Back at home

Wow! I made it back to my house at 4 am on Sunday after more than 24 hours of travel!  It was completely crazy and one of my flights got moved back 3 hours, but I think I'm readjusting -- so glad to have easy access to hot wings!  I hope everyone else has had safe travels, and I hope life is great for everyone!

Daily Routine & Reverse Culture Shock

There are several special people I see most days here in Bilbao.  There is a very nice man who turned on more lights for me when I was writing my first redacción.  Sometimes he is at the front desk, and other times I see him at breakfast.  I always wave or say hello, depending on when and where I see him.  I also say hello to Marissa every day between classes and in the dining hall.  When I caught a cold, she translated for me at the hospital and we had a nice conversation as we walked back to Colgio Mayor.  Then, of course, I have made friends who I see in my classes and in the dining hall.  We have mostly bonded over food, but we also had a great time at Santurtzi!  Finally, our Spanish 3 class is full of awesome, interesting people, especially you Carla!  Even though I had some issues with heat exhaustion, the trip to Vitoria was unforgettable.


The most important thing I would recommend to a new American student at Deusto is to be open to new experiences.  This is a good idea for anyone who goes to a different country because there are always new things to see and do.  Next, I recommend that students from America spend a little time exploring alone.  Going out in groups is best at night, but you can get to know the city better during the day if you take a map and walk around.  It is also very important to use Castellano whenever possible.  That is the main point of studying in Spain!  A study abroad program is a great time to find friends who like to travel, so making new friends is a must.  Finally, even though it can be difficult to be away from family and friends, new American students at Deusto really should try to limit the phone calls and skype sessions with people from home.  It's harder to really experience things if you only think about home.


I feel like my experience here has made me more prepared for student teaching next semester.  I know that I will be dealing with situations I cannot possibly anticipate, so I think that all of the unexpected things that happened here have helped me become more resourceful.  I don't know how everyone at home will have changed, but I think my boyfriend will be even more affectionate.  He was supposed to have a summer job in Alaska, but it didn't work out, so he hasn't had a very good summer.


I miss being able to eat whatever I want whenever I want, but I am not happy that it is more than 100 degrees in Nebraska.  It will be nice to have air conditioning again too.  I think the thing I will miss most after I leave is the beach.


During this trip, I have learned how to use the metro, the funicular, the tramvia, and a taxi.  If public transportation ever becomes as popular in the US as it is in Europe, I will definitely be prepared!  

don't wanna leave Spain :(

Well, unlike a lot of the students, this is not my longest time being abroad by my own. My parents are used to skype with me once a week or less. I’m used to talk with my friends in China on the Chinese facebook too. Actually, the time difference between Spain and China is so much better than the one between the US and China, which is 13 hours L

But I this summer did change me. Last semester, I really didn’t like my Spanish class and I thought about giving up. I didn’t know if I should take Spanish class next semester. But this summer in Spain is amazing! Spanish is not only a language taught in class, but a language people use everyday. This makes Spanish so much more interesting than before. This trip helps me decide that I am going to take another Spanish class.

When I go back to the US, I would love to have scrambled eggs and biscuits for breakfast again! These are the food I missed the most. But I will miss the coffee here so bad. Coffee here is sooooooo good. <33333 I will miss the drinking age here too.

During the program, I learnt Vasco dancing! Absolutely LOVE it!

daily routine.....

Everyday, I get up around 7:30, get ready at around 8:00 and went to breakfast with Kelsey and Brittany. There are fruits, juice, cookies, coffees and cereals everyday. Sometimes there are churros, croissants, toasts, or doughnuts. I hate the coffee in the dorm but sometimes I am so sleepy that I have to drink it for the caffeine. The doughnuts in Spain are not as sweet as the doughnuts in the US and I really like them.

After breakfast, I go to the culture class. If I am tired that morning, I usually couldn’t help falling asleep in the class. But I usually feel much more awake in the Spanish class. J After school, I usually go back to the dorm for lunch and take a nap. Then my friends and I will discuss what we are going to do in the afternoon and go out then. After that, dinner, homework, go to bed.

The stairs in front of the dorm and the hill between University of Deusto and the dorm are definitely “special”. I absolutely HATE them!!! I’ll remember them for a long time.

Suggestions:

1.       Do something that you would not do in the US.

2.       Speak Spanish. It’s the best place to practice Spanish, there won’t be such good environment when you go back to the US.

