as in english?) but thankfully my ama is patient. I feel like there are a lot of host family stories (lost in translation moments) but I will have to address them in another post.
Weather--while Illinois has been FREEZING cold (I've seen pictures of all of the snow in Chi), here it has been in the 50s everyday. Last week we had some really beautiful sunny days but this week it has been kind of damp and rainy so it has felt cooler--still nothing really to complain about.
Last week--our first week was fun but busy. There are about 80 of us from all over the states (mainly the U of I and california) in the program. We went to the university on tuesday and wednesday for orientation which was the same as everywhere--long and boring. On thursday I recovered from jetlag and on friday went to the Guggenheim museum. The guggenheim museum is really cool in arcitectural design. The inside is filled with modern art. I'm not really a fan of "scribble" paintings but we had fun making up stories about the lifes of the people in the paintings and some of the art was really beautiful. Because it was sunny everyday I went for walks every afternoon in Algorta. I have a video which I'm going to try and post on here if I can figure it out.
Classes-- We started class this week after taking a spanish proficiency test last week to place into our classes. I'm taking spanish III (we have spanish I, II, III, and IV) which is a combination of grammar, conversation, and composition. Also I'm taking a Contemporary Spanish culture class and a Basque (this is the region that I am in) culture and language class. The classes are taught in spanish and we receive credit from our home universities. So far, I like my classes--especially conversation and spanish culture.
Basque--So I don't know a lot about Basque culture yet but I know they speak Euskera (basque language) and spanish. About 50% of the people here speak Basque and all speak spanish. The language was banned under the Franco regime so most people older than 40 do not know it but now it is the language of instruction in schools, in addition to spanish. Many Basque people agree with the theory of separation from spain, however, maybe 10% are kind of radical basque separatists. We went into a Basque cafe the other day and there were a bunch of radicals there going on about socialism and communism. It was kind of crazy haha I don't know much about it yet but I think it's interesting. (Alec, a guy here who also went to urbana, has been trying to find members of the terrorist group ETA--they are basque radicals--but he has't had anyluck.
Observations--People here are SKINNY. They have a small breakfast, a HUGE lunch around 3 (everything closes for 3 hours for lunch which can be kind of frustrating), and then a small dinner around 9. Their diet is healthy but I think that they are so in shape from all the walking as very few people have cars. Universities are also really different--at the U of I and in the US campus is more of a community-you live there, study there, all your friends are there, and basically your life is your college but here it is not like that. All schools are basically commuter schools and there are few extra-curricular type stuff let alone huge sport teams and alumni associations. The microwave is used for EVERYTHING. To make coffee, tea, food. I think my ama cooks during the weekend the food for the whole week and then just heats it up each day. The food is good but sometimes I think she underestimates how long it needs to be in the microwave. I've been eating fried fish, paella type dishes, chorizzo, salads, and a lot of different soups and bread, of course. Also, as in other parts of Europe everyone dresses really well. If I went to school in sweats like I often do at the u of I they would think I was crazy. As for "Eurotrash"-I've seen some fauxhawks and huge lip rings but not very many here.
There is so much more to write but I will have to get to it later as I am losing my train of thought.
Thank you for all the comments! I miss and love you all!
I hope all is well across the pond,
besos y abrazos--marissa
P.S. Of course I watched Obama on tuesday!! It was in spanish but we watched it again during class in english. I really liked his speech, as always he speaks well. There were so many people there and I'm sure the coverage for it at home was insane. People here are Obama-obsessed, I've seen Obama shirts and buttons on bags. I think he has made it better being an American abroad. So, thanks Obama.
I'm sorry I haven't updated sooner. As most people know, I'm terrible with phones, facebook, text messages, and apparently blogs.
There is so much to say about the last two weeks so I won't be able to update on everything but I will post what I can and make a few observations.
First, Bilbao and the area where I live, Algorta, is beautiful! Bilbao is surrounded by rolling hills and my university is across from the Guggenheim museum (which looks amazingbtw). It is along the river (which is filthy and contaminated) but there is a really beautiful walkway/boardwalk that is lined with trees and huge, historic apartment buildings. Modern bridges allow you to cross the river about every quarter mile. Bilbao has strange architecture that kind of makes you feel like you are in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. I like it. Algorta is north (I think?) about 30 minutes by metro and is a beach community with cliffs, playas, and old buildings. It is really beautiful. I take the metro into class everyday. The metro is nice, clean and kind of boring as there are no homeless people peddling, playing music or serenading you during your commute.
