Things that still make me crazy

Even though I get more and more used to the crazy things about Spain, there's a lot I'm still not used to.  Here are some things that still make me crazy.

• Cooking - I still have tons of frustration when it comes to my kitchen, and to eating more broadly.  I should say this is not because there isn't great food to be had here.  It's just that to eat good food when you go out, you need to pay a lot of money.  I've actually only had two sit-down, going-out meals since I got here.  Both of which were mediocre at best.  The pintxos are typically good, but one cannot live on pintxos alone (well, one probably could, but I can't).  There are also very few places that do take-out and even fewer (none?) that do delivery.  So, on crazy long work days (like yesterday where I was at work for 11 hours + commuting time), I need to cook when I get home.  This wouldn't be so bad if I had the proper equipment or ingredients to cook food that is tasty.  Part of the problem is that things go bad very, very quickly here (which probably means they aren't pumped with antibiotics and preservatives).  It doesn't make it any less frustrating though, when you open chicken from two days ago that looks a little yucky, you cook it anyhow, and it tastes, literally, like garbage.  Cooking itself is also frustrating.  It's really hard to control the temperature on the induction stovetop, and I still haven't bought any pots or pans that are safe for the oven.  I really need to spend some time in a grocery store really looking at ingredients and deciding what I can use to make things here, since a lot of my typical staples aren't available ... but this brings me to point #2.

• "Business" Hours - I honestly do not understand how anyone ever gets anything done here.  A typical store (including grocery store) is open:  9-2 and then 4-8.  That's if it's a store that's open a lot.  It isn't uncommon for stores to just be open 9-2.  Or whenever they feel like being open.  I tried to go to a store the other day that was supposed to re-open at 4 for the afternoon.  At 6, they were not open.  Weekends are even worse when almost nothing is open on Sunday and Saturday hours are nothing short of crazy (10-2?  10-12?  11-3?).  The only time you can really count on stores being open is 9-2 Monday through Friday.  Which is when I'm, you know, working.  Grocery shopping consists of running to the store as often as I can - it's not rare for me to go three to four times a week so I can have fresh food, but also because when you only have 30 minutes 'til the store closes, it's tough to do a week's worth of shopping.  It's hard to get anything done really.  This does mean that you have to spend your evenings and weekends doing things that aren't running errands and are more fun.  However, it's hard to have fun when you're worried about food in your fridge or when you have to do laundry since a lot of your clothing is wrinkled and you haven't been able to buy an iron since the electronics store is only open when you're working.  (Sub-point - I would solve this problem by buying things on Amazon UK which does free shipping to Spain, but the plugs are different ... so a vacuum and iron will have to wait for now).

• Language - This point is the biggest and most frustrating of all.  I am still stymied on a daily basis by not being able to say what I want to say.  I love language, it's what I do for my job, and anyone who knows me knows I love to talk.  But Spanish is hard and frustrating.  Let me clarify - Spanish in a classroom is fine.  I can conjugate verbs and do exercises.  I can read and write in the classroom.  But classroom language is not the language of the real world.  Carefully produced speech on recordings is no substitute for real world speech.  So, it's hard to understand what's being said.  Even harder is saying what you mean.  Even if I'm willing to make tons of mistakes (which I have to if I want to communicate the simplest things), even if I am willing to forego using the subjunctive for the sake of saying anything at all, I don't have the words to say what I want to say.  Vocabulary is far and away the hardest part for me.  I don't know how to get more vocabulary without studying a dictionary or vocabulary book.  And honestly, lists of nouns and verbs aren't going to do it.  Even if I know how to say the basic words around things, I don't know how to convey the specifics that make any good story worth telling.  When talking about my trip yesterday in class, I was trying to explain how frustrated I was by the fact that they announced to me that my ticket was canceled.  But I couldn't remember the word for frustrated ... and angry or sad don't really get the job done in the same way.  I need to figure out some way to improve at the language more quickly.  Because I've been here almost two months now, and I'm running out of patience for myself.

One bright note to end for now - the blanket I'm making is gorgeous.  I'm about 2/3 of the way through it  (not counting the border that will go on at the end).  It's big enough now that I can wrap up in when I'm cold and watching TV and it covers a whole person when sleeping.  I can't wait for it to be done, but I also need to have another (big) project lined up for when I finish it.  I love to have a big home project I can work on in the evenings or on weekends.  Then I have my commuting project (a knit cowl that is taking forever because I work on it in 5 minute bursts) and my travel project (a shawl that I only knit on the plane or in airports).  Then I might start a project that the knitting group around here is working on ... but I need to be able to get to the yarn shop when they're open.  But the blanket?  Fantastic.  I've made tons of mistakes and fixed them in stupid ways, but I love this blanket so, so, so much.

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.

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 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!

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.

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!

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.

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!

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!).

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.

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.

Warts and all ...

Since I'm trying to keep this as honest as possible (so I can look back and see how much progress I've made in a couple of weeks or months!), I will admit today was a rough day with a few bright spots.