3.       Try the food that is typical in Basque Country or Spain. You might not like it though, but it’s fun to try.

4.       If there’s a festival, go! Probably for a lot of us, it’s our only time in Spain.

5.       Choose to stay with host family. Living in the dorm is fun, but you can learn more about Spain and talk in Spanish. Everybody lives with host family loves it.

Cambios

I feel like I have changed quite a bit this summer because of my trip to Spain. First and foremost, I feel a little bit more relaxed about my outlook on life. I have been less stressed here, and I go with the flow. I suppose this attitude may change when I go back to the U.S. and get demolished by my second year of college. Also, Spain gave me a sort of identity crisis (in a good way). Back in the U.S., I always knew my place in the world. However, now I have been exposed to an entire new world, and my outlook has changed. I feel much more confident with my abilities to make decisions and work with other people. I tackled the huge monster that is the Barcelona metro by myself, and I flew solo in a plane for the first time. It will be interesting to see my family, friends, and even my boyfriend when I return. I have two younger brothers, and they are always surprising me with how fast they are maturing. I am sure that when I get home I will have to catch up on their lives (and get over how fast they have grown in one month). When I get back, I almost expect that my parents will have to treat me more as an adult. I feel so accomplished after this trip, and I really feel like I have crossed some intangible line into a smarter and more confident self. Seeing my family is definitely a big plus for returning home, but there are several things in Spain that I am going to miss. Firstly, I am going to have increased amount of responsibilities when I return. Secondly, I think the not-so-healthy food and the lack of amazing public transportation will annoy me. I will probably miss speaking Spanish every day, and I am really going to miss the friends I have met here. I sincerely hope the bland American architecture does not drive me insane.

               One of the things I do not want to forget is when a little girl sat by me on the metro and told me about the plastic pig that she was carrying. She was absolutely the cutest thing I have ever seen. I don’t want to forget about the delicious pizza at the place in Bermeo, chilling with Patricia and her friends at the balon mano game, the unexpected music exhibition, the taxi drivers of Barcelona, the dulces from Extremadura, or the ridiculous amount of sneezing that happens after I swim in the ocean.

               I think the real test of how this trip has changed my life will occur on Saturday evening when I return to my life in America. I will have to see how this trip will affect my actions in the ‘real world’.

<--unexpected exhibition I don't want to forget

 <-- The Changed Me

Flan, un poco tarde

FIRST STEPS

 SUGAR & WATER CARMALIZED/COOLIN

 MIXING

 FINAL OUTCOME!

I missed the e-mail from Carla dealing with music and food, so here is a slightly late entry on the flan I cooked with my madre de Pais Vasco. I am a big fan of flan, but it seems as if a lot of the students in the program do not like it a ton. Flan is a typical dessert in the Basque Country. I think it tastes like sugary scrambled eggs. Actually, my mom is not into cooking whatsoever, so she invited a friend over to help me make the simple dessert called flan. First, we made some caramel by boiling sugar and water in the bottom of the dish. We let this substance harden. Then, we mixed 5 eggs, almost 1 liter of milk, and 8 heaping tablespoons of sugar in a different bowl. We added this mixture to the pan with the caramel, and boiled the pan in water on the stove for 15 minutes. It was an extremely easy process, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I also learned that there are different flavors of flan: chocolate, coffee, orange, etc. It was interesting to talk about cooking with my mom's friend because I really love to cook at home. Flan is one of the recipes I will make quite a bit because I think my dad will be a big fan of it also.