When I first arrived my host mom (her name is Marisol but once she heard that other people were calling their host mom's ama then she requested I do this too--ama is like mom in spanish) and her daughter (who has a basque name that i still can't understand) picked me up from the airport, drove me through Algorta and eventually to her apartment (piso). I got really sick the night before and morning of the flight so it wasn't enjoyable but I made it! The apartment is small but nice. It has beautiful old wood floors and all the furniture is custom made. My room is the essential old lady room. There are two twin size beds with pink and green floral bedding, two giant armours, a nightstand, a built-in wood headboard with shelf and best of all, a view of the ocean, mountains and the city of Algorta.
My ama is adorable. She holds my hand when she talks to me, spends her days knitting baby clothes, and helps me practice my spanish. My spanish has improved since being here but I still stumble a lot and probably don't make sense half the time (maybe the same as in english?) but thankfully my ama is patient. I feel like there are a lot of host family stories (lost in translation moments) but I will have to address them in another post.
Weather--while Illinois has been FREEZING cold (I've seen pictures of all of the snow in Chi), here it has been in the 50s everyday. Last week we had some really beautiful sunny days but this week it has been kind of damp and rainy so it has felt cooler--still nothing really to complain about.
Last week--our first week was fun but busy. There are about 80 of us from all over the states (mainly the U of I and california) in the program. We went to the university on tuesday and wednesday for orientation which was the same as everywhere--long and boring. On thursday I recovered from jetlag and on friday went to the Guggenheim museum. The guggenheim museum is really cool in arcitectural design. The inside is filled with modern art. I'm not really a fan of "scribble" paintings but we had fun making up stories about the lifes of the people in the paintings and some of the art was really beautiful. Because it was sunny everyday I went for walks every afternoon in Algorta. I have a video which I'm going to try and post on here if I can figure it out.
Classes-- We started class this week after taking a spanish proficiency test last week to place into our classes. I'm taking spanish III (we have spanish I, II, III, and IV) which is a combination of grammar, conversation, and composition. Also I'm taking a Contemporary Spanish culture class and a Basque (this is the region that I am in) culture and language class. The classes are taught in spanish and we receive credit from our home universities. So far, I like my classes--especially conversation and spanish culture.
Basque--So I don't know a lot about Basque culture yet but I know they speak Euskera (basque language) and spanish. About 50% of the people here speak Basque and all speak spanish. The language was banned under the Franco regime so most people older than 40 do not know it but now it is the language of instruction in schools, in addition to spanish. Many Basque people agree with the theory of separation from spain, however, maybe 10% are kind of radical basque separatists. We went into a Basque cafe the other day and there were a bunch of radicals there going on about socialism and communism. It was kind of crazy haha I don't know much about it yet but I think it's interesting. (Alec, a guy here who also went to urbana, has been trying to find members of the terrorist group ETA--they are basque radicals--but he has't had anyluck.
Observations--People here are SKINNY. They have a small breakfast, a HUGE lunch around 3 (everything closes for 3 hours for lunch which can be kind of frustrating), and then a small dinner around 9. Their diet is healthy but I think that they are so in shape from all the walking as very few people have cars. Universities are also really different--at the U of I and in the US campus is more of a community-you live there, study there, all your friends are there, and basically your life is your college but here it is not like that. All schools are basically commuter schools and there are few extra-curricular type stuff let alone huge sport teams and alumni associations. The microwave is used for EVERYTHING. To make coffee, tea, food. I think my ama cooks during the weekend the food for the whole week and then just heats it up each day. The food is good but sometimes I think she underestimates how long it needs to be in the microwave. I've been eating fried fish, paella type dishes, chorizzo, salads, and a lot of different soups and bread, of course. Also, as in other parts of Europe everyone dresses really well. If I went to school in sweats like I often do at the u of I they would think I was crazy. As for "Eurotrash"-I've seen some fauxhawks and huge lip rings but not very many here.
There is so much more to write but I will have to get to it later as I am losing my train of thought.
Thank you for all the comments! I miss and love you all!
I hope all is well across the pond,
besos y abrazos--marissa
P.S. Of course I watched Obama on tuesday!! It was in spanish but we watched it again during class in english. I really liked his speech, as always he speaks well. There were so many people there and I'm sure the coverage for it at home was insane. People here are Obama-obsessed, I've seen Obama shirts and buttons on bags. I think he has made it better being an American abroad. So, thanks Obama.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
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