Where to Begin...

So now that I've been back in Spain for 2.5 months, I think it's about time to write about my new home and my new job...

I'm teaching in Lekeitio, Pais Vasco (Basque Country), Spain. Lekeitio is a gorgeous town on the northern coast of Spain, halfway between Bilbao and San Sebastian. Everyone in my town speaks Basque as their first language, and goes through a trilingual program in school, learning both Spanish and English as foreign languages. Some students even choose to take French or Latin as an elective. Language learning is just something they do here, which I think is pretty neat, as I have a passion for learning languages.

Most of the signs here are in Basque, sometimes without a Spanish translation!

However, my interest in learning languages is surprisingly inhibiting me from learning Basque, rather than aiding it. I'm a native English speaker with a high level of Spanish, began learning French from a friend last year, and have studied Mandarin Chinese with my brother in the past. Since I already have a basic foundation of two other languages, I want at least one of them to progress, for fear of losing all of them if I add a third language into my beginner's category. Plus, I live in close proximity to France, and other countries that speak the language (Belgium, Morocco), so I'm trying to set aside some time to study the language while I'm here. 

Recent trip to Belgium!

Although I haven't learned much more than a few phrases in Basque, I do really like their culture; I think it's so fascinating! I love when my students show me traditional dances, popular songs by local musicians, and tell me about their sports or traditions. Here is one band I was introduced to:

Living in the Basque Country gives me a new and rich cultural experience, while still allowing me to practice the same Spanish language with all of Europe at my fingertips.

Wordless Wednesdays 4/11

"La Alhambra Reflections" - Granada, Spain

Horseback-Riding on the Beach!

Two weekends ago my roommate Jessa and I went on a trip with Discover Sevilla to go to Mataslascañas Beach for a day of riding horses and enjoying the coast! It was actually the first time I went horsebacking-riding, so it was very exciting. My friend Jeanie was on the same trip, and I talked a bit with a few other travelers too, most of whom were study abroad students.

Jessa and me enjoying the playa

My friends and I were in the first group to ride the horses. My horse was really calm, and her name was Albina (she was albino!). Our trail led from the stables through Doñana National Park. At first we were just riding through the trees. As we got higher into the hills, we had a beautiful view of the beach to our left and the valleys to our right. To head back to the stables, we went down the hills to the shore and rode most of the way back along the coast! A short trail through Doñana National Park lead us the rest of the way back from the beach.

I do not have pictures from the horseback ride (can you imagine holding a camera while riding a horse?), 

but here is a short video from their webpage to give you an idea of the scenery.

It was really nice being in the first group to ride because it gave us the rest of the afternoon to relax without any interruptions. After enjoying a glass of the free Sangria provided for us, Jeanie and I headed to a seafood restaurant for lunch with one of the other travelers. We got an outside table with a view of the beach that was right in the sun. It was perfect. The local shrimp was especially tasty :) The weather that day was sunny and warm, but also had quite a bit of wind - at times it was a little chilly, but while we were at the restaurant, the building blocked the wind for us!

Jeanie and me after lunch

I finished out the afternoon with attempted napping/sunbathing, walking along the beach, finding a souvenir seashell, and grabbing dessert with friends. 

Matalascañas Beach, in the providence of Huelva

On my horse for the day, in the morning before the ride.

Wordless Wednesdays 3/21

"Las Fallas Fireworks" - Valencia, Spain

Recent Highlights of Extremadura

Several of my posts are about traveling to other places, but I have found some pretty fun things to do in Extremadura as well! At the beginning of March, I explored the Roman theater and amphitheater here in Mérida with Doris. Two weekends before that, I went to Badajoz for a couple days with Fanchon - but it was not just any old weekend, it was carnival!

Roman ruins in Mérida

Carnaval is celebrated right before Lent in many Catholic countries. Spain has a few celebrations that are pretty large, such as the Canary Islands and Cadiz; ironically, Badajoz (Extremadura) is not too far behind!? We had a few days off at the end of February for the occasion, so I decided to take advantage of what was close to home instead of traveling far. Carnaval consists of parades, dressing up in costumes, and having a good time with friends.

Nikki and Elliot's terrace gave us the perfect view for the parade - can you see it behind us?

For the first half of the weekend, I stayed in Mérida. Last fall/winter markets had come to Mérida for the Medieval festival and for Christmas, and they were back again for carnival! I explored the markets on Saturday with my English friend Jess. While it was fun to "window shop" and admire all the interesting jewelry, I refrained from purchasing anything other than a crepe for lunch. That night I dressed up as a pirate and met up with another friend, Doris, and a few of her Spanish friends. It was really fun to see everyone in costume. Some people got really creative with a certain character or theme, and others just went crazy with ridiculous outfits, bright colors, and wigs.