Final Countdown

My daily routine here in Spain was waking up 8:30 getting ready eating breakfast. Then coming back to put contacts on last minute if I decided to and then get my books for school and go to school. My first class was Spanish 3 and then lunch where I would meet my friends at the vending machines and then go eat the food at the dorms and then while they all went to take a nap I was in literature class. I would come back wake them up and more times then not we would go out some where. Whether it was just to walk around or if we were looking for something or trying to go to the beach we always tried to do something. After a couple hours we would come back start some homework and then eat some supper. After supper do some more homework stay up late to either skype with family or friends back home. Most times when I came back to from my literature class I would always say hi to the guy at the front desk and he would always say hi back. He was definitely one of my favorite workers here. He would always say hi and help answer our questions even if we did not necessarily know how to ask him he sorta got the idea after some acting and describing. Obviously on the weekends we always went out and sometimes stayed out later then planned or did more wandering then expected but that is how you live and learn here. Yes we would ask for directions but either people did not understand us or we did not understand them. But I got through it day by day. Meeting new people and doing different things. Overall I would say my experience was amazing minus the days I was homesick or not feeling well or hadn't eaten much of the food. But we all survived and are still alive so it is fine.
As for my advice for anyone thinking about traveling abroad. If you can do it do it. Honestly, I was hesitant and I was kind of told I had to do it but I went ahead and did it. Yes, Ill admit I may be a big bay about being away from home but from the support of my family and the friends I made here I got through it. The best way I dealt with it was doing stuff like going for a walk or just hanging out in a room or playing games. Sometimes it is better to distract yourself. Skype is a wonderfull thing it saves you a lot of money. However, skyping late at night can be hard because you want to talk to your family and friends but you have to cut it off at some point. Even though, I am used to not getting a lot of sleep some people are not and it is not always the easiest to be sitting in class tired in a foriegn country trying to learn. However, you will manage. That has been like my catch frase here. I will manage, no matter what happens or happened I will manage. My other advice is do not be afarid to go on adventure or try new things or ask people their opinions about where a good place to eat or not. Honestly that is all apart of this experience yes to learn but you got to learn outside of the classroom too. I am going to give advice about living in the dorms. Yes it does sound great on paper but it is not the best living situation. The hallways carry your voice like crazy and the lights in the hallway have a timer so you are constantly turning them on. The washers are small ones and there are only four...you do not have to pay for the laundry though. Detergant or fabric softener is not provided you will have to buy at least detergant. Also more times then not the food was not that great and there are certain times of eating and the cafeteria will be close if you got a minute after they close. We tended to eat a lot of french fries and bread. The yogurt and milk more times then not are not cold. Also everything taste different they do not use a spices or flavoring like we do in america. There are some positives you do get your own bed and bathroom. Also you get towels and sheets provided for you. They get changed once a week and your room gets cleaned twice a week. However, you will have to make your own bed. There is no air conditioning so when it is actually hot in Bilbao you probably won't end up sleeping with any blankets on and may put a sheet on during the night. There are no screens in the windows so if your windows are opened be prepared for bugs and you will wake up misquito bites. Another thing that is awesome are these shades/blind things you pull them all the way down and your room will stay pitched black and the bugs won't come in but your room will get hot. In the dorms you tend to speak english more then anything so if you are coming here to really learn the language I would say host family is your best option however, you can talk in spanish with the people who work here and there are some native speakers that are here that if you make friends with you can speak spanish with them. Take one day at a time and don't worry about the next days coming because here everyone is very relaxed and carefree. If you are missing american food there are a few good pizza places around like telepizza by plaza moyua or pizza via in casco viejo. Also in the Zubiarte they have Mcdonalds and Burger King and a few other places that have similar foods to America.  Live by the saying YOSO it is like YOLO but is You're only in Spain Once because honestly how many times do you honestly think that you are going to come back. It is likely but less likely because you experienced it already so while you are here do everything you can within limits. I would not say spend 1,000's of dollars but go for a hike or a walk and just get lost. Go to the street festival and come back at 6 in the morning...do it on the weekend you might be regretting it the next day just a little. But that is fine basically my advice in general is to enjoy the time you have here because before you know it you will be saying adios to Spain and Hello America.

 I will miss Puppy the most! But I will have my puppy when I get back home! =)

My experience of culture shock when I go back I think is actually going back to my daily crazy routine back home. Here I definitely relaxed more in my opinion because I did not have a crazy hetic schedule like I do back home. However, I am jumping right back into my crazy life when I get back. So I am expecting to get sick or just be really tired for a week. When I get back though I get back at night time so I am hoping my time clock will go back relatively fast because when I get back I am going to sleep and wake up and do things.By doing so I hope my body will not even notice the difference. The one thing that is going to be hard to get use to again is the food. I feel like since I have gotten use to eating less flavored food that I won't like food in America anymore. Two things I am going to miss from Spain that I won't be able to get are bueno bars and the delicious ice cream here. I do not know why but ice cream is just so good over here. I think by walking around here a lot has made me realize that I can walk to places and not be lazy and drive two minutes down the road it is fine to take 5 minutes to walk there instead. I think driving is going to be a big culture shock because I have not driven a car in over a month and thats a long time for me because I drive every single day back home. I think food times are going to mess with me too and the difference in climate and the view. It just all very different.

 -> the people I spent 5 most of weeks of my summer with. I will never forget them.

