San Sebastian is only an hour bus ride to the east and is known as one of the best beaches in Europe. So for 13 euros my friends and I got out of Bilbao and headed to the beach for the day! Unfortunately it wasn't as nice of a day as Friday, it sprinkled on and off all day. And we had missed the biggest festival in San Sebastian by 3 days. You could still see remnants of the confetti on the streets, though! The beach which is a bay is gorgeous and located right on the old town part, which is known for its pintxos (little appetizers that everyone eats at the bars before eating dinner). We read in Megan's guide book that the Parte Vieja (Old Part) in San Sebastian has the most bars per square meter than anywhere else in the world. However, by the time it came to start bar hopping we were all exhausted and had to catch the bus. But I was able to try one pintxo which was like a crab dip in a pastry cup and Spain's famous Sangria.
But let me rewind. When we first got to San Sebastian we headed towards the beach and ran into a gorgeous Catedral (Cathedral) half way there.
Once I saw the beach I knew why it is considered one of the best beaches in Europe. I want to come back when its warmer to actually go swimming.
The picture just doesn't do it justice.
The group in San Sebastian
We realized we were all starving so we headed into the old part to find somewhere to eat. Fortunately, stumbled upon this bar that had a plato combinado (combination plate) for 6.20 euros, which included steak, french fries, a stuffed oyster, and a salad! It was plenty of food to get me ready for the long day ahead. We walked around the Plaza de Constitucion, Iglsia Santa Maria, and hiked all the way to the top of Monte Urgull! Monte Urgull is the old ruins of a castle with a giant statue of Jesus Christ and the governor's battery from the 16th century. Actually, I read the oldest parts of it were built in the 12th century! I can never say anything is old in America, again.
Me in the Plaza de Constitucion
Iglesia Santa Maria (this is just the door!)
View from the top of Monte Urgull
San Sebastian, view from the mountain
The hike up to Monte Urgull was very tiring but definitely worth it because it was the most gorgeous view! After we hiked back down we were all exhausted! Our bus didn't leave til 9pm so to pass the time we all read a Carousel by the beach!I felt like such a little kid again! San Sebastian was a great day trip and I definitely want to return when its warmer out.
Photo by: Kate Marsh, unfortunately I didn't take this.
Cat and I on the Carousel, we might be a little big for our horses. ;)
This past Friday, finally some of my friends came to see where I lived and meet my host mom, Carman. They finally realized the trek that I have to make to get into the city and my friend, Lizzie, braved her motion sickness just to come visit me! They all came and met Carman just for quick "hi" and to see the apartment. Carman thought they were all so nice! Then we tried to find a place to eat lunch but it seemed like most places were closed for siesta so we just ate at Telepizza which is a chain american food place. The hamburger I had was not the same as back home!
Then we walked around and found the beach in Algorta! It was late afternoon so the sun was going down and it was one of the most gorgeous days, yet! The minor set back is that the bay area is really industrialized and has many ugly cranes but I still got a good shot.
Kate, Me, Jacklyn, Michelle, Lizzie, Megan & Emily at the beach in Algorta!
Once we hiked down to the beach we saw the cutest small restuarant, where we should have eaten lunch. It had a great porch so some of us got a glass of white wine and watched the sunset! It was the perfect day!
On the first day of class in Culture, Economy, and Politics in Contemporary Spanish Society we had a test. Not a true test, it wasn't graded. It was just to test how much we know about Spanish Society already. So get ready to have your Spanish history and knowledge tested! Here are a few of the questions and I'll post the answers at the bottom.
1) What Spanish Cyclist won the Tour de France 5 times in a row?
2) What King and Queen financed Christopher Columbus' trip?
3) Why do the Spanish not work on the 6th of December?
4) What do Spaniards do at midnight on New Years?
5) If you are on the Iberian Peninsula can you be in a British Territory?
6) What is the Guernica and what does it represent? And where can you see it?
7) How many official languages are spoken in Spain?
