Two posts in one day! What a miracle.
I realized today walking to meet some friends that I really live here now. I know I've said that a lot before, but it hit me especially today. The past few weeks have been blissful in San Sebastian. The weather is colder, but still reaches 65-70 every day and cools down to be lovely and crisp (but not freezing) at night. Perfect weather to have your window open at night and be able to hunker down under the duvet. The change in temperature has also signaled a change in the town.
Tourists are gone and pintxos bars are full of locals and people who know how things work around here. The mood is more relaxed and easy going. People are talking about futbol and life instead of "la playa". I know most people probably prefer the summer, but I like this time of year here. The weather isn't as spectacular, but I sort of like the moodiness of the weather. The change from warm to cool and the rainy days are somehow comforting.
But this weekend is different. Tuesday is All Saints Day in all of Spain and in France. Since everyone has Tuesday off (really everyone - everything is closed, like usually for a holiday), most people are also taking "el puente", the bridge. This means they take Monday off and get a great long weekend.
*** Side Note *** For those of you keeping track, we also had a holiday last Tuesday and then two weeks ago on Wednesday. And then we have holidays on December 6 and 8, too. They love holidays here. Back to the story.
Because it's a holiday here, throughout Spain and in France it means they're back. The tourists, that is. They've overrun the town and are making me crazy. I walked to meet some friends today, and had to weave through lost tourists to meet them in time. I suddenly felt like I was back in Chicago weaving among the hoards near Wrigley. I also got really annoyed by the street performers who are WAY more terrifying than street performers in the US. The guys today where three people dressed up in these huge scary wolf/dog metal skeleton costumes with scary sharp teeth and light up eyes. It was scary for an adult, but parents were taking their kids to see it.
Anyhow, I guess I am becoming a local, because we headed to a cafe that is completely free of tourists and relaxed there for a while before heading back into the throngs.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Travel
The time before traveling is always insane, but adding travel to the insanity of the past two weeks ... I'm feeling like a crazy person. Plus, I am traveling to Chicago and Seattle (where it's colder than it is here). Most of my cold weather clothing is still in Chicago (I think), but since I'm traveling for a conference, I feel like I need to pack enough options for conferencing in case stuff in Chicago doesn't fit. Plus, I'm bringing back summer clothes that I didn't wear here (if I didn't wear them at all for the last 6 months, I won't miss them if I'm still here next summer), and clothes that don't fit anymore. Then I'm packing a couple of sweaters, a couple of pairs of pants and calling it a day. Hopefully, I can "shop" my closet in Chicago and find stuff to wear while I'm there and bring back here. Otherwise, I'll just have to shop in actual stores at home and back here.
I'm hoping this trip won't be as ridiculously emotional as they usually are. I have hopes for this for two reasons. One is that I am WAY more exhausted leading up to this trip and have been swamped with work, which has given me less time to get super excited for the trip. (Not that I'm not super excited, it's just not heightened to the same degree). The other is that I saw Pete less than a month ago, and I'll see him again about 5 weeks after I leave to come back ... so the time doesn't feel so interminable. I'm pretty sure on Nov 13 you'll still be able to find me sobbing in a bathroom stall at O'Hare, but hopefully it won't be as bad as it has been before.
I finished teaching on Friday. The class was rewarding and hard, mostly due to the fact that most of my students were non-native English speakers. There was a huge amount of variability in terms of English ability and prior knowledge about the subject, which made things extra tricky. I was supposed to teach my last class Monday right before heading to Bilbao for the night, but for various reasons the class got moved, so I taught 4 classes in 4 work days last week. Planning and executing this class really took it out of me, mostly because it coincided with pre-conference prep, an influx of pilot data for a study I'm running, job application due dates and planning some research projects I'm getting excited about. Plus, I had to teach some "lab" stuff I hadn't planned on using a computer programmer I have a love-hate relationship with. So more than 20 hours in the classroom, plus 2 hours of prep for every hour I taught added up to 60 hours over two weeks on top of my normal 40+ hour/week job. I was ready for a nap after my last class. :)
Of course, teaching is the gift that keeps on giving. I have to write the exam my students are taking this week, plus give them feedback on the assignments the two assignments they've done. Then when I get back from the US I'll have another lab assignment and an exam to grade. But hopefully by then the rest of my job will have slowed down a little bit.