I woke up feeling sort of in a funk.  I was pretty anxious about the allergy symptoms I'm experiencing - a slight rash on my face - I saw my doctor about it in Chicago before I left and it had gone away.  I was feeling pretty hopeless about a remedy because everything is different here - the detergent I wash things in, my sheets, my towels, the water, etc.  So I decided to go to the pharmacy to try to get hydrocortisone cream for my face and for my itchy bug bites.  Every kind of medicine is behind the counter in a pharmacy here, so you have to talk to the pharmacist to get most medications.  The plus side of this is that pharmacists can actually give you medication that normally requires a prescription in the US, and for many things, you can just go to the pharmacy instead of to a doctor.  Anyhow, I went in and explained to the woman what I wanted.  I wrote down "Hydrocortisone" and said I didn't know the word in Spanish, but this is what I wanted in English.  She looked totally confused and I managed to pull the word for "itchy" out of nowhere and showed her my bug bite.  She immediately understood and came back with a little box of "hidrocortisona" - not sure why "hydrocortisone" so confusing!  Anyhow, she gave me instructions for how often to apply it and sent me on my way.

I then made my way to the yarn shop which was totally packed.  But I found some beautiful green merino wool yarn, and a pair of circular knitting needles I wanted for a project I'm hoping to start soon.

Finally, I went to the grocery store.  After today, I've realized I either need to shop exclusively in the smaller shops, or try to go to the big shop when it's not the weekend.  It was packed.  And the lines at the meet and fish counters were long.  I was about halfway through the shop when I was looking for cleaning supplies and suddenly I got panicky.  I'm not sure if it was a full blown panic attack, but it was awful and I felt like I was going to pass out.  And/or die.  Not that I'm dramatic at all.  I managed to calm myself down pretty quickly (I sort of crouched down in an out of the way area and tried to breathe deeply - it worked).  I continued on with my shopping but I was still feeling pretty anxious and really, really frustrated with myself.  I just couldn't understand why I was so panicky - nothing in particular made me more anxious than normal (although I'm sure the crowded store and my general anxiety about speaking Spanish didn't help).

I eventually made my way home, made myself lunch, took a nap, watched tv and read.  I spent a lot of the morning sort of beating myself up for not going out with people today; although, now that it's rainy I'm happy with my choice.

In retrospect, I'm also pretty proud of myself for making it through today.  I did a lot of scary things (talking to the pharmacist, for example).  So, I panicked a little - no big deal, right?  I'm sure my morning anxiety did nothing to help me.  Hopefully, if it happens again, I can keep myself calm.  And if I panic, I'll survive.  I'm fine and feeling totally normal now, so I know what to do if it happens.

In other news, I watched some Spanish television - most of what I've seen so far is horrendously bad.  There was a show that is sort of like Jerry Springer.  I found the Spanish version of Ugly Betty "Yo soy Bea."  They also had the tv movie about Prince William and Kate Middleton dubbed into Spanish.  It's really trippy watching dubbed things because the actors mouths are no where close to being in sync with the audio.

Finally, the power went out very, very briefly this afternoon.  I used that as an opportunity to reset the clock on my oven (which I couldn't figure out how to reset).  But now the oven isn't working and seems to have no power.  So tomorrow will require a visit to the doorman downstairs.

Sorry for being a downer today - hopefully tomorrow will bring a more sunshine-y day all the way around!

Errands

I had a lot of fun last night and got to meet a lot of new people.  I'm a little sad because the guy who was leaving (another postdoc) and his girlfriend both seemed like really nice people. It's really too bad they're leaving!

Today is going to be errands day.  I was thinking about going to a cider festival and then a music festival with some friends - but it's supposed to rain in the evening, so being outside for a festival doesn't sound great to me.  Plus, I've been having some allergy issues since I got my bug bites (plus another lovely bite on my cheek).  Since allergy medicine makes me sleepy, I think I'll just rest tonight.  I think that these are the same allergy problems I had right before I moved, which make me think that they're a combination of stress and environmental stuff like trees, etc.

But today, I'm going to the big grocery store and I'm going to try to check out the yarn store that's nearby.  If that doesn't take me too long I might also go to the home store nearby to try to get some sheets and something with color for my apartment.

I'm a little stressed about cooking here.  I'm still having a pretty hard time finding ingredients to make things that I cook at home.  I'm going to try to go through the grocery store slowly today to find what I need and want.  Hopefully, I'll find some new things and be able to make things that aren't variations on lemon/caper/olive sauce + meat/fish/pasta.

I also really need to find a shopping cart/bag that will make it easier to schlep all of my stuff home from the grocery store.  It's really the only time I miss having a car here!

Like Magic

Today was magically much, much better than yesterday.  I had a great day at work and started to figure things out more in terms of logistics.  One of my new friends taught me how to load my bus card with tickets - I chose the monthly ticket since you only have to ride the bus 44 times to pay for it - and if I go to work and back every day for a month, I will ride it 40 times, so I think it's definitely going to be worth it.