A few of the market stands in Mérida, plus pony rides for the kids 

Sunday morning Fanchon and I headed to Badajoz for a couple days. After stopping for lunch, the rest of the day was spent watching the parade - it was 6 hours long!! It was really impressive - the costumes were intricate, the groups changed formation while marching down the street, and the music was good. We watched most of the parade from our friends' terrace, which was more relaxing than sitting/standing along the road for so long, and we were able to see more of the group at the same time. We also saw the first few groups up close as we were heading over to their place. I am glad we saw it both ways and definitely think the bird's eye view is best!

Monday night tons of people went out because Tuesday was a day off for most schools and businesses. Everyone, and I do mean absolutely everyone, was dressed up in a costume! There are three main plazas in the center of Badajoz, and each of them was filled with groups of friends mingling (or if you've been to Spain, think of a giant botellón). I was able to meet up with my travel buddy Taylor (her and I have been on one trip together all ready, and we have two more coming up this spring), in addition to the friends that I went with.

With friends during carnival - looks more like we're having a late Halloween celebration!

The Roman ruins are really impressive! The Anfiteatro was built in 8 A.C. to hold gladiator fights for up to 15,000 spectators. A few years later the Teatro Romano was built right next to it, and its audience can hold up to 3,000 people. Although slightly deteriorated, it is still usable and holds performances during Mérida's annual fair each September. I think it is incredible how intact both of these monuments still are. 

Me and Doris in the amphitheater 

Teatro Romano 

Sitting in the stands of the Roman theater 

Wordless Wednesdays 2/29

"Distance" - Consuegra, Spain - from my study abroad semester in 2009

*I came across "Wordless Wednesdays" on another blog & am excited to incorporate it here ...ignore the fact that Spain is already a few minutes into Thursday ;)

January Puente Part 2: Galicia

After spending the first half of the weekend in Salamanca, I continued on to Galicia. I will let the pictures do most of the talking for this one:

Santiago de Compostela:

The Cathedral: this marks the end of the Camino de Santiago routes

Sometimes in Spain, you stubble upon random performances in the middle of a street or plaza.

One of the cute streets. Lots of buildings here were made of stone or white with tan trim.

There were lots of parks in Galicia, especially in Santiago de Compostela.

La Coruña (or A Coruña in the local dialect, Galego):

One of the first parks I stumbled upon ...Did I mention how sunny it happened to be
during my visit? :)

La Coruña was beautiful! It was only a day trip before taking a bus from there to Extremadura,
but I wish I could have spent more time in this city!

Tower of Hercules- The trail leading up to the tower had some great views of both the city
and the ocean. Unfortunately the tower itself was closed; it would have been neat to see
everything from higher up!

This is one of the lovely views of the city I was just talking about.

This region is also known for their seafood, especially the pulpo, so I made sure to sample some before I left. Galicia is a really interesting part of Spain, and I am very glad I was able to enjoy some time there! 

January Puente Part 1: Salamanca

It's about time I start updating on the trips I have been able to take :) I will start with the most recent, then write about older trips as I have time. A couple weeks ago we had a puente, so I traveled around Spain a bit to Salamanca, Santiago de Compostela, and La Coruña.

In the Plaza Mayor

It was great to catch up with my friend Natalie. We had not seen each other for awhile, so it was fun to spend the weekend traveling together. Salamanca is a great city - it has a lot of history, I love the architecture, and we ate lots of delicious tapas :) I also met an auxiliar who was in Mérida last year and is now teaching at an English academy in Salamanca. It was interesting to compare stories of our experiences from the same location.

Stained glass window overlooking the city inside the the Art Nouveau Museum

Unfortunately, the weather was terrible for our first day in Salamanca - a wintery mix of rain & snow, wind, and very chilly temperatures. We attempted to make the most of our time anyway and braved the cold in our scarves, hats, gloves, and a map showing the suggested tourist route around the city. As the morning went on, we began popping into more and more cafes and stores trying to escape the cold for a few minutes (the wind was the worst part!). We quickly switched our agenda to seeing as many indoor attractions as possible. This resulted in visits to the Art Nouveau Museum, Civil War Museum, a poetry reading, and the Salamanca Museum of Fine Arts, interspersed with more shopping. Although it turned out way different than we had planned, it was still a very fun and interesting day.

On a walking tour of Salamanca

Weather the next day was much better, so we finished seeing the rest of the outdoor sights we had missed the day before. We started the day with a guided walking tour around Salamanca, including the Old and New Cathedral, the University, and the Casa de las Conchas (shell house), among other things. Our tour guide was friendly and the information was interesting. The tour was in Spanish, as were the plaques in the museums the day before, so we actually practiced our Spanish a lot over the weekend. After the tour we enjoyed a few more hours in the city before heading to the bus station.