Going back home

It feels like here in Spain has become home for me. I can't even imagine what it will feel like when I get back home, I've never been away from home this long.  Many things have definitely changed about me since I've been here, i feel like a better version of myself. People in Spain know how to enjoy life, they savor their food, they are always having festivals, and they never seem to be in a hurry. In America, sometimes we are ridiculous with our stress-filled lives, and fast-food. I have made a promise to myself that I will never forget how to enjoy life like they do here. Also, back home I always had my cell phone at my side and people were always texting me. I didn't realize how much of my time I spent using my phone, this is something that I will absolutely remember when I go back home.. . .  to use my phone less. I want all my friends and family to treat me just has they always have when I get home. I'm sure at first they'll all be so excited to see me that they'll treat me especially kind, but as time goes on, everything will fade back to normal. Here in Spain you always hear people saying things like "no te preocupes" or "no pasa nada", they have a very calm approach to life in general and one thing that I think will bother me when I go back home are people who worry all the time, rushed meal times is another thing that I think will bother me. I've acquired skills here to help me socially, I've learned to I have so many stories to tell and pictures to show to everyone when i return home, i can hardly wait. Not only this, but i think my relationships with everyone will be strenghtened just because I've experienced a different culture  and I'll have more to share with them. And of course, after being away from them for awhile, i miss them, and i realize how much i need them, so i will always apprecitate them. Acedemically also, I've acquired skills here, what I've learned here will surely help me in my future Spanish classes. I am really looking forward to going home, but at the same time, I wish I could stay longer. I know things are going to be different when I get home, I'm not exactly sure how, but I'm looking forward to finding out.

Advice . . .

I have had an absolutely amazing experience here in Bilbao. During the week, my mornings begin at seven a.m. I get ready for the day and then ride the metro from Areeta to Duesto and go to class from 8:35 - 1:00. My host dad works at a hotel during the nights and usually gets home around 8 a.m., so in the mornings i usually run into him on my way to the metro which is kind of exciting. Otherwise, there isn't anyone special that I can remember. I did see the majority of the same people on the metro just because it runs at the same time each morning. After classes, my days are spontaneous. Normally i go back to my house or to my "grandparent's" house to eat lunch. I spent a lot of time with a girl named Noellia that i met at a festival because she's trying to learn english and i'm trying to learn spanish. She showed me around the city, and occupied a lot of my afternoons. Also, there isn't a beach in Nebraska, so i take advantage of the beach every opportunity i get. During the weekends I went on excursions during the day and out with friends at night. Im very happy with the time here, but if there were a few things i could have done different, here they are.
The advice that i would give to a new Deusto student . . . .

1. Make sure you get plenty of sleep. I always stayed out too late or stayed up too late skyping friends and family back home. When you're tired, it's hard to absorb information, and you can't learn as much as you should be.

2. Enjoy the moment, don't worry about whats going on back home, especially if you're only here for five weeks, its a short time and you should take advantage of it. It's great to keep in contact with your friends and family but don't let it take away from your experiences here, you'll regret it.

3. Definitely live with a host family. I haven't talked to one person since I've been here who hasn't liked their host family. Immersion is the only way to learn another language and afterall, that's why we are here.

4. Don't be afraid to make errors. Practice your Spanish as much as you possibly can, don't be shy. Ask questions, even to strangers, it's one of the best ways to learn. People won't make fun on you, in general, they're happy to help you.

5. Make friends who are from Spain, they will be the most interesting and fun friendships you've ever had in your life. Also, if you live with a host family, spend time with them. I have had some unforgettable times and conversations with my host family, and I'm really going to miss them after I leave.

My daily routine begins with my alarm going off at seven. It includes going to class from 8:30 to 1:00 Monday through Friday, eating lunch at 2:00 with my host mom or my friends, and enjoying a miscellaneous amount of activities from that point on. I typically use the metro for one trip then walk the forty minute walk back to my place in San Ignacio. While using the metro every day, I have not noticed one particular person or group of people on the metro nor ran into anyone several times. I have a special connection to some of the places on my walk to Deusto. First, there is the fruit shop where I sampled and then bought my first melon. The café where my host mom often sits with friends outside is a landmark that always sticks out on my walk because I sometimes know some of the people who are there. Most importantly, my apartment building has a special place in my heart. Overall however, it is hard for me to pick out certain landmarks that have affected me habitually; I usually try to go to new places and do not frequent specific shops or streets more than once. In terms of suggestions for other students, here are my top five:

1.      Speak Spanish as much as possible. I enjoyed several great conversations with my host mom, bar owners, taxi drivers, a four-year-old girl on the metro, and other students at Deusto. You learn a lot more about the culture and the people.