I'm also planning to go to the bank tomorrow to pick up my replacement ATM card and hopefully get "unlocked" from my online bank account.  I have been practicing the things to say, though I'm pretty nervous about the whole ordeal.  I know I'll survive either way, and if I need to I can always drag a Spanish speaker with me on Monday.  It will be really good for me to at least try, I think.

Tomorrow's going to be a short work day:  a late morning due to the bank (they're only open 9-1:30), and an early afternoon since another postdoc is leaving and we're all going out for pintxos/drinks at around 6 downtown (and I want to go home and drop my things off before we run around town for who knows how many hours).

I don't have plans for this weekend after tomorrow night, but hopefully, I can make some!  Otherwise, I might just try to get lots of work done.  I'm submitting to two conferences, and would like to have some new data to present!  I do need to go to the big grocery store as well as go to the "home" store to try to buy some sheets and something not beige for my place.

Better day already ...

It's only 8:20 but I know today is going to be a better day - I feel more awake already than I did all day yesterday.  The weather is supposed to be clearer 'til the evening.  I'm going to get home in time to go to the grocery store.  A friend of mine is showing me how to put money on the bus pass.  And I won't suck in Spanish today, since I've already practiced some this morning.  :)  Plus, I'm wearing pink which always means I have a good day.  I do, however, feel like I need to find some good music to work to - if you have any suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments (click on the "0 comment" link below and it should let you comment)!

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Once again, I forgot to hit "post".  But it's okay because I had something else to say!

The busses here have televisions on them which show ads, where the next stop is, relevant information about the town ... they show where the "farmacias de guardia" are (all pharmacies keep Spanish time - except for one or two in each town which stay open for 24 hour.  This responsibility rotates among the pharmacies - and it's posted on all the closed pharmacies where the nearest open one is.  This is important since you can't even buy tylenol outside of a pharmacy here - and all medicine is behind the counter).  Anyhow, I can't believe I didn't mention my favorite thing, which is that the bus televisions have birth announcements for all of the babies born in the last 24 hours.  How cool is that?  Yesterday four kids were born, so far as I could tell on the tv - two Xabiers among them (pronounced "shah-bee-air").  I feel like every little boy I see here is called Xabier, which I sort of love because the nickname is "Xabi" (Shah-bee).  Too cute.

Tired of my long weekend

Today was day 5 of my long weekend.  Frankly, I probably should have gone into work to keep myself busy.  I got an e-mail around noon from my supervisor who was at work, but I had dreams of doing some exploring today, so I worked from home for part of the day, setting aside the rest for exploring.  Unfortunately, today was probably the ugliest day of the long weekend - both in terms of weather and my mood.  I think my mood was directly caused by the gross-ness outside.  I woke up to it being both cold and disgustingly rainy.

I was extra crabby about the rainy part because I did laundry yesterday.  Laundry here is (a) expensive and (b) requires lots of a coin I don't get very often - the 50 cent coin.  The euro coins come in a variety of denominations - 2 euros, 1 euro, and then 50, 20, 10, 5, 2, and 1 cent coins.  20 cent coins are good for me because until I get my bus pass (Dear bus pass, please come tomorrow!), I pay 1,40 euro for each ride on the bus.  The bus drivers hate you less if you pay with correct change.  [Once I get my bus pass I have unlimited rides without paying - just touching my card.]  A lot of places (including the bus) will give you three 20 cent coins for 60 cents of change, rather than a 50 cent coin and a 10 cent coin.  So, I have very few 50 cent coins.  And each load of wash requires 4(!) 50 cent coins to wash and who knows how many to dry.  I say "who knows how many" because I don't.  Yesterday I washed two loads of laundry because I had exactly eight 50 cent coins.  I decided I'd rather split my clothes into lights and darks, than wash and dry everything.  Because I have air!  And a terrace!  Which is just like a dryer, except free! Except when it rains.  I hung most everything around my apartment (that's what an entertainment center, extra chairs, and a mostly empty closet are good for, right?).  Except for my jeans, pants, and pajama pants which I hung out on the terrace railing.  Which got soaked in the night by the torrential downpour.  I know, I know, it's just water, but I was still SUPER crabby about it.  Everything is mostly dry now, and my pants are coming inside for the night in case it rains, but still.  CRABBY!

I was also crabby because I forgot to put my key in the light switch slot last night and thus had no lights this morning until I hunted down my key and put it in the slot.  My key to my place is a lot like most European hotels.  The key itself just touches the outside of the door and magically unlocks it.  Once inside, there's a slot for your key next to the light switch - it's required to turn your lights on (mostly - some of those plugged into walls don't require this but most do).  Your lights go off a few minutes after you take the key out of the slot.  But, it's a pain. I'm also SUPER paranoid about forgetting my key, so I have a little note on my door warning me to remember it.  If I don't, I can't get into the building or my room and would have to call the emergency number if the desk is closed.  I'm sure they'd want to punch me in the head if this happens, so I'm trying to avoid it.

