tapas

tonight we had tapas for taylors birthday! tapas are like little appetizers or mini versions of food. they are very popular in spain. here in the basque country they are called pintxos (pronounced pinchos). they are also very inexpensive with makes them great for the budget! it was really fun. we got her a cake with candles and a birthday crown! here is me with the birthday girl!!!

lessons learned

so the theme for this weekend was lessons. i personally think i learned a lot this weekend. on saturday the girls from the dorm and i went shopping. i went to ikea for the first time - i must say, its pretty amazing. after we decided to go to a bigger mall called MAXcenter. long story short we got lost and ended up taking the long way which brought us back to where we started by ikea. lesson learned: transportation mishaps can be funny and also teach you about how to more efficiently navigate the city.

today i attempted to go to church with Taylor, Astrid and Kimberly. We made it but we were half an hour late. The sheet with the mass times that I got at school was wrong. Lesson learned: we now know the actual mass times at the church closest to us. it did feel nice to be in church. i felt comfortable and welcoming. i'm excited to go back next week and make it for the whole mass.

i went to casco viejo with kimberly and lauren for the afternoon. we found a coffee shop on the plaza nueva. it might be one of my new favorite places. we sat on the second story and it overlooked the plaza (the picture on the left). it had wifi and was decorated with modern furniture. also, the coffee was SO good. it wanst a microscopic sip! i was a nice big cup of coffee! we did homework and just talked and attempted to do some research on a weekend trip to paris we are planning. after, we went to laurens apartment at watched the holiday. i love that movie, it always puts me in such a good mood! i had a nice walk home to the dorm. it was breezy outside and i enjoyed observing all the different people on the street as i walked back. now its just homework and hanging out!

im really loving it here and getting excited about really delving into spanish!

out and about

so i survived the first week of classes! they all went really well. i guess i cant really elaborate more until we really get into the swing of things. i do have homework this weekend. i guess it was inevitable, summer couldnt last forever!

thursday i went for a run with rachel. its fun exploring different parts of the city on our runs. we ran in kind of a residential area then hiked some steps up to place that overlooked the city. we found a neat cemetery up the hill as well! we went to a bar in arreta. it was kind of a welcome thing for the students. it was a lot of fun. one of the guys in charge of the programs worked out drink specials and no cover etc. which was nice.

today we went to the Guggenheim! it really was amazing to just cross the bridge from school, and be at the museum! the huge puppy made of flowers was one of my favorite things! the exhibits inside were neat - definitely modern. they had a piece of art that was 8 little chevy cars with lights sticking out of them in all directions. they were suspended in the air creating the effect of the car following a path. it was different. we ate lunch at this little pincho (tappas) cafe. it was so cheap and so good! i really couldnt stomach the idea of eating lunch at the dorm. i wanted to enjoy food for once.

no sure what the plans are for the rest of the weekend, but i'm really loving no friday classes!

class schedule

here is my class schedule:

Monday:

11:10-12:00 Conversation

12:10-1:00 Spanish Culture

Tuesday:

10-12:00 Grammar

12:10-1:00 Conversation

1:10-2:00 Basque Culture

Wednesday:

9-9:50 Spanish Culture

12:10-1:00 Basque Culture

Thursday:

9-9:50 Spanish Culture

10-12:00 Grammar

12:10-1:00 Conversation

1:10-2:00 Basque Culture

classes and such

school has started! i have officially been to all the classes that i might potentially take. so far so good. these first two weeks are kind of a trail run. we go to the classes we are interested in and then officially sign up for them next week. the way our classes are arranged are a little different than in the US and its going to take some getting used to. for instance, i might have class A on monday at a certain time but then on wednesday and thursday its at a different time. kinda confusing, i know BUT we dont have classes on fridays which is awesome!

i am taking a spanish grammar class, a spanish converstaion class, a contemporary spanish politics and culture class, and basque culture and language. the teachers are great. t

hey are so eager to help and i know that they really do want us to learn and excel. i dont feel as intimidated. my ear is still getting used to hearing everything in spanish, and i struggle to find the right words

to say at times.

yesterday i went to the beach after class with some friends. its so nice to just hop on the metro and be at the beach. it was kind of like a little piece of home- laying under the sun, you kind of forget where you are and just enjoy the relaxing vacation away from the real world. one thing im not used to at the beach is the amount of skin that women expose. a lot of older ladies like to roam the beaches with only bikini bottoms on (its a little unsettling to say the least) but i know that here its not a big thing. i have to remind myself that part of being he

re is trying to understand customs.

here is picture of the beach and the group of us that went!

orientation and such

so thursday and friday we had orientation. on thursday we took a spanish placement test (not so easy or fun) and took a tour of bilbao. friday we got a tour of the school and talked about classes etc. the classes look pretty interesting and the teachers seem nice. im nervous about them though. we start classes on monday and have a week to try them out and see which ones we like. after the orientation we got on a bus and took a tour of the towns of plentzia and gexto. they are towns on the beach near bilbao. they were really cute, kind of reminded me of home.

we finally got phones! its nice to be able to communicate with people here. im still getting used to the dorm food. its not the best. always very random, for example last night we had fried ham and cheese, egg rolls, brocoli, and weird mashed potatoes. and we eat later which is an adjustment.

today i think we might explore the city, not sure though. we might go out tonight to the old town. im ready for classes but nervous at the same time. im trying to keep my emotions in check and not let them get the best of me.

bilbao

so i made it to bilbao! it was so nice to have a few more hours with JP before we had to go our separate ways. i actually got to see the train station in fribourg! it made me sad to be on my own but i was also excited about what lay ahead. i successfuly made it to my overnight train in geneva. it was defintely an experience. i shared a cabin with a priest from venezuela. he was one of the nicest men. he put up with my broken spanish! i showed him the spanish grammar book i had and he took out his missalette and had me read the Gospel to him in spanish. he would stop me and tell me how to say words and ask me to repeat them. it was such a sweet gesture! eventually a family of four completed our six person bunk. i slept ok for a train. everyone in my cabin got off in Lourdes France. When Padre Jose left he hugged me and told he was grandfather in a way. he was defintely someone i wont forget. when i got to irun, i took a bus to bilbao. i arrived at my dorm and my roomate was already here. she is from virginia and is super sweet. our room is actually pretty nice. we have our own bathroom and desks and shelves etc. and a big window. im ready for tomorrow to see what this semester has in store for me!