8) Who brings gifts to Spanish children on Christmas? When?
9) The Spanish flag has three colors? Which?
10) What is the name of the president?
Here are the answers.... 1) Miguel Indurain 2) Ferdinand and Isabel 3) Constitution day. On December 6, 1978 the constitution was officially put into place. 4) For every bell chime at Midnight they eat a grape for good luck. 5) Yes, Gibraltar is a tiny British territory on the peninsula along the Mediterranean. 6) Guernica is a famous painting by Picasso which is located in Madrid in the Queen Sofia Museum. It represents the bombing of the town, Gurenica, during the Spanish Civil War which took place 1936 to 1939. 7) 4 official languages are spoken, Spanish, Catalan, Gallego, and Euskera. Euskera is spoken in the Basque country in Northern Spain which is where I'm studying. You see it written on all the road signs, but everyone also speaks Spanish too. It is completely different from Spanish. Also, it is a younger generation language because Franco banned it during his dictatorship. So my host mom doesn't even know it. 8) The 3 Magical Kings on January 6th visit the Spanish children and bring them gifts for Christmas. Although with influences from the world, some children are also visited by Papa Noel on Christmas day. 9) No, the Spain's flag has only 2 colors, red and yellow. 10) Jose Luiz Rodriquez Zapatero
Hope you had fun with my Spain trivia questions and I hope you learned something!
Classes started this past Monday. I am taking classes through the study abroad program so there are only certain classes available and I'm not taking them with any native Spanish students, just with other study abroad students. Last week we had to take a placement test that was 95 questions long and a short answer to determine your level of Spanish. I was very nervous about the results because I needed to be in a certain level to take classes I need for my major. But it all turned out ok, I got into the highest level so I must understand Spanish better than I thought or they graded it really easy.
I'm taking 6 classes, 18 credits, and since there are only certain classes available I didn't have much choice in how my schedule turned out. Therefore, it is all over the place but the nice thing is I don't have class on Friday!
These are the classes I'm taking:
Intro to Hispanic Literature- we are going to be learning all about different types of literature, essays, poetry, narratives, theater, but we have to read 3 complete books in Spanish. Its taught by Francisco though who is a really funny professor!
Intro to Hispanic Linguistics- this is not going to be my favorite class but it will be interesting. We'll be learning about syntaxis and other things about language... I don't really know, but I'll find out.
Cinema and Literature- this is another lit class but a little bit more interesting because we are talking about the influences of literature on film and vice versa. So we will be watching some movies... but also reading 5 complete books!! (That is 8 books in Spanish I have to read this semester) This class is also taught by Francisco so it will be a lot of fun!
Academic Spanish- boring... same old, same old grammar, composition, more about the spanish language. I mean its going to be difficult but nothing too fun.
Culture, Economy, and Politics in Spanish Contemporary Society- this class is going to be one of my favorites! It is already interesting. We are learning exactly what the title says. I'm just excited to learn about where I'm actually living for 4 months!
Europe in the World- this class will also be interesting. I feel like it is more of an economics or international affairs class than a typical Spanish class, but it is taught in Spanish. We'll be learning about the European Union and other political topics of Europe.
So those are my classes. I think I can make it through them all. I'm going to be doing a lot of studying, though. I guess that is why i'm here ;)
While in the US nobody has school because it is Martin Luther King Day, I had my first day of classes. This whole past week felt like I was on vacation though. Last Thursday we went to the Bay of Biscay where we toured all these historical towns. Except the weather here is so unpredictable that it rained all day and was really windy. So we didn't get to experience it like they had planned. We visited this ancient town, Balmaseda, which was founded in 1199. It really is ancient, compared to this nothing in America is old! But we saw this bridge which is a protected monument by Spain. It is El Puente Viejo (translated: the old bridge). It was constructed in the 15th century. It was pretty crazy walking on something that was created that long ago. But all I could really think about was this is the most miserable weather! Can we just get back on the bus? If the weather wasn't so bad I think that we would have been able to see more and walk around, but instead we just got off the bus and then back on the bus.