Anyhow, I spent the afternoon studying Spanish, trying to work, and being crabby that everyone in the US is sleeping and it's hockey playoffs and baseball season and very few games happen while I'm awake.  Finally, I decided to brave the outside and go for a walk.  So, I went down the hill into the town.  I stopped by the infamous Chinese shop to try and find a soap dish for my shower (sort of found one - not sure it's going to stay put), and a couple of full-size dish towels (since mine are more washcloth size).  I also got enough hangers that now all of my clothing is on it's own hanger (except for the hangers that are designed for four pairs of pants).  I also found a cheap power strip until I find a slightly better one so I can plug in my iPad and my bedside lamp at the same time, and a broom/sweeper thing I was hoping would clean my dust bunnies better than the regular broom I have.  It doesn't work either.  I have no idea what is wrong with these cement floors (not kidding - cement tiles), but they gather so much crap and refuse to give it up to any amount of sweeping.  What I really need is a Swiffer.  I saw one in the Super Amara, but I couldn't find any of the little pad things that go on it - which defeats the purpose.  Any advice?  I also tried to find a whisk, tongs, and spatula or turner in the shop, but had no luck.  I'm hopeful I'll find one eventually.

I also stopped by the bakery and got some bread, since every other shop (besides touristy gift shops and bars) are all closed still today.  I wandered around finding a couple of other shops I want to stop by later this week - one sells yarn, one sells home goods - yay new sheets towels, and something to put under my sink so my medicine and hair dryer aren't just laying around in plain view, and one sells my shampoo that I use!  I also found a store which literally made me laugh out loud.  So, in El Centro, there are tons of really fancy, posh stores and boutiques.  Right in the middle of these stores is a Carhartt store - except they don't sell any of the stuff I typically associate with Carhartt.  It's all pretty fancy looking jeans and shirts for guys, with some fancy bags and shoes as well.  Apparently, it's very popular here, which I think is hysterical, since they pride themselves on being so fashion-forward (another day I'll have to talk about the fashion in this part of Spain which I ... do not understand).

I strolled around downtown for nearly two hours and then decided that since I was carrying my loot from the Chinese shop, I'd take the bus back to my place, so I wouldn't have to climb the hill.  Except I forgot which street the bus actually stops on, and walked on the street parallel to it, walking past the cross street by about 8 blocks before I realized where I was.  At that point, it was stupid to turn around and backtrack, so I climbed the hill with all my stuff.  The hill is getting slightly easier, but I still want to die ~half way up.  The problem isn't the climb so much as how quickly the bulk of the climb happens, after you've already done a fair amount of climbing.  I made it home just fine, but still sort of crabby.

I also have realized that I definitely didn't over pack.  I have a lot of work appropriate clothing, which is good.  I do not have a lot of casual clothing, and am missing a medium warm coat.  I have a spring-weight coat, a dressy coat, a rain, and a very warm winter coat, but I need something that's more like a wool coat in terms of warmth.  Who knows if/when I'll find something like that since it's now "summer" in all the stores.  I also don't really have enough casual shoes or warm casual clothing.  I think Pete's going to have to put together a box to ship to me.

I think the real reason I'm crabby is that, coupled with the weather, the reason I came here to begin with is to work.  And I haven't been able to do much of that since everyone took almost all of last week off and we had the conference the week before.  Hopefully, this week I'll be able to get started really doing work here, and then I'll feel even more settled than I do now!

My Weekend with a Spanish Family

Yesterday afternoon, I met my friend from Michigan and we drove to her house in Pasaia (about 15 km outside of San Sebastián).  Specifically, we went to Pasai Donibane, which is a small village of ~2000 people on the east side of a harbor.  On our way there, we picked up her husband at the track (he is a big runner, who I think used to do a lot of international competitions).  Her husband was very nice, but speaks no English, so our communication was a bit limited.

We parked in their town and walked through to their house.  The village, as I said, is very small in terms of population.  It is also physically quite small.  It basically consists of one street that has a traffic light at either end.  The traffic light is on a 10 minute timer, because the street is only large enough for one (small) car at a time.  At points it's impossible for people and cars to both be on the street, which is tricky because it is also the main pedestrian route - and the only one in town that I found that didn't resemble or hiking trail, or exist far above the roofs of the houses.  The street opens into a square near the harbor, and then closes back to one lane until the end of town.  The houses are all very close.  In fact, many of the houses actually have a common wall between them.

They live in a beautiful house across the street from where my friend's husband was born.  His sister and brother-in-law currently live in that house and his brother and sister-in-law live next door to that house.  Their house is an old Basque fishing house - it's very long and very skinny with stone walls and wooden beams in the ceiling.  The house is 3 floors.  The floor you enter on is where their son is currently living. The next floor has a small living room, a bedroom, a full bath and an office with a bed in it.  The top floor is where they spend most of their time, with the kitchen/dining room, living room/office, and master bedroom and bathroom.  This floor has a ton of natural light from skylights as well as from the windows on the sides of the building.  In the back of the kitchen is a pantry and a ladder up to the terrace, where they have a small vegetable garden.

