This is the post where I begin my reflections on everything I've encountered. But before I begin, I'll start by saying that I'm going to a Basque rodeo today. I have no idea what to expect.
I'll start by bemoaning something seriously lacking in America: a sense of community. Perhaps it exists in pockets of small towns buried between miles of cornfields, but from everything I have seen, America lost it long before I was born. Block parties do not cut it. Neither do running into familiar faces at town halls and PTA meetings. It won't cut it because 1) people in America move too often, 2) it's become so pluralist that it lost a sense of a single communal identity, and 3) the creation of suburbia has done more damage than this essay could even begin to describe. This isn't all bad: we move for a lot of reasons, love, family, jobs etc..., none of them bad. But it's when everyone starts moving that communities break down. Our value-pluralism has allowed us to be accepting of various creeds and identities without having to believe the same things. And the suburbs, as much as I hate them, have provided a house for every person with their own lawn and safer environment. But suffice it to say, community is lost.
Last night was a Basque party to welcome in Spring. It was celebrated with a choir with traditional Euskaldi songs. The students, all Basque with the exception of myself, all knew the songs and sang along. Some of the songs mourned the loss of their country to Spain, other songs about their villages. Each village has their own traditional song. I was talking with one of my best friends here, Inigo (a very common Basque name - so common you have heard it before ("My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.")). I asked what Inigo was planning to do once he graduated and he said he was going to go to med school and then return to his village in the mountains and work as a doctor. In fact, nearly all of the students will return to their villages, marry one of the boys or girls their grew up with all their life and have a family of their own. Inigo's graduating class had 20 students and he expects to see all 20 when they return with degrees.
One of the most interesting things for any tourist to the Basque lands is its language. "I have never seen a person speak Euskera who wasn't Basque," said my another classmate, Xavier (Chabi for short), "for me it is a treasure to speak a language so different. With a language this different you end up thinking about the world differently, something I realized when I learned Spanish. Now I think in both languages. But we will teach you Basque and you will get so many girls."
It is true, the Basque are quite proud of their language. It is probably their most distinguishing feature. If you ever want to know what Basque sounds like, you can simply think of stereotypical caveman noises and grunt them really fast. I went to a Spanish art exhibit on cave art, and when they played audio of the cave men, they were speaking basic Basque words. It has earned them the distinction in Spain of being brutes - and no Basque I ever talked to disagreed.
However, after spending five months slowly learning the language, I am proud to say it is learnable. I have dreamt twice in it. But yes, it is the hardest thing I have ever put my mind to and I speak worse than a child. It gives me such embarrasment that I will only speak with my roommate, Enaut, and a few other friends. There are too many things that makes Basque such a difficult tongue to list here. But if you ever want to take a glance at some of their trickier facets, look up:
Ergative case
Basque auxiliary verb
Basque verb-noun agreement
The suffix -ak
The verbs izan and ukan
Dialectical differences
Language specialists say most people learn about 800 words in their first two or three months studying Spanish, German, Russian or any other Indo-European language. This is a very high bar to set for yourself in Basque. On the other hand, even if you learned Basque from one region, it would be useless in another. "I come from Gipuzkoa," says Xibi (not Xavier), "so when I arrived at this dorm, most of the girls came from the Bizkaia region and I couldn't understand them. It took me a year before I finally adjusted."
It's true, Basque has many varieties that can frustrate any learner. 'Ze arraia!', for instance, means 'What the hell?' in the south. But if you were to say that in the middle of Basque country, people would probably think you are trying to say 'araida', which means cooked fish ready for eating.
The matter gets more confusing if you travel to the French side. "Whenever Basque tourists come from France I ask them to just speak French and I hope I can understand," says Enaut, who has a basic vocaublary in French, "because I don't understand their Euskera. Their spelling is similar, but the pronounciation is so different it's better to revert to French."
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Sick of writing about Bilbao
When the founder of Hasidic Judaism, the great Rabbi Israel Shem Tov, saw misfortune threatening the Jews, it was his custom to go into a certain part of the forest to meditate. There he would light a fire, say a special prayer, and the miracle would be accomplished and the misfortune averted. Later, when his disciple, the celebrated Maggid of Mezeritch, had occasion, for the same reason, to intercede with heaven, he would go to the same place in the forest and say: "Master of the Universe, listen! I do not know how to light the firse, but I am still able to say the prayer," and again the miracle would be accomplished. Still later, Rabbi Moshe-leib of Sasov, in order to save his people once more, would go into the forest and say, "I do not know how to light the fire. I do not know the prayer, but I know the place, and this must be sufficient." It was sufficient, and the miracle was accomplished. Then it fell to Rabbi Israel of Rizhin to overcome misfortune. Sitting in his armchair, his head in his hands, he spoke to God: "I am unable to light the fire, and I do not know the prayer, and I cannot even find the place in the forest. All I can do is tell the story, and this must be sufficient." And it was sufficient. For God made man because He loves stories.
- Elie Wiesel, 1966
Friday, April 10, 2009
Nothing much, really. Just updating...
Only want to let you know I'm still alive.
I filled up my memory card yesterday so I put them all on my computer. Frankly the internet in hostels is too expensive to waste time putting them up.
Right now I'm traveling through Europe on Spring Break. I spent 8 amazing days in Paris. That city is really built for 20-year-olds, let me say. It also helped that my friends were students at the Sorbonne who spoke all the French necessary. One interesting night we went to Inside the Dark. An absurdly expensive restaurant with one twist: you eat in the dark. Complete darkness. You can't see anything. And your waiters are all blind. You get to the restaurant, tell the people working there about any food allergies. Then you can buy expensive drinks or cigars to wait. When a table is ready a blind waiter finds their way to you, tells you to make a chain of one person's hand on the person in front of them's shoulder. Then you enter the main hall which is enveloped in darkness. Then you eat. As you might've guess, you really appreciate the other senses... namely, taste. (Might I add that the establishment confiscates any lighters, cameras, phones... anything with a light). Afterward you get to see photos of your food. Very very well done masterpieces that you never get to see live. Still, the place was too fancy for me and I prefer greasier, cheaper diner food to this.
Right now I'm out of Paris and spent the day and yesterday in Riems and the Champagne region. My friend Katie and I are spending the night in a youth hostel. Katie bought a 30 euro bottle of Champagne (probably between $75 - $100 back in the States). Thanks, Katie, it was fantastic. Tomorrow I'm out of here for Luxembourg. On Sunday night I should be in Berlin and meet up with another friend named Jette Hubschmann. She grew up in the eastern side of Berlin and does various acting and voice-work for films and radio in Berlin (although she just got accepted to a prestigious photography school). After Berlin I'm looking to either Stockholm or Vienna. If I visit Stockholm then I'd head further north to endure the tremendous northern Arctic wind and ice for a chance to see its equally tremendous natural beauty (so I am told). If I go to Vienna then I'd visit Innsbruck and Salzburg.
My wisdom tooth is driving me crazy. It must be infected.
I filled up my memory card yesterday so I put them all on my computer. Frankly the internet in hostels is too expensive to waste time putting them up.
