I went downstairs for a glass of wine and the desk guy gave me a free hour of wifi access and two glasses of wine for 1 euro. So I've had 3 hours of wifi, two glasses of wine, plus dinner (pork in some kind of wine sauce and rice, some bread and a cookie) for a total of 7 euro. Plus, I realized that tomorrow, in around 26 hours, I'll be seeing Pete for the first time since April 11. And I would ride through 18 straight hours of super turbulence for that.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Bilbao
I made it to Bilbao with a minimum of stress. The woman who works at my apartment building offered me a ride to the bus station. I bought my bus ticket in Spanish, and the torrential downpour that occurred all day stopped while I waited for the bus. The bus ride is a very easy hour. Then, I got to the airport and the shuttle for the hotel came a few minutes later. The hotel is literally 5 minutes from the airport. It's a pretty standard Holiday Inn Express, but there's a bar and a large lounge area. It's brand new, so it's all very clean and shiny.
I got to my room and started getting a little bit panicked about my trip. So, I paid for a little bit of internet time and bought dinner from the vending machine. They actually have food delivered daily in the vending machines and then you can heat it up in the microwave. Not gourmet. But not as terrible as I was expecting. I might go down to the bar in a few minutes to have a glass of wine (and so I don't spend my whole evening watching BBC or CNBC). Tomorrow I'm up bright and early for breakfast and the shuttle back to the airport. I'm trying to figure out what to do with my 2.5 hours in Madrid. I'm sure I'll find something to do in the terminal. Unfortunately, they only post gates until about 45 minutes before the flight, so you can't really go and sit at the gate and read. The part I'm dreading the most is the 9.5 hours from Madrid to Miami. Hopefully, I will be able to sleep a little bit ... I'm not terribly optimistic since on my flight on the way here I had four seats to myself and I still couldn't sleep due to turbulence. Send your good travel vibes my way so I don't miss my connection in Miami ... and maybe catch a few hours of sleep!
I got to my room and started getting a little bit panicked about my trip. So, I paid for a little bit of internet time and bought dinner from the vending machine. They actually have food delivered daily in the vending machines and then you can heat it up in the microwave. Not gourmet. But not as terrible as I was expecting. I might go down to the bar in a few minutes to have a glass of wine (and so I don't spend my whole evening watching BBC or CNBC). Tomorrow I'm up bright and early for breakfast and the shuttle back to the airport. I'm trying to figure out what to do with my 2.5 hours in Madrid. I'm sure I'll find something to do in the terminal. Unfortunately, they only post gates until about 45 minutes before the flight, so you can't really go and sit at the gate and read. The part I'm dreading the most is the 9.5 hours from Madrid to Miami. Hopefully, I will be able to sleep a little bit ... I'm not terribly optimistic since on my flight on the way here I had four seats to myself and I still couldn't sleep due to turbulence. Send your good travel vibes my way so I don't miss my connection in Miami ... and maybe catch a few hours of sleep!
Traveling
Today starts my marathon of travel. I'm leaving work early to go home clean up a little bit so I don't come back to old food and a dirty house. Then it's marathon travel time. I am a little worried about calling a cab, since phone Spanish is hard. I'm also getting a little nervous about all the travel. I have plenty of time if my flight is delayed out of Bilbao, but I'm cutting it a little bit closer in Miami. Especially since I think I'll have to go through customs and immigration there, probably picking up and re-checking my bag. I managed to pack in a carry-on sized bag, but I'm checking it since checking on overseas flights is free for the first bag and I don't really want to drag my bag all over the Madrid Barajas airport during my first layover.
I was laughing at myself last night because I have all of my various electronic devices stocked and ready to go: my iPad and laptop have some movies and tv shows on them, my Nook is full of books, and I have several issues of the New Yorker and People on my iPad too. The Nook is the best part of all of this because rather than having to carry three or four (or six) books for my week-long vacation + 18 hour travel days in each direction, I can carry a dozen books in one little machine. It means I can pack in a smaller suitcase and have a lighter carry-on! I should be able to keep myself busy for the flights. I'm also taking some work, so hopefully I can be a little productive too.
I'm taking a new knitting project, since my blanket is way too large to carry. Plus, I don't really want to take 17 different colors of yarn with me. The blanket is really, really beautiful so far. I'm about halfway done and I love it. I can't wait 'til it's done so I can hunker down on my couch under it. It takes all of my willpower not to post pictures of my progress every day here and on Facebook. I think the big reveal will be better if I don't!
I'm not sure how often I'll be able to post while I'm gone. I know I'll have some internet access, but probably not a lot. I'll have plenty of stories when I return I'm sure, including how Castellano (Spain Spanish) is different than Español (Latin American Spanish).
I was laughing at myself last night because I have all of my various electronic devices stocked and ready to go: my iPad and laptop have some movies and tv shows on them, my Nook is full of books, and I have several issues of the New Yorker and People on my iPad too. The Nook is the best part of all of this because rather than having to carry three or four (or six) books for my week-long vacation + 18 hour travel days in each direction, I can carry a dozen books in one little machine. It means I can pack in a smaller suitcase and have a lighter carry-on! I should be able to keep myself busy for the flights. I'm also taking some work, so hopefully I can be a little productive too.
I'm taking a new knitting project, since my blanket is way too large to carry. Plus, I don't really want to take 17 different colors of yarn with me. The blanket is really, really beautiful so far. I'm about halfway done and I love it. I can't wait 'til it's done so I can hunker down on my couch under it. It takes all of my willpower not to post pictures of my progress every day here and on Facebook. I think the big reveal will be better if I don't!
I'm not sure how often I'll be able to post while I'm gone. I know I'll have some internet access, but probably not a lot. I'll have plenty of stories when I return I'm sure, including how Castellano (Spain Spanish) is different than Español (Latin American Spanish).
Monday, May 30, 2011
Silence
It's painfully quiet at work today. It's not that no one is around, because they are. It's just that no one is talking ... probably because it's sort of cloudy and grey, and it's Monday. I've gotten everything done today that I had on my to do list for work (which, honestly, wasn't all that ambitious since I figured my focus would be shot). Now I can get going on some of tomorrow's list and maybe I can be done by lunchtime tomorrow and make it to Bilbao sort of early.
Maybe I'll have a more exciting update later. :)
Maybe I'll have a more exciting update later. :)
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Unfocused ...
I'm going to Puerto Rico for a wedding and to see Peter this week. I leave Tuesday for Bilbao, where I'll spend the night at a hotel near the airport. My flight leaves at 8:30 the next morning, and the buses from San Sebastián to Bilbao don't leave that early. I'm going to try to leave work a little early on Tuesday, but I have about a million things to do before I leave. I need to finish some data analysis, finish writing two conference abstracts, and do several other work related things. Plus, I need to pack for Puerto Rico. I wasn't super smart when packing to come here, so I don't really have beach/resort clothes with me, and I don't really have great options for the wedding and all the related events. Depending on how much I get done tonight, I might end up trying to do a little shopping before I go. Otherwise, I'll pack what I have, and if I need clothing, it's not like they don't sell it in Puerto Rico.
I think I'm having trouble focusing on anything because I'm so excited about Puerto Rico. I'm not even having my usual pre-travel freak-out. That isn't to say I'm thrilled about traveling. I leave here Tuesday evening and take the bus to Bilbao (I still need to figure out how to get to the bus station, since it's not very easy to just call a cab). Then I go to the Bilbao airport Wednesday morning for a 1 hour flight to Madrid. I have a 2.5 hour layover in Madrid and then a 9+ hour flight to Miami ... then a 2 hour layover and a 2.5 hour flight to San Juan. I leave Bilbao at 8:30 am and get into San Juan at 8 pm on Wednesday night, which is 2 am Spain time, so I'll be traveling for about 18 hours (not counting travel to and from the airport, waiting for bags, etc.). I'm sure I'll sleep well Wednesday night!
I think I'm having trouble focusing on anything because I'm so excited about Puerto Rico. I'm not even having my usual pre-travel freak-out. That isn't to say I'm thrilled about traveling. I leave here Tuesday evening and take the bus to Bilbao (I still need to figure out how to get to the bus station, since it's not very easy to just call a cab). Then I go to the Bilbao airport Wednesday morning for a 1 hour flight to Madrid. I have a 2.5 hour layover in Madrid and then a 9+ hour flight to Miami ... then a 2 hour layover and a 2.5 hour flight to San Juan. I leave Bilbao at 8:30 am and get into San Juan at 8 pm on Wednesday night, which is 2 am Spain time, so I'll be traveling for about 18 hours (not counting travel to and from the airport, waiting for bags, etc.). I'm sure I'll sleep well Wednesday night!
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Garbage Street
The street behind my apartment (that my terrace opens onto) smells like garbage at night. I think this is because people have to take their trash out to the block's dumpster between 7 and 10 pm. This is smart because then it doesn't sit in the sun, but dumb because the sudden increase of trash makes everything stink like garbage ... and because the sun doesn't set 'til after 9:30, so it still festers in the sun for a while. I walked in tonight and couldn't figure out why my place stank like garbage, until I realized the smell was coming from outside the house. Gross.
I went to see a movie tonight with my Spanish friend. We saw the new Woody Allen film "Midnight in Paris." I liked it. I especially liked that it wasn't dubbed like most American films here are and instead was in English with Spanish subtitles. It was sort of fun to read the subtitles along with the English sound. Much more fun than trying to understand what's going on in a movie where the actors lips don't match up with the sound. They actually dub EVERYTHING here so even American tv is dubbed - usually badly. There is something really disconcerting about hearing a voice that is not an actors come out of their mouth (sort of). It's especially weird when the words the actor says are much longer or shorter than the dubbed words. It happens with subtitles too. My favorite example today was in the movie a character says something like "I don't understand what you're saying" and the subtitle was "¿Que?"
Tomorrow if the weather's good we might take a little day trip. Otherwise, I need to do laundry, start packing, and do some work! I'll be busy this weekend either way!
I went to see a movie tonight with my Spanish friend. We saw the new Woody Allen film "Midnight in Paris." I liked it. I especially liked that it wasn't dubbed like most American films here are and instead was in English with Spanish subtitles. It was sort of fun to read the subtitles along with the English sound. Much more fun than trying to understand what's going on in a movie where the actors lips don't match up with the sound. They actually dub EVERYTHING here so even American tv is dubbed - usually badly. There is something really disconcerting about hearing a voice that is not an actors come out of their mouth (sort of). It's especially weird when the words the actor says are much longer or shorter than the dubbed words. It happens with subtitles too. My favorite example today was in the movie a character says something like "I don't understand what you're saying" and the subtitle was "¿Que?"
Tomorrow if the weather's good we might take a little day trip. Otherwise, I need to do laundry, start packing, and do some work! I'll be busy this weekend either way!
Friday, May 27, 2011
Spanglish
I realized yesterday evening and today that I've started communicating in a weird Spanish-English hybrid. I now know enough Spanish that I can understand a lot of things and express myself more or less if the listener is patient. But I don't know enough vocabulary to express myself all the time. For instance, one of the administrative assistants at work was talking to me today - she is pregnant and I wanted to ask her how she was feeling and how far along she was. While I know the word for pregnant, I don't really know the word for pregnancy, let alone all the other words that go with that.
My Spanish friend took me out for coffee with a few of her friends yesterday. They all spoke very quickly and with a lot of slang, so I had a rough time understanding specifics of what was going on. I got the general idea even though we were in a loud cafe. I realized that I was relying way more on contextual cues than I normally might have to. Because it's not guaranteed I'll understand every word to begin with, I have to really pay attention for those I do understand. It's a sort of interesting speech perception problem, actually, how the cues I'm relying on are changing over time. What I really need to do is just spend more time with Spaniards so I understand more of the slang and vocabulary. Vocabulary is my real downfall in Spanish. The real problem is that I've always understood grammar, so I can put together a complex sentence, which makes people think I understand and know more than I do. Still, I've only been here for 6 weeks - my Spanish has nowhere to go but up.
In bug related news, I got a plug in repellent thing that keeps away mosquitos and tiger mosquitos (apparently the bugs that keep attacking me). Hopefully it will work. I'm also considering getting a mosquito net for over my door, so I can still get fresh air, but not bugs. Or, I can always suggest what Pete told me to tell the people here: Invent screens.
My Spanish friend took me out for coffee with a few of her friends yesterday. They all spoke very quickly and with a lot of slang, so I had a rough time understanding specifics of what was going on. I got the general idea even though we were in a loud cafe. I realized that I was relying way more on contextual cues than I normally might have to. Because it's not guaranteed I'll understand every word to begin with, I have to really pay attention for those I do understand. It's a sort of interesting speech perception problem, actually, how the cues I'm relying on are changing over time. What I really need to do is just spend more time with Spaniards so I understand more of the slang and vocabulary. Vocabulary is my real downfall in Spanish. The real problem is that I've always understood grammar, so I can put together a complex sentence, which makes people think I understand and know more than I do. Still, I've only been here for 6 weeks - my Spanish has nowhere to go but up.
In bug related news, I got a plug in repellent thing that keeps away mosquitos and tiger mosquitos (apparently the bugs that keep attacking me). Hopefully it will work. I'm also considering getting a mosquito net for over my door, so I can still get fresh air, but not bugs. Or, I can always suggest what Pete told me to tell the people here: Invent screens.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Music
Yesterday I played viola and sang in public at the bar where my friend's boyfriend runs a session every week. I was terrified because I didn't know very many people there (and haven't played a viola in about a billion years), but it went okay. Hopefully, I'll have some more chances to do this. Unfortunately, this bar is probably closing down soon. The location isn't great for generating customers, since it's far away from places where people normally go out, so you have to plan to go there - you won't just walk by and wander in. I guess they're looking for a new place to open, but rent is really expensive, so it might not happen. The guy who runs the session is looking at other bars to play in, which I think would be good.
I'm hanging out tonight with my Spanish friend and two of her friends. The plan is to speak mostly in Spanish ... not sure how that will go! If the weather is nice we might take a day trip to one of the towns nearby this weekend, which would be more Spanish time. Since that's one of the points of coming here, I do feel like I need to practice more. It's just still really hard to have a real conversation with people.
