I went downstairs for a glass of wine and the desk guy gave me a free hour of wifi access and two glasses of wine for 1 euro. So I've had 3 hours of wifi, two glasses of wine, plus dinner (pork in some kind of wine sauce and rice, some bread and a cookie) for a total of 7 euro. Plus, I realized that tomorrow, in around 26 hours, I'll be seeing Pete for the first time since April 11. And I would ride through 18 straight hours of super turbulence for that.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Bilbao
I made it to Bilbao with a minimum of stress. The woman who works at my apartment building offered me a ride to the bus station. I bought my bus ticket in Spanish, and the torrential downpour that occurred all day stopped while I waited for the bus. The bus ride is a very easy hour. Then, I got to the airport and the shuttle for the hotel came a few minutes later. The hotel is literally 5 minutes from the airport. It's a pretty standard Holiday Inn Express, but there's a bar and a large lounge area. It's brand new, so it's all very clean and shiny.
I got to my room and started getting a little bit panicked about my trip. So, I paid for a little bit of internet time and bought dinner from the vending machine. They actually have food delivered daily in the vending machines and then you can heat it up in the microwave. Not gourmet. But not as terrible as I was expecting. I might go down to the bar in a few minutes to have a glass of wine (and so I don't spend my whole evening watching BBC or CNBC). Tomorrow I'm up bright and early for breakfast and the shuttle back to the airport. I'm trying to figure out what to do with my 2.5 hours in Madrid. I'm sure I'll find something to do in the terminal. Unfortunately, they only post gates until about 45 minutes before the flight, so you can't really go and sit at the gate and read. The part I'm dreading the most is the 9.5 hours from Madrid to Miami. Hopefully, I will be able to sleep a little bit ... I'm not terribly optimistic since on my flight on the way here I had four seats to myself and I still couldn't sleep due to turbulence. Send your good travel vibes my way so I don't miss my connection in Miami ... and maybe catch a few hours of sleep!
I got to my room and started getting a little bit panicked about my trip. So, I paid for a little bit of internet time and bought dinner from the vending machine. They actually have food delivered daily in the vending machines and then you can heat it up in the microwave. Not gourmet. But not as terrible as I was expecting. I might go down to the bar in a few minutes to have a glass of wine (and so I don't spend my whole evening watching BBC or CNBC). Tomorrow I'm up bright and early for breakfast and the shuttle back to the airport. I'm trying to figure out what to do with my 2.5 hours in Madrid. I'm sure I'll find something to do in the terminal. Unfortunately, they only post gates until about 45 minutes before the flight, so you can't really go and sit at the gate and read. The part I'm dreading the most is the 9.5 hours from Madrid to Miami. Hopefully, I will be able to sleep a little bit ... I'm not terribly optimistic since on my flight on the way here I had four seats to myself and I still couldn't sleep due to turbulence. Send your good travel vibes my way so I don't miss my connection in Miami ... and maybe catch a few hours of sleep!
Traveling
Today starts my marathon of travel. I'm leaving work early to go home clean up a little bit so I don't come back to old food and a dirty house. Then it's marathon travel time. I am a little worried about calling a cab, since phone Spanish is hard. I'm also getting a little nervous about all the travel. I have plenty of time if my flight is delayed out of Bilbao, but I'm cutting it a little bit closer in Miami. Especially since I think I'll have to go through customs and immigration there, probably picking up and re-checking my bag. I managed to pack in a carry-on sized bag, but I'm checking it since checking on overseas flights is free for the first bag and I don't really want to drag my bag all over the Madrid Barajas airport during my first layover.
I was laughing at myself last night because I have all of my various electronic devices stocked and ready to go: my iPad and laptop have some movies and tv shows on them, my Nook is full of books, and I have several issues of the New Yorker and People on my iPad too. The Nook is the best part of all of this because rather than having to carry three or four (or six) books for my week-long vacation + 18 hour travel days in each direction, I can carry a dozen books in one little machine. It means I can pack in a smaller suitcase and have a lighter carry-on! I should be able to keep myself busy for the flights. I'm also taking some work, so hopefully I can be a little productive too.
I'm taking a new knitting project, since my blanket is way too large to carry. Plus, I don't really want to take 17 different colors of yarn with me. The blanket is really, really beautiful so far. I'm about halfway done and I love it. I can't wait 'til it's done so I can hunker down on my couch under it. It takes all of my willpower not to post pictures of my progress every day here and on Facebook. I think the big reveal will be better if I don't!