Right now I'm traveling through Europe on Spring Break. I spent 8 amazing days in Paris. That city is really built for 20-year-olds, let me say. It also helped that my friends were students at the Sorbonne who spoke all the French necessary. One interesting night we went to Inside the Dark. An absurdly expensive restaurant with one twist: you eat in the dark. Complete darkness. You can't see anything. And your waiters are all blind. You get to the restaurant, tell the people working there about any food allergies. Then you can buy expensive drinks or cigars to wait. When a table is ready a blind waiter finds their way to you, tells you to make a chain of one person's hand on the person in front of them's shoulder. Then you enter the main hall which is enveloped in darkness. Then you eat. As you might've guess, you really appreciate the other senses... namely, taste. (Might I add that the establishment confiscates any lighters, cameras, phones... anything with a light). Afterward you get to see photos of your food. Very very well done masterpieces that you never get to see live. Still, the place was too fancy for me and I prefer greasier, cheaper diner food to this.
Right now I'm out of Paris and spent the day and yesterday in Riems and the Champagne region. My friend Katie and I are spending the night in a youth hostel. Katie bought a 30 euro bottle of Champagne (probably between $75 - $100 back in the States). Thanks, Katie, it was fantastic. Tomorrow I'm out of here for Luxembourg. On Sunday night I should be in Berlin and meet up with another friend named Jette Hubschmann. She grew up in the eastern side of Berlin and does various acting and voice-work for films and radio in Berlin (although she just got accepted to a prestigious photography school). After Berlin I'm looking to either Stockholm or Vienna. If I visit Stockholm then I'd head further north to endure the tremendous northern Arctic wind and ice for a chance to see its equally tremendous natural beauty (so I am told). If I go to Vienna then I'd visit Innsbruck and Salzburg.
My wisdom tooth is driving me crazy. It must be infected.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Barcelona
Everyone, I will be in Barcelona from today until Sunday.
I will be staying at the hotel: Catalonia Duques de Bergara
Road: c/Bergara11
Tf.: 933015151
I will have my cellphone on me.
I will be staying at the hotel: Catalonia Duques de Bergara
Road: c/Bergara11
Tf.: 933015151
I will have my cellphone on me.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Wilde.
It is a perfect Summer day outside and class starts in a little bit. Here is a brief update on my life.
1. I met a French teacher at the University who doesn't know English so she said she'd teach me French for an hour a day free if I teach her English for an hour. Great deal. Plus it doesn't take up any significant portion of my free time because it's during a two-hour gap between classes that I wouldn't be constructively using anyways.
2. Desperate for English reading, I bought Heart of Darkness by Conrad and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Wilde.
3. I'm worried about getting a Summer job that's actually worth putting on a résumé.
4. Gave up Euskera, simply impossible in the allotted time.
5. Listening to John Vanderslice's Emerald City.
6. Got a bad cold. So does everyone else here.
1. I met a French teacher at the University who doesn't know English so she said she'd teach me French for an hour a day free if I teach her English for an hour. Great deal. Plus it doesn't take up any significant portion of my free time because it's during a two-hour gap between classes that I wouldn't be constructively using anyways.
2. Desperate for English reading, I bought Heart of Darkness by Conrad and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Wilde.
3. I'm worried about getting a Summer job that's actually worth putting on a résumé.
4. Gave up Euskera, simply impossible in the allotted time.
5. Listening to John Vanderslice's Emerald City.
6. Got a bad cold. So does everyone else here.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Great day...
Time to close the door on a number of things in the past. Today's weather is PERFECT!! and classes were canceled for Ash Wednesday (gotta love Jesuit-run universities). What am I doing indoors? Hasta la próxima...
Monday, February 23, 2009
A profile of Spanish politics
No one has ever accused the Spanish of a simple democratic system. In contrast to our two-party system in America (and at times in the past three parties, and at one point even four major contending parties), Spain has a many parties all with good chances to win seats and perhaps even presidency. A basic article on Spain's government would tell you that this the country is a Constitutional Monarchy or a Parliamentary Monarchy, however this is true in name only. The full title of Spain's government (which is the windy 'parliamentary representative democratic consitutional monarchy'), perhaps gives us slightly more insight but this still is misleading. So what is the face of Spanish politics?
'While our official name makes our government appear like France,' says Professor Raúl G. of the University of Deusto, 'in truth Spain is much closer to a federation. Though not as tightly bound as Germany, which is a federation in the truest sense of the word, but still functioning much like one with the United States of America somewhere between Spain and Germany.'
But the king is not completely without power. Among them, the king - currently Juan Carlos I - has many priveleges we would expect with our executive branch in America: among them, the ability to grant reprieves and pardons, the title Commander in Chief, the commander of armed forces, the ability to remove the President from office, to formally declare war or peace with nations (though only after approval from the General Courts). Aside from the few but important powers King Juan Carlos I enjoys, the rest is decided democratically.
The two largest parties are the conservative Partido Popular and the center-leftPartido Socialista Obrero Español (currently in power after the Partido Popular lost significant support after supporting George Bush in Iraq), both usually go neck and neck in elections. The far-left Unida Izquierda is the third most popular, followed by the combined conservative Cataluñan parties and then the Basque Nationalist Party at number 5 (the impossibly difficult-to-pronounce Euzko Alderdi Jeltzalea).
From a glance as simple as this, one would think that the Basque Nationalists are represented by only one major party. This is not the case. One might grow suspicious of such a conclusion when one looks at the numbers. In last year's congressional elections, the BNP only received 300,000+ votes, yet the city of Bilbao alone has 2,500,000 citizens. Clearly something must be up.
If I feel like it, I'll finish this post. Now I'm bored.
'While our official name makes our government appear like France,' says Professor Raúl G. of the University of Deusto, 'in truth Spain is much closer to a federation. Though not as tightly bound as Germany, which is a federation in the truest sense of the word, but still functioning much like one with the United States of America somewhere between Spain and Germany.'
But the king is not completely without power. Among them, the king - currently Juan Carlos I - has many priveleges we would expect with our executive branch in America: among them, the ability to grant reprieves and pardons, the title Commander in Chief, the commander of armed forces, the ability to remove the President from office, to formally declare war or peace with nations (though only after approval from the General Courts). Aside from the few but important powers King Juan Carlos I enjoys, the rest is decided democratically.
The two largest parties are the conservative Partido Popular and the center-leftPartido Socialista Obrero Español (currently in power after the Partido Popular lost significant support after supporting George Bush in Iraq), both usually go neck and neck in elections. The far-left Unida Izquierda is the third most popular, followed by the combined conservative Cataluñan parties and then the Basque Nationalist Party at number 5 (the impossibly difficult-to-pronounce Euzko Alderdi Jeltzalea).
From a glance as simple as this, one would think that the Basque Nationalists are represented by only one major party. This is not the case. One might grow suspicious of such a conclusion when one looks at the numbers. In last year's congressional elections, the BNP only received 300,000+ votes, yet the city of Bilbao alone has 2,500,000 citizens. Clearly something must be up.
If I feel like it, I'll finish this post. Now I'm bored.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
.99 €
I want you to look at the picture above taken digitally by me.
That is a plane ticket to Paris from Madrid. If you cannot speak Spanish, try your darndest to figure out the cost.
Have you got it?
That's right...
99 cents in euros. And after tariffs, under €20.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Santander...