After we got to their house, we had lunch with their son, who I saw 2 other times during my stay, and who said a total of 4 words.  His mom told me that he is "very quiet."  After lunch, my friend's husband took a quick siesta, while she and I knitted and crocheted (yes, I'm officially 80 years old)!  It was nice to chat for a while and relax.

In the late afternoon, we went for a drive with our final goal being Hondarribia, a town on the French/Spanish border.  We went there via the mountain route which climbs up Jaizkibel, which is around 1800 feet in elevation.    We stopped several times along the way at various points.  First, we stopped at a small fort.  A lot of families were having picnics there, and we went for a short 20 minute hike around the park by the fort to see some of the views it had to offer.  The views were quite beautiful, although it was starting to get cloudy.  After we got back in the car, we continued climbing in elevation, which meant driving into the clouds.  We stopped twice more, but the views were stunted by the weather.  We also stopped at a very beautiful old church, that has relics from a couple Spanish martyrs (blood, apparently, in very fancy vials with recreations of the martyrs' bodies on display - gruesome stuff).  We went into Hondarribia, which is another lovely, old Basque village.  It's actually a walled city - so you have to cross a bridge to get into it.  We walked to the square there, where we stopped in a shop owned by some friends of my hosts.  She has some beautiful hand-painted ceramic pieces done in the traditional Basque style.

We headed back to Pasaia by a route that doesn't go into the mountains, so that we could stop at a large garden shop.  They needed some things for their vegetable garden, and I was lamenting the lack of herbs (fresh or dried) available for cooking.  So, I bought a few plants (basil, rosemary, and chives).  My friend said she would give me some potting soil and some extra terra cotta pots she had, as well as some coriander to plant.  I am notoriously bad at keeping plants alive, but I am hopeful that I can do it with the mix of shade and sun I get on my terrace!

We got back to Pasaia and stopped by their church, which is incredibly ornate, before their Easter vigil service.  My friend wanted to watch the commencement ceremony at her alma mater (Alma College in Michigan), and while she was setting up the live feed, there was a knock at the door downstairs.  It was a cousin of one of their neighbors who is visiting for several months from Santa Barbara, California.  He stayed for a while to chat and we all had some tea. It was really nice to talk to another American about life in the Basque Country.  He loves to surf, mountain bike, and climb mountains so this is a really great environment for him.

After he left, we ate dinner - the first time I've had fish since I got to San Sebastián!  During dinner we watched the fútbol game between Real Sociedad (San Sebastián's team) and Athletic Bilbao.  These two teams are huge rivals, so the game was very exciting.  The final score was 2-1.  It's interesting because the games often start very late here, around 9 pm local time.  I spent a lot of time giggling at how incredibly dramatic the players are.  Soccer in Europe is a very dramatic sport, and I think this is especially true in Spain, where the players milk the cameras for attention, beg the referees for calls, and have wild celebrations after goals.

I went to bed in the downstairs bedroom which was a bit cold, but sort of nice and cozy.  I read for a while, and then slept for 7.5 hours straight.  I'm sort of loving the fact that every few nights I'm able to do that.  I still have several nights a week where I wake up after three or four hours, and then go back to sleep.  This was my typical pattern at home (due in part to a certain cat waking me up several times a night).  But I always feel great after a longer stretch of sleep - waking up is much easier!

I went upstairs around 9 to eat some breakfast.  I knitted and read for a while.  Then we decided to go for a walk/hike.  We walked down to the port and around the bay.  We hiked up part of the mountain and then took the path that goes above all the roofs of the houses in town.  It's great to have a birds' eye view of the town.  It's very charming from every angle.

We headed back to the house for lunch.  I'm not sure if I've mentioned this already , but lunch in Spain typically takes place ~ 2 or 2:30 with dinner happening no earlier than 9.  I think this is in part due to the later bedtimes most Spaniards have.  It suits my eating style, since Pete and I often eat dinner quite late in Chicago, but I am often very ready for lunch at 2.  Lunch was a big affair today with my friend's son, daughter and her daughter's boyfriend all joining us.  We had some tapas before the meal, and then had a Middle Eastern style feast with lamb, rice and bread.  It was quite good, and I was happy to have food that wasn't totally bland (or Spanish).  It can be quite hard to find good ethnic food here, which is something Chicago had no shortage of!

After lunch, I came back home, transplanted my herbs into pots and did some wash.  Unfortunately, the machines downstairs only take cent coins.  I had enough for one load of washing and drying or two loads of washing.  I decided to do two loads of washing and bring all of my stuff up here to dry on my terrace and around my apartment.  I'm hoping I can find a drying rack or a portable clothesline somewhere.  I can't hook a permanent or retractable clothesline anywhere as I can't drill holes or screw anything in anywhere.  If anyone knows of retractable clotheslines that work on suction cups or some other non-permanent fixture, please let me know!