In other news, I've got some new crochet projects in the works, since I was getting a little bored with my giant square blanket project (which is probably 2/3rds done). Hopefully doing a couple of smaller projects over the next few weeks will bring back my desire to work on the blanket when I come back. I'm working on a sweater in a really beautiful light blue cotton which will be my plane project on the way home on Tuesday. I'm also working on two different scarves (one knit and one crochet) in the same pretty merino wool. I made Pete a scarf, which was sent home with him when he came in September, and I made some flower coasters from scrap yarn for a friend's birthday. I'm most excited because I've taught myself Tunisian crochet, which is a cool mix between crochet and knitting and produces a fabric that looks knit or woven. I'm working on a pillow that has two different sides. It's a little slower than knitting or crocheting for me, mostly because it's dissimilar enough from each of them that figuring out the hand motion is a little less automatic. But I try to knit and crochet a little bit each day (often on the bus). Since I'm not huge into Spanish TV, it's a good way to relax and do something that's not either Spanish practice or work!
I'll try to update again before I leave!
I'm hoping this trip won't be as ridiculously emotional as they usually are. I have hopes for this for two reasons. One is that I am WAY more exhausted leading up to this trip and have been swamped with work, which has given me less time to get super excited for the trip. (Not that I'm not super excited, it's just not heightened to the same degree). The other is that I saw Pete less than a month ago, and I'll see him again about 5 weeks after I leave to come back ... so the time doesn't feel so interminable. I'm pretty sure on Nov 13 you'll still be able to find me sobbing in a bathroom stall at O'Hare, but hopefully it won't be as bad as it has been before.
I finished teaching on Friday. The class was rewarding and hard, mostly due to the fact that most of my students were non-native English speakers. There was a huge amount of variability in terms of English ability and prior knowledge about the subject, which made things extra tricky. I was supposed to teach my last class Monday right before heading to Bilbao for the night, but for various reasons the class got moved, so I taught 4 classes in 4 work days last week. Planning and executing this class really took it out of me, mostly because it coincided with pre-conference prep, an influx of pilot data for a study I'm running, job application due dates and planning some research projects I'm getting excited about. Plus, I had to teach some "lab" stuff I hadn't planned on using a computer programmer I have a love-hate relationship with. So more than 20 hours in the classroom, plus 2 hours of prep for every hour I taught added up to 60 hours over two weeks on top of my normal 40+ hour/week job. I was ready for a nap after my last class. :)
Of course, teaching is the gift that keeps on giving. I have to write the exam my students are taking this week, plus give them feedback on the assignments the two assignments they've done. Then when I get back from the US I'll have another lab assignment and an exam to grade. But hopefully by then the rest of my job will have slowed down a little bit.
In other news, I've got some new crochet projects in the works, since I was getting a little bored with my giant square blanket project (which is probably 2/3rds done). Hopefully doing a couple of smaller projects over the next few weeks will bring back my desire to work on the blanket when I come back. I'm working on a sweater in a really beautiful light blue cotton which will be my plane project on the way home on Tuesday. I'm also working on two different scarves (one knit and one crochet) in the same pretty merino wool. I made Pete a scarf, which was sent home with him when he came in September, and I made some flower coasters from scrap yarn for a friend's birthday. I'm most excited because I've taught myself Tunisian crochet, which is a cool mix between crochet and knitting and produces a fabric that looks knit or woven. I'm working on a pillow that has two different sides. It's a little slower than knitting or crocheting for me, mostly because it's dissimilar enough from each of them that figuring out the hand motion is a little less automatic. But I try to knit and crochet a little bit each day (often on the bus). Since I'm not huge into Spanish TV, it's a good way to relax and do something that's not either Spanish practice or work!
I'll try to update again before I leave!
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Something that's not easy
Here's something that's not easy:
Taking a Basque class ...
That is taught in Spanish.
Taking a Spanish class in Spanish is hard enough, but taking a Basque class too? I'm starting to think I'm crazy. Fortunately, it's once a week. And, as my Spanish teacher says, I should just think of it as a chance to practice Spanish even more.
As of now, though, I'm exhausted. Between teaching my class, doing the rest of my 50+ hour a week job, taking Spanish classes two nights a week, doing two intercambios a week, and now the two hours of Basque class, I am starting to get a little overwhelmed. My allergies are also insane, so taking allergy medicine isn't helping with the exhaustion. I am ready for this weekend, when I can sleep in ... and catch up on work. :)
Taking a Basque class ...
That is taught in Spanish.
Taking a Spanish class in Spanish is hard enough, but taking a Basque class too? I'm starting to think I'm crazy. Fortunately, it's once a week. And, as my Spanish teacher says, I should just think of it as a chance to practice Spanish even more.
As of now, though, I'm exhausted. Between teaching my class, doing the rest of my 50+ hour a week job, taking Spanish classes two nights a week, doing two intercambios a week, and now the two hours of Basque class, I am starting to get a little overwhelmed. My allergies are also insane, so taking allergy medicine isn't helping with the exhaustion. I am ready for this weekend, when I can sleep in ... and catch up on work. :)
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Insanity
Work (and life) is a bit crazy right now, so just a brief update.