El Puente Viejo
But then we drove to this restaurant basically in the middle of nowhere for lunch. The food was amazing! Here in Spain, lunch is the biggest meal so it is 3 courses, appetizer, entree and dessert. For it being such a cold day they served us an amazing stew which warmed us up and then I got ribs. It was all amazing! Then we drove an hour to Portugalete which is above Bilbao closer to the sea at the opening of the estuary. By the time we got there it had stopped raining which was nice but it was still very windy. We walked to this church, Basiclica de Santa Maria, which was constructed in 1492. It is a gothic style.
Basilica de Santa Maria
Also in Portugalete, they have the Puente Colgante de Bizkaia. This is a bridge that transports people and cars over the estuary from Portugalete to Las Aretas. It is like a ferry but its not a boat. It is a body of a boat that is hanging from cables that move back and forth over this bridge. It was the first one ever constructed in 1893 by Alberto Palacio who designed the Eiffel Tower and it is the only one that is still functioning in all the world. I'm sorry if I didn't describe this very well, but here is picture. Let me just say we actually rode it and it was the scariest thing ever! You hover over the water, but it moves pretty quickly!
El Puente Colgante de Bizkaia
Friday:
The program set up a tour of Guggenheim Museum for us and of course it was the most gorgeous day out! Too bad that the days could not be switched. Anyways, we were given an English audio guide for the tour so we could understand these things that were called art. Most of the things in there I would not really call art. It wasn't like going to the Natural Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. The Guggenheim is more a modern museum of art with very contermporary works. It had very interesting installations of videos which seemed like they were made for crazy people or people on acid. They had a whole exhibit on Frank Lloyd Wright, the famous architect. But it was just his blueprints and I don't really want to look at bunch of house drawings that are no importance to me. There was only about one room that had actual art in it and even some of those were like, can't i do that? Anyways, I'm glad I was able to experience it but its not something I will go back to and I'm also glad I didn't have to pay for it.
Me in front of the Guggenheim Museum
That night I got to experience the night life in Spain. My friends wanted to go to this club called Fever but in Spanish fashion, it didn't open until 2am! So we went to some bars just to hang out and then had to trek all the way to this club which is in this giant warehouse. There are 4 bars in it and a bottom dance floor and a dance floor upstairs. It was fun! But it was all European techno music and nobody in Spain really dances. I would call it more swaying there is not much grinding like there is in the states. Some of us just stayed til 4am but some others in the program stayed out til 6am!! I don't know how the Spanish do it all the time. Now, I know why they have siestas!
At the club, Fever, on Friday Night
Fever!!
Saturday was a day of exploration and picture taking. I walked around the old town, Casco Viejo, with my friend Kate who also loves to take pictures. We ended up walking up 213 steps to get a great view of the city!
A view of Bilbao
While we were walking around the old town we saw tons of people flowing out of bars around 2pm. It was the day of huge futbol (soccer) game in Bilbao! People already had their jersey or scarves on all getting pumped for the game. Futbol is life... they start early here! We also saw people doing this dance in a circle and waving flags. They game wasn't til 8pm! Kate and I didn't really feel like a glass of wine at that hour, we just wanted some coffee to recover from our late night/early morning. We found a quieter cafe where we tried chocolate con churros and cafe con leche (coffee with milk). The churros are like fried doughnuts with sugar that you dip in chocolate. The chocolate though is like melted pudding, very hot, think, and extremely rich! You are suppose to drink the chocolate you don't eat but it was too rich for that. It was really yummy and I'm glad I experienced it but it is not something I would eat all the time.
Chocolate con churros
That night since the game was against Real Madrid which is like the best team in the world, the game was completely sold out. The tickets were also extremely expensive so I'll just have to go to a futbol game some other weekend. Instead a group of us went right down by the stadium to the bars down there. The bars were packed and had people spilling out of them just standing there, eyes fixed on the game. Bilbao was the complete underdog and in the end, they WON!! It was amazing! There were all these people cheering everywhere. And there were hundreds of people in the streets piling out of the stadium. It was quite and scene and something to be a part of!