I went to Santander yesterday with some others. Santander is a port city of 184,000, located in the mid-north and is based a little on tourism and very heavily on banking. Located in the territory of Cantabria, it is outside of Basque Country so I can actually read the street signs. The beaches there are very beautiful. There the rocks are black, the sand is white, the shells are purple and the starfish are green. I also visited one of the king's palace (wasn't allowed inside) and got to check out his zoo, which is open to the public. The zoo is small and centers around Antartic creatures - penguins, seals, etc... Unfortunately almost none of the medieval buildings survive: in 1941 a tremendous fire burned for two days and destroyed the old sector.
And now for something completely different. The native (alcoholic) drink of the Basque is called Bacharan, made from fermented blackberries. On its own it has a slightly thick consistency similar to Kahlua and tastes like licorice. The drink is popular at parties and is most often mixed with Coca-cola. Bacharan's flavor changes quickly when mixed with other drinks to create surprising new tastes. For instance, the licorice taste of Bacharan is completely lost when mixed with coffee (which is easily my favorite mix) and becomes a very rich treat suitable to accompany deserts. The new taste that is created from mixing the two tastes like a tart form of chocolate (very odd to think about, and very unique), and is so strong that it is served in very small quantities as drinking anything more than a sip would be overkill.
Orson Welles, who loved the Basque land, made a documentary of the place. And for those who speak Euskera: Orson Welles Euskal Herriari buruz egindako dokumentalaren zati batzuk. If you would like to watch this interesting documentary, see below...
And now for something completely different. The native (alcoholic) drink of the Basque is called Bacharan, made from fermented blackberries. On its own it has a slightly thick consistency similar to Kahlua and tastes like licorice. The drink is popular at parties and is most often mixed with Coca-cola. Bacharan's flavor changes quickly when mixed with other drinks to create surprising new tastes. For instance, the licorice taste of Bacharan is completely lost when mixed with coffee (which is easily my favorite mix) and becomes a very rich treat suitable to accompany deserts. The new taste that is created from mixing the two tastes like a tart form of chocolate (very odd to think about, and very unique), and is so strong that it is served in very small quantities as drinking anything more than a sip would be overkill.
Orson Welles, who loved the Basque land, made a documentary of the place. And for those who speak Euskera: Orson Welles Euskal Herriari buruz egindako dokumentalaren zati batzuk. If you would like to watch this interesting documentary, see below...
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
A photo from Superbowl Sunday with a short description...
As I wrote in a previous post, I went to Bar Zear-bide a little while back to celebrate the most American of pasttimes: watching commercials during some dumb, 5 hour-long show about two captains who hate each other. No, I'm not talking The Hunt for Red October, nor Crimson Tide, nor U571. Did you know that the show networks air in the space they can't fit commercials into is called the Superbowl? It's true. Wikipedia it if you haven't heard of it. Anyways, at this party to watch commericials, there was some random guy who was blazed out of his mind on marijuana and had a good amount of beer. For most of the night, he stood completely upright, eyes closed, slowly drinking out of a completely empty glass. Everyone kind of enjoyed his presence in a schadenfreude sort-of sense. Eventually he put the glass down and leaned back against the wall. He fell asleep. Standing up. Everyone started laughing and taking photos with him. Here is some evidence:
Monday, February 9, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Something different...
I am tired of talking about Spain. All I have to say is that this place is ridiculously expensive; there's no getting around that.
Lately I've been listening to a lot of Damien Rice's O album and I figured I'd put down a list of my favorite few albums from each year spanning back to 2002, when I first began to deeply care about music.
2002 - O, by Damien Rice - Folk, Indie Folk
Classic Irish acoustic sound, light vocals, careful lyrics with some surprising elements: gospel choirs played in reverse and two hidden tracks. Every song is good enough to be a single, and the album sold so well in the UK nearly every song did. My personal favorite never made the radio cut, Cheers Darlin', an existential wedding toast from a jaded lover who missed his chance.
2003 - The Ugly Organ, by Cursive - 90's Emo, Rock
Nobody hates people quite like Tim Kasher. Well, more accurately, no one hates the dark side of people quite like Tim Kasher. Face it, we may be humans but we're still animals. We lie, steal, are infedelious and lazy. The Ugly Organ is Tim's testament of people trying to survive in a world where everyone simply wants to use you. And it works. Tim Kasher is probably one of the most gifted lyricists since the mid-90s.
2004 - More Adventurous, by Rilo Kiley, Country, Indie-country
Rilo combines nearly every genre in this CD. Usually she sticks to country feelings. Guitar twangs, light violin, southern drawl. And she has a lot of that in More Adventurous as well. But here she really attempts to braoden her horizons, in true Saddle Creek fashion, towards less country and more rock, more indie, and more experimental. The song Does He Love You? is absolutely killer, and a Portion for Foxes has clear roots in Metric (and in my opinion, does Metric one better).
2005 - Come On, Feel the Illinoise!, by Sufjan Stevens - Folk, Indie Folk, Christian
In my opinion, 2004 was a bit of a dud in music; 2005 was great. Looking back, I really really wish I went to more concerts that year cause I missed some stellar performances. Illinoise!, the only completley solid album by Sufjan to date, did several remarkable things. First, he dusted off Christian themes with fresh melodies, which was the best thing for Christian music since Johnny Cash (though considering the state of Christian music prior to him, that's not saying much at all). Secondly, its utilization of brass and woodwinds (though hardly original in itself) was done in such a way to remain surprising and enjoyable. Within the confinements of an album, he tries to cover as many Illinois landmarks, both good and ugly, as he can. From the upbeat, hagiographical Chicago, to the southern banjo feel in Jacksonville, to the harrowing, horrifying John Wayne Gacy Jr. Too bad none of Sufjan's other albums have been half as good. Only his album Michigan came even close. 2005 really produced some unforgettable albums that deserve mentioning: The New Pornographers released Twin Cinema, and Wolf Parade gave us Apologies to the Queen Mary with my favorite single from that year, I'll Believe In Anything.
Now I am finally tired and am going to bed. I was right. These blog posts are the best medicine for sleep. Agurrrrr...
Lately I've been listening to a lot of Damien Rice's O album and I figured I'd put down a list of my favorite few albums from each year spanning back to 2002, when I first began to deeply care about music.
2002 - O, by Damien Rice - Folk, Indie Folk
Classic Irish acoustic sound, light vocals, careful lyrics with some surprising elements: gospel choirs played in reverse and two hidden tracks. Every song is good enough to be a single, and the album sold so well in the UK nearly every song did. My personal favorite never made the radio cut, Cheers Darlin', an existential wedding toast from a jaded lover who missed his chance.
2003 - The Ugly Organ, by Cursive - 90's Emo, Rock
Nobody hates people quite like Tim Kasher. Well, more accurately, no one hates the dark side of people quite like Tim Kasher. Face it, we may be humans but we're still animals. We lie, steal, are infedelious and lazy. The Ugly Organ is Tim's testament of people trying to survive in a world where everyone simply wants to use you. And it works. Tim Kasher is probably one of the most gifted lyricists since the mid-90s.