I'm planning a trip to a home goods store this week to buy another set of sheets, possibly some more towels, and some cushions.  I'd just really like something that's not white, beige or silver in my place.  I do have some tables that are brown, as is the headboard to my bed, but I need something a bit more colorful!  I'm also going to stop by a local yarn shop.  I'm hoping to get some yarn to make a very colorful blanket for myself.  I'm hoping I can work on it and finish it before it gets too hot so I have an option instead of just a duvet.  I'm debating between this blanket and this one.  I might not do quite so many colors, but I like the idea of having something bright, soft and fun in my apartment!

It's been fairly grey the past two days, but I can't complain too much since it's been spectacularly sunny the rest of my time here.  The sun has come out a few times over the past couple of days, but it did rain like crazy last night.  The nice thing is that, so far at least, even when it's cloudy it is sort of bright out.  You don't need to have lights on, and it's not too hot.  Actually, the temperatures here today and yesterday are apparently much more typical of the area this time of year.  I'm a little worried about my coat options if it gets much colder right now.  I may have to order something for myself.  ;)

I am medium sad that I missed out on the sideria today, but I'll get an opportunity later (if not this season, then next).  I'm hoping I might be able to make some plans either tonight or tomorrow, but we'll have to see.  I do have some work to do, and even though the shops are all closed tomorrow, I can definitely do some exploring!

I'm scared of the grocery store

Okay, here's the thing about the BIG supermarket.  It's super scary.

American grocery stores can go in, get what you want, and get out.  Plus I can read the labels.  Plus I know where things are and what things are.  Here, not so much.

But, I needed food before the town shuts down tomorrow.  So I ventured down Big Hill 2 (less steep, but much longer path) to the Super Amara.  So, the Super Amara is in the basement of this mall, and right above it is a fancier market with fancier meat counters, fish counters, fruit counters, etc.  The Super Amara also has these things, and it was PACKED.  Apparently, everyone had the same "stock up before Easter" idea I did.

I got downstairs and saw the line of registers, but no entrance.  One of my best techniques for figuring out how things are done is watching other people.  So I watched a lady grab one of the wheeled baskets (I saw no one with full-size shopping carts, but lots of people with the kinds of bags and carts people use to take groceries home - and a lot of people with large baskets on wheels).  She headed around the corner, down the hall, and into the grocery store.  The store is laid out very strangely and is sprawling, but doesn't actually have a large selection of practical things.  I got to the fruit/veggie section and noticed everyone weighing and labeling their food.  Of course, the labeling machine is in Spanish, so I used my watch other people technique and figured it out.  I got almost everything on my list, besides meat and fish.  The lines at the meat and fish counters were HUGE, so I decided to buy stuff in a package instead of having them carve it.  I need to study up on my cuts of meat, parts of a chicken and fish names in Spanish before I'm brave enough.  Maybe I'll go on a week day afternoon so I don't get too scared by being rushed.  I managed okay until I got to the check out line.  You have to bag your own stuff - and they are not good helpers.  This is true even at the small markets, but then I'm typically not buying as much stuff as I did tonight.  I was feeling rushed and the woman was sort of sassy, but I survived.  I even managed to ask in Spanish if I could pay with a credit card (yes, but she's not happy about it was the basic response I got).  Overall, it was a success.  I have to see if the other Super Amara's are any closer/easier to deal with as far as buses go.  I took a bus home today with all of my loot, but it is a bit of a walk from the grocery store.

I also really, really wish that the store had my favorite things in easier to find packages. I haven't been able to find broth (either packaged liquid or cubes) which is one of my favorite things to cook with.  I also haven't found any shallots (though onions and garlic will suffice).  There are also no fresh herbs as far as I can tell in the shops (even the small fruits/veggies markets).  I'm considering growing a few things out on my terrace since I have both shady and sunny spots, but (a) I'm terrible at growing things and (b) I'm not sure where to buy pots, soil, seeds, etc.  We'll see if I can figure that one out!

I had my first American food craving today.  Seeing everyone on Facebook talk about Easter (and hearing all about it here) made me crave jelly beans, which are nowhere to be found.  There's actually a decent bulk candy section at the Super Amara ... unfortunately, no jelly beans.  However there are gummy things shaped like toes.  Which is creepy.  And lots of gumdrops.

In other news, I currently have a Spanish keyboard and a PC at work.  Apparently, a Mac was supposed to be available for me, but someone else claimed it when I had visa troubles.  I guess they're working on getting another one, but it's sort of hard to justify given that they have perfectly nice PCs.  Unfortunately, a PC sort of messes me up.  As does the Spanish keyboard.  I think I discussed my issues with the @ symbol earlier, but that's just the tip of the iceberg.  The left shift key (a.k.a. the only shift key I use) is moved over slightly to the left, so I end up hitting the < key which is next to the left shift key.  Basically all punctuation, besides commas and periods are in different places.  There are also keys for ñ and ç which are jammed in and I hit all the time by mistake.  I'm getting more used to it though and I'm sure soon enough it won't be a problem.