Finally on Sunday, I just went into Bilbao with some friends. We found this park on the map that wasn't far from their dorm so we just walked there. It ended up being the most beautiful thing! There were ponds and fountains. The pond was filled with ducks, swans, and there was even a peacock on this island in the middle of the pond. The cutest little girls were feeding the ducks with bread! It was a beautiful thing to stumble upon!
fountain in the park
The peacock!!
Another fountain!
Kate, Me, & Jacklyn at the park
Ok, so that was my first week! I'm sorry that I wrote A LOT! I just wanted to inform you of everything that has been going on! But the first week felt like a big vacation with people from my school. I kept thinking that I was coming back to VA in like a week. Now with today being the first day of classes, it is sinking in that I am here for 4 months! But it has been great so far! I just don't want to start doing homework, projects, essays and tests. Oh well, I guess that is what I'm here for. ;)
I gave everyone a preview of what my Host Mom would be like but now after living with her for a few days, I can tell you a little more.
I'm really excited that I did a homestay because I have been able to practice my spanish a lot more than the students who are in the residence halls, who have a single or are rooming with another American study abroad student. My host mom, Carman, is really nice. She reminds me of a grandma. She has this electric blanket that she puts over her and she sits in front of the TV and watches the news and knits. She loves to cook me a lot of food and she's always like you need to eat more. And she's always shoving fruit down my throat (not literally...haha). Her cooking is amazing though! I've got to try all these traditional Spanish foods like tortilla con patatas, tortilla con queso, croquettas, and some sort of female bull meat which reminded me of like meatballs. A tortilla is not a typical mexican tortilla. It is an omelet which anything in it so patatas are patatos and queso is cheese. I liked it a lot more with cheese but its very yummy. The croquettas are these little fried balls with really anything in them. I had them with ham and i think almost like mashed patatoes. But they can come with cheese, fish, and many other things in the middle. They are delicious though! So I'm being fed very well, where the residence hall food I've heard is worst than Mary Wash food. Students say they are going to starve while they are here because the food is so terrible! I on the other hand will be no where close to starving.
Carman doesn't speak any English which isn't that big of a deal, but there is definitely a lot of moments of her telling me something and me just nodding and going "si, si." She likes to talk a lot which is great so I can practice my conversation skills, but there is a lot of room for improvement to be made. It is nice because she is really patient and can usually understand my gestures and horrible grammar, haha. She's also really understanding if I want to go out with my friends or out to eat with them. It is just a great situation!
Also, she has a sobrina, which is niece in spanish, who is 4 years old. I think Carman is more like a great aunt but she just calls her sobrina. Her sobrina, Miriam, is very cute though. She comes over on Wednesdays for a few hours after school. Carman gives her a snack and bathes her before her mom comes to get her. Miriam has a lot of energy and loves to talk. We ended up dancing around the living room at one point to her favorite spanish music. It was great fun!
So, the living conditions are great. I have a nice size room with a good size closet, that feels very empty. And I have my own bathroom which is nice. But I feel that it was all made for people who are 5 feet tall though. The toilet almost bumps right into the tub so I don't know how I'm suppose to sit straight on it because my legs don't fit between the tiny space. And my bed is short but it is ok because I like to hang my feet off the bed but it is also very low to the ground. The apartment is a great space for two people. It is a great situation! Now, I just need to go around Algorta and find the beach. All I have seen of it is the walk from the metro stop to the apartment which is about 2 blocks! But I still have 4 months.
Yesterday was my first day in Bilbao. By living with a family in Algorta, I must take the metro into Bilbao everyday which is about 20 to 30 minutes. Fortunately, my apartment is about a 1 minute walk to the metro station. I can stand out on the balcony of our apartment and see the metro station. Many people in Spain take the metro, especially in the mornings, but it is never empty. And it is cheap to ride the metro especially if you buy a monthly pass because you can ride the metro as many times as you want. The stop by the school is only a 10 minute walk, so its bad at all.