Okay, enough sappiness, but I feel like I needed to have a little eulogy for someone who profoundly affected my life, even if I never knew him.
- I started teaching today. It was good, though I'm completely exhausted. The class is really hard for me to teach since it's material that most of the students know (in Spanish), but haven't been exposed to in this setting. It's a big challenge but probably good for me in the long run.
- I really, really love walking across the river on one of the bridges at night here. It's always very cool to see the flow of the river collide with the waves from the ocean and it always looks completely chaotic and beautiful below.
- In awesome news, I dropped my iPod in the toilet at my Spanish class today. Not my finest move. That's what I get for not zipping my jacket pockets. We sanitized it and it seems to be functioning. Fingers crossed!
- My intercambio partner said today that my Spanish is improving. Hopefully that's true because I'm working my tail off on learning more every day. I practice a lot, and it continues to feel really hard. That said, I think that's because I "know" more grammar, so I'm trying to remember when to use the subjunctive and when to use each of the three past tenses. It's so much more complicated than English in terms of verbs, I feel like I'm losing my mind sometimes. I get frustrated because I know how to conjugate the verbs and when to use which. In writing, I'm usually okay and can write a page or two with only a couple of minor verb mistakes (prepositions and articles are another story all together). But speaking is still rough. That said, I'm trying to be braver and just talk. My daily mix of English and Spanish when socializing is edging toward 50-50, which is great. I'm still in the B1 level, but I still hope to get to C1 by spring. I think it's doable since I'm working hard, but we'll see.
- In what is either an insane or genius move, I'm starting a Basque class on Thursday. It is, as my teacher said "muy light" (apparently that's the Spanish term for not too intense as well ...). It's one day a week for two hours. I'm not sure I need another evening eaten up by a language class, but I think it will be a really great experience. Plus, I think linguistics departments will be happy I know a little bit of an "under-studied language". Speaking of linguistics departments ...
- It's job search time again. I will need sustained good thoughts/vibes/prayers between now and the spring that something great will come along for me in the US. I have my hopes on a couple of ideal jobs, but don't want to jinx anything. Right now, I would settle for being on the same continent as Chicago. I don't want to be too picky, but driving distance/same timezone would be incredible. :) Anyhow, there are plenty of jobs and I'm hoping this is "my year". If it's not, I'll survive, but I am hoping my hard work over the past 7.5 (11.5? 29?) years will pay off in this cycle. I'm ready to start independent research and I realized today, I'm ready to teach as well. Anyhow. Fingers crossed, thoughts, prayers and minor sacrifices to the Bosses of Jobs appreciated.
- Speaking of Jobs ... I was super sad to hear about Steve Jobs. I grew up on a Mac and have been nothing but a Mac person my whole life. I truly believe my research is significantly easier due to Macs, and they're so much more fun than PCs. Pixar has made some of my favorite movies. On top of being a real visionary and a rare breed person who can blend creativity and science, he also said something that I have printed out that follows my idea notebook for work (every time I finish one, it gets tucked into the next). It's two sections from his 2005 commencement address to Stanford, which I really took to heart as I was in the early days of grad school "You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle. ... Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." At the time I read this, I had made a big, big jump from music to science. A jump I'm still not sure I knew how to make. I wasn't nearly as terrified as I probably should have been. This is most likely the result of having been too stupid to know what I didn't know. But I did it, and I've never been happier. He was right in that I knew what I loved when I found it. I try to remind myself on days when I'm stressed and crazy that I truly believe that what I'm doing is great work because I love what I do. I know not everyone in this world is lucky enough to say that, so every time I think of it, I say a little prayer of thanks because I have been really, truly, extraordinarily lucky to do what I do. Even if I don't get a job doing this forever, it's great, exciting work. Plus I get to say fancy things like "I am teaching in the Master's program for Cognitive Neuroscience of Language". And it doesn't get much better than that.
Okay, enough sappiness, but I feel like I needed to have a little eulogy for someone who profoundly affected my life, even if I never knew him.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Pamplona and La Rioja
While Peter was here we spent a lot of time just hanging out in Donostia, eating pintxos, relaxing on the roof terrace, and drinking coffee (decaf) in the plazas. But we did manage to do some sight seeing while he was here, too.