I'm starting to see how much easier things are and how much things have changed, though, since I arrived here. I found a note in my bag the other day from my first day here, when I was jet-lagged and totally overwhelmed. It was a list: Find grocery store, find bus stop, buy food. The note was simultaneously heartbreaking and hilarious. I remember being so out of it that I thought "I need to write down that I need to buy food, or I might not have anything to eat today." I moved here knowing nothing. At all. And on days that are stressful or where I have to figure out something new (Where do you buy pins? How about bug repellent?), I remind myself how far I've come so far. I came here and didn't know where the grocery store was, how to get to work, where to do laundry. And now I know all of those things, and I figured them out mostly by myself. So on a day when I have to figure out whether or not I need to pay taxes this year (answer - no, not yet), or figure out how to get to a street that is supposed to be parallel to the street I'm on according to the map (but is actually 7 stories above me and the buildings I'm standing by), I remind myself I've done harder things already. I've been a little worried about coming back after Puerto Rico in a couple of weeks and about coming back after some time in Chicago and Michigan in July. I'm sure coming back won't be easy, but it also won't be as hard as the first time I came. And that's a huge relief.
I'm hanging out tonight with my Spanish friend and two of her friends. The plan is to speak mostly in Spanish ... not sure how that will go! If the weather is nice we might take a day trip to one of the towns nearby this weekend, which would be more Spanish time. Since that's one of the points of coming here, I do feel like I need to practice more. It's just still really hard to have a real conversation with people.
I'm starting to see how much easier things are and how much things have changed, though, since I arrived here. I found a note in my bag the other day from my first day here, when I was jet-lagged and totally overwhelmed. It was a list: Find grocery store, find bus stop, buy food. The note was simultaneously heartbreaking and hilarious. I remember being so out of it that I thought "I need to write down that I need to buy food, or I might not have anything to eat today." I moved here knowing nothing. At all. And on days that are stressful or where I have to figure out something new (Where do you buy pins? How about bug repellent?), I remind myself how far I've come so far. I came here and didn't know where the grocery store was, how to get to work, where to do laundry. And now I know all of those things, and I figured them out mostly by myself. So on a day when I have to figure out whether or not I need to pay taxes this year (answer - no, not yet), or figure out how to get to a street that is supposed to be parallel to the street I'm on according to the map (but is actually 7 stories above me and the buildings I'm standing by), I remind myself I've done harder things already. I've been a little worried about coming back after Puerto Rico in a couple of weeks and about coming back after some time in Chicago and Michigan in July. I'm sure coming back won't be easy, but it also won't be as hard as the first time I came. And that's a huge relief.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Tuesday is music night ...
Which also means it's short post night, since I'm already running late to meet friends and I always get home at an ungodly hour. So for now, a list:
- I was too smug about my lack of bug bites yesterday. Since then, a group of mosquitos attacked me at work, and I now have more than 10 bug bites. I hate Spanish mosquitos.
- I just cooked chicken and forgot that I left the burner on once I removed the chicken, burning the sauce left in the pan and causing my apartment to stink ... terrace and hall doors are open in an attempt to air it out.
- Our office building has heating and cooling issues (mostly due to sunlight) that make my office freezing and the two group meeting rooms where I spend the rest of my time a sweltering jungle. It's almost like being back at Northwestern when the heating and cooling was always off in Cresap.
- I have a new work website, with a fancy personal domain name since Northwestern is shutting down my access to my website in June and BCBL doesn't host professional websites for us. Without any further ado, I bring you: http://www.melissabaeseberk.com
- I was too smug about my lack of bug bites yesterday. Since then, a group of mosquitos attacked me at work, and I now have more than 10 bug bites. I hate Spanish mosquitos.
- I just cooked chicken and forgot that I left the burner on once I removed the chicken, burning the sauce left in the pan and causing my apartment to stink ... terrace and hall doors are open in an attempt to air it out.
- Our office building has heating and cooling issues (mostly due to sunlight) that make my office freezing and the two group meeting rooms where I spend the rest of my time a sweltering jungle. It's almost like being back at Northwestern when the heating and cooling was always off in Cresap.
- I have a new work website, with a fancy personal domain name since Northwestern is shutting down my access to my website in June and BCBL doesn't host professional websites for us. Without any further ado, I bring you: http://www.melissabaeseberk.com
Monday, May 23, 2011
Elections
Yesterday, they held elections for local and provincial government. What, you ask? Elections on a Sunday? When no one has to work? So people can actually go vote? Yes! The elections were preceded by pretty mild protests here (and some not-so-mild protests in Barcelona and Madrid).
As far as I can tell, Spain has a constitutional monarchy, and the elected government functions in a similar way to that of the United Kingdom. There's a governing party made up of the party with the "majority" (not a numerical majority in the sense that they have more than 50% of the seats, but in the sense that they have more seats than any other party). The prime minister is usually from this party after the big national elections. Then, there's an opposition party, which is usually the party with the second most seats ... unless that party decides to make a coalition with the ruling party. Anyhow, people have been pretty disenchanted with the current governing party - the socialist party - since unemployment is through the roof (around 21% nation-wide and over 40% for young people) after the financial collapse that was caused by a housing bubble (sound familiar?).
Nation-wide the opposition party won by a "landslide" (the more conservative Popular Party - which is the best name for a political party after The Rent Is Too Damn High Party in New York). Of course, the Basques have to do everything differently and we only had municipal elections here, not elections for the provincial government. [I should say here that a lot of my information is from Spanish newspapers and guess work form what I've heard, I could be totally wrong. About everything.] And of course, the Popular Party wasn't so popular here. The newly formed Bildu party won. Bildu means something like "gathering" in Basque and is a coalition party itself in some ways of the many nationalist groups around here. Nationalist, in this neck of the woods, does not mean pro-Spain, but rather pro-Basque. Not everyone who is "nationalist" is pro-separation, but a lot are. And they're definitely pro-autonomy. That is, they want to function without much interference from the Spanish. This results in a sort of weird language thing in which people around here will answer a question like "Are you Spanish?" by saying "No, I'm Basque." Some locals aren't very nationalist, but it's not something that's discussed in public at all. In fact, on Saturday, we were talking about this with my friend who is from here and someone asked her if she was offended if people said she was Spanish. Her answer? "No, I'm not really nationalist." But she said it very quietly so as to not incite the ire of a group of Basque speakers nearby who probably would have been unhappy to hear that.
Anyhow, back to the Bildu. There was a big issue last month before I got here about whether or not they could even participate in the elections. Apparently some of the candidates on the ticket have ties to ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna - or Basque Homeland and Freedom) - a nationalist, separatist, and terrorist organization. ETA has called a permanent cease-fire recently (and they're honestly not super active in the Basque country - more in Madrid), but people tend to be pretty wary of them.
It's a pretty fascinating situation, not least because I don't totally understand what's going on or how the government works, so I get to sort of fill in the blanks with my imagination. :) It's also really interesting to see how people react to these sorts of situations, which is quietly so far. I'll be interested to see if there are more protests now that the elections have happened. The big election happens next March, so I'm sure that will be more of a show-stopper in terms of reaction.
--------------------
In other news, in my Monday tradition here, I was eaten alive by mosquitos this morning - a huge bug bite on my temple and one on my arm. Two is the fewest I've had so far though. Last Monday, it was 4 and the week before that it was something absurd like 12.
I am really, really liking my friends here. There are two girls in particular who I feel like I would be friends with in any situation, not just the sort of weird situation I'm in here. I feel myself genuinely enjoying myself, relaxing, and laughing. It is a huge, huge relief.
I'm probably about a third of the way done with my stripy blanket and I love everything about it. I love making it. I love the crazy color combinations. I love the yarn (which is a huge shock because it's 100% acrylic which is usually a bit of a pain to work with and doesn't feel this great when it's done). I want it to be done now, so I can hunker down under it, wear it as a cape, etc ... and I also never want to finish it because it's so fun. I can't bring it to work because it's too big ... and I'd only want to work on it all the time, which would be unproductive.
Speaking of work, I know a lot of you are curious, but I'm not talking about it here - other than to say that it's great. I'd be happy to e-mail or talk on the phone in more detail. You know it's good when I happily work 12 hour days (with a blog break once in a while). :)
Finally, my little plants are doing well. The cilantro is thriving, the rosemary is great, and the basil is huge. I've been really enjoying fresh basil and rosemary. Unfortunately, my chives were attacked by bugs. I think I got most of the bugs, so I'm trying to re-grow, but I might have to sadly scrap the chives. They are making cooking easier, as is the fact that I'm getting more adventurous about what I'm trying to cook (and I've accrued more staples now, making life much easier). I have yet to brave the real meat and fish counters, but stay tuned for a post soon about the food that I love here. It will probably be titled something like I (Heart) Anchovies. If you've only ever had canned anchovies that are super salty, you can't judge me ... Wait 'til you hear about the deliciousness that are white anchovies!
As far as I can tell, Spain has a constitutional monarchy, and the elected government functions in a similar way to that of the United Kingdom. There's a governing party made up of the party with the "majority" (not a numerical majority in the sense that they have more than 50% of the seats, but in the sense that they have more seats than any other party). The prime minister is usually from this party after the big national elections. Then, there's an opposition party, which is usually the party with the second most seats ... unless that party decides to make a coalition with the ruling party. Anyhow, people have been pretty disenchanted with the current governing party - the socialist party - since unemployment is through the roof (around 21% nation-wide and over 40% for young people) after the financial collapse that was caused by a housing bubble (sound familiar?).
Nation-wide the opposition party won by a "landslide" (the more conservative Popular Party - which is the best name for a political party after The Rent Is Too Damn High Party in New York). Of course, the Basques have to do everything differently and we only had municipal elections here, not elections for the provincial government. [I should say here that a lot of my information is from Spanish newspapers and guess work form what I've heard, I could be totally wrong. About everything.] And of course, the Popular Party wasn't so popular here. The newly formed Bildu party won. Bildu means something like "gathering" in Basque and is a coalition party itself in some ways of the many nationalist groups around here. Nationalist, in this neck of the woods, does not mean pro-Spain, but rather pro-Basque. Not everyone who is "nationalist" is pro-separation, but a lot are. And they're definitely pro-autonomy. That is, they want to function without much interference from the Spanish. This results in a sort of weird language thing in which people around here will answer a question like "Are you Spanish?" by saying "No, I'm Basque." Some locals aren't very nationalist, but it's not something that's discussed in public at all. In fact, on Saturday, we were talking about this with my friend who is from here and someone asked her if she was offended if people said she was Spanish. Her answer? "No, I'm not really nationalist." But she said it very quietly so as to not incite the ire of a group of Basque speakers nearby who probably would have been unhappy to hear that.
Anyhow, back to the Bildu. There was a big issue last month before I got here about whether or not they could even participate in the elections. Apparently some of the candidates on the ticket have ties to ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna - or Basque Homeland and Freedom) - a nationalist, separatist, and terrorist organization. ETA has called a permanent cease-fire recently (and they're honestly not super active in the Basque country - more in Madrid), but people tend to be pretty wary of them.
It's a pretty fascinating situation, not least because I don't totally understand what's going on or how the government works, so I get to sort of fill in the blanks with my imagination. :) It's also really interesting to see how people react to these sorts of situations, which is quietly so far. I'll be interested to see if there are more protests now that the elections have happened. The big election happens next March, so I'm sure that will be more of a show-stopper in terms of reaction.
--------------------
In other news, in my Monday tradition here, I was eaten alive by mosquitos this morning - a huge bug bite on my temple and one on my arm. Two is the fewest I've had so far though. Last Monday, it was 4 and the week before that it was something absurd like 12.
I am really, really liking my friends here. There are two girls in particular who I feel like I would be friends with in any situation, not just the sort of weird situation I'm in here. I feel myself genuinely enjoying myself, relaxing, and laughing. It is a huge, huge relief.
I'm probably about a third of the way done with my stripy blanket and I love everything about it. I love making it. I love the crazy color combinations. I love the yarn (which is a huge shock because it's 100% acrylic which is usually a bit of a pain to work with and doesn't feel this great when it's done). I want it to be done now, so I can hunker down under it, wear it as a cape, etc ... and I also never want to finish it because it's so fun. I can't bring it to work because it's too big ... and I'd only want to work on it all the time, which would be unproductive.
Speaking of work, I know a lot of you are curious, but I'm not talking about it here - other than to say that it's great. I'd be happy to e-mail or talk on the phone in more detail. You know it's good when I happily work 12 hour days (with a blog break once in a while). :)
Finally, my little plants are doing well. The cilantro is thriving, the rosemary is great, and the basil is huge. I've been really enjoying fresh basil and rosemary. Unfortunately, my chives were attacked by bugs. I think I got most of the bugs, so I'm trying to re-grow, but I might have to sadly scrap the chives. They are making cooking easier, as is the fact that I'm getting more adventurous about what I'm trying to cook (and I've accrued more staples now, making life much easier). I have yet to brave the real meat and fish counters, but stay tuned for a post soon about the food that I love here. It will probably be titled something like I (Heart) Anchovies. If you've only ever had canned anchovies that are super salty, you can't judge me ... Wait 'til you hear about the deliciousness that are white anchovies!
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Not the End of the World
As many of you have realized, yesterday was not the end of the world, as Mr. Crazypants Radio Guy predicted. Apparently European media doesn't cover the crazies quite in the same way as American media, because my friends hadn't heard about the prediction at all. I met up with a bunch of girls for a pre-dinner drink on the terrace of a bar near the sea. I brought one of my Spanish friends, so it was nice to have a new addition to the group. Then, I went to dinner with my friends, one of the girls' boyfriends, and his parents who were in from England. It was nice to go to a real restaurant (only the second time I've had a "sit-down" meal out since I got here. We had some really interesting discussions during dinner about topics that are sort of weird to talk about with strangers (but things that somehow you can only really talk about with strangers). We talked a lot about the reaction to Osama Bin Laden's death and to September 11th in different countries. I was a little surprised to hear that everyone, regardless of what country they're from remember exactly where they were when it happened. I realized that it was an event with global repercussions, but I had thought somehow that the really life-changing part of the situation was focused more on Americans. It was really interesting that the British people at the table said that the 7/7 bombings in London affected them less in many ways.