2004 - More Adventurous, by Rilo Kiley, Country, Indie-country
Rilo combines nearly every genre in this CD. Usually she sticks to country feelings. Guitar twangs, light violin, southern drawl. And she has a lot of that in More Adventurous as well. But here she really attempts to braoden her horizons, in true Saddle Creek fashion, towards less country and more rock, more indie, and more experimental. The song Does He Love You? is absolutely killer, and a Portion for Foxes has clear roots in Metric (and in my opinion, does Metric one better).
2005 - Come On, Feel the Illinoise!, by Sufjan Stevens - Folk, Indie Folk, Christian
In my opinion, 2004 was a bit of a dud in music; 2005 was great. Looking back, I really really wish I went to more concerts that year cause I missed some stellar performances. Illinoise!, the only completley solid album by Sufjan to date, did several remarkable things. First, he dusted off Christian themes with fresh melodies, which was the best thing for Christian music since Johnny Cash (though considering the state of Christian music prior to him, that's not saying much at all). Secondly, its utilization of brass and woodwinds (though hardly original in itself) was done in such a way to remain surprising and enjoyable. Within the confinements of an album, he tries to cover as many Illinois landmarks, both good and ugly, as he can. From the upbeat, hagiographical Chicago, to the southern banjo feel in Jacksonville, to the harrowing, horrifying John Wayne Gacy Jr. Too bad none of Sufjan's other albums have been half as good. Only his album Michigan came even close. 2005 really produced some unforgettable albums that deserve mentioning: The New Pornographers released Twin Cinema, and Wolf Parade gave us Apologies to the Queen Mary with my favorite single from that year, I'll Believe In Anything.
Now I am finally tired and am going to bed. I was right. These blog posts are the best medicine for sleep. Agurrrrr...
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Oscars!
Don't get me wrong, just like you I normally don't care about the Oscars. But my dorm is having a competition for picking the most/least right and the prizes are good enough to get me interested. Too bad there's 200 people in my dorm. Still, the odds aren't all that bad. It cost me 2 €uros to enter...
Prizes:
1st. Stereo system with DVD television
2nd. 15.6 inch LCD Television with minispeakers
3rd. Tiny HDTV
4th. 4gb iPod or something
5th. 1gb Samsung
6th. The Best of Los Tres CD (a great band who incidently are from Chile)
7th. Selections from Euskal Herria (I have no idea what that is, but Euskal means is the Basque word for addressing their own language).
For many: Two free entrances to a local cinema.
24 worst finalists: Kinder Sorpreser candy Eggs (they're kind of like Cadberry eggs).
Hopefully that stereo is mine.
Prizes:
1st. Stereo system with DVD television
2nd. 15.6 inch LCD Television with minispeakers
3rd. Tiny HDTV
4th. 4gb iPod or something
5th. 1gb Samsung
6th. The Best of Los Tres CD (a great band who incidently are from Chile)
7th. Selections from Euskal Herria (I have no idea what that is, but Euskal means is the Basque word for addressing their own language).
For many: Two free entrances to a local cinema.
24 worst finalists: Kinder Sorpreser candy Eggs (they're kind of like Cadberry eggs).
Hopefully that stereo is mine.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Bar Zear-bide
Bar Zear-bide is one of hundreds of Basque bars in Bilbao. Like all the others, its menues are in Euskera first, Spanish second and the grafitti in its bathrooms are always in Euskera (and the occaisional English phrase). But unlike all the other Basque bars that closed early yesterday, Bar Zear-Bide stayed open late. Very late. 5 AM late. It adorned its walls last night (and last night only) with hundreds of removable American flag stickers. It hung a large American flag above the place. It rented a big screen. It put Cardinals and Steelers helmets on the beer tap's faucets. Jerseys were hung on the ceiling. All in the name of a little football.
I don't care about Arizona. And to be honest, I rather dislike the Steelers. But last night, for some reason, I decided to get very into the game. I decided to root for Arizona because I like underdogs and I remember their awwwfulll record only a few years back. I went in a large group split evenly between Arizona and Pittsburgh fans (though scant few of us cared before last night). The bar was packed with Americans (and people from other English speaking countries that showed up just for the chance to speak English). Nobody cared more about the game than Courtney, who is from Pittsburgh. Well, nobody except Taylor, who placed €70 that the Cardinals would beat the six point spread. Both Courtney and Taylor went home happy that night.
Nothing much else to say. Yesterday I ate dinner with the family of a friend. I had forgotten how good real food tastes after eating at our residencia. It was so nice for a change. mmm....
Oh yeah! The other day we found flies in our soups in the cafeteria. I went out for a ke-bab that night.
I don't care about Arizona. And to be honest, I rather dislike the Steelers. But last night, for some reason, I decided to get very into the game. I decided to root for Arizona because I like underdogs and I remember their awwwfulll record only a few years back. I went in a large group split evenly between Arizona and Pittsburgh fans (though scant few of us cared before last night). The bar was packed with Americans (and people from other English speaking countries that showed up just for the chance to speak English). Nobody cared more about the game than Courtney, who is from Pittsburgh. Well, nobody except Taylor, who placed €70 that the Cardinals would beat the six point spread. Both Courtney and Taylor went home happy that night.
Nothing much else to say. Yesterday I ate dinner with the family of a friend. I had forgotten how good real food tastes after eating at our residencia. It was so nice for a change. mmm....
Oh yeah! The other day we found flies in our soups in the cafeteria. I went out for a ke-bab that night.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
me da pena....
Well, I certainly hope no one from here in Spain reads this following post...
...I got turned down by a girl here two days ago. Ouch. If you think getting turned down in English is bad, try hearing it in Spanish. And tonight she went out with a boy I am very certain she likes. Double ouch. And I know he likes her. Triple ouch. While they are at some bar or show or who knows what, I sit here alone. At least the sandwich vending machine actually gave me two sandwiches...
·sigh· Superbowl tomorrow...
...I got turned down by a girl here two days ago. Ouch. If you think getting turned down in English is bad, try hearing it in Spanish. And tonight she went out with a boy I am very certain she likes. Double ouch. And I know he likes her. Triple ouch. While they are at some bar or show or who knows what, I sit here alone. At least the sandwich vending machine actually gave me two sandwiches...
·sigh· Superbowl tomorrow...
Sunday, January 25, 2009
¡qué lástima!
When you're here, if you bother to take the effort, you end up speaking a lot more languages than just English or Spanish. The University has special departments for people from the New World (called CIDE) and Europeans and Asians and Africans (called Erasmus). Though the staff is different from each department, for us students we are treated no differently and often find ourselves in the same classes. Taking classes with people everywhere from Vietnam (though uncommon) to Sweden (very common) means you are picking up a lot more than just Spanish. Take last night, for instance. I met some friends and went to a small party for Saturday night and I ended up talking to a Swedish guy named Cristofer. Linguists say that Swedish is in fact far more similar to English than German. In fact, it is the closest living language to our own. Even words that sound very different often bear a reason that is quite understandable. I provide an example to explicate what I just said:
The word woman is kvinnen in Swedish. Doesn't sound similar at all, does it? But if you konw a little Middle English you might know that queen was once spelled cwéna. Let's parse their sounds so that we can see the similarities and then work backwords to get to an older version of the word.
K' vi nehn
K' wi neh
Alright, now I'm getting bored. I am not tired at all but am gonna call it a night just as well. Ciao.