I'm not sure how often I'll be able to post while I'm gone. I know I'll have some internet access, but probably not a lot. I'll have plenty of stories when I return I'm sure, including how Castellano (Spain Spanish) is different than Español (Latin American Spanish).
I was laughing at myself last night because I have all of my various electronic devices stocked and ready to go: my iPad and laptop have some movies and tv shows on them, my Nook is full of books, and I have several issues of the New Yorker and People on my iPad too. The Nook is the best part of all of this because rather than having to carry three or four (or six) books for my week-long vacation + 18 hour travel days in each direction, I can carry a dozen books in one little machine. It means I can pack in a smaller suitcase and have a lighter carry-on! I should be able to keep myself busy for the flights. I'm also taking some work, so hopefully I can be a little productive too.
I'm taking a new knitting project, since my blanket is way too large to carry. Plus, I don't really want to take 17 different colors of yarn with me. The blanket is really, really beautiful so far. I'm about halfway done and I love it. I can't wait 'til it's done so I can hunker down on my couch under it. It takes all of my willpower not to post pictures of my progress every day here and on Facebook. I think the big reveal will be better if I don't!
I'm not sure how often I'll be able to post while I'm gone. I know I'll have some internet access, but probably not a lot. I'll have plenty of stories when I return I'm sure, including how Castellano (Spain Spanish) is different than Español (Latin American Spanish).
Monday, May 30, 2011
Silence
It's painfully quiet at work today. It's not that no one is around, because they are. It's just that no one is talking ... probably because it's sort of cloudy and grey, and it's Monday. I've gotten everything done today that I had on my to do list for work (which, honestly, wasn't all that ambitious since I figured my focus would be shot). Now I can get going on some of tomorrow's list and maybe I can be done by lunchtime tomorrow and make it to Bilbao sort of early.
Maybe I'll have a more exciting update later. :)
Maybe I'll have a more exciting update later. :)
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Unfocused ...
I'm going to Puerto Rico for a wedding and to see Peter this week. I leave Tuesday for Bilbao, where I'll spend the night at a hotel near the airport. My flight leaves at 8:30 the next morning, and the buses from San Sebastián to Bilbao don't leave that early. I'm going to try to leave work a little early on Tuesday, but I have about a million things to do before I leave. I need to finish some data analysis, finish writing two conference abstracts, and do several other work related things. Plus, I need to pack for Puerto Rico. I wasn't super smart when packing to come here, so I don't really have beach/resort clothes with me, and I don't really have great options for the wedding and all the related events. Depending on how much I get done tonight, I might end up trying to do a little shopping before I go. Otherwise, I'll pack what I have, and if I need clothing, it's not like they don't sell it in Puerto Rico.
I think I'm having trouble focusing on anything because I'm so excited about Puerto Rico. I'm not even having my usual pre-travel freak-out. That isn't to say I'm thrilled about traveling. I leave here Tuesday evening and take the bus to Bilbao (I still need to figure out how to get to the bus station, since it's not very easy to just call a cab). Then I go to the Bilbao airport Wednesday morning for a 1 hour flight to Madrid. I have a 2.5 hour layover in Madrid and then a 9+ hour flight to Miami ... then a 2 hour layover and a 2.5 hour flight to San Juan. I leave Bilbao at 8:30 am and get into San Juan at 8 pm on Wednesday night, which is 2 am Spain time, so I'll be traveling for about 18 hours (not counting travel to and from the airport, waiting for bags, etc.). I'm sure I'll sleep well Wednesday night!
I think I'm having trouble focusing on anything because I'm so excited about Puerto Rico. I'm not even having my usual pre-travel freak-out. That isn't to say I'm thrilled about traveling. I leave here Tuesday evening and take the bus to Bilbao (I still need to figure out how to get to the bus station, since it's not very easy to just call a cab). Then I go to the Bilbao airport Wednesday morning for a 1 hour flight to Madrid. I have a 2.5 hour layover in Madrid and then a 9+ hour flight to Miami ... then a 2 hour layover and a 2.5 hour flight to San Juan. I leave Bilbao at 8:30 am and get into San Juan at 8 pm on Wednesday night, which is 2 am Spain time, so I'll be traveling for about 18 hours (not counting travel to and from the airport, waiting for bags, etc.). I'm sure I'll sleep well Wednesday night!
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Garbage Street
The street behind my apartment (that my terrace opens onto) smells like garbage at night. I think this is because people have to take their trash out to the block's dumpster between 7 and 10 pm. This is smart because then it doesn't sit in the sun, but dumb because the sudden increase of trash makes everything stink like garbage ... and because the sun doesn't set 'til after 9:30, so it still festers in the sun for a while. I walked in tonight and couldn't figure out why my place stank like garbage, until I realized the smell was coming from outside the house. Gross.