My friend's dad asked me about my feelings about Obama as a president (he is a big fan of Obama), which also led to a really fascinating conversation about healthcare costs. He works in a medical center (administration of some sort) and was really astounded to hear about my insurance horror stories, which are on the tame end of insurance horror stories. It seems that people hear about the American health system but don't actually believe how extreme it is. Overall, it was a good night, but sort of weird. Typically when I'm out, I'm with expats and Spanish people, and the differences we talk about are Spanish vs. everything else. This was the first time that we really talked about differences between expats and our experiences here and abroad.
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My friend's dad asked me about my feelings about Obama as a president (he is a big fan of Obama), which also led to a really fascinating conversation about healthcare costs. He works in a medical center (administration of some sort) and was really astounded to hear about my insurance horror stories, which are on the tame end of insurance horror stories. It seems that people hear about the American health system but don't actually believe how extreme it is. Overall, it was a good night, but sort of weird. Typically when I'm out, I'm with expats and Spanish people, and the differences we talk about are Spanish vs. everything else. This was the first time that we really talked about differences between expats and our experiences here and abroad.
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Saturday, May 21, 2011
Morning Market
This morning, I walked to the market in Gros (a neighborhood across the river) to meet up with some friends. It's a small market that rotates between four sites each weekend of the month. There are a few farmers who sell veggies, a person selling sausages and some other meats, several cheesemongers, and a couple of people selling baked good. We strolled around the market and a newly opened playground and then stopped to have some coffee on the terrace of a cafe. The whole morning struck me as very Spanish because I wasn't in a hurry at all on my 45 minute walk to meet my friends. Then we had a relaxing couple of hours at the market just sitting, talking and people watching. I stopped by the grocery store on the way home and got enough food for the week, I think. I did a bit of window shopping since I'm trying to decide what to wear for the wedding Puerto Rico (I leave a week from Tuesday for Bilbao! Cannot wait!!!!). I have a couple of options, but wouldn't mind something new.
I'm home for a relaxing afternoon and then I'm meeting up for a drink and some pintxos out on a terrace tonight. I might go upstairs to work on the blanket I'm making. It's getting so big that I won't be able to take it on my flight to Puerto Rico, I don't think. I'll have to find another project to take.
Next weekend, both of my closest friends here will be out of town (and I'll be getting ready to leave), so I'm sure it will be a slow, relaxing weekend. I'm trying to re-do my website for work since Northwestern is shutting down my access in June, so maybe that will be next weekend's project!
Since I'm getting ready to fly, I need suggestions for tv shows and movies to download (rent) through iTunes for my long travel days and books for my iPad and Nook. Any ideas?
I'm home for a relaxing afternoon and then I'm meeting up for a drink and some pintxos out on a terrace tonight. I might go upstairs to work on the blanket I'm making. It's getting so big that I won't be able to take it on my flight to Puerto Rico, I don't think. I'll have to find another project to take.
Next weekend, both of my closest friends here will be out of town (and I'll be getting ready to leave), so I'm sure it will be a slow, relaxing weekend. I'm trying to re-do my website for work since Northwestern is shutting down my access in June, so maybe that will be next weekend's project!
Since I'm getting ready to fly, I need suggestions for tv shows and movies to download (rent) through iTunes for my long travel days and books for my iPad and Nook. Any ideas?
Friday, May 20, 2011
Success (and failure)
As I implied yesterday, I managed to get my cell phone after two trips to the cell phone stores and a bunch of run around. I got a great plan that will cost me much, much less than a cell phone plan in the US and I'm pretty happy with the phone so far.
Unfortunately, I went home to no internet. The internet did decide to start back up at around 11:30, but I had to get up early today to head to the bank, so it wasn't much use to me. Speaking of the bank ...
I still hate doing administrative tasks here. To be fair, I hate doing them in the US, too. But add the language barrier and I would rather be punched in the face than go to the bank here. After waiting *FOREVER* for a woman to finish telling the bank employee what she was going to do this weekend with her grandkids [side note: I have learned you cannot be in a rush here. Even if you are in a rush, things will get done when they get done. Things sometimes get done more quickly if you try to exchange a few pleasantries first. But often, they just get done whenever the person doing them feels like it], I finally talked to the employee. I explained that I have a foreigner's account, but now I have my residence card, so I want to switch to a resident account (so they won't charge me fees). She took my card, my passport and my ATM card and spent about 20 minutes typing stuff onto her computer. Then she went to look for some guy because she couldn't do one part of the switch, who wasn't there. Then she took a personal call on her cell phone (not kidding). Finally, she told me that she'd have to take my documents and make copies of them and then try to switch it later. She said they'd call me ... we'll see what happens. If I haven't heard from them in a week, I'll go back, maybe with a Spanish speaker to try to figure things out.
I also have to go to the post office today for the first time to try to get a package. Inexplicably the post office is open 8 am-8:30 pm Monday through Friday and 8 am - 2 on Saturday. This is a minor miracle considering everything shuts down early on Fridays (2pm or so) and most services like the bank aren't open at all on Saturday.
I also applied for my Tarjeta Ciudadana, which is a card you get that gives you access to a lot of services: Discounted prices at the School of Music and Dance, discounted prices at sports facilities and gyms, free parking in various areas, Free WiFi throughout the city. Hopefully that will arrive without too much trouble, and then I can be done with bureaucracy for a while!
Unfortunately, I went home to no internet. The internet did decide to start back up at around 11:30, but I had to get up early today to head to the bank, so it wasn't much use to me. Speaking of the bank ...
I still hate doing administrative tasks here. To be fair, I hate doing them in the US, too. But add the language barrier and I would rather be punched in the face than go to the bank here. After waiting *FOREVER* for a woman to finish telling the bank employee what she was going to do this weekend with her grandkids [side note: I have learned you cannot be in a rush here. Even if you are in a rush, things will get done when they get done. Things sometimes get done more quickly if you try to exchange a few pleasantries first. But often, they just get done whenever the person doing them feels like it], I finally talked to the employee. I explained that I have a foreigner's account, but now I have my residence card, so I want to switch to a resident account (so they won't charge me fees). She took my card, my passport and my ATM card and spent about 20 minutes typing stuff onto her computer. Then she went to look for some guy because she couldn't do one part of the switch, who wasn't there. Then she took a personal call on her cell phone (not kidding). Finally, she told me that she'd have to take my documents and make copies of them and then try to switch it later. She said they'd call me ... we'll see what happens. If I haven't heard from them in a week, I'll go back, maybe with a Spanish speaker to try to figure things out.
I also have to go to the post office today for the first time to try to get a package. Inexplicably the post office is open 8 am-8:30 pm Monday through Friday and 8 am - 2 on Saturday. This is a minor miracle considering everything shuts down early on Fridays (2pm or so) and most services like the bank aren't open at all on Saturday.
I also applied for my Tarjeta Ciudadana, which is a card you get that gives you access to a lot of services: Discounted prices at the School of Music and Dance, discounted prices at sports facilities and gyms, free parking in various areas, Free WiFi throughout the city. Hopefully that will arrive without too much trouble, and then I can be done with bureaucracy for a while!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Boo!
I had big plans to write a nice long post when I got home today. I got a phone, had a great day at work, etc. And then I got home, and no Internet in my apartment on my laptop. The Ethernet cord isn't working and the wireless network isn't showing up either. I have no clue what's going on, but until I figure it out, the blog post will have to wait since I don't have the patience for iPad typos tonight!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Exchange
Language exchanges are extremely popular here, especially since there are relatively few Americans and many, many young Spaniards want to improve their English, but don't have the resources to do so (English classes can be expensive, happen during work, etc.).
So, my friend from here who lives in Chicago now set me up with two of her friends for a language exchange. I met the guy today, who used to live in Chicago, about two blocks from our condo - I've now met three Basques who lived in Chicago. All in Lakeview. We met and walked to a little cafe where we had coffee. We talked for forty-five minutes in English and then a panic inducing 45 minutes in Spanish. It was the scariest 45 minutes I've had in a while, but I survived. It was probably the longest conversation I've had only in Spanish without English interludes outside of a classroom. I understood around 90% of what he was saying, and was able to express about 40% of what I wanted to, which is way better than I thought I would. I had to talk around words or ideas a lot. I made tons of grammar mistakes. I misused words. But I survived and the world didn't explode. I get to try out my Real Spanish tomorrow at the cell phone shop again, and then Friday morning at the bank. I hope that weekly meetings with my language exchange partner will help boost my Spanish more quickly!
So, my friend from here who lives in Chicago now set me up with two of her friends for a language exchange. I met the guy today, who used to live in Chicago, about two blocks from our condo - I've now met three Basques who lived in Chicago. All in Lakeview. We met and walked to a little cafe where we had coffee. We talked for forty-five minutes in English and then a panic inducing 45 minutes in Spanish. It was the scariest 45 minutes I've had in a while, but I survived. It was probably the longest conversation I've had only in Spanish without English interludes outside of a classroom. I understood around 90% of what he was saying, and was able to express about 40% of what I wanted to, which is way better than I thought I would. I had to talk around words or ideas a lot. I made tons of grammar mistakes. I misused words. But I survived and the world didn't explode. I get to try out my Real Spanish tomorrow at the cell phone shop again, and then Friday morning at the bank. I hope that weekly meetings with my language exchange partner will help boost my Spanish more quickly!
Wednesdays are always late mornings because a lot of people go out for the live music at the bar on Tuesday nights. So, in honor of my slow start, here is a little update.
I finally got my residence card yesterday, with a minimum of fuss. Unless you count leaving work in the middle of the day to try to track down the Amazon package I was missing and then walking several miles to the Comisaria de Policia to pick up my residence card as being fussy. I don't, since the payoff was getting the stuff from Amazon (I have tongs! A whisk! Measuring cups/spoons! A Brita pitcher!) and my residence card. However, when I tried to get my phone I ran into some problems because the company with the best rates requires that you have a utility bill in your name (a bit of a trick when you live in an apartment building and rent there). Anyhow, we think we figured out what I need to do - and I'm going back on Thursday. I had a big plan to get an iPhone, but the company that sells them has TERRIBLE rates compared to a company that sells a perfectly good Android phone (a minimum plan of over 3X as much for limited internet service and a small number of text and phone calls). So, I'm getting an android phone so that I can still have wifi on my phone and internet when I don't have wifi - then I have a great per minute/per text rate, and I can text internationally for the same rate. Overall, it looks like my bill will be less than 20€ a month for essentially unlimited internet and a good number of minutes and texts. After the phone situation, I sprinted back to my apartment, ate dinner very quickly (eating the leftovers I didn't have for lunch since I had a sandwich instead) and then running back downtown to meet my friends for a quick coffee before going to the live music night. Overall, I didn't really sit down yesterday at all. I slept pretty well though, since I completely exhausted myself during the day. :)
Today, we have Spanish 'til 6 and then I have to run to meet my new language exchange partner (a friend of my Basque teacher in Chicago), so it will be more of a run around day. Then tomorrow, I'm going to try to change my bank account from a foreigner's account to a regular account in the morning. We have a visiting speaker at work until 6:15 or so, and then I have to run to meet my friend to get a cell phone before the shops close. But! Oncer I get my phone, my life will be easier in terms of making plans with people. Plus, if I get the bank account settled too I'll be done with all of my crazy bureaucracy for a few months, at least!
I finally got my residence card yesterday, with a minimum of fuss. Unless you count leaving work in the middle of the day to try to track down the Amazon package I was missing and then walking several miles to the Comisaria de Policia to pick up my residence card as being fussy. I don't, since the payoff was getting the stuff from Amazon (I have tongs! A whisk! Measuring cups/spoons! A Brita pitcher!) and my residence card. However, when I tried to get my phone I ran into some problems because the company with the best rates requires that you have a utility bill in your name (a bit of a trick when you live in an apartment building and rent there). Anyhow, we think we figured out what I need to do - and I'm going back on Thursday. I had a big plan to get an iPhone, but the company that sells them has TERRIBLE rates compared to a company that sells a perfectly good Android phone (a minimum plan of over 3X as much for limited internet service and a small number of text and phone calls). So, I'm getting an android phone so that I can still have wifi on my phone and internet when I don't have wifi - then I have a great per minute/per text rate, and I can text internationally for the same rate. Overall, it looks like my bill will be less than 20€ a month for essentially unlimited internet and a good number of minutes and texts. After the phone situation, I sprinted back to my apartment, ate dinner very quickly (eating the leftovers I didn't have for lunch since I had a sandwich instead) and then running back downtown to meet my friends for a quick coffee before going to the live music night. Overall, I didn't really sit down yesterday at all. I slept pretty well though, since I completely exhausted myself during the day. :)
Today, we have Spanish 'til 6 and then I have to run to meet my new language exchange partner (a friend of my Basque teacher in Chicago), so it will be more of a run around day. Then tomorrow, I'm going to try to change my bank account from a foreigner's account to a regular account in the morning. We have a visiting speaker at work until 6:15 or so, and then I have to run to meet my friend to get a cell phone before the shops close. But! Oncer I get my phone, my life will be easier in terms of making plans with people. Plus, if I get the bank account settled too I'll be done with all of my crazy bureaucracy for a few months, at least!
Residency
A brief update because it's Tuesday which means it's live music night and I get home late:
I got my residence card. I do not yet have a phone but will have one Thursday. I got my Amazon package thanks to my amazing doorman. Also, I walked over 10 miles today and my feet might fall off.
More tomorrow
I got my residence card. I do not yet have a phone but will have one Thursday. I got my Amazon package thanks to my amazing doorman. Also, I walked over 10 miles today and my feet might fall off.
More tomorrow
Monday, May 16, 2011
How I burned my finger and why I'm blaming Amazon UK
Dear Amazon UK,
Were it not for your incredible free shipping to Spain, I would be done with you. Today, I burned my finger and it is your fault. Last week, you managed to smash my package contain much needed kitchen utensils and a Britta filter so my water would not taste like feet. Then you told me that I "returned" the package (apparently code for you smashing it). Then, you made me reorder things at a higher price and jump through 85 hoops to get my lower price refunded to me. But my things were supposed to be here today, finally! And you've already brought me so many wonderful things for so little money! A drying rack! Cute and comfortable boots! A cookbook!