The word woman is kvinnen in Swedish. Doesn't sound similar at all, does it? But if you konw a little Middle English you might know that queen was once spelled cwéna. Let's parse their sounds so that we can see the similarities and then work backwords to get to an older version of the word.
K' vi nehn
K' wi neh
Alright, now I'm getting bored. I am not tired at all but am gonna call it a night just as well. Ciao.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Wind storms...
Yesterday night, Bilbao went on Red Alert for wind storms. I went out on the roof last night (as did a lot of guys) and was surprised at how strong the wind truly was. Pretty powerful - nothing like Illinois. There was no rain and the night was clear. But before I knew there was a windstorm going on, I was in the computer lab chatting away and had headphones in my ears. I could hear people screaming and moving about - but it's a dorm so I figured there was a futból game on or something. Eventually I got bored on the computer and when to my dorm room where my roommate excitedly told me that I missed a tornado! It was tiny but it had a funnel and it moved some cars (no real damage though) and it went right by our dorm. That's when I realized everyone was watching the twister. Interesting. Elsewhere, 3 children were killed as a roof caved in due to winds.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
...
1. EDIT: I quit. It's too hard.
2. I got a letter yesterday confirming my acceptance to a private speech by the Basque president Irrabtxea. There were only 30 people in total allowed. I was happy to be invited. There were five seats open to international students and it was open to first-come-first-serve. I was number five. It was simply a matter of being at the right place at the right time. Today I picked up a paper and was surprised to see myself in the photos because I happened to be behind the president when journalists must have taken his photo. I stole one of the papers for home. I tried to find an online photo to post on here but the articles just used close-ups of the president's face and not everything else.
3. There are free classes at my dorm for Euskeran (the language of the Basque). I am going to take it. Fo sho.
4. I hate making updates now. It's becoming a chore.
5. Pintxos are delicious.
6. Churros are too expensive.
7. Goodnight, Saigo... er... America.
2. I got a letter yesterday confirming my acceptance to a private speech by the Basque president Irrabtxea. There were only 30 people in total allowed. I was happy to be invited. There were five seats open to international students and it was open to first-come-first-serve. I was number five. It was simply a matter of being at the right place at the right time. Today I picked up a paper and was surprised to see myself in the photos because I happened to be behind the president when journalists must have taken his photo. I stole one of the papers for home. I tried to find an online photo to post on here but the articles just used close-ups of the president's face and not everything else.
3. There are free classes at my dorm for Euskeran (the language of the Basque). I am going to take it. Fo sho.
4. I hate making updates now. It's becoming a chore.
5. Pintxos are delicious.
6. Churros are too expensive.
7. Goodnight, Saigo... er... America.
Monday, January 19, 2009
lo que paso pasoooo entre tuyo
I got my test results back. I got into Advanced Spanish III, level 3. The next level is Spanish IV Highly Advanced, with one part, and then after that it's Spanish classes in the way we take English classes in America. Now I've gotta figure out which classes I wanna take. All I know is that I'm dropping Business Spanish. I thought it'd be about the language Spaniards use in businesses (and to a part, it is), but really it's more like Spanish Businesses - if you catch my drift. Plus, they speak a really boring level of Spanish in it that I simply refuse to tolerate an hour a day, four days a week.
One an entirely different note, I am pretty dang tall here. I was a tad bit taller than Chileans, but the Basque are so tiny! It's so rare to see someone taller than me on the streets. Usually you can tell they're not Basque if they are.
Now I will make a short list of cultural differences for your perusal.
...they smoke more, obviously.
...they drink heavily less.
...guys rarely wear pajamas. Girls wear them as much as they can get away with.
...eating bloody meat is a common ocassion.
...their sense of personal space is radically smaller.
...dreaded mullets (called 'Rastas') are popular.
...in the words of a Spaniard from Madrid describing Basque: they are 'brutos'. Guys here severly lack fashion sense in a way even Americans do not foul up. That's pretty bad.
...much less junk food. Again, obvious.
...bangs on girls are extremely popular.
One an entirely different note, I am pretty dang tall here. I was a tad bit taller than Chileans, but the Basque are so tiny! It's so rare to see someone taller than me on the streets. Usually you can tell they're not Basque if they are.
Now I will make a short list of cultural differences for your perusal.
...they smoke more, obviously.
...they drink heavily less.
...guys rarely wear pajamas. Girls wear them as much as they can get away with.
...eating bloody meat is a common ocassion.
...their sense of personal space is radically smaller.
...dreaded mullets (called 'Rastas') are popular.
...in the words of a Spaniard from Madrid describing Basque: they are 'brutos'. Guys here severly lack fashion sense in a way even Americans do not foul up. That's pretty bad.
...much less junk food. Again, obvious.
...bangs on girls are extremely popular.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Me da igual...
Nothing really to say. Just updating to let you know I'm around. As I previously stated, these posts will get less and less common as I settle into things.
I have the opportunity to go to a small lecture by the Basque President, I requested an audience. We'll see what comes of that.
Edit: I found a collection of writings on Basque mythology and it talks about magical locations in the mountains where altars and strange symbols were made in pre-Christian times. The locations are real, even if the magic is not, and though it is pretty difficult to find the spots, I am gonna attempt it. Agur.
I have the opportunity to go to a small lecture by the Basque President, I requested an audience. We'll see what comes of that.
Edit: I found a collection of writings on Basque mythology and it talks about magical locations in the mountains where altars and strange symbols were made in pre-Christian times. The locations are real, even if the magic is not, and though it is pretty difficult to find the spots, I am gonna attempt it. Agur.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Algunas fotos de la universidad...
The following are some random photos I took on my first day in the University. Those are some of the buildings. They include a music hall, the economics building, one of the many plazas with statues. The best stuff is sadly not photographed. The last photo was not taken by me - that would be rather difficult as cameras are discouraged cause they fade paintings. Anyways, that stinks cause the interior is way prettier. The last photo is evidence:
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
A ver...
Nothing much really to say. I'm really just posting for the sake of posting. I took the Spanish evaluation test today but I won't know the results till Monday. Definitely expect fewer posts.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Antes que el diablo sepa que has muerto...
I was given a tour of the university today. For a brief moment I finally saw all the foreign students in one group before we split up into small tour groups. There is about 90 of us. The interior of the university is amazing. Pretty much like Harry Potter's school on crack. Imagine Harvard or Yale or Edinburgh's interior but with gold everywhere. The old library, the auditorium and the capillo gotica are especially amazing. Too bad I can't take photos cause flash fades the old paintings. I gotta hand it to the Jesuits, they sure built some sweet buildings.
I think I've had coffee in a café every day since I arrived here. Bilbao is known as the best place for a cup of joe in all of Spain and I believe it. The food in restaurants is A+, but in the residencia cafeteria it's pretty poor. Which reminds me, my residencia ('dorm') is a bit different from American dorms, and my mom said it might be good to list the differences. If you have or are living in an American dorm please stop reading here, jealousy may consume you to the point of irrational and perhaps dangerous behavior.
Good Things About A Spanish Dorm:
· We have daily maid service
· Each dorm room (habitacíon) has two rooms (excluding bathroom), two sinks, a hallway within the dorm lined with closets, two desks, three closets, an wardrobe, wireless and internet jacks, smoking allowed, a bathroom, two cork boards.