2.      Go to a smaller town festival that is not widely known on an international basis. I went to Bermeo’s Madalena festival with my partner from Tandem, and I have never had a better cultural experience in my life.

3.      Have a budget, but do not be too stingy. Spend money on experiences and memories that you are going to treasure forever.

4.      STAY WITH A HOST FAMILY. You might miss out on some parties, and maybe you will not have a super awesome relationship with your family. But take the risk because the experience is priceless.

5.      Don’t get too caught up with recording memories (at the same time, don’t forget to do some recording). Some of my most enjoyable times happened when I forgot my camera and wasn’t caught up with trying to take a picture of every single building or sight. Also, take more pictures with people than only of the things you see. These pictures will have more meaning. 

El dia en la auropuerta de Barcelona......

What a good time to bring up music Carla. While waiting for the only other plane to Bilbao (which was 12 hours later) that was the only thing that could have kept me sane in this airport after missing my flight. Also a good time for music because this was a weekend where I got to experience 3 live performances, all very different of course. My first experience this weekend was when in the metro a family was playing music. It was kind of odd but I enjoyed the entertainment and how passionate they were about their music. The boy played the violin and was amazing.  My second music experience, my favorite, was while at the beach when a group of guys played spanish beachy music. They were called Buenas Costumbres and I was very tempted to buy their album. I enjoyed this performance so much because not only were they playing creative intruments like buckets and shells, but they collaboratively danced at the same time. The main singer was so good and you could tell that this is what they love to do and they have fun doing it. The final music experience was at the discoteca rasmataz, where a kind of punk group played. The main singer was a british girl and she would yell and screem, which was very interesting. However, it somehow worked in the setting and got everyone excited.  Overall, all of these forms of music I think would be hard to find in the US but is something that I would somewhat expect abroad. Though there were some unfortunate events this morning, I really enjoyed my stay in Barcelona and it definitely was a unique experience.

Música

I feel like I have heard music from all over the world in Spain.  I heard some traditional Vasque music in the dance activities; Spanish, Portuguese, and American music in the bars; and random bits of reggae, techno, and street music in various places.  The other day in Casco Viejo, I even heard something that Nebraskans call "The Chicken Dance" while I was out shopping.  I think the song is of Czech or Polish origin, but at Nebraska football games, when the band plays this song, people get up and sing "I don't wanna be a chicken, I don't wanna be a duck, so I shake my butt!" and then clap three times while they do the dance that goes along with it.  The video is just one I found on youtube, but these guys are good, haha!

I have heard so many different varieties of music in Spain that I am having trouble picking one particular kind of music, but I can definitely say that Spaniards love music!  Music is everywhere!  I hear it in cafes and bars, on the streets, at festivals (especially in Santurtzi), in most of the clothing stores, and of course, in class!    I usually only like one or two songs by any particular artist, so for me it has been great to hear something different everywhere I go.  I wish I could find this much variety in the U.S.

Dark Twist...

FLAMENCO! 

So this weekend my friends and I went to Barcelona to experience a different city...and I can safely say it was an experience to say the least. (This blog was going to be about going to eat at my tandem partners house for dinner tonight but there was a little bit of a bump in the road so I am going later on in the week). Now the blog gets to be about my other favorite topic other than food...MUSCIA! The music since I have been here ranges from everything from traditional flamenco to "casa musica" to a great reggae band in Barcelona. The songs at the clubs/bars/discotecas reminds me of home as it forces you to nod your head in time with the music and fist pump (all while in strobe lights?). I went to a bar for dinner one night and after we finished eating we started to hear a strange type of music that involved  clapping and what almost sounded like whining...it was flamenco. At first I was a little shocked that this was considered music but then I started to warm up to it and was happy i got a chance to listen to it. While in Barcelona I was leaving the beach and saw a crowd around a group of people that were dancing and playing drums and singing a spanish reggae type of music. Everyone watching had a huge smile on their faces and the performers were genuinely happy to be playing. I couldn't stop listening and now I am kicking myself for not remembering the groups name...Another strange thing in Barcelona, classic music during your hot hot hot hot extremely uncomfortable long metro ride. A group of 3 people play the flute piano and trumpet while someone goes around and collects money. They play in a car for a stop, and I can honestly say if I was getting off of work and wanted to get home and pass out I would be a little bit bothered by blaring music in my metro cart...just saying though. Over all the music here is as varied as anywhere in the world. I love music as I think it tells a lot about people and the music of Spain tells me that people here love to party but also love their culture and lifestyle in general. Rock on.