Next entry... Galicia! (The post would get too long if I continued it here)


But first, here's a photo from a little town I visited with 2 other Mérida auxilares earlier in the month:

A little plaza in Zafra, located in Southern Extremadura

Jessa, Fanchon, and I took a day trip to Zafra during one of our free Saturdays in January. The city is small and all of the main sights are very close together, so our "day" trip was really just a few hours. After exploring the cute city we found some great croquetas de jamón before heading back to the bus station. One of the great things about living abroad for almost a year is that you can take short trips to nearby cities that are not well-known and that would not be part of a quick visit to Spain. Buses and trains are fairly convenient and inexpensive here. On this topic, I think my favorite lesser-known cities have been Plasencia (in Northern Extremadura) and Ronda (a little north of Marbella in Southern Andalusia (from my study abroad semester)). So, if you happen to be near either of these locations, I highly recommend scheduling a visit!

Spanish TV

Television over here is a little different in the states. Sure, overall it is pretty similar, but the differences that are there are easily noticed.

For one, they do not take commercial breaks as often, and when they do break, the breaks are in random, illogical spots. Always in the middle of a scene, and it is not unusual to occur mid-sentence.

The commercial breaks are looooong. However, they do warn you ahead of time. "6 minutos y volvemos." Sometimes they throw another commercial break in back-to-back before returning to the show.

They periodically let you know how much time is remaining in the break
between commercials.

These breaks are convenient for cooking, cleaning, or completing any other task that you should be doing instead of watching TV. When the show is something you really want to see or you do not have something to do in the meantime, they can get annoying. Otherwise, it is nice to know you have time to be productive.

Also surprising is the list of American shows they play. ANY mystery/detective series is probably aired - CSI, Law and Order, Cold Case, Without a Trace, Criminal Minds... Other familiar shows I have noticed are Friends, Modern Family, Sex and the City, and the Simpsons. There may be a few others, but these seem to be the ones most played. Some of these shows I NEVER would have expected to be International.

Spain of course has their own assortment of programs too. I do not watch too much TV here, so I will have to wait and fill you in on those later. The other things I have mentioned were quicker to pick up. ...For now, I just needed something to do during one of those 6 minute commercial breaks. But I can say that the Spanish movie I am watching with one of my roommates tonight seems pretty good :)

Since last writing, I have taken trips to Málaga + Munich, Bilbao + Santander + Burgos, returned to the USA for 3 weeks, and spent a day each in Madrid and Sevilla. Check back soon, more updates are coming now that I am settled in again!

Visiting with my sister over Christmas break!

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!

I may have celebrated Thanksgiving more this year than any year in the past, which is ironic since I was not on American turf. Granted, my celebrations were a bit different, and it was my first Thanksgiving away from my family. Luckily, I had some good friends to celebrate with here so I was not lonely on a holiday centered around spending time with good company!

Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving #1 - Dinner with other auxiliares/expats!
My roommates and I hosted a Thanksgiving feast in our piso for dinner on Thursday. Since our piso has both an oven & a large table, we cooked the chicken here. (No, I do not mean the turkey. It is tough to find turkey here, and if you want a whole one, it must be ordered weeks in advance from what I have gathered, so we settled for baking 2 chickens instead.) There were 11 of us & everyone brought a dish. We had mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, salad, rolls, a jello dish (family tradition of one of the auxiliares, kind of our substitute for cranberry sauce), apple pie, and a couple other desserts.

The rest of our group

Thanksgiving #2 - Skyping with my family!
It was really fun to be able to see and chat with not only my parents and siblings, but also my aunt, uncle, and cousins! It made me feel not so far away to talk and joke around with them for 30 minutes. Definitely made it feel more like a holiday as well.

My family on Thanksgiving last year - miss you all so much!

Thanksgiving #3 - Cooking a Thanksgiving meal for a few of the Spaniards in Mérida
On Sunday Angela and I cooked another traditional thanksgiving meal for her host family and a few other guests. It came out really well, and they seemed to enjoy it. The menu was very similar, but we added homemade stuffing this time. It turned out to be my favorite part of the meal. I was very proud of our cooking skills because we only partially used a recipe, then just invented the rest. (We used bread, celery, celery leaves, onions, garlic, chicken stock, and quite a few spices & herbs.) I stayed around to hangout for several hours after the meal, it was a great time to just relax & enjoy each other's company.

Part of our improvised Thankgiving dinner

I have been cooking from scratch way more than any other time in the past. It's not as intimidating as I once thought, and I usually end up like the food more than the quick things I would make back home.