In the morning my program, CIDE, gave us a packet and did a little orientation about Bilbao and the school and all the information we need to know. After that we walked to a very nice Hotel for a 3 course lunch! It was some of the best food I've had so far. We had this pasta with a sweet tomato sauce, then chicken with a creamy, white sauce and french fries. Then we had some sort of light cake for dessert. We had professional waiters and everything. It was a great lunch!
After lunch, the professors of CIDE split up everyone into groups to take a tour around Bilbao. Oh my goodness did we walk. We all throughout the city for about 2 hours. Walking does not seem to phase any of the Spaniards. All the women wear leather boots with heals or flat or pointed or round toed. I don't know how they can walk all over the place in those shoes though. It doesn't seem to bother them at all. Anyways, one of the professors took us all over the city and gave us a great tour. We went to a part of the city called Casco Viejo which is the old town. The oldest building is this beautiful cathedral that was built in the 14th century. It is the center of the original 7 streets in Bilbao. Bilbao was built as an industrial and shipping town. Barcelona and other parts of Europe needed to be able to ship out all their goods like cotton so Bilbao was founded in the 14th century. There was a big fire though in the 15th century and much of the fire was rebuilt. So you will only find that the oldest houses are of the 16th century (that is still really old though!!) Much of Casco Viejo is walking streets only though, there are some beautiful plazas in it and it is mostly stores or restaurants on the bottom floor and apartments above them. That is how it is in most of Bilbao.
Then we walked around downtown Bilbao where there are many plazas or round-a-bouts that have beautiful statues or fountains in the middle of them. Also, there are not many skyscrapers in Bilbao. There is one that is being built at this moment that is going to be the tallest, but it is really the only one. Most of the buildings are only about 6 stories. The tour was great because we got to see some beautiful places around the city and learned much about the history of Bilbao.
Afterward, my group went to this department store called El Corte Ingles because it has many American brands. They have these in every city in Spain. And they out do all the wal-marts and targets in the world!! This place was 6 stories, with about everything one could need. You could easily get lost in one of these places. So I got necessities like shampoo and hair dryer. Oh and then we all went to find the best deal on a cell phone. At the end of the day, we had walked from like 3pm to 8pm, all over the city!! I was so tired and hungry, but I think I'm going to have to get used to it. It seems to be the norm to walk a lot in Bilbao!!
Tomorrow, CIDE is taking us to the Bay of Biscay and the historical towns around it. I'm really excited, but it will be another long day with lots of walking!!
I took some photos on the tour:
This is the plaza Moyoa in downtown Bilbao. It has a fountain and beautiful flowers!
This is the town hall in Bilbao
Bilbao is surrounded by Mountains that have snow caps right now. Also, there is an estuary that runs through Bilbao.