I got home around 7 to discover a note slipped under my door that you shipped my things via MRW and MRW decided to come to deliver during my doorman's siesta (between 12:30 and 5:30 every day). I thought maybe it would say "We're sorry we missed you! We'll try again tomorrow." But no, it says "We came by to deliver your stuff but no one was here. Come pick it up at our office ______ (literally nothing filled in) after _____ o'clock (again nothing filled in). Call us at XXX-XXX-XXX (that was filled in)." Especially awesome since I (a) do not have a cell phone because I (b) do not have a residence card and (c) could not call you and discuss this situation with you even if I wanted to because I don't have the language to say "You jerks bring my package back here tomorrow so I don't have to haul my butt to your offices during work hours." So, I went downstairs to talk to my doorman - who had another present for me (my new computer charger, complete with European extension cord, so I can stop using my cord converter). He tried to call MRW. No surprise, no one answered [side note: we called the residence card office 12 times today - no answer at all]. So the doorman tells me to come back tomorrow morning (he gets there at 9) to check with him about what to do. I have a meeting at work at 10, so I can't do that. I said I'd come back at lunch before he starts his siesta. So tomorrow, I have to leave work and eat lunch at my desk to figure out what to do about this. Hopefully, I don't have to go too far to get the package or I may have to take more time off to do it.
So how what does this have to do with burning my finger. Well, you see, I have no utensils that function well for turning over food. I have a ladle and a spoon that strains things, and another plastic spoon that can spoon sauce over things, and some wooden spoons and silverware. But no tongs. No spatula or turner. Why not? Because you were supposed to deliver those things to me today. Along with a Britta filter to make my water not taste like trash. Did I mention that yet?
I cooked chicken tonight (specifically muslo de pollo which is basically the leg and thigh still connected, often with feathers on them before I cook it). These do not turn easily with a fork and plastic serving spoon combo. I got one turned in the pan ... and then the second one slipped sending the fork into the pan and my finger onto the edge of the scalding hot pan. I now have an awesome blister on my finger. And it's your fault Amazon UK. All. Your. Fault.
Were it not for your incredible free shipping to Spain, I would be done with you. Today, I burned my finger and it is your fault. Last week, you managed to smash my package contain much needed kitchen utensils and a Britta filter so my water would not taste like feet. Then you told me that I "returned" the package (apparently code for you smashing it). Then, you made me reorder things at a higher price and jump through 85 hoops to get my lower price refunded to me. But my things were supposed to be here today, finally! And you've already brought me so many wonderful things for so little money! A drying rack! Cute and comfortable boots! A cookbook!
I got home around 7 to discover a note slipped under my door that you shipped my things via MRW and MRW decided to come to deliver during my doorman's siesta (between 12:30 and 5:30 every day). I thought maybe it would say "We're sorry we missed you! We'll try again tomorrow." But no, it says "We came by to deliver your stuff but no one was here. Come pick it up at our office ______ (literally nothing filled in) after _____ o'clock (again nothing filled in). Call us at XXX-XXX-XXX (that was filled in)." Especially awesome since I (a) do not have a cell phone because I (b) do not have a residence card and (c) could not call you and discuss this situation with you even if I wanted to because I don't have the language to say "You jerks bring my package back here tomorrow so I don't have to haul my butt to your offices during work hours." So, I went downstairs to talk to my doorman - who had another present for me (my new computer charger, complete with European extension cord, so I can stop using my cord converter). He tried to call MRW. No surprise, no one answered [side note: we called the residence card office 12 times today - no answer at all]. So the doorman tells me to come back tomorrow morning (he gets there at 9) to check with him about what to do. I have a meeting at work at 10, so I can't do that. I said I'd come back at lunch before he starts his siesta. So tomorrow, I have to leave work and eat lunch at my desk to figure out what to do about this. Hopefully, I don't have to go too far to get the package or I may have to take more time off to do it.
So how what does this have to do with burning my finger. Well, you see, I have no utensils that function well for turning over food. I have a ladle and a spoon that strains things, and another plastic spoon that can spoon sauce over things, and some wooden spoons and silverware. But no tongs. No spatula or turner. Why not? Because you were supposed to deliver those things to me today. Along with a Britta filter to make my water not taste like trash. Did I mention that yet?
I cooked chicken tonight (specifically muslo de pollo which is basically the leg and thigh still connected, often with feathers on them before I cook it). These do not turn easily with a fork and plastic serving spoon combo. I got one turned in the pan ... and then the second one slipped sending the fork into the pan and my finger onto the edge of the scalding hot pan. I now have an awesome blister on my finger. And it's your fault Amazon UK. All. Your. Fault.
First photos
Okay, I'm going to post photos from my first days here starting with my apartment and one that shows the location of my building compared to the ocean.
All of my possessions upon arrival at Bilbao. All on one sad little cart while I waited for the bus.
Living/Sleeping area - Notice the TV on the floor and that the theme of the room is "White". Also, the inexplicably giant entertainment center.
Kitchen - waiting to be unpacked. The next person to move in is lucky they don't have to do this job.
Dining/Living area.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Good and bad
I'll start with the bad. I woke up in the middle of the night with a terrible stomach ache. I'm pretty sure my stomach was not happy with something I ate last night. My guess for the culprit is the arugula I had since it was sort of iffy in terms of freshness, but who knows. I'm still not feeling 100%, but I wasn't going to let a little stomach problem stop me from enjoying my day!
I had plans with the friend of my former Basque teacher (who took me out for dinner my first week here). We had met for a drink on Thursday night, and met again today for a Basque style brunch, so I suppose she's my friend now too. The Basque do not really do brunch like Americans do, but we had plans to have a big mid-day meal of pintxos.
I think I previously described pintxos as like tapas - but that doesn't quite do it justice. Basically, the way pintxos work is you walk into a bar and they have some pintxos out on the bar on plates. These are usually pre-made and typically are eaten cold (sometimes they'll take them into the kitchen to eat them). You can take what you want off the platters and when you're done, you tell the bartender what you want - completely done on the honor system. Then, there's usually a menu on the wall of hot pintxos that you order at the bar and are made to order. These are usually more delicious and a little more exotic than the pintxos at the bar. Because all the pintxos are relatively small and made for one person to eat (or for two people to have a little bite of), there are also "raciones" which are slightly larger plates made for sharing. I should also clear up the meaning of "bar" before I move on. So, bars here are not really like bars in the US whose sole purpose is for drinking. Typically you have a drink, but it is as often grape juice (inexplicably served with an olive in it) as it is beer, wine or cider. Mostly it's the primary place most people go out to eat. You often order at the bar and they bring it to your table, or you eat at the bar. Bars are also where you go to have coffee most often, so it's slightly less like a bar and more like a catch-all for place to grab some food, drink and company. Okay, definitions out of the way (for now) - back to the story.
I met up with my friend on the Boulevard at 12:30. She was with her two friends and their incredibly, incredibly adorable son who is "a year old" (my guess is he's about 15-16 months, but it was a little hard to tell), named Oier. He was incredibly chatty, smart, and charming with huge brown eyes and eyelashes a mile long. And he's totally mischevious running everywhere and wanting to do everything himself. Parenting here is a lot more relaxed generally than parenting in the US. Kids of all ages run off and play together with parents keeping an eye on them generally speaking, but not keeping them on a leash of any sort. They also don't typically bring toys or snacks to keep the kids entertained while they're out with their parents. The kids eat what their parents eat (today I saw Oier try pig cheek with olive tapanade, various other meats in sauces, grilled veggies, plantain chips, and his favorite - patatas - actually french fries in this case). I've seen this happen a lot, but I was still surprised when I saw him eating (with help from his parents) with a knife and fork. They were careful about the knife, but let him help cut up his meat and try things on his own. It was actually really inspiring to see how independent he was - he would try things and if they didn't work, he'd either ask for help, or try again.
Most of the conversation today was in Spanish (fortunately for me, since normally they all speak Basque to each other and to Oier - who is very, very competent in both languages). I said most of what I needed to say in English, but was talked to entirely in Spanish. I did manage to ask if Carla Bruni (the French first lady) was pregnant in Spanish and talked about work in Spanish as well. Afterward I promptly came home and took a nap - processing Spanish is infinitely more exhausting than processing English - more on that later.
Anyhow, we went to the first bar and each ordered our pintxos. I had a bottle of water, since I was still feeling a little off from my adventures with stomach pains last night, but I tried some risotto (not the best upset stomach food, but I go with whatever sounds good to me). I'm glad I did because it was DELICIOUS. We also put together our "bank" - everyone puts in a set amount (usually 20 euro) and then the bills at each place get paid out of the bank. At the end of the event everyone splits the change. This is a very common way to do things here - and really nice because you don't have to pay for each thing you order separately and no one is very nit-picky about who ordered what. After the first place, we went to a second which is sort of a "chain" (I think there are two - one here and one in Madrid) which has more inventive pintxos - olives stuffed with vermouth jelly, for example. We got miniature burgers, slightly smaller than sliders, with "ketchup" buns. I'm not a huge ketchup fan, but these burgers were delicious and came with plantain chips. We moved on to the third bar which I'd been to before. They have a large terrace on a shared plaza that used to be a bullfighting ring and is now home to several shops and bars who divvy up parts of the terrace. Kids run and play in the rest of it, often playing pick-up games of fútbol. We got their famous pistachio croquetas (sort of fried balls of stuff, if you've been to a tapas restaurant you've probably had them). Basically these had pistachio cream inside and were covered with chopped pistachios and then fried. Really delicious. We also got two raciones - calamari and "hongos" which are basically wild mushrooms. Both were really delicious. We then tried to get coffee at the bar next to the bar we had gotten food from (which was busy and didn't have phenomenal service, which is saying something for Spain, since the service typically ranges from non-existant to terrible). They refused since we were on the wrong terrace. So we decided to move to another bar that was a favorite for coffee.
We walked a ways to get there and Oier almost fell asleep, but once he saw we would be sitting on a couch, he perked up and decided to plop himself between my friend and I. His mom asked him if we were his new girlfriend and he replied "si, novias" (yes, girlfriends). We all had some coffee (coffee here comes with a million options, so you have to be prepared for the questions when you're ordering. I got a small decaf with milk. When they say small, they are not kidding - coffee typically comes in very small glasses (like espresso glasses in the US). But the coffee is rich and delicious. I really liked the atmosphere of this particular bar, which my friend compared to Uncommon Ground in Chicago. We hung out there for quite a while, watching Oier play. We ended up having a very animated conversation with the women behind us about parenting - it seems that the debate regarding breastfeeding, working moms, and private vs public schooling rages no matter what country you're in. It was interesting to hear the variety of opinions (in our group people were: indifferent about breastfeeding - try it, if it works for you great, if not, you and your kid will survive; very pro working moms; and split on the schooling issue with one mom being a huge fan of Montessori schools and the others thinking that public schools were fine when the kids are really little). Anyhow, throughout this time Oier had been running between the restaurant and the park across the street with his dad. He came in and announced it was time for all of us to go see the "qua qua" or "los patos". Have you guessed what we were going to see? The ducks that live in the pond in the park across the street. Before we left the place, he came up to my friend and I to ask us to go see the qua qua with him. When we agreed he gave us both "besos" (the kisses on each cheek). The kid was too cute. After about 20 minutes in the park we decided to go our separate ways - over 4.5 hours after we started our culinary adventure. I got more "besos" as well as an English "BYE!" from Oier.
I headed to the nearby Chinese shop to buy some plastic tubs to store things in my bathroom and took the bus home, since I was exhausted and still feeling a little yucky. Overall, I'm glad I went - we'll see how glad my stomach is tonight, but I feel pretty safe since I've passed the last 12 hours without incident! I really enjoyed being with real Spaniards - I learned a lot and got to practice a lot of Spanish. It really motivated me to practice more!
I promised a bit more on the issue of processing Spanish. When I first got here, I could understand a fair bit of Spanish if it was being spoken directly too me, but I found most conversations between Spaniards on the bus or on the street to be far to fast for me. Now, though, I understand a lot more which is both good and bad. Obviously, it's great that my Spanish is improving, but it's hard because I CAN understand things now, but not without some effort. Paying attention to Spanish when it's being spoken to me is exhausting, but so is hearing Spanish conversations around me, which my brain tries to process automatically now on the bus or in restaurants. It's strange because working hard to understand the language around you isn't something we think about a lot, but it takes a lot of mental energy!
I had plans with the friend of my former Basque teacher (who took me out for dinner my first week here). We had met for a drink on Thursday night, and met again today for a Basque style brunch, so I suppose she's my friend now too. The Basque do not really do brunch like Americans do, but we had plans to have a big mid-day meal of pintxos.
I think I previously described pintxos as like tapas - but that doesn't quite do it justice. Basically, the way pintxos work is you walk into a bar and they have some pintxos out on the bar on plates. These are usually pre-made and typically are eaten cold (sometimes they'll take them into the kitchen to eat them). You can take what you want off the platters and when you're done, you tell the bartender what you want - completely done on the honor system. Then, there's usually a menu on the wall of hot pintxos that you order at the bar and are made to order. These are usually more delicious and a little more exotic than the pintxos at the bar. Because all the pintxos are relatively small and made for one person to eat (or for two people to have a little bite of), there are also "raciones" which are slightly larger plates made for sharing. I should also clear up the meaning of "bar" before I move on. So, bars here are not really like bars in the US whose sole purpose is for drinking. Typically you have a drink, but it is as often grape juice (inexplicably served with an olive in it) as it is beer, wine or cider. Mostly it's the primary place most people go out to eat. You often order at the bar and they bring it to your table, or you eat at the bar. Bars are also where you go to have coffee most often, so it's slightly less like a bar and more like a catch-all for place to grab some food, drink and company. Okay, definitions out of the way (for now) - back to the story.
I met up with my friend on the Boulevard at 12:30. She was with her two friends and their incredibly, incredibly adorable son who is "a year old" (my guess is he's about 15-16 months, but it was a little hard to tell), named Oier. He was incredibly chatty, smart, and charming with huge brown eyes and eyelashes a mile long. And he's totally mischevious running everywhere and wanting to do everything himself. Parenting here is a lot more relaxed generally than parenting in the US. Kids of all ages run off and play together with parents keeping an eye on them generally speaking, but not keeping them on a leash of any sort. They also don't typically bring toys or snacks to keep the kids entertained while they're out with their parents. The kids eat what their parents eat (today I saw Oier try pig cheek with olive tapanade, various other meats in sauces, grilled veggies, plantain chips, and his favorite - patatas - actually french fries in this case). I've seen this happen a lot, but I was still surprised when I saw him eating (with help from his parents) with a knife and fork. They were careful about the knife, but let him help cut up his meat and try things on his own. It was actually really inspiring to see how independent he was - he would try things and if they didn't work, he'd either ask for help, or try again.