Cooking in Spain

The thing that excited me most about coming to Spain was the food.  Food has always been a big part of my life and now my major.  With every meal that I have eaten here, I've always wanted to know exactly what was in it, but was more than willing to try anything.  I've eaten my fair share of soups and fish while in Spain as well as the famous tortilla potata.  After eating a few of them, I mentioned to my house mom that I would like to learn how to make them.  So one night she asked if I wanted to learn how to make it, and it was an awesome experience.  She gave me different tasks to do from peeling the potatoes, cutting them (and exactly how to cut them).  How to cook them and exactly how long to cook them for.  I helped with most of the prep work, but Begoñia did most of the cooking.  This was until it cake time to flip it, and she told me that I had to do it.  She also thought it would be funny to tell me that if I dropped it we were only eating salad for dinner.  It was a success and a great learning experience for the both of us.  The next time we made it, she had me do it all, and we were both happy with the results.

Later in our time together Begoñia wanted to make churros con chocolate.  Before we did this, she taught me how to make rosquillas which are a donut like pastry with sugar on them.  It was a different process than I had ever seen before, and she told me that it was a family recipe that her grandparents had came up with.  After making the dough and letting it rise, we rolled dough balls into rope like structures and then tied them into a circle.  We then fried the dough in oil, let them cool and sprinkled with sugar.  They tasted different than expected but good.  I don't suggest eating a lot in one sitting though, especially if you're making churros later.  For the churros, she bought premade churros that we just had to fry which was really easy.  For the chocolate, it was really easy because it was just chocolate a la taza and milk.  She doesn't like hers very thick, but it tasted amazing.  Overall I've learned a lot about cooking in Spain, and plan on taking a lot of it back home with me.

Rosquillas:

Not what I was expecting

When I came to Spain I had a certain expectation of the music. I first expected it to be all in Spanish and similar to the Spanish music I have heard back home. Like merengue and salsa and bachata however, this is not the case. The music here in a lot of bar are more times then not American songs. Which surprised me because I thought it would be popular music from here in spanish. The first encounter I had with music from Spain was the first weekend here and we went to a bar that had a concert of two bands. It was two rock bands and it was pretty interesting to see how mostly the music was the same. However. the hard part was totally understanding what was going on because it was very loud in the bar. Other then that I had fun. My next experience was the music I heard on the street. This music seemed to be more of music of the town. There are many people playing different typ es of music but i notice a lot of people play the guitar here. It is impressive because back home most of my friends don't know how to play the guitar. There was one time that I saw a guy playing the saxophone however, saxophones here are shaped different then they are shaped in the United States. When I went to the street festival in Santurzi on the street at the different tents with food and a variety of other items they were playing spanish music as well. It was interesting to watch how the people danced to them. Some of the ways people danced to the music seemed like merengue and sals mixed. Other people were just swinging back and forth. We went to a dance club and minus the fact that it was hot in there the people danced like they were dancing to reggaton. The next time I heard music was in class with you carla. You actually taught me the most about Spanish music and the variety of types. I went to the basco museo and they actually sell some music there and the music they have there can be bought as cd/dvds, cds, or they have cassett tapes still. I was surprised at this because when I went to El Corte Ingles all I saw were cds and just assumed that cassettes are not made any more. The music here in general surprised me and made we learn more about music and the products that are still avaliable here in Spain.

Eurovision and Baila El Chiki Chiki

On Friday, my tandem group and I went for lunch. After lunch, we just hung out in the park. The Spanish girls showed me a lot of Spanish songs. Here I will introduce a special song from the Eurovision Song Contest.

Though I’ve never heard of Eurovision Song Contest before, the girls told me that the contest is huge in Europe. Each year, European countries will hold contest and decide their best song. For Spain, France, Italy, England and Germany, their songs are automatically qualified for the final because they put a lot of money into the contest. Except the five countries and the host country, all other countries have to compete for the final.

On 2008, Spain sent this song called “Baila el Chiki Chiki”!! It’s hilarious!!!!

In such a serious contest, it’s like a joke. But this is epic!! LOVE it. lol. The guy was from another comedy show and they didn’t expect this would be selected to be sent to the final.

At first, the song that they sent to the contest to represent was decided by votes from people. But after this song, judges’ opinion and the votes count fifty fifty. lol. Oh! And this song didn’t get the worse final score in the contest. Greek people actually loved the song!