I went to see a movie tonight with my Spanish friend. We saw the new Woody Allen film "Midnight in Paris." I liked it. I especially liked that it wasn't dubbed like most American films here are and instead was in English with Spanish subtitles. It was sort of fun to read the subtitles along with the English sound. Much more fun than trying to understand what's going on in a movie where the actors lips don't match up with the sound. They actually dub EVERYTHING here so even American tv is dubbed - usually badly. There is something really disconcerting about hearing a voice that is not an actors come out of their mouth (sort of). It's especially weird when the words the actor says are much longer or shorter than the dubbed words. It happens with subtitles too. My favorite example today was in the movie a character says something like "I don't understand what you're saying" and the subtitle was "¿Que?"
Tomorrow if the weather's good we might take a little day trip. Otherwise, I need to do laundry, start packing, and do some work! I'll be busy this weekend either way!
I went to see a movie tonight with my Spanish friend. We saw the new Woody Allen film "Midnight in Paris." I liked it. I especially liked that it wasn't dubbed like most American films here are and instead was in English with Spanish subtitles. It was sort of fun to read the subtitles along with the English sound. Much more fun than trying to understand what's going on in a movie where the actors lips don't match up with the sound. They actually dub EVERYTHING here so even American tv is dubbed - usually badly. There is something really disconcerting about hearing a voice that is not an actors come out of their mouth (sort of). It's especially weird when the words the actor says are much longer or shorter than the dubbed words. It happens with subtitles too. My favorite example today was in the movie a character says something like "I don't understand what you're saying" and the subtitle was "¿Que?"
Tomorrow if the weather's good we might take a little day trip. Otherwise, I need to do laundry, start packing, and do some work! I'll be busy this weekend either way!
Friday, May 27, 2011
Spanglish
I realized yesterday evening and today that I've started communicating in a weird Spanish-English hybrid. I now know enough Spanish that I can understand a lot of things and express myself more or less if the listener is patient. But I don't know enough vocabulary to express myself all the time. For instance, one of the administrative assistants at work was talking to me today - she is pregnant and I wanted to ask her how she was feeling and how far along she was. While I know the word for pregnant, I don't really know the word for pregnancy, let alone all the other words that go with that.
My Spanish friend took me out for coffee with a few of her friends yesterday. They all spoke very quickly and with a lot of slang, so I had a rough time understanding specifics of what was going on. I got the general idea even though we were in a loud cafe. I realized that I was relying way more on contextual cues than I normally might have to. Because it's not guaranteed I'll understand every word to begin with, I have to really pay attention for those I do understand. It's a sort of interesting speech perception problem, actually, how the cues I'm relying on are changing over time. What I really need to do is just spend more time with Spaniards so I understand more of the slang and vocabulary. Vocabulary is my real downfall in Spanish. The real problem is that I've always understood grammar, so I can put together a complex sentence, which makes people think I understand and know more than I do. Still, I've only been here for 6 weeks - my Spanish has nowhere to go but up.
In bug related news, I got a plug in repellent thing that keeps away mosquitos and tiger mosquitos (apparently the bugs that keep attacking me). Hopefully it will work. I'm also considering getting a mosquito net for over my door, so I can still get fresh air, but not bugs. Or, I can always suggest what Pete told me to tell the people here: Invent screens.
My Spanish friend took me out for coffee with a few of her friends yesterday. They all spoke very quickly and with a lot of slang, so I had a rough time understanding specifics of what was going on. I got the general idea even though we were in a loud cafe. I realized that I was relying way more on contextual cues than I normally might have to. Because it's not guaranteed I'll understand every word to begin with, I have to really pay attention for those I do understand. It's a sort of interesting speech perception problem, actually, how the cues I'm relying on are changing over time. What I really need to do is just spend more time with Spaniards so I understand more of the slang and vocabulary. Vocabulary is my real downfall in Spanish. The real problem is that I've always understood grammar, so I can put together a complex sentence, which makes people think I understand and know more than I do. Still, I've only been here for 6 weeks - my Spanish has nowhere to go but up.
In bug related news, I got a plug in repellent thing that keeps away mosquitos and tiger mosquitos (apparently the bugs that keep attacking me). Hopefully it will work. I'm also considering getting a mosquito net for over my door, so I can still get fresh air, but not bugs. Or, I can always suggest what Pete told me to tell the people here: Invent screens.
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