Most of the conversation today was in Spanish (fortunately for me, since normally they all speak Basque to each other and to Oier - who is very, very competent in both languages). I said most of what I needed to say in English, but was talked to entirely in Spanish. I did manage to ask if Carla Bruni (the French first lady) was pregnant in Spanish and talked about work in Spanish as well. Afterward I promptly came home and took a nap - processing Spanish is infinitely more exhausting than processing English - more on that later.
Anyhow, we went to the first bar and each ordered our pintxos. I had a bottle of water, since I was still feeling a little off from my adventures with stomach pains last night, but I tried some risotto (not the best upset stomach food, but I go with whatever sounds good to me). I'm glad I did because it was DELICIOUS. We also put together our "bank" - everyone puts in a set amount (usually 20 euro) and then the bills at each place get paid out of the bank. At the end of the event everyone splits the change. This is a very common way to do things here - and really nice because you don't have to pay for each thing you order separately and no one is very nit-picky about who ordered what. After the first place, we went to a second which is sort of a "chain" (I think there are two - one here and one in Madrid) which has more inventive pintxos - olives stuffed with vermouth jelly, for example. We got miniature burgers, slightly smaller than sliders, with "ketchup" buns. I'm not a huge ketchup fan, but these burgers were delicious and came with plantain chips. We moved on to the third bar which I'd been to before. They have a large terrace on a shared plaza that used to be a bullfighting ring and is now home to several shops and bars who divvy up parts of the terrace. Kids run and play in the rest of it, often playing pick-up games of fútbol. We got their famous pistachio croquetas (sort of fried balls of stuff, if you've been to a tapas restaurant you've probably had them). Basically these had pistachio cream inside and were covered with chopped pistachios and then fried. Really delicious. We also got two raciones - calamari and "hongos" which are basically wild mushrooms. Both were really delicious. We then tried to get coffee at the bar next to the bar we had gotten food from (which was busy and didn't have phenomenal service, which is saying something for Spain, since the service typically ranges from non-existant to terrible). They refused since we were on the wrong terrace. So we decided to move to another bar that was a favorite for coffee.
We walked a ways to get there and Oier almost fell asleep, but once he saw we would be sitting on a couch, he perked up and decided to plop himself between my friend and I. His mom asked him if we were his new girlfriend and he replied "si, novias" (yes, girlfriends). We all had some coffee (coffee here comes with a million options, so you have to be prepared for the questions when you're ordering. I got a small decaf with milk. When they say small, they are not kidding - coffee typically comes in very small glasses (like espresso glasses in the US). But the coffee is rich and delicious. I really liked the atmosphere of this particular bar, which my friend compared to Uncommon Ground in Chicago. We hung out there for quite a while, watching Oier play. We ended up having a very animated conversation with the women behind us about parenting - it seems that the debate regarding breastfeeding, working moms, and private vs public schooling rages no matter what country you're in. It was interesting to hear the variety of opinions (in our group people were: indifferent about breastfeeding - try it, if it works for you great, if not, you and your kid will survive; very pro working moms; and split on the schooling issue with one mom being a huge fan of Montessori schools and the others thinking that public schools were fine when the kids are really little). Anyhow, throughout this time Oier had been running between the restaurant and the park across the street with his dad. He came in and announced it was time for all of us to go see the "qua qua" or "los patos". Have you guessed what we were going to see? The ducks that live in the pond in the park across the street. Before we left the place, he came up to my friend and I to ask us to go see the qua qua with him. When we agreed he gave us both "besos" (the kisses on each cheek). The kid was too cute. After about 20 minutes in the park we decided to go our separate ways - over 4.5 hours after we started our culinary adventure. I got more "besos" as well as an English "BYE!" from Oier.
I headed to the nearby Chinese shop to buy some plastic tubs to store things in my bathroom and took the bus home, since I was exhausted and still feeling a little yucky. Overall, I'm glad I went - we'll see how glad my stomach is tonight, but I feel pretty safe since I've passed the last 12 hours without incident! I really enjoyed being with real Spaniards - I learned a lot and got to practice a lot of Spanish. It really motivated me to practice more!
I promised a bit more on the issue of processing Spanish. When I first got here, I could understand a fair bit of Spanish if it was being spoken directly too me, but I found most conversations between Spaniards on the bus or on the street to be far to fast for me. Now, though, I understand a lot more which is both good and bad. Obviously, it's great that my Spanish is improving, but it's hard because I CAN understand things now, but not without some effort. Paying attention to Spanish when it's being spoken to me is exhausting, but so is hearing Spanish conversations around me, which my brain tries to process automatically now on the bus or in restaurants. It's strange because working hard to understand the language around you isn't something we think about a lot, but it takes a lot of mental energy!
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Fun with European Symbols
Okay, I'm in my apartment tonight tonight because some of my friends are out of town and others are running the 10k or half-marathon tomorrow. The maintenance guy just slid the English instructions for my microwave/oven/grill (functions as all three - m/o/g!) under my door. I thought we could play a little game of "guess what the symbols mean" since this is what I've been doing for the last month (though the m/o/g wasn't working for almost two weeks). Bonus points if you guess how the program for each symbol functions as well as what it means. Answers are after the jump:
(I'm describing the symbols but will include pictures if I ever get around to it.)
1. Three wavy lines in a square.
2. Three triangles at the top of the square pointing down.
3. Three triangles at the top of a square pointing down at two wavy lines.
4. A small sort of fan shape in a square (Imagine a fan with three blades).
5. A single wavy line over a fan in a square.
6. Three triangles pointing down over the fan.
Okay, ready for the answers??
(I'm describing the symbols but will include pictures if I ever get around to it.)
1. Three wavy lines in a square.
2. Three triangles at the top of the square pointing down.
3. Three triangles at the top of a square pointing down at two wavy lines.
4. A small sort of fan shape in a square (Imagine a fan with three blades).
5. A single wavy line over a fan in a square.
6. Three triangles pointing down over the fan.
Okay, ready for the answers??
No pictures yet
I've been in a little bit of a mood today because of a sinus headache caused by the awesome weather we're having today (rain, rain, and more rain). I'll put up pictures soon, but I'm trying to photoshop them a bit (adding an arrow to my building in a picture I took from across the bay, etc.).
Things have been mostly really, really good. I just returned from a trip to the Scary Supermarket, which is getting less scary now that I know where things are (and I've found the perfect time to go - during siesta!). I still have yet to brave the fish counter or the meat counters - I've bought pre-packaged stuff, or stuff from my friendly market - but overall I find the trips much less stressful.
There's been a funny shift over the past few days. I actually LIVE here. We were out last night in a huge group, everyone speaking a mishmash of Spanish and English (with some French, Italian, etc. thrown in as well). The conversation moved between languages without people really thinking about it. All of a sudden this table of guys were asking me something, and I was really confused. Then I realized it's because they were American. American tourists are pretty rare here, and though I spend my time mostly with extranjeros (foreigners) I spend relatively little time with other Americans. Once I realized what was going on, I figured out they were asking me for directions "because I spoke English and obviously lived around here." It was so weird because I was tempted to say "Oh, I'm new here I don't know where you're going" but then I realized I could tell them and show them on their map.
I've been thinking a lot about my trip to Puerto Rico (17 days!) and wondering what it will be like to go. And what it will be like to come back. More on that later I'm sure. I'm off to meet some friends for coffee and try to make plans for EuroVision tonight!
Things have been mostly really, really good. I just returned from a trip to the Scary Supermarket, which is getting less scary now that I know where things are (and I've found the perfect time to go - during siesta!). I still have yet to brave the fish counter or the meat counters - I've bought pre-packaged stuff, or stuff from my friendly market - but overall I find the trips much less stressful.
There's been a funny shift over the past few days. I actually LIVE here. We were out last night in a huge group, everyone speaking a mishmash of Spanish and English (with some French, Italian, etc. thrown in as well). The conversation moved between languages without people really thinking about it. All of a sudden this table of guys were asking me something, and I was really confused. Then I realized it's because they were American. American tourists are pretty rare here, and though I spend my time mostly with extranjeros (foreigners) I spend relatively little time with other Americans. Once I realized what was going on, I figured out they were asking me for directions "because I spoke English and obviously lived around here." It was so weird because I was tempted to say "Oh, I'm new here I don't know where you're going" but then I realized I could tell them and show them on their map.
I've been thinking a lot about my trip to Puerto Rico (17 days!) and wondering what it will be like to go. And what it will be like to come back. More on that later I'm sure. I'm off to meet some friends for coffee and try to make plans for EuroVision tonight!
Friday, May 13, 2011
Quick updates
A few quick notes while I am waiting for friends:
The computer cord is now (mostly) working. I'm still buying a spare.
We are now mostly eating lunch at our secret picnic tables at work, which are pretty fantastic
I finally talked them into switching my pc at work to a Mac. I am very, very happy about this.
People here stay out really, really late. It's 11:30 and the Boulevard is totally packed with people of all ages, including very small children.
I'm trying to figure out where to buy a long dress for the wedding I'm going to in
Puerto Rico at the beginning of June. This will be a trick since I have no clue what size I wear here.
I might get my residence card as early as the middle of next week. This would be great because I'm ready to get a spanish cell phone so I can be in touch with last minute plans. I'm also ready to be done with spanish bureaucracy for a while.
Finally, I apologize for any iPad induced typos. I promise a more substantive update (maybe with pictures!) tomorrow.
The computer cord is now (mostly) working. I'm still buying a spare.
We are now mostly eating lunch at our secret picnic tables at work, which are pretty fantastic
I finally talked them into switching my pc at work to a Mac. I am very, very happy about this.
People here stay out really, really late. It's 11:30 and the Boulevard is totally packed with people of all ages, including very small children.
I'm trying to figure out where to buy a long dress for the wedding I'm going to in
Puerto Rico at the beginning of June. This will be a trick since I have no clue what size I wear here.
I might get my residence card as early as the middle of next week. This would be great because I'm ready to get a spanish cell phone so I can be in touch with last minute plans. I'm also ready to be done with spanish bureaucracy for a while.
Finally, I apologize for any iPad induced typos. I promise a more substantive update (maybe with pictures!) tomorrow.
Boo Blogger
Blogger was down for ~30 hours. Apologies for lack of updates. News coming soon, I promise. Plus! I got my camera cord today so pictures will be here soon too!
Thursday, May 12, 2011
A few matters of business
First, if any of you heard that there was an earthquake in Spain yesterday, don't worry, it was over 900 km away (an 8 hour drive) from here.
Second, my computer charger is inexplicably working in my work outlets, but not in my apartment (or at least it wasn't this morning). I'm going to get a new one and possibly a spare, if the new one works at home. Then I'll keep the unworking-at-home one at work (where it works). Confused? Me too.
Third, I managed to bring raw pork chops to work today instead of my leftovers from last night. Awesome.
Fourth, I've been in Spain for over a month now. It's strange because I think other people (who maybe don't leave so much behind) manage to adapt much more quickly than I did. Their life here is easy to fall into because they don't have a life waiting for them back where they are from. I'm not sure I'll ever shake the feeling of being in limbo.
More later ...
Second, my computer charger is inexplicably working in my work outlets, but not in my apartment (or at least it wasn't this morning). I'm going to get a new one and possibly a spare, if the new one works at home. Then I'll keep the unworking-at-home one at work (where it works). Confused? Me too.
Third, I managed to bring raw pork chops to work today instead of my leftovers from last night. Awesome.
Fourth, I've been in Spain for over a month now. It's strange because I think other people (who maybe don't leave so much behind) manage to adapt much more quickly than I did. Their life here is easy to fall into because they don't have a life waiting for them back where they are from. I'm not sure I'll ever shake the feeling of being in limbo.
More later ...
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Not as crabby as I could be
So, I have my iPad still, which makes the fact that my computer stopped charging somewhere between work and home a little more bearable. Unfortunately, I still don't know if it's the cord or the computer. I'll find out tomorrow at work when I try someone else's charger. There's apparently an Apple retailer in town, so I might check with them, but I also ordered a charger. I suppose it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a spare in case this happens again. It's particularly frustrating because my computer is my lifeline here, particularly when I'm in my apartment. It's how I watch tv, find recipes, talk to Pete, check bus arrival times, etc. I'm pretty reliant on gadgets here, since I also have very few physical books (I use my nook and my iPad for that). I can access the e-version of The New Yorker for free on my iPad which is also pretty great. My primary non-gadget based entertainment sources here are cooking and knitting and crochet, which make me basically an old lady.
Anyhow this is going to be short and sweet since I have no patience for my iPad induced typos. Fingers crossed that another charger will work tomorrow and I don't have to deal with getting my whole computer fixed!
Anyhow this is going to be short and sweet since I have no patience for my iPad induced typos. Fingers crossed that another charger will work tomorrow and I don't have to deal with getting my whole computer fixed!
Not cool
Laptop charger has died ... Hopefully it's the cord and not the computer. Stay tuned for more pressing updates on this and other affairs. As a warning they will be poorly typed since I'm using my iPad. (Example:that sentence originally read "they ill be poolty Tim yip". Thanks autocorrect!)
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Laundry (and other great things)
Like I said yesterday, I did laundry again and hung everything out to dry on my new drying rack (outside on my terrace). I got home from work today and everything was dry, unwrinkled and smelled like sunshine (if that's possible). I love my terrace here. Love it. It's not huge (pretty tiny), but I'm growing and using my fresh herbs which are great. I can sit out there and crochet or read. I can watch the sunset. It's incredible. So is not having to dry everything I own.
I also really, really love how late sunset is. Tonight it's at 9:20 and it's still over a month away from the solstice. I went for a long walk after work. I came home and cooked dinner and now I'm going out with some friends for Leize night (the live music night I went to last week). We're going to go "terracing" on Thursday or Friday (out for pintxos at a place with a terrace). Tomorrow I might go watch the soccer team from work (This team and league deserve a post of their own because pick up soccer, this is not).