The girls told me that because of Spain’s financial status, Spain actually doesn’t want to win. Because the winner country will hold the next contest and Spain doesn’t want to spend money on this. Then I asked they what would happen if the song that people chose is actually really good. They told me that there was one time, a very good song by a famous singer was sent to the competition. But the song was ranked pretty low in the final. After the contest, the singer’s career went down. After that, no other great singers and groups tried. The girls also said that it’s very difficult for Spain to win because:

1. People can only vote for songs that are not from their own countries. People live in nearby countries vote for each other. But Spain doesn’t have many neighbors. Well, if a person lives near the boarder, they can actually travel to the other country to vote for their own country. But that’s only a small part.

2. Spain always sends songs in Spanish, while most countries send songs in English for more people to understand the lyrics;

    3. Because the five countries don’t have to compete for the final but other countries have to, people in other countries don’t usually like those countries and don’t want to vote for them.

Btw, this year’s winner is Sweden. It’s a beautiful song called “Euphoria” :)

Learning how to make Sushi with my Little Brother

Clearly, Sushi is not a traditional food here in Spain. However, my host mom's brother came over for dinner last night and thought it would be fun to teach everyone how to make Sushi. First, we cut all the ingredients up into small pieces: salmon, crab meat, shrimp, cucumbers, and avacado. Next of course, we cooked the rice, and everyone knows how to cook rice, but there's a trick to making it with Sushi.. You cook it in bags, and once the rice is cooked, you switch the water, dump out the hot water, and replace it with cool water. Once its in the cool water, you squeeze the bag until it turns the transparent water white.There are small holes in the plastic bag which makes this possible. You do this multiple times, just keep switching the water until you can't squeeze out anymore white. The idea to this is getting the rice to stick together so that the sushi can hold its form. The green paper that's wrapped around the sushi is usually seaweed,  and you have to buy it specially. You also need a wooden thing to roll the sushi in, which i attatched a photo of above. First you put the wooden thing down, and then the seaweed paper on top of that. Next, you spread the rice out over the entire green paper and then you put a thick coat of mayonease over the rice. Next you line up all the ingredients in the middle: the salmon, crab, shrimp, cucumbers and avacado. Finally, you roll it, cut it, and wa-la, you've made sushi! It was a really fun experience. It gave me some time to spend with my family, and my little brother especially made it fun.

Spanish Mothers

Before my trip to Spain I heard many things about spanish mothers and how they take in students as if they are their own child.  With my experience, and what I have heard from my friends here this is very true.  My house mom and I have gotten to know each other pretty well over the past few weeks, and continue to learn new things about each other everyday.  For instance she hates warm milk and puts hers in the fridge, she spends a lot of time watching tv and enjoys watching american movies.  Yesterday we spent most of the day cooking postres together.  We made rosquillas (shown below) and churros con chocolate.  She reminds me a lot of my mom and mother like figures back in the United States.  Because of this I'm very glad that I chose to live in a host family, not only does she make some great food, but I've learned more about the spanish language and culture from her than anywhere else.

Getxo

Last week, I went to Getxo with three Spanish girls in my tandem group, the group outside of the class. It was AMAZING!

Since we got here, we are always complaining about the hills and stairs in Bilbao. But in Getxo, there are actually escalators on the street!!! There are like six or seven! I was sooo excited to see that after climbing up hills and stairs everyday.

we are taking the escalators :)

El Puente Colgante

Then we went to see the Puente Colgante, a huge bridge made of steel. The bridge itself looked like the history of Bilbao. When I saw it, I could easily picture what Bilbao was like when it was still an industrial city. The girls told me that it was built so high because some ships here are huge. To across the bridge, people have to take a thing like a bus hanging on the bridge. It was so cool that people, bicycles, motorcycles and cars can all get onto the bus. It was only 0.35 cents for a person, and around 2.5 euros for cars (I don’t really remember now, could be wrong). And it accepts creditren! Well, I guess it is a part of the public transportation here, a very cool one. The girls told me that people live here have to take the bus everyday because there’s no other bridge nearby. Unfortunately, the battery of my camera ran out when we were on the bus, so I don’t have pictures after this.

the bus thing

After crossing the river by that bus thing, we walked along the river to a small beach where a group of children kicking football, barefoot! I guess the people in Spain do love football a lot.

