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.