My management company finally found my deposit, first and second months rent. I even over paid, so I get a 200 euro discount next month! Can't wait! I think I'll buy the last of my "stuff I need for my apartment" and maybe a treat for myself with my surplus. :)
As you can tell, it was (is) a good day.
I also really, really love how late sunset is. Tonight it's at 9:20 and it's still over a month away from the solstice. I went for a long walk after work. I came home and cooked dinner and now I'm going out with some friends for Leize night (the live music night I went to last week). We're going to go "terracing" on Thursday or Friday (out for pintxos at a place with a terrace). Tomorrow I might go watch the soccer team from work (This team and league deserve a post of their own because pick up soccer, this is not).
My management company finally found my deposit, first and second months rent. I even over paid, so I get a 200 euro discount next month! Can't wait! I think I'll buy the last of my "stuff I need for my apartment" and maybe a treat for myself with my surplus. :)
As you can tell, it was (is) a good day.
Spanish
We covered a past tense yesterday in Spanish class, which I had already studied, so I got to feel like a star for a few minutes since I both knew how to form the tense and knew all the irregular participles. I know some day the rest of the class will catch up with my current Spanish grammar knowledge, so I'm trying to study as much as I can now.
I really need a good way to learn more Spanish vocabulary as quickly as possible. Grammar is (and has always been) the easiest part for me, but I feel like I don't know the words to say what I want to say. I had a great vocab book at home that was organized in a way that made sense to me and had nice drills to practice. Unfortunately, it weighed about 50 pounds and was huge, so it didn't make the suitcase cut. I'm sure more vocabulary will come with more practice, but it's a hard thing for me to pick up on my own.
In other news, I managed to do laundry yesterday and use my new drying rack, which is pretty much the best thing ever. My Still Need to Buy list is shrinking - I need towels and a couple more things for my kitchen (some sort of bowl to mix things in, a trash can with a lid), and a few baskets/storage containers for my entertainment center, which now has stacks of junk on it, and my bathroom, where most of my stuff is under the sink. I'm trying not to think about what to do with all this stuff when I move back to the US. I've suggested we start a box (room) at work with stuff for new people moving in. I'll probably have to move once before I leave here, and I'll take a lot of the stuff with me for that move, but probably won't take it all back to the US.
I've been here for four (4!) weeks today. I can't believe it and am not sure what I think about it yet ... more on that later, I'm sure.
I really need a good way to learn more Spanish vocabulary as quickly as possible. Grammar is (and has always been) the easiest part for me, but I feel like I don't know the words to say what I want to say. I had a great vocab book at home that was organized in a way that made sense to me and had nice drills to practice. Unfortunately, it weighed about 50 pounds and was huge, so it didn't make the suitcase cut. I'm sure more vocabulary will come with more practice, but it's a hard thing for me to pick up on my own.
In other news, I managed to do laundry yesterday and use my new drying rack, which is pretty much the best thing ever. My Still Need to Buy list is shrinking - I need towels and a couple more things for my kitchen (some sort of bowl to mix things in, a trash can with a lid), and a few baskets/storage containers for my entertainment center, which now has stacks of junk on it, and my bathroom, where most of my stuff is under the sink. I'm trying not to think about what to do with all this stuff when I move back to the US. I've suggested we start a box (room) at work with stuff for new people moving in. I'll probably have to move once before I leave here, and I'll take a lot of the stuff with me for that move, but probably won't take it all back to the US.
I've been here for four (4!) weeks today. I can't believe it and am not sure what I think about it yet ... more on that later, I'm sure.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Things I do not love ...
One thing I do not love is spending all day with customer service of various sorts. I had to send a sassy e-mail to my management company for my apartment since they decided to bill me for my deposit/last months rent + this months rent even though I know both have been deposited into their account. Plus, my oven has been out of commission for over a week now. No word from them yet.
Then it was on to Amazon UK. I ordered a few things from them last week (a cookbook and a drying rack) but part of my order hadn't shipped with the rest (namely kitchen utensils and the Britta pitcher that will hopefully make my water taste like Not Garbage). All of that was supposed to be delivered today, but I got a cryptic e-mail saying it was being returned. So, back to the e-mail I went trying to ask WHY it was being returned. I got a really nasty message back about how sometimes if you write the wrong address they can't deliver it. I knew this was not my fault so I pressed the issue with them again. And it turns out their delivery guy BROKE all of my stuff (dropped some other heavy box on it). So they were refunding me. But I don't really want a refund. I want my Britta filter and a pair of tongs so I can turn over meat without having to stab it with a fork or scoop it between a ladle and a sieve. Plus, all of the things I had ordered were on sale last week, but not anymore. After some finagling, I got first class shipping on that package, plus they're refunding the difference in price.
The final customer service nightmare was the worst. Verzion Wireless, how I hate you. Long story short, I'm trying to transfer my old phone number to a prepaid account - which I know you can do since my friend Neil did just that before he moved to Europe. Well, of course it's not that easy because I had a smart phone in the US. Apparently that ruins everything. This is literally the 10th time I have called Verizon about this. I tried to resolve the issue via e-mail and I got a ridiculous reply telling me to use a link that does not work outside the US (a fact I said in my first e-mail to them). I hope the guy gets in trouble because I complained about it when I called. A lady insisted on transferring me, but I refused (and cried - which, let's be honest, always helps), and she finally fixed the problem. Mostly. Apparently, Pete has to call to make sure the number is transferred to my new non-smart phone in the US. I actually told the lady at the beginning of the call "I am really, really mad at Verizon, but I am not mad at you because I know this isn't your fault personally, so I'm sorry if I sound like I'm mad at you." She actually told me at the end of the call that she really appreciated me saying that. She said she was also sorry that I had to call after a long day of work. Which I was also sorry about. I did not want to spend an hour and a half between 7:15 and 8:45 on the phone with Verizon Wireless.
In spite of all of this ridiculousness, I did manage to get work done today, which is a minor miracle.
This is all just foreshadowing the Spanish customer service I have to deal with in the next few weeks, picking up my resident card, changing my bank account from a foreigner account to a national account, and getting a cell phone here. Hopefully there will be no crying and much less drama.
I also made two mistakes in the blanket I'm making but because the colors change every other row, I didn't have enough yarn left on the ends to go back and fix it. So I made an improvisational fix. I'm getting good at improvisation now, in crochet and knitting, in cooking, in shopping and in language. Maybe I'll learn to be more spontaneous while I'm here.
Hah!
Finally, Pete said he sent me my camera cord, so in the next week or two there will be many (many) picture posts! I can't wait to show my apartment and the town!
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Fashion, coffee, and rambling
Sorry for the boring weekend, folks.
I haven't done much besides relax, watch movies/tv, read, and work on the blanket I'm making. I'm officially 80 years old, I guess.
That's not totally true because I did go for a really nice long walk both today and yesterday to El Centro. Yesterday's trip was for grocery shopping, but today's was for fun (and some ice cream, if we're being totally honest). I strolled down the hill and stopped in my favorite gelato shop (where they speak English and are usually less busy than the more popular one down the Boulevard). I was so glad I waited 'til later in the day because I got a beautiful sunset going down the hill and coming back up, which made the walk very worthwhile.
While I walked, I was thinking about fashion here. I was expecting the fashion to be pretty great, but honestly, I've been pretty disappointed. So far as I can tell, the kids have the best fashion. Kids here are adorable and dress adorably. Little girls (under 12 years old) are always in dresses and siblings usually match. The kids clothing stores are also super adorable.
Older men and women fall into two camps. The first is very, very stylish and chic. The other is (usually for women only) really, desperately not age appropriate AT ALL. Imagine rhinestone studded jeans, mini-skirts, strappy halter tops all on women who are clearly over 70 years old. Yes, usually they are in great shape. But no, thank you, I do not need to see you in a white 1 piece romper with rhinestones and a low cut in the front.
People my age are a total mixed bag. I've known the 80s have been coming back for a while, but the level of neon here is disconcerting. The biggest "trend" I can point to is sliver sneakers. Which I do not understand. I also am not sure where these people are shopping, since the stores I walk by tend to be pretty chic and understated. I have yet to go into a shop to try on clothes because sizing is so looney here. I think I'll order some stuff online to figure out what size I really am before going in to try stuff on. Plus, in El Centro, the boutiques are really expensive. Typically the prices are similar to fancy boutiques in Chicago, except instead of dollars, it's euros. I do realize I'm getting paid in euros, but I can't stop converting prices in my head and thinking "there is no way I will pay that much for something!" I'm still waiting to see people who are incredibly chic and have fashion I'd like to copy - I may have to head to Barcelona or Madrid for that, I guess.
Now, for what will probably be a semi-regular feature is Something I Miss About America (not people I miss - but specific things about American culture). To kick this off - two things:
- Ethnic Food
- Coffee
The first is ethnic food ... it doesn't really exist here, so far as I can tell. I have spied a pizza shop while walking up the hill, but it never seems to be open. Other than that, your choices for food when going out are Spanish and Basque. This is a huge change from my old neighborhood where we could get basically any kind of food we wanted at any time of day. A very, very weird transition to make, and something I'm sure I'll talk about later.
As many of you know, I quit caffeine over two years ago, now. That does not mean that I quit coffee. There is something really comforting about strolling around with a cup of coffee or tea while you're enjoying whatever city you're in. Except this culture does not exist in the part of Spain I'm in. So far, I have yet to find a single place where I can get coffee "para llevar" (take out). People enjoy their coffee at cafes (which become bars at night), sitting on the terrace, usually while having a pintxo or two. People do not stroll with coffee. There are over 180,000 people in San Sebastián and there is not a single Starbucks, or other Starbucks-esque establishment. As far as I can tell, there are actually no Starbucks in Bilbao either (the population of greater Bilbao is right around 1 million people). I am not sad to discover there is a part of the world that Starbucks has yet to conquer, but I do miss strolling with a cup of coffee in hand. The Spanish "solo" (teeny, tiny cup of super strong coffee - which they will often make decaf for you) just doesn't do it for me.
Finally, even though the Spanish don't really celebrate it, I'd like to wish a very, very happy Mother's Day to my mom, my grandmas, and all the other moms reading here.
I haven't done much besides relax, watch movies/tv, read, and work on the blanket I'm making. I'm officially 80 years old, I guess.
That's not totally true because I did go for a really nice long walk both today and yesterday to El Centro. Yesterday's trip was for grocery shopping, but today's was for fun (and some ice cream, if we're being totally honest). I strolled down the hill and stopped in my favorite gelato shop (where they speak English and are usually less busy than the more popular one down the Boulevard). I was so glad I waited 'til later in the day because I got a beautiful sunset going down the hill and coming back up, which made the walk very worthwhile.
While I walked, I was thinking about fashion here. I was expecting the fashion to be pretty great, but honestly, I've been pretty disappointed. So far as I can tell, the kids have the best fashion. Kids here are adorable and dress adorably. Little girls (under 12 years old) are always in dresses and siblings usually match. The kids clothing stores are also super adorable.
Older men and women fall into two camps. The first is very, very stylish and chic. The other is (usually for women only) really, desperately not age appropriate AT ALL. Imagine rhinestone studded jeans, mini-skirts, strappy halter tops all on women who are clearly over 70 years old. Yes, usually they are in great shape. But no, thank you, I do not need to see you in a white 1 piece romper with rhinestones and a low cut in the front.
People my age are a total mixed bag. I've known the 80s have been coming back for a while, but the level of neon here is disconcerting. The biggest "trend" I can point to is sliver sneakers. Which I do not understand. I also am not sure where these people are shopping, since the stores I walk by tend to be pretty chic and understated. I have yet to go into a shop to try on clothes because sizing is so looney here. I think I'll order some stuff online to figure out what size I really am before going in to try stuff on. Plus, in El Centro, the boutiques are really expensive. Typically the prices are similar to fancy boutiques in Chicago, except instead of dollars, it's euros. I do realize I'm getting paid in euros, but I can't stop converting prices in my head and thinking "there is no way I will pay that much for something!" I'm still waiting to see people who are incredibly chic and have fashion I'd like to copy - I may have to head to Barcelona or Madrid for that, I guess.
Now, for what will probably be a semi-regular feature is Something I Miss About America (not people I miss - but specific things about American culture). To kick this off - two things:
- Ethnic Food
- Coffee
The first is ethnic food ... it doesn't really exist here, so far as I can tell. I have spied a pizza shop while walking up the hill, but it never seems to be open. Other than that, your choices for food when going out are Spanish and Basque. This is a huge change from my old neighborhood where we could get basically any kind of food we wanted at any time of day. A very, very weird transition to make, and something I'm sure I'll talk about later.
As many of you know, I quit caffeine over two years ago, now. That does not mean that I quit coffee. There is something really comforting about strolling around with a cup of coffee or tea while you're enjoying whatever city you're in. Except this culture does not exist in the part of Spain I'm in. So far, I have yet to find a single place where I can get coffee "para llevar" (take out). People enjoy their coffee at cafes (which become bars at night), sitting on the terrace, usually while having a pintxo or two. People do not stroll with coffee. There are over 180,000 people in San Sebastián and there is not a single Starbucks, or other Starbucks-esque establishment. As far as I can tell, there are actually no Starbucks in Bilbao either (the population of greater Bilbao is right around 1 million people). I am not sad to discover there is a part of the world that Starbucks has yet to conquer, but I do miss strolling with a cup of coffee in hand. The Spanish "solo" (teeny, tiny cup of super strong coffee - which they will often make decaf for you) just doesn't do it for me.
Finally, even though the Spanish don't really celebrate it, I'd like to wish a very, very happy Mother's Day to my mom, my grandmas, and all the other moms reading here.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Jerk Mosquitos (Part 2)
I kept my windows shut last night, but little did I know the jerk mosquito was laying in wait. I got at least nine bites last night and this morning - possibly ten, since I think I got a bite almost on top of an old bite. The worst part is I have four bites under my right eye now (2 from yesterday, 2 from today), which makes it all swollen. I have three bites on the left side of my face, and one above my left eye. I tried hunting a mosquito down this morning, but after almost catching it, it disappeared again. Then I got bitten at least twice more. I took a benadryl last night and zyrtec this morning, which will hopefully slow down these reactions a little bit. I also put ice on the bites under my eye, which significantly reduced the swelling.