This is the Cathedral (Catedral) that was built in the 14th century. It is a Gothic Style
So I FINALLY made it to Bilbao, Spain. My flight went from Reagan to Boston and Boston to Madrid and then Madrid to Bilbao. Fortunately, in Reagan I met up with some more Mary Washington students who are all part of my program. So I had plenty of company and didn't have to go through the long flight alone. When we arrive in Madrid, there is a dense fog and its snowing. There is only about an inch on the ground but we heard people in Madrid saying this is the worst snow! We check the board to see where our gate is and all we see is red for cancellations and blue for delays (due to an inch of snow!!) Fortunately, our flight is not delayed nor canceled. We wait at our gate and get in some much needed sleep. Then our flight to Bilbao is delayed an hour, it was suppose to be leaving at 12:50 and now its pushed back to 1:30 then again to 2:30. Then at 3pm we find out that it is completely canceled! (This is after the weather has completely cleared and its sunny and the snow has been cleared) We are all freaking out and go to the Iberia Information Counter, however the line is about the length of half the terminal with over 500 people waiting in it. All we can do is wait.... about an hour or two into the line, we have barely moved. It is almost 5pm and by this point we are all thinking that we're just going to end up spending the night in the airport. By stroke of luck, one of the girls in our group went to the bathroom and she came running back saying she saw a flight to Bilbao on the board but its a "last call" So we, now a group of 10, sprint to the other side of the terminal to try and catch this last flight to Bilbao for the day!! We get to the counter and the lady is very nice and is going to let us on. The first 6 get to go and see what seats are left, the 4 left have to wait to see if we will be able to fit... and we did!! So after traveling for 24 hours, having little to no sleep and not much food, I am on my way to Bilbao. But what happened to our luggage? It didn't show up in Bilbao, well neither did half the people's luggage did. So we waited in the Iberia baggage help line for over an hour to claim it. They say it should be here in the morning and they will deliver it to us. My host was very kind to stay in all day and wait for the call that my luggage was coming to be delivered. I returned after a very long day at 8pm and still no luggage!! Fortunately, I have a few change of clothes that I can wear and deoderant and toothpaste. However, I would really like to have my clothes and everything!! So now I just have to wait some more.... hopefully it will arrive soon.
But all I have to say is that I hope the snow stops following me everywhere!! And that I can never complain about having things shut down after about 4 inches of snow because that is more reasonable than canceling everything after only 1 inch!! Also, I know how all those people who were stuck in airports felt that weekend we had 20 inches.
A lot of people have told me that they want to keep in touch and hear all about my semester in Spain. However, I cannot email or facebook message or skype everyone all the time, so I'm setting up this blog. I will try to update it daily if not every other day. Now, don't think you cannot still email skype me, I just can't promise the most speedy response. Also, I'm not big on blogging and this is my first one... so just be patient. I will eventually get the hang of it... haha. This will be the best way to keep up with my adventures in Spain.... and the rest of Europe. :)
First things first... I'm going to answer the questions that I get from everyone. 1) When are you going and for how long? I'm leaving Sunday, January 10, 2010 and I will be returning Saturday, May 15, 2010. 2) Do you know anyone else on the trip? The program I am a part of is a UMW program so there are about 20 other UMW students doing the same program with me this semester. However, I only know 2 of them, which is fine. It will be fun to meet new Mary Wash people and other students from the US that are studying abroad. 3) Where are you going? I am going to be in Northern Spain, Basque Country in Bilbao. I will be studying at the Universidad de Deusto which is right in the city and along the river. Below is a map of Spain where I've marked in red where Bilbao is. The first map is a map of Bilbao. The "A", which is circled in red, is where the Universidad de Deusto is and the upper red mark on the map is where I will be living in a suburb called Algorta.
I applied to live with a host family. There were 3 options in the application, a single woman, a family with younger kids, and a family with older kids. I personally wanted a single woman and that I is what I received. This is the information I received about my Host Mom: Mª Carmen Eguiguren is a lady in her sixties. She lives in Algorta, a nice residential area close to the beach and 35 minutes away from Bilbao by metro. She has a big apartment where you will have your own bedroom and bathroom. Mª Carmen likes music, walking and is said to be a great cook. She is a very active woman and enjoys hosting students. In fact, she has been hosting students for a long time now and they all have been very happy staying at her house.
She sounds great and I'm very excited to be living with her this semester. This is exactly what I was wanting.
I know a lot of you have asked me for my mailing address, but I do not have it yet. I will find out as soon as I get over there and let you all know!
So I think that is all for now... I will post more when I arrive in Spain!
My name is Ashley Cameron and I'm a volunteer with the Episcopal Young Adult Service Corps. Starting in August 2013, I will be living in the Northern Philippines and working with the Episcopal Development Foundation of St. Mark, based in Santiago City. I am helping manage funds of the development program to ensure they are loaned out in poverty-alleviation ventures and that funds are made available when participating communities submit proposals for new projects. I am very excited about this new adventure and hope you will share it with me by following this blog!