We took a spontaneous day trip to Pamplona, home of San Fermin (a.k.a. The Running of the Bulls). We decided at around noon we wanted to go, but if we wanted to go that day, we would have to catch the 12:45 bus. So, we grabbed some granola bars and made a run for it. We spent about 7 hours in the town before heading back on the bus. The town itself is very cute and old. We got some advice from one of my co-workers who is from there about things to do and see. It turned out to be great advice. I'm pretty confident that we got to see the best and most beautiful landmarks. We also had a great lunch and had coffee and a drink at a beautiful cafe before heading home. Pete took pictures of a lot parts of the course of the running of the bulls, which were easy to imagine being full of people in the sticky heat of July here.
We also took another spontaneous trip, this time to La Rioja. We decided the day we went to Pamplona (Tuesday) that we wanted to rent a car and go on either Wednesday or Thursday possibly staying overnight. To be able to properly plan, we decided to go on Thursday and rented our car and booked a hotel in the small village of Casalarreina. I contacted a bunch of wineries to try to schedule tastings or tours. We got one tour on Thursday and another on Friday, as well as a tasting on Thursday. We also managed to make it to Laguardia, a very cool medieval walled village in the region. Our trip was particularly exciting because it was harvest time. Every few miles we would come across a tractor with a trailer laden with grapes. The vines were all heavy from the fruit, and it was really incredible to see wine country at this time of year. The scenery in the area is also completely astounding. One of the coolest parts of our visit was that on our Friday tour (at the winery with a hotel designed by Frank Gehry), we were able to taste the grapes as they sorted them. It was very cool to taste the tempranillo grape and the cabernet sauvignon grape, as well as a white grape that wouldn't be used for wine.
Overall, Peter's trip here was fantastic. We got to do some exploring and some relaxing, which was a nice combination.
Today has been weird because it sort of feels like things have reset after Peter left - sort of like he was never here at all and the week he was here was a weird dream or something. I've had a hard time getting anything done today, but I have a pile of laundry that needs to be ironed as well as some work sitting on my table, so hopefully, I'll be able to motivate myself after a brief nap.
We took a spontaneous day trip to Pamplona, home of San Fermin (a.k.a. The Running of the Bulls). We decided at around noon we wanted to go, but if we wanted to go that day, we would have to catch the 12:45 bus. So, we grabbed some granola bars and made a run for it. We spent about 7 hours in the town before heading back on the bus. The town itself is very cute and old. We got some advice from one of my co-workers who is from there about things to do and see. It turned out to be great advice. I'm pretty confident that we got to see the best and most beautiful landmarks. We also had a great lunch and had coffee and a drink at a beautiful cafe before heading home. Pete took pictures of a lot parts of the course of the running of the bulls, which were easy to imagine being full of people in the sticky heat of July here.
We also took another spontaneous trip, this time to La Rioja. We decided the day we went to Pamplona (Tuesday) that we wanted to rent a car and go on either Wednesday or Thursday possibly staying overnight. To be able to properly plan, we decided to go on Thursday and rented our car and booked a hotel in the small village of Casalarreina. I contacted a bunch of wineries to try to schedule tastings or tours. We got one tour on Thursday and another on Friday, as well as a tasting on Thursday. We also managed to make it to Laguardia, a very cool medieval walled village in the region. Our trip was particularly exciting because it was harvest time. Every few miles we would come across a tractor with a trailer laden with grapes. The vines were all heavy from the fruit, and it was really incredible to see wine country at this time of year. The scenery in the area is also completely astounding. One of the coolest parts of our visit was that on our Friday tour (at the winery with a hotel designed by Frank Gehry), we were able to taste the grapes as they sorted them. It was very cool to taste the tempranillo grape and the cabernet sauvignon grape, as well as a white grape that wouldn't be used for wine.
Overall, Peter's trip here was fantastic. We got to do some exploring and some relaxing, which was a nice combination.
Today has been weird because it sort of feels like things have reset after Peter left - sort of like he was never here at all and the week he was here was a weird dream or something. I've had a hard time getting anything done today, but I have a pile of laundry that needs to be ironed as well as some work sitting on my table, so hopefully, I'll be able to motivate myself after a brief nap.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
On the roller coaster again
I just spent an amazing week with Peter. I will write more about it later including our trips to Pamplona and La Rioja and some of my new Spanish breakthroughs. But, I just got back from taking him to the airport, and I'm feeling pretty sorry for myself and for him. Leaving and being apart doesn't get any easier with time. I know that this feeling of despair right now will eventually plateau to a point where I'm sad and lonely, but it doesn't overwhelm me. Right now, though, it is overwhelming, exhausting and pretty terrible and makes me want to jump on the next plane to Chicago. At least the time between visits now is the shortest yet. 23 days 'til our Chicago+Seattle visit. Then I come back for about 5 weeks before Christmas. I don't want to think about the period after Christmas, where I only have one trip planned, and it's in March. As I learned between mid July and late September October, 2 months is a long, un-fun time to be apart.
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