But I'm sort of at a loss here. I don't have air conditioning (you don't really need it here), but it is sort of nice to open the windows at night. But I can't continue this whole being eaten alive business. I also don't have any bug spray (and honestly would rather not have to coat my face in bug spray anyhow. I'm thinking about trying to get some sort of netting to put over the open window/door thing (this will be clearer once I can post pictures of my apartment), but other than that, I'm sort of at a loss for what to do.
I have to go grocery shopping today (with my new cart! Yay!) but it's supposed to be quite rainy, so I'm trying to time it so I won't be walking in the rain!
But I'm sort of at a loss here. I don't have air conditioning (you don't really need it here), but it is sort of nice to open the windows at night. But I can't continue this whole being eaten alive business. I also don't have any bug spray (and honestly would rather not have to coat my face in bug spray anyhow. I'm thinking about trying to get some sort of netting to put over the open window/door thing (this will be clearer once I can post pictures of my apartment), but other than that, I'm sort of at a loss for what to do.
I have to go grocery shopping today (with my new cart! Yay!) but it's supposed to be quite rainy, so I'm trying to time it so I won't be walking in the rain!
Friday, May 6, 2011
Miracle
Guys. I grew a plant. From a seed (or a lot of seeds, rather). Remember after my weekend with a real Spanish family, I came home with four terra cotta pots, some potting soil, three starters (basil, rosemary and chives) and some coriander seeds? Well, I moved the starters into pots that day. I soaked the coriander over night and the next day threw them in a pot with soil. I've been watering every day for a couple of weeks now. Tonight, I went outside to check if they needed water and I thought "huh, that basil looks a little bigger. So do the chives! And the rosemary." And then I peaked into the pot with my coriander - it's dark outside and the light on my terrace is on the other side, so I couldn't see so well, but I thought I saw something in the pot. At first, I thought maybe it was just some of the chives that I'd trimmed earlier that managed to fall into the pot. But then I realized, they were little green sprouts! All over the pot! I literally laughed out loud as I ran inside to get my "watering can" (empty wine bottle). I am so, so excited because coriander grows into cilantro which is one of my favorite things to eat! I am also so, so excited because not only have I never grown anything from a seed before (besides maybe marigolds when I was in 1st grade as a class project), but I typically kill everything I try to grow in general. Even if (maybe especially if) it's healthy to begin with. But now I have these beautiful herbs! And I'm going to cook with them! And with all my new recipes I got today.
I forgot to mention that, huh? I got my cookbook! It's a little daunting since it wants me to use earthenware casseroles and mortar and pestle for things. Which I don't have here. But, I am getting a better idea about what I can cook with the ingredients I can find here. Hopefully, I'll be able to find some of the things I want at the store tomorrow. I also got my drying rack today, which will be put to as soon as I get another 50 cent coin. I also got a package from my lovely friend Jordana - containing two mix cds (great, since I'm going crazy with my current music selection - or lack thereof), some delicious tea, and ... jelly beans! I have been craving jelly beans since before Easter - and as far as I can tell, they do not exist here.
I also stayed home tonight. I got home from work and took a luxurious nap. I watched a movie on my iPad. I cooked dinner. I worked on the blanket I'm making. And I was okay. Not sad. Not homesick.
Today feels a little bit like a miracle - a little bit like the seeds I'm planting are growing, and something green is starting to poke up from the dirt.
I forgot to mention that, huh? I got my cookbook! It's a little daunting since it wants me to use earthenware casseroles and mortar and pestle for things. Which I don't have here. But, I am getting a better idea about what I can cook with the ingredients I can find here. Hopefully, I'll be able to find some of the things I want at the store tomorrow. I also got my drying rack today, which will be put to as soon as I get another 50 cent coin. I also got a package from my lovely friend Jordana - containing two mix cds (great, since I'm going crazy with my current music selection - or lack thereof), some delicious tea, and ... jelly beans! I have been craving jelly beans since before Easter - and as far as I can tell, they do not exist here.
I also stayed home tonight. I got home from work and took a luxurious nap. I watched a movie on my iPad. I cooked dinner. I worked on the blanket I'm making. And I was okay. Not sad. Not homesick.
Today feels a little bit like a miracle - a little bit like the seeds I'm planting are growing, and something green is starting to poke up from the dirt.
Dear Mosquito. I hate you.
I figured out yet another new thing about my apartment yesterday. The door to the terrace tilts in so you can open it sort of like a window without having the whole door open. I was so proud of myself for figuring this out, I decided to leave the window/door open at night. "Fresh air while I sleep," I thought! I went to bed in my new sheets feeling very smug and proud of myself, relishing in the fresh air. Apparently a mosquito sensed my smugness and came in to slap it out of me. Or rather, to suck my blood out of me. I woke up at 6, with the mosquito eating my wrist. And then I noticed my face was also super itchy. The stupid bug managed to bite me under my right eye, which is now all swollen and puffy, since I react badly to bug bites.
I realized last night that I'm putting more and more of the city together, figuring out places to go and how to get to and from them. There's still a lot I need to explore, but I'm pretty happy with what I do know now.
Last night we went out for another post-doc's birthday. It was a lot of fun. When I left my apartment, I noticed it was sunny but sprinkling. As I walked, it continued to sprinkle here and there. Finally, I met up with my friends and we noticed that there was a bit of lightning and thunder. While we were waiting for a couple of other people, the sky completely opened up in a torrential downpour. We scurried into a mall to wait out the rain. After two or three minutes, it stopped and the sky cleared up again. We were actually able to eat and drink outside. But. I learned my San Sebastián lesson to always have an umbrella with you! We met up after a couple of hours with our English teacher friends - two guys from England, and a few guys and girls from Ireland. It's interesting because I thought I'd left the ESL world behind in Chicago! It's also a really good opportunity to practice Spanish with other people who mess up all the time too.
I'm crossing my fingers that my cookbook is going to arrive today, just in time for a big shopping trip tomorrow. If it doesn't, I'll probably just grab things for a couple of days and do a bigger shop next week!
I realized last night that I'm putting more and more of the city together, figuring out places to go and how to get to and from them. There's still a lot I need to explore, but I'm pretty happy with what I do know now.
Last night we went out for another post-doc's birthday. It was a lot of fun. When I left my apartment, I noticed it was sunny but sprinkling. As I walked, it continued to sprinkle here and there. Finally, I met up with my friends and we noticed that there was a bit of lightning and thunder. While we were waiting for a couple of other people, the sky completely opened up in a torrential downpour. We scurried into a mall to wait out the rain. After two or three minutes, it stopped and the sky cleared up again. We were actually able to eat and drink outside. But. I learned my San Sebastián lesson to always have an umbrella with you! We met up after a couple of hours with our English teacher friends - two guys from England, and a few guys and girls from Ireland. It's interesting because I thought I'd left the ESL world behind in Chicago! It's also a really good opportunity to practice Spanish with other people who mess up all the time too.
I'm crossing my fingers that my cookbook is going to arrive today, just in time for a big shopping trip tomorrow. If it doesn't, I'll probably just grab things for a couple of days and do a bigger shop next week!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Mine
I finally got my box of goodies from Zara Home.
I got:
- A new, non-scratchy fitted sheet
- A flat sheet (I didn't have one before) in the pattern I chose - blueish-green symbols on a white background white that look a little like fleur-de-lis.
- 2 pillow cases in the same pattern
- A reversible duvet cover (big version of the pattern on one side, small on the other)
- 2 small throw pillows with covers that are the same color as the sheets (one side is velvety and the other is a linen material with buttons)
- A small throw blanket in a darker blue
- 2 placemats in a darker blue-green
- A handful of things for the bathroom (soap dish, cup for my toothbrush, small tray for other miscellaneous things
And ... most exciting of all
- A small shopping cart. This is a bag that folds up into itself to be smaller than a purse, but then folds out into a cart that could wheel several bags of groceries home. This is going to revolutionize the way I can shop here, since I don't have to worry about my arms falling off before I get home. It's also really nice because it has a few zippered pouches to put my reusable bags and wallet into! I was so excited when I pulled it out of the bag.
Anyhow, I quickly washed and dried the sheets ... put them on the bed ... and promptly cried. The apartment finally has color. More importantly, it finally has things that I chose. I chose them, not the people who put this place together for researchers. Immediately, it felt less sterile, less scary, and much, much less like the place I found three weeks ago greeting me. It felt like it was mine.
While that is a really, truly great feeling, it's also a scary feeling. When things weren't mine, I could imagine in my head that they were temporary in a very short-term way. While I still know this situation is temporary, it's not really short-term. That realization made me a little bit sad. Mostly, though, it's a great feeling to have this place be mine, at least for a while. Now that it's really real and this place is my place, I'm hoping that I can grab the bull by the horns, so to speak and really throw myself into work, learning Spanish, and learning the culture here. There are many, many exciting things on the work front that I'd be happy to talk more about via e-mail, phone, or Skype.
Another major breakthrough is that today a friend of mine came to get me when it was lunch time. We ate outside with some others and it was beautiful. I felt like a part of the club. We're going out tonight to celebrate another post-doc's birthday. Hopefully, I can finagle my way into some plans for the weekend, too.
Pictures of the new colorful apartment will come as soon as I receive my cord for my camera (or after my trip to Puerto Rico - whichever comes first!). I think I took pictures of the dismal whiteness - but if not, I'll re-dress the bed in it's old sad clothes for some before and after shots. Now, I just need some storage boxes for the entertainment center and bathroom and I'll be all settled here, I think (plus the things I ordered from Amazon UK that are on their way!).
I got:
- A new, non-scratchy fitted sheet
- A flat sheet (I didn't have one before) in the pattern I chose - blueish-green symbols on a white background white that look a little like fleur-de-lis.
- 2 pillow cases in the same pattern
- A reversible duvet cover (big version of the pattern on one side, small on the other)
- 2 small throw pillows with covers that are the same color as the sheets (one side is velvety and the other is a linen material with buttons)
- A small throw blanket in a darker blue
- 2 placemats in a darker blue-green
- A handful of things for the bathroom (soap dish, cup for my toothbrush, small tray for other miscellaneous things
And ... most exciting of all
- A small shopping cart. This is a bag that folds up into itself to be smaller than a purse, but then folds out into a cart that could wheel several bags of groceries home. This is going to revolutionize the way I can shop here, since I don't have to worry about my arms falling off before I get home. It's also really nice because it has a few zippered pouches to put my reusable bags and wallet into! I was so excited when I pulled it out of the bag.
Anyhow, I quickly washed and dried the sheets ... put them on the bed ... and promptly cried. The apartment finally has color. More importantly, it finally has things that I chose. I chose them, not the people who put this place together for researchers. Immediately, it felt less sterile, less scary, and much, much less like the place I found three weeks ago greeting me. It felt like it was mine.
While that is a really, truly great feeling, it's also a scary feeling. When things weren't mine, I could imagine in my head that they were temporary in a very short-term way. While I still know this situation is temporary, it's not really short-term. That realization made me a little bit sad. Mostly, though, it's a great feeling to have this place be mine, at least for a while. Now that it's really real and this place is my place, I'm hoping that I can grab the bull by the horns, so to speak and really throw myself into work, learning Spanish, and learning the culture here. There are many, many exciting things on the work front that I'd be happy to talk more about via e-mail, phone, or Skype.
Another major breakthrough is that today a friend of mine came to get me when it was lunch time. We ate outside with some others and it was beautiful. I felt like a part of the club. We're going out tonight to celebrate another post-doc's birthday. Hopefully, I can finagle my way into some plans for the weekend, too.
Pictures of the new colorful apartment will come as soon as I receive my cord for my camera (or after my trip to Puerto Rico - whichever comes first!). I think I took pictures of the dismal whiteness - but if not, I'll re-dress the bed in it's old sad clothes for some before and after shots. Now, I just need some storage boxes for the entertainment center and bathroom and I'll be all settled here, I think (plus the things I ordered from Amazon UK that are on their way!).
Weather
It's supposed to be in the mid-high 70s and sunny today and tomorrow here in San Sebastián. Unfortunately, I forgot to check what temperature it was when I left the house. Even though I wore a wool cardigan over my blouse and tights under my skirt, I was FREEZING and cranky waiting at the bus stop. The bus was 2 whole minutes later than it said it would be, so I had to wait almost 10(!) minutes for the bus.
This is a sign of how truly spoiled I have become. In Chicago, I routinely waited longer than 20 minutes for a train, often in temperatures that were actually freezing - not mid-50s and sunny! It is really amazing that door to door, it has not taken me longer than 30 minutes to get to work so far. That is a huge cause for celebration since my commute in Chicago was so fraught with uncertainty (will it take me 30 minutes? An hour and a half? Who knows!).
The real "problem" with the weather here is that the temperature swings so much throughout the day. I really need to be much better about layering - something that is tricky given my current wardrobe! I'm thinking about ordering some things to Chicago and having Pete bring them to me in Puerto Rico. Currently at the top of the list are tops I can wear with the skirts I have here and maybe a couple of cardigans.
This is a sign of how truly spoiled I have become. In Chicago, I routinely waited longer than 20 minutes for a train, often in temperatures that were actually freezing - not mid-50s and sunny! It is really amazing that door to door, it has not taken me longer than 30 minutes to get to work so far. That is a huge cause for celebration since my commute in Chicago was so fraught with uncertainty (will it take me 30 minutes? An hour and a half? Who knows!).
The real "problem" with the weather here is that the temperature swings so much throughout the day. I really need to be much better about layering - something that is tricky given my current wardrobe! I'm thinking about ordering some things to Chicago and having Pete bring them to me in Puerto Rico. Currently at the top of the list are tops I can wear with the skirts I have here and maybe a couple of cardigans.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Music
Last night, I went out with some friends for a quick drink. Then we ended up at the cafe/lounge/bar where one of the girls' boyfriends leads a session. It's pretty informal with everyone playing or singing at some point - the music is a little folky/singer-songwritery, but overall it was a lot of fun. I was told a girl would be there with a violin - it was actually a viola ... and I chickened out about playing it (plus, she wasn't fantastic and I didn't want it to seem like I was attempting to show her up). Apparently this happens every Tuesday, so I'll definitely go back again. I think I might sing next time though. It was a good way to celebrate 3 weeks of being in Spain. I'm almost halfway to my first trip back to see Pete (I've been here 21 days - there are 27 days 'til I go to Puerto Rico - not that I'm counting).