I got my office key only one day after I asked for it.  I also got my new debit/credit card in the mail today (less than 48 hours after opening my bank account).  It's good to know I can officially bank in Spain, though I'm having trouble understanding the "young people's benefits" my card comes with - especially because the website is a combination of crazy financial Spanish and young people's slang.  I THINK I get discounts on trains and buses within Spain and around Europe, which would be great. I'll have one of my more proficient friends parse it for me.

I also got my two pairs of shoes that I ordered.  I got a great pair of shorter boots with a cute chunky heel that are cute and SUPER comfortable.  I also got a little pair of black mary janes since I forgot all of my black shoes at home.  I'm really happy I have them.  I still have a few other things I forgot or would like in my wardrobe (long sleeved shirts to sleep in since it's cold at night, cute scarves to accessorize since it's cold and everyone has them and thinks I'm sort of crazy not to, more layering pieces).

It sprinkled today for about 10 seconds at two different times, as far as I could tell.  Not bad considering it was supposed to rain from noon to midnight.  Tomorrow is supposed to be very warm, and sunny.  That should be nice considering it's now supposed to rain Friday through Monday.

I'm feeling unusually exhausted for 9 pm.  I'm starting to think it's a good thing I have a few days off.  I'm going to go in to work tomorrow, but I don't anticipate putting in a full day since I only know of one other person going in.  I have plenty of work to keep me busy - but I might prefer to do it sitting on my sofa. :)

1 week

Today was my first true full day since I got here.  First I had the conference, then it was running around like a crazy person yesterday for all my papers.  Today I got up and headed into work.  I left my house at ~8:40 and got to work just before 9.  After years of hour long commutes to Evanston, that was pretty great!  The one problem is that I do not have a key to my office (which is locked) or to the main office (which is not usually locked on days the building is open).  The problem is that the machine that programs the keys (they are combination electric smart keys and keys that turn in the lock) ran out of batteries.  And it's a special battery the center doesn't have.  So, like many things in my life, I was told "after Easter."

I put in a pretty solid work day - I had a lot of setting up to do getting the IT guys to install things on my computer (Praat, R, etc.).  About halfway through the day, I realized that I have a real grown up job.  People dress pretty casually, but in general, they dress like grown ups.  Also, the office is super quiet.  Because people work when they're there.  There's very little messing around (though I did get an e-mail in the middle of the day asking if I wanted to place a small "purro" [bet] on the Madrid-Barcelona game tomorrow night).  At first, I thought it was just because I share my office with two faculty-types and another post-doc.  So I stealthily walked past the pool where the grad students sit (they don't get offices but rather cube sort of things) and the pool where the research assistants/interns sit. And they were ALL doing work!  No Facebook.  No e-mail.  No PhD comics.  Just Praat, EEG analysis tools, fMRI scans.  It was sort of spooky, but no wonder this place is productive!  I think I'll like it there - I got a ton done today, which made me really happy.

Then I came home and ran to the market for some more food.  I feel like there's no way I can make it through this weekend with the amount of food currently in my kitchen.  So, tomorrow, I'm venturing out to the big grocery store.  This store is pretty scary to me because you can't just go up and pick out your meat.  And often not your fruits and veggies either.  Someone is there who you have to talk to in Spanish and explain what you want.  I might try to get some fish tomorrow ... but I'm not sure if I'm brave enough for that yet.  Regardless, I need to stock up.  I'm sure the place will be mobbed tomorrow (imagine pre-snowpacolypse this past winter in Chicago) because no one's going to be able to get much after tomorrow night!

I also think I'm going to try out a church that's right up the road from my house - it looks like it's about 10 minute walk and that it's a pretty small church.  I'm a little scared to go, since I'm sure it will be intense ... and in very fast Spanish.  So I'm planning a walk by on Holy Thursday ... if I'm too chicken to go in, I'll probably go back for Good Friday, etc.

I'm starting to get used to the city, which is great.  I walked downtown today to get a hairdryer (finally I can stop looking so disheveled!).  I knew where I was walking and what order the streets went in, which surprised me a lot.  It was really warm today so the beach was packed as was the boulevard.  It was really nice to walk around and people watch for a while.  I got a little cup of gelato to reward myself for making it a whole week here.

I sort of can't believe I've been here for a week.  It simultaneously feels like I just got here yesterday and that I've been here for months.  I hope that I continue to become more and more acclimated to my life here.  I keep checking things off my "things I need to be comfortable in this place" list.  I still feel really wildly emotional - swinging from being really happy to really sad almost every day.  I find that going outside helps.  Unfortunately, it's supposed to rain tomorrow starting at around 12 and continuing  through the evening.  It's also supposed to rain on Friday, and showers are possible on Saturday and Sunday.  So, I'll either be exploring in the rain, or enjoying my apartment this weekend.  I'm hoping I can get out to do some exploring as long as the rain isn't too drenching!  I know I've been lucky to have no rain for a whole week, but I'm a big baby about walking in the rain (especially up Old Giant Hill [it needs a better name]).