· A chess club
· A library
· A movie theater
· A lending movie collection in the thousands, a cafeteria, a parking lot underneath the dorm, a gymnasium, a computer lab, a small eating lounge, a music hall with instruments to play, one lounge with lots of televisions.
Neutral Things About A Spanish Dorm:
· Visitation from outside the dorm ends at 11.
· The basketball courts for the dorm are not actually in the dorm but quite a walk away.
· Big trouble for being drunk in the dorm.
Bad Things About A Spanish Dorm:
· The food in the cafeteria is absolutely awful. You wouldn't believe it.
And that's it. There are some other rooms that I haven't checked out, maybe I'll do that today.
Actually, since I got my student ID today, I'm gonna head over to the university and check out an antique book from the Rennaissance era just to look at it. Okay, that's not true, books that are that old are kept in a high tech secure library as of a few years ago for preservation purposes. You have to get special permission to access those books. But hey, anything from 1700s onward is fair game, which is still a lot older than most libraries in America - excluding the Athaneum.
I think I've had coffee in a café every day since I arrived here. Bilbao is known as the best place for a cup of joe in all of Spain and I believe it. The food in restaurants is A+, but in the residencia cafeteria it's pretty poor. Which reminds me, my residencia ('dorm') is a bit different from American dorms, and my mom said it might be good to list the differences. If you have or are living in an American dorm please stop reading here, jealousy may consume you to the point of irrational and perhaps dangerous behavior.
Good Things About A Spanish Dorm:
· We have daily maid service
· Each dorm room (habitacíon) has two rooms (excluding bathroom), two sinks, a hallway within the dorm lined with closets, two desks, three closets, an wardrobe, wireless and internet jacks, smoking allowed, a bathroom, two cork boards.
· A chess club
· A library
· A movie theater
· A lending movie collection in the thousands, a cafeteria, a parking lot underneath the dorm, a gymnasium, a computer lab, a small eating lounge, a music hall with instruments to play, one lounge with lots of televisions.
Neutral Things About A Spanish Dorm:
· Visitation from outside the dorm ends at 11.
· The basketball courts for the dorm are not actually in the dorm but quite a walk away.
· Big trouble for being drunk in the dorm.
Bad Things About A Spanish Dorm:
· The food in the cafeteria is absolutely awful. You wouldn't believe it.
And that's it. There are some other rooms that I haven't checked out, maybe I'll do that today.
Actually, since I got my student ID today, I'm gonna head over to the university and check out an antique book from the Rennaissance era just to look at it. Okay, that's not true, books that are that old are kept in a high tech secure library as of a few years ago for preservation purposes. You have to get special permission to access those books. But hey, anything from 1700s onward is fair game, which is still a lot older than most libraries in America - excluding the Athaneum.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Fotos de algunos partes del país vasco...
At the behest of some, here are some photos from Basque country.
From the surfing town of Sopelana:
The bombed village of Gernika (Guernica):
The mother city of the Basque, Bilbao:
The second photo of Bilbao is our university. Quite beautiful, no? The first photo is the Guggenheim, as seen from the entrance of our university. So it's just across the river. There is a crazy bridge that runs from our university to the lap of the Guggenheim.
From the surfing town of Sopelana:
The bombed village of Gernika (Guernica):
The mother city of the Basque, Bilbao:
The second photo of Bilbao is our university. Quite beautiful, no? The first photo is the Guggenheim, as seen from the entrance of our university. So it's just across the river. There is a crazy bridge that runs from our university to the lap of the Guggenheim.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Saldar...
Going to a different beach today. My camera battery died before I got to Plentzai yesterday. Don't worry, I recharged it. Supposedly this beach is better than Plentzai's.
Alright, I'm peacing out. Agur!
Edit:
Back from the beach. It's a surfing town called Selapo or something. The town's name, though simple in writing, is extremely difficult to pronounce correctly. Euskeran is so hard. But hey, at least now I can understand when people are speaking it as opposed to Spanish. At first I couldn't tell when people had jumped to a different language. Of course, no one has been cruel enough to speak Euskeran to me, but they do switch between languages in my presence when speaking with each other. Sometimes I know they're talking about me cause words like 'Amerikaino' and 'Shikagao' sound just like what they mean: American and Chicago. Also, I had a big breakthrough in deciphyring their accents which helped considerably. Obviously a native speaker of Spanish could understand them; but I liken it to a student of English who learned in Scotland, now finds themselves in an central African nation with a central African accent on their English. Sure, we can understand them, but it must be notoriously difficult for the student.
I have met some interesting people here too. There is a girl from Gallica, Spain where they speak neither Castillian nor Catalan Spanish but Gallican, a very peculiar variant that's dying pretty fast that I'm told is pretty close to old Portuguese and Ladino (Ladino is what Spanish was about 500 years ago). Of course, she only speaks Castillian here.
Anyways, the town I went to today was not even close as nice looking. The beach lay at the foot of very steep cliffs (and the cliffs were, in my opinion, the only thing worth going to the town for). A precarious descent down the cliffs takes you to the thin beach and tremendous waves that make this place a popular surfing destination. I took photos but it wasn't that great. The weather was fantastic, in the low 60ºs. Take that, Chicago.
Alright, I'm peacing out. Agur!
Edit:
Back from the beach. It's a surfing town called Selapo or something. The town's name, though simple in writing, is extremely difficult to pronounce correctly. Euskeran is so hard. But hey, at least now I can understand when people are speaking it as opposed to Spanish. At first I couldn't tell when people had jumped to a different language. Of course, no one has been cruel enough to speak Euskeran to me, but they do switch between languages in my presence when speaking with each other. Sometimes I know they're talking about me cause words like 'Amerikaino' and 'Shikagao' sound just like what they mean: American and Chicago. Also, I had a big breakthrough in deciphyring their accents which helped considerably. Obviously a native speaker of Spanish could understand them; but I liken it to a student of English who learned in Scotland, now finds themselves in an central African nation with a central African accent on their English. Sure, we can understand them, but it must be notoriously difficult for the student.
I have met some interesting people here too. There is a girl from Gallica, Spain where they speak neither Castillian nor Catalan Spanish but Gallican, a very peculiar variant that's dying pretty fast that I'm told is pretty close to old Portuguese and Ladino (Ladino is what Spanish was about 500 years ago). Of course, she only speaks Castillian here.
Anyways, the town I went to today was not even close as nice looking. The beach lay at the foot of very steep cliffs (and the cliffs were, in my opinion, the only thing worth going to the town for). A precarious descent down the cliffs takes you to the thin beach and tremendous waves that make this place a popular surfing destination. I took photos but it wasn't that great. The weather was fantastic, in the low 60ºs. Take that, Chicago.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
A veces a escondidas...
English, Spanish and Basque words.
