Since I didn't set this blog up right when I got here, I'm afraid this first post may be a bit lengthy. I got into Madrid on the 2nd. The group and I spent a few days in the city, but nothing of consequence really happened, so let's skip forward a few days.
Got into Bilbao on the fifth and met my family. I'm living with a woman named Mar, her husband, Carlos, and their 11 year old son, Borja. They have a condo about 30-40 minutes by train to the north of Bilbao. It's really close to the beach, and there are some mountainous areas not too far from me (YES).
Classes started on the 16th. I'm taking an illustration class, an oil painting class, a water color class (eek), and spanish class. I didn't know the water color class was a water class until I went the first day. I'm still not sure how I feel about it, since I have practically zero experience with water color. Only the oil color class is in english, so by the end of the day my brain is bleeding. I never realized how exhausting it is to be extremely focused for 5-7 hours in a day. I think my language is definitely improving bit by bit. I'll be honest, at first it was not going so well. I could hardly understand anything my family was saying. It seems like the Spanish dialect and accent are very different from South American dialects that I've gotten used to in my classes at school. They say most of the "S" "C" and "Z" with a bit of a lisp, so at first nothing sounded right. It goes the other way too. Sometimes I'll order a drink or talk to my family, and I'll be thinking wow I said that perfectly. Then they look at me and reply, "¿Qué?" I guess they're just not used to my highly distinguished white boy accent. Still have some bad days, but it's coming along. I'm just trying to be pacient.
I just acquired my bike a few days ago, last years Orbea Onix at a fairly decent price. I was planning on going for something a litte cheaper, but it was one of the few I could find in my size and the best deal. If I'm able to sell it for even half of what it cost it'll still have been cheaper than shipping costs and a hell of lot more convenient than taking a bike box on 4 different forms of public transportation trying to get from Madrid to Bilbao. I'll post a picture later. I took it out yesterday and today, and I gotta say it's beautiful out here. You can't beat climbing great hills while looking out at the ocean. I've been playing a game I'm calling "stalk other cyclists" in order to find good places to ride. It's not that hard; they're everywhere, especially on a sunny saturday afternoon. I'm loving how it's finally culturally cool to be a cyclist. You get way more respect here than in the states.
Food's been pretty good for the most part. I've been eating a lot of good sea food, soups, purées, and lot of ham. Damn do they love their ham here. There's an entire leg in my kitchen that they'll just take a lot of fine slices of and serve it as a side at dinner. It freaked me out at first, but it's really good. Unfortunately breakfast isn't a big thing here. It's usually toast with olive oil and coffee. Sometimes I have cereal or yogurt, but it's pretty basic. Lunch can be as simple as a bocadillo (sandwhich on a baguet) with fruit, or an entire three course meal-usually on the weekends. Dinner is less formal than lunch. A lot of times it's left overs or something quick and easy. There have been a few meals that were a bit odd, and not all that appetizing. One night I had a plate of white rice with marinara sauce, a fried egg on top, and 4 hotdogs on the side. Last night there was a giant bocadillo with 5 hotdogs on it. I think I'll need a long break from hotdogs when I get back. Honestly I never would have thought they would eat them that much here.
I was lucky enough to experience Carnaval, a giant costume party in the city that goes on for days. Seriously, this kicks Halloweens ass. Went out to a club last night and consumed my fair share or alcohol, and like any great CAF party, danced like an idiot. I even got to do a little MJ. I am disappointed at how much American music they listen to here, a lot of which is not very good. I was hoping to hear all this new Spanish music, only to be disappointed when I hear Womanizer for the 50th time.
Well that pretty much brings us up to date. I'll try to be more regular with my posts in the future so as to avoid such a lengthy entry.
Turn-ons: The coffee here is Fantastic.
Turn-offs: Smoking here is WAY too accepted for my liking. I think all my clothes will have to be discarded when I get home. They even smoke in my school. The hallways are so damn hazey it's unbelievable.
Hasta Luego,
Mike