Things are looking up ...

After the conference today, I set off with the aim of getting to the electronics store when they re-opened after the 3 hour lunch break/siesta all the stores take every day.  I had a lovely walk, but unfortunately, once I got to the store, I realized they (like many other stores) close at 1 pm on Saturday - and don't reopen 'til Monday.  That's right - closed Saturday afternoon, and all day Sunday.  I am already imagining that this will make running errands tricky when I have to get everything done after work or Saturday mornings!  Anyhow, I decided to console myself with some gelato (there are great, plentiful gelato shops all over the city, particularly in El Centro and Parte Vieja).  On my way to the gelato shop, I happened upon one of the fabled Chinese shops - the best way I can describe this is a combination between a dollar store and a very, very small Walmart.  Basically, they have everything you could ever want for your home, for really, really cheap.  Of course the quality is also terrible, but if you need a few things, it doesn't matter so much.  My haul today:  two trash cans (kitchen + bathroom), broom, dustpan, garbage bags, dish soap, hand soap (X2), storage for my silverware (my apartment has no drawers in the kitchen - design oversight, but now I have a place to put them on the counter), another storage container for the rest of my kitchen utensils (cooking spoons, grater, kitchen shears, etc.), a hamper, 12 regular hangers and 2 pant hangers that hold 4 pairs of pants each (not nearly enough, but makes my closet slightly more organized), a basket with suction cups for the shower, two dish towels, a cheap hairdryer (I'll get a real one once I can get to the electronics shop) and a cutting board.  The apartment was supposed to come with a cutting board, but didn't - and I couldn't deal any more without vegetables or being able to cut meat (plus since the counters are brand new, I didn't want to destroy them by cutting stuff up on them).  Overall, I feel better about my place.  I was able to actually put things away which makes me feel a little bit more like I live here.

I also took out the trash and the recycling (thrilling, I know), but it's very easy and on the way to my bus stop.  Basically, there are four dumpsters - glass, plastic/metal, paper/cardboard/styrofoam, and regular trash.  The only thing that needs to be bagged is your regular trash - so I carried all the cardboard from the boxes that all my pots in pans came in when I moved in, and dragged them out to the recycling.  Not having a closet of trash also helps with the whole "feeling lived in" thing.

I think one thing that's daunting about this place is the sheer quantity of storage space I have.  I have never lived in a place where I have so little stuff and so much room to put it!  I have a whole closet that is nearly empty - more than half of my entryway "cupboard" is empty - though I might move my shoes in there.  I have whole cabinets in the kitchen that are empty, as is the entire entertainment system.  I need to either start accumulating things or find cheap/easy ways to decorate ASAP.  The empty, white space is part of what makes me crazy.

After I got home from the shopping/trash adventure, I was feeling pretty sorry for myself.  I had several hours to fill before an acceptable bedtime, and the time 'til I start work on Monday seemed never ending. I also found out that my direct supervisor will be out of the center Tuesday and Wednesday.  Since I'm going to get my residence card Monday (fingers crossed my rental company comes through with the lease!), I probably won't be at the office 'til late afternoon, if I go up at all.  This means I probably won't be starting new work 'til after the holiday.  I have plenty of old work to finish up, but I was hoping to have something new to throw myself into for the 5 day holiday break.  I know I already described how much everything shuts down, but what I didn't realize is that EVERYONE leaves town.  Everyone I had talked to in the past few days talked about the trips they were going on, and my supervisor told me today that most everyone is taking off the whole week at work. So anyhow, between this news that I was going to have a quiet week, and worrying about the cat (who is slightly better today, yay!), and feeling homesick for Pete ... I was pretty worried about what I was going to do to occupy myself not just 'til Monday morning, but also next weekend.

After being totally pathetic for a while (and having Pete call me on it - one of the reasons he's the best husband ever), I decided to try to make some plans for next weekend.  I e-mailed the girl I met last night (who will be out of town for some of the weekend, to see if she wanted to get together this or next week).  I e-mailed my Basque teacher from Chicago who is in town for the holiday to see if she might be available.  Then I e-mailed two other post-docs.  One of them is going out of town for the holiday - but said she'd like to hang out some time.  The other said she is going to be around and will be sure to include me in some of her plans - AND she invited me out for drinks tonight.  So, even though I'm a little bit sleepy, I think I'm going to go.  Hopefully, it'll be fun, and I won't go too crazy being alone next weekend!

Finally, I think I'm going to be in awesome shape with all the walking I'm doing.  I know I won't walk quite as much once I'm working more or less full time, but I've been walking over 5 miles a day, most of which is in hills.  I need to get a mat so I can add Pilates and yoga to that list and I'll be all set.  :)

I promise my posts will shift more toward life here and less about my whiny adjustment as the time goes on!  It's been really interesting to observe differences here in how things are done!