Hello - Hola - Caixa (pronounced Kaie'cha with emphasis on the first syllable)
Goodnight - Buenas noches - Gabon (barely pronounce the 'g', sometimes not pronounced at all)
Goodbye - Adios - Agur (do not pronounce the 'g' and the 'r' is heavily rolled)
Today my friends and I left to the ocean villa of Plentzia (the 'z' is pronounced like a 'ch' in Euskeran and the 't' is actually heard, whereas in English a 'tch' has little difference from a 'ch'). Let's just say that the river flowing into the ocean is a fantastic, glacial blue that augments the quaint beauty of Plentzia. The buildings are 19th century cobble with wooden doors and open frames. Basically think the buildings seen in the countrysides of Band of Brothers. Even though those buildings are in Normandy, France, Germany and Denmark, the architecture is the same. The Moors were never able to conquer Christian Basque, so village architecture retains the pre-Gothic simplicity seen in tiny villas and chateaux's famously retained in France. The waters here flow from the mountain snow and its intense blue beckons the passerby to sail the shallow depths. Believe you me, this is definitely a secret of Spain. I bet it is untouched by tourists throughout all year. It takes a good hour by train to reach it and there is nowhere to go but back to Bilbao from there.
My friends and I popped open a bottle of wine, five different cheeses (from Bree to sheep Carba to Swiss), and some French bread, beside the cold blue ocean waters on the beach. The cliffs of Plentzai surrounding us, the tiny villa homes behind us, the soft sand beneath us; it was an experience worth repeating.
Hello - Hola - Caixa (pronounced Kaie'cha with emphasis on the first syllable)
Goodnight - Buenas noches - Gabon (barely pronounce the 'g', sometimes not pronounced at all)
Goodbye - Adios - Agur (do not pronounce the 'g' and the 'r' is heavily rolled)
Today my friends and I left to the ocean villa of Plentzia (the 'z' is pronounced like a 'ch' in Euskeran and the 't' is actually heard, whereas in English a 'tch' has little difference from a 'ch'). Let's just say that the river flowing into the ocean is a fantastic, glacial blue that augments the quaint beauty of Plentzia. The buildings are 19th century cobble with wooden doors and open frames. Basically think the buildings seen in the countrysides of Band of Brothers. Even though those buildings are in Normandy, France, Germany and Denmark, the architecture is the same. The Moors were never able to conquer Christian Basque, so village architecture retains the pre-Gothic simplicity seen in tiny villas and chateaux's famously retained in France. The waters here flow from the mountain snow and its intense blue beckons the passerby to sail the shallow depths. Believe you me, this is definitely a secret of Spain. I bet it is untouched by tourists throughout all year. It takes a good hour by train to reach it and there is nowhere to go but back to Bilbao from there.
My friends and I popped open a bottle of wine, five different cheeses (from Bree to sheep Carba to Swiss), and some French bread, beside the cold blue ocean waters on the beach. The cliffs of Plentzai surrounding us, the tiny villa homes behind us, the soft sand beneath us; it was an experience worth repeating.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Hoy día: Gernika
In Spain, there are never classes on Fridays. With three day weekends what should one do? I think I'm gonna go to Guernica (Gernika in Euskeran). This is the heavily bombed village that Pablo Picasso made famous. Picasso, who initially was a conservative nationalist in support of Franco, witnessed the massacre of the Basque at Gernika, did a complete 180, and moved to France where he would live for the vast majority of his adult life. I'll take some photos, of course.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
aprovechar...
Well, there is a lot to say and yet I don't really feel like saying it. I'm gonna go shopping later today; the discounts due from the worldwide recession are even deeper than back home. I'm a bit lonely. I haven't made any friends, just an acquaintance or two. I suppose if I had a more outgoing roommate he could hook me up; but he doesn't have a social life. Oh well, not his fault. Today I explored the center of the city, yesterday I saw my university. This morning I had what they say is the best coffee in all of Spain. They are probably right.
Also, Euskeran is extremely common here. Signs are always in Euskeran first, Spanish second; and if there isn't enough room for both, it's always Euskeran that wins. Sometimes it makes no difference - like the word for airport is airopuert. Othertimes it's a complete mystery - 'dega zentzu'. I only have two hints to help me. One is that 'zu' means 'you', and that their sentence structure is exactly the opposite of our own. If you wanted to say "I went to the store", they would say "store to went I". And it's not even that simple. For instance, unlike English in any way, a noun can be intensified in itself and contain a phrase in itself (!). The noun 'ball', can even contain the idea of a huge ball and that it is being thrown to my friend. And that it would all be within that word, no other words in the sentence. That is called a Noun Phrase. Obviously there's nothing in English like it. I read a few essays on basic Basque grammar. I think my head exploded.
Everything here is done a few hours later than usual; which makes the time difference from here and home feel even longer. Breakfast is at a "normal" time (7 - 9:30), but lunch is from 2 - 4, and is from 8:30 to 10. I went to bed at 10 PM yesterday and they thought I was crazy. The place also seems to be a lot more religious than the rest of Spain. High Schools are run by nuns, which tells you two interesting things: 1) that the Basque government feels its appropriate to have Catholic religious conduct public classes, 2) that there are enough nuns to do that. There are also very high sentiments of seperation here. Yesterady I got a lecture on both how the Basque need their own nation and how the terrorist group ETA is contrary to their own goals. The feelings towards Basque country that I perceived in the rest of Spain and what I actually see are very different (of those with strong opinions towards the Basque, few had actually been there). Also, people here are waaaaay nicer than back at home, and twice as nice as in Madrid or Sevilla.
Anyways, I'm gonna siesta now.
Also, Euskeran is extremely common here. Signs are always in Euskeran first, Spanish second; and if there isn't enough room for both, it's always Euskeran that wins. Sometimes it makes no difference - like the word for airport is airopuert. Othertimes it's a complete mystery - 'dega zentzu'. I only have two hints to help me. One is that 'zu' means 'you', and that their sentence structure is exactly the opposite of our own. If you wanted to say "I went to the store", they would say "store to went I". And it's not even that simple. For instance, unlike English in any way, a noun can be intensified in itself and contain a phrase in itself (!). The noun 'ball', can even contain the idea of a huge ball and that it is being thrown to my friend. And that it would all be within that word, no other words in the sentence. That is called a Noun Phrase. Obviously there's nothing in English like it. I read a few essays on basic Basque grammar. I think my head exploded.
Everything here is done a few hours later than usual; which makes the time difference from here and home feel even longer. Breakfast is at a "normal" time (7 - 9:30), but lunch is from 2 - 4, and is from 8:30 to 10. I went to bed at 10 PM yesterday and they thought I was crazy. The place also seems to be a lot more religious than the rest of Spain. High Schools are run by nuns, which tells you two interesting things: 1) that the Basque government feels its appropriate to have Catholic religious conduct public classes, 2) that there are enough nuns to do that. There are also very high sentiments of seperation here. Yesterady I got a lecture on both how the Basque need their own nation and how the terrorist group ETA is contrary to their own goals. The feelings towards Basque country that I perceived in the rest of Spain and what I actually see are very different (of those with strong opinions towards the Basque, few had actually been there). Also, people here are waaaaay nicer than back at home, and twice as nice as in Madrid or Sevilla.
Anyways, I'm gonna siesta now.