On our way back, Dorleta and I went up to the top of the bridge by elevator. The top of the bridge is now only for tourists. Only the bus part is for actual daily commuting. It was awesome up there, though a little scary because I could actually see the river under through the gap between the planks. The views were fantastic, but again, my battery died so I don’t have any photo :( We went down the same way just because we all wanted to take a small boat (or ferry?) back. It was only 30 cents and actually very fast :)

Oh! There’s another thing! I danced with Guillermo yesterday! lol

La excursión a la Reserva de la Biosfera de Urdaibai

I was surprised that the winery where we ate in the Biosphere of Urdaibai looked so much like the Appalachian mountains in North Carolina and other eastern states.  I have really missed the mountains and the beaches that I used to visit all the time when I was in elementary school.  Because of that, there have been some days when Bilbao felt more like home than Nebraska.  The forest in the picture below looks like the area near my house where I used to play hide-and-seek with my best friend.  Evergreens and ferns are very typical flora for North Carolina, so I was surprised when I saw them on the mountain.  The trip to Urdaibai was both happy and sad for me.  It made me miss my old home in North Carolina, but I was happy to have the chance to swim in the ocean at Mundaka and see the mountains again.  I usually make a trip back to North Carolina every summer to visit my extended family, but I did not get to do that this year because I chose to come to Spain instead.  Getting to see parts of Spain that remind me of home just made this trip even better.

Although I didn't take my camera with me to Sopelana earlier this week, I was glad to spend some quality time swimming and relaxing on the beach there.  I do not always get to go to the ocean when I go back to North Carolina because my family comes from the center of the state...literally.  Less than a mile from my old house, there is a square, cement plaque on the ground that marks the geographic center of the state.  Anyway, I spend most of my time in North Carolina with my family in the central part of the state, so I have not been to the ocean for a couple of years.  Going to the "beach" in Nebraska is not the same because that actually means going to a man-made lake or a sandy river-bank, so going to the beach in Spain has been especially awesome!

Adventures

In New York, my friends and I go on "Adventures" however, we either just drive around town or we get semi lost and then we find our way home. We never really find anything interesting when we go on our adventures unlike here in Spain. I feel like no matter where you go or how many times you just go out for a walk you always find something new and your going for a walk or to a beach turns into an amazing unforgettable adventure.
This week so far I went on two adventures. The first was tuesday after class going to Sopelana to see the beach. This adventure started off bad we got on a metro that stopped the stop before Sopelana and then after we had to get off and wait for the next metro that went to Plentzia. After getting on the right metro we arrived to the metro in Sopelana.

After arriving in Sopelana we had to find the beach. So we looked at a map and we thought it was easy. However, we figured we should ask people just to make sure we were going the right way. After we got to a corner we asked a man who then asked his wife. Surprisely she spoke english! Then after she told us where to go we understood and followed however, we think she said right and meant left...so we ended up going the wrong way. We asked another man on the way which we thought was the right way. He said he would have drove us there but there was too many of us so he told us about the bus stop that would take us to the beach that was two minutes in the opposite direction. However, on our walk we saw the town.

  this looked like an important building

different houses

 view of the land

 when we thought we were going the right way.

After getting on the bus and paying 60 cents to get us to the beach we finally arrived at Sopelana. It is an amazing view and if you know how to surf you can. However, there is a school too that will teach you...we found that out on our wrong way to the beach. Also there are rocks in the water so be careful where you go so you dont get scrapped.

 the view right off the bus

a big rock in the water view from right off the bus

walking to the beach

the view from the top of the stairs

on the beach...rocks in the water

beach =)

the huge rock.

My second adventure was doing to el museo de bella arte. That was easier to get to. However, I have walked by this museum several times not knowing that it was what it was. It was so beautiful in there. Too bad in many of the museum you can't take pictures. However, even the outside is pretty though. If you go through the room in the correct order you can see how everything change. From religious to modern you see the beauty in every picture. Also a few of the pictures are in restoration and some of the pictures that have been restored we helped to be restored by el corte ingle. I thought that was interesting. Also a couple of the pictures are in other museums like in the El prado in Madrid or the hispanic society museum in New York. Two of the paintings I saw looked exactly the same at first glance but after studying them I saw the little differences.

 statue on the outside of the museum

 

the entrance

 statues on the outside of the musuem

a fountain where everyone was drinking from

 more statues

  beautiful park beind the museum

 the part i walk by all the time when I go to Plaza Moyua

Interesting building by the museum.

I have seen amazing sights in the past two days. Also I have gone more places here than I have gone in the United States. In the United States I have basically gone to the same places and know how to go wherever I want to go. Where here I have to have an actual adventure and figure out where to go. Spain has taught me and shown me a lot more in the past couple of weeks then I actually know about the USA and I have lived there my whole life.