I walked home, which was fine (and apparently totally safe as I saw a child walking by himself, an old woman walking by herself and about a dozen people my age walking by themselves).
I walked home, which was fine (and apparently totally safe as I saw a child walking by himself, an old woman walking by herself and about a dozen people my age walking by themselves).
The problem is that the hill involves aerobic exercise - so when I wanted to go to sleep, I was completely hyped up. I'll have to take a cab home next time if I want to go to sleep soon after I get there!
As always, there is various drama in my life - this time we're back to the people at my apartment building insisting they haven't received my deposit or my rent for last month. I'm pretty sure the problem is that it came under Pete's name, not mine, but who knows. The money has moved out of Pete's account and into an account at the bank in Spain. Hopefully, they'll get this sorted out because it's really (really) obnoxious for Pete to have to deal with. And also obnoxious for me to have to deal with!
I'm starting to feel more and more like this is a real place and I'm not on vacation. I see the same people at the bus stop every morning. Including three nuns from a nearby convent who come out to buy the paper and some bread every morning. There are also two kids in school uniforms with their nanny who get picked up by their school bus (a huge charter bus) every morning right before my bus comes. There's also a guy who gets on my bus every morning and also works in the area where I work. It's weird to already be recognizing people, but I sort of like it!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
I guess I live here now ...
Today is the first day that I felt like I had a "normal" work day. I actually walked to work from the bus in a downpour that lasted about 5 minutes. By the time I got to my office, the sun decided to shine. I did a bit of work, had a meeting, had people in and out of my office to ask me questions, got a bunch of work done, had lunch, went to Spanish ... and the miracle is, it all feels a little normal. It feels like this is where I work. And I know how to do things here (*at least a little bit).
I also got a series of hysterical e-mails that culminated in a phone call to my work. So, yesterday, I placed an order with Zara Home (Zara is a huge clothing chain in Spain - they have some stores in the US too. They also have a home store with home goods for slightly less than a regular home stores - I don't think it's particularly cheap, but I'll take what I can get). Anyhow, I ordered some things from them, and had to use their online chat feature to chat in English with a representative because I couldn't change the billing address to the US. Of course, this was not a trivial thing to do, but we figured it out. I thought. For my phone number, he said I could put a US number, so I put my Google Voice number. Then this morning, I got an e-mail saying "Dear Customer, Beforehand we want to thank you for your order. Please be informed that we have tried to contact you by phone as it is mandatory a valid contact telephone number in the United Kingdom in order to proced with you order. Anxiously awaiting for your reply." Fortunately, I have an ancient, expensive cell phone with a UK number that works anywhere in the world that I use for emergencies. So I e-mailed them that number. Since they were awaiting anxiously and all.
About an hour later, I got another e-mail saying "Dear customer, Beforehand we want to thank you for your order and apologize for our incorrect previous e-mail. Regarding your order, we need also to have a valid Spanish contact telephone number in order to procede with you order [closer this time, in terms of English]. Anxiously awaiting for your reply." So I e-mailed them my work phone number. And, then they called. I don't have my own phone yet, but the guy who sits next to me got a call announcing it was for me. The admin assistant said "It's Zara Home for you." So, I talk to a very nice guy who said they were just checking my numbers to make sure they worked. Very intense this whole process.
Tonight, I'm going out with a couple of friends to a bar where one of the girls' boyfriends organizes what sounds like a sort of music session where people play and sing. It should be interesting! Then, we're going to do something on Thursday night, and possibly also this weekend! It should be a lot of fun, I hope. I'm most hopeful I can convince them to hang out with me this weekend, I heard rumblings of a party, so we'll see!
Finally, I found a cookbook on Amazon that is for cooking in Spain, but written in English and geared toward expats! I'm too excited and can't wait for it to come!
I also got a series of hysterical e-mails that culminated in a phone call to my work. So, yesterday, I placed an order with Zara Home (Zara is a huge clothing chain in Spain - they have some stores in the US too. They also have a home store with home goods for slightly less than a regular home stores - I don't think it's particularly cheap, but I'll take what I can get). Anyhow, I ordered some things from them, and had to use their online chat feature to chat in English with a representative because I couldn't change the billing address to the US. Of course, this was not a trivial thing to do, but we figured it out. I thought. For my phone number, he said I could put a US number, so I put my Google Voice number. Then this morning, I got an e-mail saying "Dear Customer, Beforehand we want to thank you for your order. Please be informed that we have tried to contact you by phone as it is mandatory a valid contact telephone number in the United Kingdom in order to proced with you order. Anxiously awaiting for your reply." Fortunately, I have an ancient, expensive cell phone with a UK number that works anywhere in the world that I use for emergencies. So I e-mailed them that number. Since they were awaiting anxiously and all.
About an hour later, I got another e-mail saying "Dear customer, Beforehand we want to thank you for your order and apologize for our incorrect previous e-mail. Regarding your order, we need also to have a valid Spanish contact telephone number in order to procede with you order [closer this time, in terms of English]. Anxiously awaiting for your reply." So I e-mailed them my work phone number. And, then they called. I don't have my own phone yet, but the guy who sits next to me got a call announcing it was for me. The admin assistant said "It's Zara Home for you." So, I talk to a very nice guy who said they were just checking my numbers to make sure they worked. Very intense this whole process.
Tonight, I'm going out with a couple of friends to a bar where one of the girls' boyfriends organizes what sounds like a sort of music session where people play and sing. It should be interesting! Then, we're going to do something on Thursday night, and possibly also this weekend! It should be a lot of fun, I hope. I'm most hopeful I can convince them to hang out with me this weekend, I heard rumblings of a party, so we'll see!
Finally, I found a cookbook on Amazon that is for cooking in Spain, but written in English and geared toward expats! I'm too excited and can't wait for it to come!
Monday, May 2, 2011
I wish ...
I wish that I worked every day. The days are so much easier when I'm able to go to work, see people, get things done, and then come home. Then I only have 4-5 hours to fill instead of 16-18 on the weekends. It just feels much more manageable. As you might imagine, this meant a much better day for me (although I did bang the crap out of my arm on a door handle at work - sure to be a nasty bruise).
I was worried this morning because I really had to drag myself out of bed. Then when I got downstairs, I realized I'd forgotten my sunglasses upstairs, so I had to turn around and let myself back in. I got upstairs to realize I had also forgotten to grab my lunch - so it's a good thing I remembered the sunglasses! After that, the day was pretty much smooth sailing. I even took a little walk at work in the afternoon as a reward for being productive. Plus, we can't open our windows, so I thought I'd enjoy a little of the fresh air, since it was a beautiful day today!
I figured out a lot of things over the past couple of days, including how to change the language on my ATM card and bus card to English. I was tempted to leave it in Spanish, but I figured if I made a language mistake, I would rather not lose money over it! I also got paid for the first time and will hopefully figure out how to pay my rent (via bank transfer) tomorrow. I still need to sort out utilities, but hopefully that won't be too hard.
I had Spanish again today and I'm feeling ahead of the class, which is good. I think I need to feel like I'm ahead while I get used to all of the rest of my new life. Especially since mostly I associate Spanish with feeling behind and like I don't know enough. Once in a while it's good to feel like I'm doing okay. :)
It's been very interesting watching the reactions to the Osama bin Laden business here. Obviously, people are very interested in the news, but also interested in the American reaction to the news. This is my first chance to observe America from outside, so I read a bit of the coverage in El Pais (the biggest(?) newspaper in Spain - or at least around here) and El Diario Vasco (the local paper). It's really interesting because it covers the same factual information that most of the American news I've read, but is really disconnected. Very interesting.
In other news, I am at my wits end with this stupid kitchen and cooking. I NEED to start figuring out other things to cook - things that don't require ingredients I can't find here or equipment I don't have (which right now includes a functioning oven), because I can only do so much improvisation. [Did I forget to talk about my oven quitting on me? I think I mentioned that the power went out briefly a couple of days ago. I used that as an opportunity to reset the clock on the oven. Then about an hour later, the power went out to that clock. The ceramic cooktop, dishwasher, and all the lights work. I asked the doorman yesterday to come up and look at it. He poked at it for a few minutes and announced, "It doesn't work." He said they'd try to get someone to repair it Monday or some other time. I'm not holding my breath.] Back to the cooking. I really need to figure this out because I am going totally and completely crazy eating like I am. Fortunately, I'm eating tons of fruit and salads. But unfortunately, I am also eating lots of pasta because that is easy to cook in this kitchen. Hopefully someday I'll figure it out. I'm going to start searching for Spanish recipes in hopes of finding something that's really tasty! I'm going to also try my hand at a tortilla this weekend. In Spain, tortilla is sort of like an omelette. Or a cross between an omelette and a quiche. It usually has potatoes in it, and is SUPER tasty and cheap when you get it as pintxos. I've been too lazy to haul home a bag of potatoes so far, but if I ever get my hands on a little shopping cart, I will definitely try to cook it here! Once again - soliciting recipes that require few ingredients and are tasty!
I was worried this morning because I really had to drag myself out of bed. Then when I got downstairs, I realized I'd forgotten my sunglasses upstairs, so I had to turn around and let myself back in. I got upstairs to realize I had also forgotten to grab my lunch - so it's a good thing I remembered the sunglasses! After that, the day was pretty much smooth sailing. I even took a little walk at work in the afternoon as a reward for being productive. Plus, we can't open our windows, so I thought I'd enjoy a little of the fresh air, since it was a beautiful day today!
I figured out a lot of things over the past couple of days, including how to change the language on my ATM card and bus card to English. I was tempted to leave it in Spanish, but I figured if I made a language mistake, I would rather not lose money over it! I also got paid for the first time and will hopefully figure out how to pay my rent (via bank transfer) tomorrow. I still need to sort out utilities, but hopefully that won't be too hard.
I had Spanish again today and I'm feeling ahead of the class, which is good. I think I need to feel like I'm ahead while I get used to all of the rest of my new life. Especially since mostly I associate Spanish with feeling behind and like I don't know enough. Once in a while it's good to feel like I'm doing okay. :)
It's been very interesting watching the reactions to the Osama bin Laden business here. Obviously, people are very interested in the news, but also interested in the American reaction to the news. This is my first chance to observe America from outside, so I read a bit of the coverage in El Pais (the biggest(?) newspaper in Spain - or at least around here) and El Diario Vasco (the local paper). It's really interesting because it covers the same factual information that most of the American news I've read, but is really disconnected. Very interesting.
In other news, I am at my wits end with this stupid kitchen and cooking. I NEED to start figuring out other things to cook - things that don't require ingredients I can't find here or equipment I don't have (which right now includes a functioning oven), because I can only do so much improvisation. [Did I forget to talk about my oven quitting on me? I think I mentioned that the power went out briefly a couple of days ago. I used that as an opportunity to reset the clock on the oven. Then about an hour later, the power went out to that clock. The ceramic cooktop, dishwasher, and all the lights work. I asked the doorman yesterday to come up and look at it. He poked at it for a few minutes and announced, "It doesn't work." He said they'd try to get someone to repair it Monday or some other time. I'm not holding my breath.] Back to the cooking. I really need to figure this out because I am going totally and completely crazy eating like I am. Fortunately, I'm eating tons of fruit and salads. But unfortunately, I am also eating lots of pasta because that is easy to cook in this kitchen. Hopefully someday I'll figure it out. I'm going to start searching for Spanish recipes in hopes of finding something that's really tasty! I'm going to also try my hand at a tortilla this weekend. In Spain, tortilla is sort of like an omelette. Or a cross between an omelette and a quiche. It usually has potatoes in it, and is SUPER tasty and cheap when you get it as pintxos. I've been too lazy to haul home a bag of potatoes so far, but if I ever get my hands on a little shopping cart, I will definitely try to cook it here! Once again - soliciting recipes that require few ingredients and are tasty!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Cooking (again)
I had a really lovely relaxing day (aside from having to pull out a whole bunch of the knitting I did on a project because I dropped a stitch somewhere and couldn't find it).
I tried to cook a recipe tonight - I was missing a couple of ingredients and the whole thing was made harder without measuring devices. The overall result - edible, but not delicious. I need to figure out cooking here pronto because I am super tired of lemon-caper or lemon-olive sauce on everything I cook. I'm actually tempted to go to a bookstore and buy a Spanish or Basque cook book. At least then I should (in theory) be able to find all of the ingredients I need.
Any advice or recipes for cooking tasty food with very limited ingredients would be greatly appreciated.
I tried to cook a recipe tonight - I was missing a couple of ingredients and the whole thing was made harder without measuring devices. The overall result - edible, but not delicious. I need to figure out cooking here pronto because I am super tired of lemon-caper or lemon-olive sauce on everything I cook. I'm actually tempted to go to a bookstore and buy a Spanish or Basque cook book. At least then I should (in theory) be able to find all of the ingredients I need.
Any advice or recipes for cooking tasty food with very limited ingredients would be greatly appreciated.
Secret to Success
I think the secret to success and being in a good mood here is sleep and exercise (also known as "taking care of yourself). Friday night, I went to bed late, and woke up early. With relatively little sleep, I was not a happy girl all day yesterday. I did some knitting last night while watching tv, which really helps me relax and be more calm. Last night, I went to bed late and this morning when I woke up early, I made myself stay in bed and read until I was sleepy again. Then, I slept in. I also did yoga this morning before even getting out of bed. And so far, I've been in a great mood for no reason!
I have a Skype date planned with a friend today, and got to Skype with two friends yesterday - it really helps me to feel more connected to the rest of the world!
I'm going to go to El Centro to grab some bread at the bakery and enjoy being outside a bit. I might even do some more exercise after my 5 mile walk to and from the center. Today is beautiful so far - 70 and sunny with a small chance of rain this afternoon/evening!
I have a Skype date planned with a friend today, and got to Skype with two friends yesterday - it really helps me to feel more connected to the rest of the world!
I'm going to go to El Centro to grab some bread at the bakery and enjoy being outside a bit. I might even do some more exercise after my 5 mile walk to and from the center. Today is beautiful so far - 70 and sunny with a small chance of rain this afternoon/evening!
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