Another homemade success! 

Sevilla-Venice-Sevilla

Sevilla: For most of my flights this year, the Sevilla airport will be most convenient. I am okay with this, as it is a great city and I enjoy returning to my old "home." I met up with one friend going on the trip to Venice in the early evening before our flight. We were craving Chinese food, so I tried to remember where I ate my one Chinese meal while studying abroad. When I knew we were close, we asked for directions. People sent us all. over. town. But, we eventually came to a different Chinese restaurant that was just as good. Two of our other friends arrived to Sevilla shortly after this, so we reunited with them and headed to the airport for a little sleepover before our early morning flight. 

This is the restaurant I was trying to find.

Venice- Day 1: Once in Venice the next day, we met up with the 5th member of our group. We found our hostel by wandering through the little streets until we reached Via TraGHETTO (I'm sure the Italian have a more elegant way of pronouncing that, but it made it easy to remember our street name). We saw a unique Da Vinici Museum that had interactive inventions in addition to the paintings and sculptures. We also stumbled upon what became our favorite café, which we returned to two more times during our short stay. For dinner that night we went to a small Italian restaurant, where the waiters made a couple move to another table so our group of 5 would could sit together ...that was a bit awkward, sitting outside or waiting would have been alright. Our group continued to the University area that night, which had a pretty fun atmosphere & there were a lot of people out.

On the Rialto Bridge

Venice- Day 2: Although Italian mealtimes are similar to America's, we had a surprisingly hard time following them because we are so accustomed to our Spanish schedules. Luckily we did eat lunch early (for us) this day because we found a cool restaurant in which the entrance was almost hidden. We ate on the outside terrace & there were plants and flowers all around. We saw the major tourist attractions this afternoon, including San Marco's Basilica & the Doge's Palace. Although they were both gorgeous, I actually enjoyed the palace more. I think part of it was that I knew the basilica would be incredible, but since I did not know much about the palace, I went in with very few expectations. Many Doges lived in the palace at the same time, so it had to be huge. In addition to living quarters and salons, it also had meeting rooms and prisons. All of the rooms were filled with artwork. On our way back to the hostel, we stopped in the University square just to relax and people-watch for a few minutes. We opted to participate in the pasta + salad dinner our hostel hosted this night, which was a great, affordable choice!

Inside Doge's Palace

Venice- Day 3: Venice has a few surrounding smaller islands, in addition to the main island, so we chose the explore Murano on our last day. Murano is known for its glasswork (sculptures, dishes, glasses, clocks, vases, etc.) We saw some pretty neat artwork and I loved all the colors of the glass. There wasn't a whole lot more to do on this island though, so we did not stay too long. One fun thing we did on the way over was take a gondola! Well, a 50 cent public gondola that is. It lasts about 2-3 minutes and just takes you straight across the Grand Canal with 8-10 other people. All throughout the trip we devoted some time wandering through the cute streets and browsing the little shops of Venetian masks, and this day was no different. Masks were as cheap as 3.50€ and as expensive as a few hundred! Each of us was able to find one we liked on the lower end of that spectrum. It makes a unique room decoration & has definite potential for costume usage in the future.

Glass sculpture on Murano island. 

Sevilla, round 2: We arrived to Sevilla in the afternoon of the 31st. While walking to our hostel, we ran into another auxiliar! (One of my friends said, "I feel like auxiliares are so nice and helpful to each other, it's almost like we have automatic friendships because we are in similar situations" and I could not agree more. It is pretty cool to have a network of auxiliares all around Spain to meet up with while traveling.) For lunch we found a tapas restaurant with lots of variety and even more flavor. My friend Angela met up with us to explore Sevilla and celebrate Halloween. The Festival of the Nations was going on while we were in Sevilla; it was comprised of markets and food stands. Several of the markets represented other countries, and they sold purses, clothes, jewelry, wallets, belts, and candy, just to name a few items. In the food half, we were almost overwhelmed by the amount of options we had. Anyone who has lived in Spain knows that Spanish food is not spicy. Ever. Flavorful, yes. Delicious, yes. But spicy, no. So, we did want many other expats would do in our situation & created a meal out of a few of the countries with spicier food; however, we did not entirely stray from Spanish culture because we realized going at it tapas style (sharing one plate per country) allowed us to taste the most dishes. I already mentioned Halloween in my previous post, so check that out to hear about the rest of my trip.

Tasting various ethnic foods at the Festival of the Nations.

I know this post was long, so I'll leave you with a few extra pictures from the trip (:

Some of the more elaborate Venetian Masks 

Group shot along the Grand Canal

There were tons of little footbridges throughout the city.

San Marco's Basilica

This is near the palace that I loved.