Monday, January 5, 2009
orientation ends
Today we board a bus towards Bilbao. The city is described as a port town, surrounded by mountains continuously covered in snow. But it never snows in Bilbao, it's too warm. The weather here has been fantastic - in the mid forties and fifties. Yesterday (the Toledo day), there was a heavy fog; a tour guide said that that was probably the first fog since early fall, fog is a bit uncommon here. I am told that Bilbao, though it is farther north, is about the same temperature though is rainier. If that is true, I think my umbrella will get plenty of use but my ski jacket is going to stay in the bag - it's far too warm for it.
Anyways, I am making this update now as I am not sure (in the hustle of getting set up at the University) that I will have time to update this blog today. I gave up trying to speak only Spanish right now. I'm so irritated about that but it's close to impossible right now. AUGH. Of course I speak Spanish with Spaniards, but I'm not in contact with them ever. Furthermore, every Spaniard knows English and will just start speaking that as they figure you are from America/Germany/Scandanavia. In other words, countries that use English. At least with them I'm politely tell them I am gonna speak in Spanish for practice.
I will say this as a final note: it's odd what words you forget and how fast you forget them. My dreams are becoming a mix of Spanish and English now. I expect by next week there will be little English about them.
Anyways, I am making this update now as I am not sure (in the hustle of getting set up at the University) that I will have time to update this blog today. I gave up trying to speak only Spanish right now. I'm so irritated about that but it's close to impossible right now. AUGH. Of course I speak Spanish with Spaniards, but I'm not in contact with them ever. Furthermore, every Spaniard knows English and will just start speaking that as they figure you are from America/Germany/Scandanavia. In other words, countries that use English. At least with them I'm politely tell them I am gonna speak in Spanish for practice.
I will say this as a final note: it's odd what words you forget and how fast you forget them. My dreams are becoming a mix of Spanish and English now. I expect by next week there will be little English about them.
toledo
Today my orientation group went to what I think is the most beautiful, quaint city I have ever been to: Toledo. I have spent the entire day walking its tiny streets, viewing its 80 churches and 15 active communes and convents. The most beautiful cathedral is almost never open. Sometimes years pass and its doors are not once opened. That cathedral, I never learned the name, is very old and delicate so it is only opened when world leaders or King Juan Carlos I visit Toledo and want to go to church there. Inside these churches, synagogues and museums, no photography is allowed; I took plenty of photographic evidence from the outside. For a day trip, it doesn't get any more scenic than this. But I am exhausted right now. Yesterday I met a man from Minnesota who lives next to Red Wing. He is some big-shot lawyer and bought me and my friend a bottles of Cava for each of us. That's very expensive chardonney. I mean verrryyyy expensive. So expensive the shop took our photographs. He said he loves the stuff and he was bored waiting for his girlfriend so he figured since we were nice guys he'd show us the high life of Spain. Later his girlfriend showed up. She was nice. The Cava tasted amazing. I am extremely tired and tomorrow I leave for the university, finally. Goodnight.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Orientation begins...
I met everyone in my orientation group and got my itenerary. Today our group leaves for the palace of Juan Carlos I for a tour. Tomorrow we leave for Toledo. It´s odd saying this, but I speak the best Spanish in my group, something that has never happened to me before. I was talking to one of my orientation leaders (her name is Alejandra), expressing my fear that I might never become perfect in Spanish. She pretty much said that was pretty stupid and by the end of May, given how far ahead I am already, I would be perfect by then. In Chile I worked my butt off to learn as much as I could. Every night I would spend an hour memorizing words, and every next day I would make sure I would use 3+ of those new words in conversation. Rote memorization is pretty fallible and easy to forget what you´ve learned, but putting it into practice the next day ensures long-lasting retention. It paid off. One girl said that a lot of people in our group are very intimidated to speak in Spanish with me. I hate speaking in English here so my friends are the Spanish workers, my orientation leaders and whoever I´m sitting next to at a restaurant. Of course, learning Spanish comes at a price of pride. (This is a segue into an anectode). When I was in Chile I learned a very common phrase: acabo de ____. That means ´I have just ______´. One time, however, during a conversation with my host family, I was trying to think of the next word to use after acabo de. So I said the word I knew (acabo) and then paused in thought. Suddenly my family burst out laughing. They explained that while acabo de ____ is all too common, to not insert ´de _____´ quickly after it means.... well.... that I´m orgasming. That was a pretty embarrassing day and they definitely reminded me of that party foul for a while.
Anyways, I woke early today to see the sunrise over Madrid. And I have taken some photos. Also, I had an amazing breakfast of assorted hams. I really like this city, a lot more than Sevilla. Alright, I need to go. Ciao.
Anyways, I woke early today to see the sunrise over Madrid. And I have taken some photos. Also, I had an amazing breakfast of assorted hams. I really like this city, a lot more than Sevilla. Alright, I need to go. Ciao.
in the hotel regina
It's raining today, and I don't want my camera to get water slash so no pictures today. But it remains to be stated that the Starbucks here serves infinitely better sandwiches than back at home. But they're also a lot more expensive. Right now I'm sitting in my hotel room, watching El Chavo del 8 (trans., A Boy of Eight (years old)). The show was from 1971 to 1992 and is by far the most popular show ever broadcast in all of Latin America and Spain - it's even popular in Brazil. The show was shot in Mexico City and set in a barrio, following a young orphan and his strange adventures.
This was the same show that I pretended to translate when I was very young, perhaps six. I remember I would make stuff up on the spot and my parents would laugh. It's funny because now I actually can translate it. Of course, the show uses a lot of central Mexican slang that is notoriously difficult to translate on its own. Regardless, the show is pretty funny. I have seen this show from Chile to Spain to Mexico to Chicago.
I found an English subtitled clip for your perusal. Enjoy.
This was the same show that I pretended to translate when I was very young, perhaps six. I remember I would make stuff up on the spot and my parents would laugh. It's funny because now I actually can translate it. Of course, the show uses a lot of central Mexican slang that is notoriously difficult to translate on its own. Regardless, the show is pretty funny. I have seen this show from Chile to Spain to Mexico to Chicago.
I found an English subtitled clip for your perusal. Enjoy.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Soon boarding...
I suppose that there is little to talk about in these hours before boarding the plane to Munich. As a music addict, and it being the new year I think it fitting to dedicate this first post to a few of my favorite songs released this year. There really isn't anything else to talk about at the moment...
Wild Sweet Orange - Ten Dead Dogs
Mates of State - My Only Offer
The next is a 2007 song, but it was released on one of the last days in December. So if SPIN is counting this as a 2008 song, so will I. This song has occupied many a party with Jesse and Paulo.
MIA - Paper Planes
The next song has been on almost every Indie and college radio station. No surprise - it's a great song.
MGMT - Kids
The last one I'm not posting a link. Rest assured, it's A Millie by 'Lil Wayne.
Anyways, this post goes out to all the good times at GC that I'm leaving behind.
Wild Sweet Orange - Ten Dead Dogs
Mates of State - My Only Offer
The next is a 2007 song, but it was released on one of the last days in December. So if SPIN is counting this as a 2008 song, so will I. This song has occupied many a party with Jesse and Paulo.
MIA - Paper Planes
The next song has been on almost every Indie and college radio station. No surprise - it's a great song.
MGMT - Kids
The last one I'm not posting a link. Rest assured, it's A Millie by 'Lil Wayne.
Anyways, this post goes out to all the good times at GC that I'm leaving behind.
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