Bilbao: The City That Was Supposed To Be Ugly

Clark and I took a trip to the north of Spain this weekend.  Friday morning we left Madrid and headed to Logroño, a city in La Rioja.  This region is famous for its wines, so obviously we had a few glasses while in the city.  We arrived mid-afternoon and headed to our couchsurfers apartment.  They were two Brazilian students that lived right in the city center!  After we ate some lunch, we walked around the city and stopped in some churches.  We tried to go to a wine tasting, but most of them were already finished.  So instead we went to a "vinoteca" and bought two bottles of wine, a white and a red.  Then we went to a couple of bars and drank some wine and ate some pinchos (the north's version of tapas).  Everything was delicious and the wine was fantastic!  The next morning we met up with our blablacar to head to Bilbao.  For those of you who don't know what blablacar is, it's a essentially a ride-share system.  You go to the website, put in your location and destination, and then a list of people going there pops up and you choose the best time and price for you!  It's an amazing system, and I'm determined to make sure it becomes popular in the USA, a country with an awful cross-country transportation system if you don't have a car and/or can't afford a flight!  Our blablacar was a Spanish boy and girl, Clark and I couldn't tell if they were dating or friends.  They decided to take the more scenic route, and I'm glad they did.  The winding roads were beautiful and nestled in the mountains.  We passed through quaint towns and even stopped at a scenic overlook! Needless to say, the trip to Bilbao was incredibly beautiful and quite fun!  

In Bilbao, we met up with a guy from couchsurfing who showed us around the city.  I don't think there was a better way to see Bilbao!  He took us from the bus station all the way to the old city center.  Along the way, we walked by the newly renovated waterfront.  They have really tried to incorporate the city's industrial port history into the revamped area, and I think they've done a fantastic job.  Many of the art installations clearly show that Bilbao is proud of their port identity!  One of our first major landmarks was the Guggenheim Museum of Bilbao!  It's a very interesting building that is reminiscent of a ship, another way the city shows it's identity.  Then we walked on some famous/old bridges to get to the area where we first stopped for pinchos.  We went to three bars, eating one or two little appetizers and drinking grape juice.  Then we went up the cable car to look out over the city.  It offered an amazing view of the river and the city.  After this, we hopped in his car and headed towards the coast!  Our first stop was where the ocean becomes the estuary that cuts through Bilbao.  It was a gorgeous day, so there were families and friends walking about and lounging next to the water.  After that, we headed to a cliff that offered a great view of the estuary and ocean.  We then headed to another cliff/overlook that had a restaurant and bar.  We got the typical Bilbao drink, Kalimotxo, which is equal parts red wine and coca-cola.  I was surprised how much I liked it since I hate coke and I prefer white wine over red.  But it was a fantastic drink and it was a great addition to the beautiful sunset over the sea!  When the sun set, we headed to another overlook, but on the opposite side of the city.  At night, Bilbao looks incredible.  The bridges and the river with all the lights, paint a beautiful image of the industrial city!  After a fantastic day, we headed to our hostel to finally sleep.  On Sunday, I went to the Guggenheim, which had an exhibit by Yoko Ono!  Her art is very interesting, and the enter third floor is dedicated to it!  The museum was rather interactive and had some fun exhibits!  After the museum, I headed to the bus station to catch my blablacar back to Madrid.  This time the driver was a woman and another guy going to Madrid joined us.  It was a nice ride and I got to practice my Spanish!  We stopped in a small city for a drink and a bite to eat.  We had a scrambled egg dish and morcilla, aka blood sausage.  I didn't know what it was so they told me I should try it and then they'll tell me what it was.  I liked it, and thankfully it was just blood sausage.  Sometimes in foreign countries you never know what you're putting in your mouth.  After the nice little break, we headed back on the road to Madrid.  While it was a short trip, it has been one of my favorites!  

A Few Days in Prague!

I took a night bus from Krakow to Prague a few days into my Spring Break.  Thankfully the bus was fairly nice and was kept at a decent temperature.  Unfortunately, I didn't really sleep because I couldn't get very comfortable.  Normally I'm able to fall asleep on night buses, but for some reason sleep was not on my side this trip.  So I arrived to Prague a little groggy at 7am.  I walked to my hostel which turned out to be the best hostel I've ever stayed at!  The rooms were big and the beds were comfy.  They offered free dinner every night and also had activities you could join in on during the day.  Since I was tired and the upper respiratory infection I got over the break was just starting to rear its ugly head, I decided, rather than wonder around by myself,  I would go on a day trip to Kutna Hora, which has a nice cathedral and a church decorated with human bones.  The Sedlec Ossuary is a small Roman Catholic chapel, located beneath a cemetery It's estimated to contain the skeletons of between 40,000 and 70,000 people!  It was really odd seeing human skulls and bones artistically arranged, especially since it was in a church! Then we went to the cathedral.  I opted not to go in since there was an entrance fee and honestly at this point I do not really care about cathedrals anymore (I know that's kind of awful, but a girl can only handle so many cathedrals!).  Apparently I started a trend because only a few people went in, the rest of us just relaxed and took photos as we waited.


Then we went to a nice Czech restaurant.  I got chicken and some dumplings to try some typical Czech food.  Everything was delicious, including my Pilsner!  After a very satisfying meal, we headed back to the train station for our return journey to Prague.  The train cars had compartments so it made me feel like I was in a Harry Potter movie! Once we reached the hostel, I was exhausted so I decided to try and write a few blog posts I needed to do and then head to bed.  I only finished one before I decided to call it a night!

The next day I woke up feeling like death.  I was coughing and had a lot of congestion.  So I went down to the front desk and asked them where the nearest pharmacy was, and thankfully it was right around the corner!  I also asked how to ask for cold medicine and the guy said, "Mmm, I'm not sure, maybe just cough a lot and hope they get the clue!"   However, I didn't have any problems because the pharmacist spoke enough English to understand and help me! I bought the medicine and headed to a cafe to get some breakfast, well it was really lunch since it was around noon.  I knew that I wouldn't be able to force myself to do much on my own, so I decide to join the hostel and go to the John Lennon Wall.  Once a normal wall, since the 1980s it has been filled with John Lennon-inspired graffiti and pieces of lyrics from Beatles songs.  It was a symbol/ protest against the communist regime of the time.  Today it still has a focus on peace and love, but it's also a huge collage of paint on top of paint.  I was able to spray paint my nickname into the wall, so that was quite fun!  After those shenanigans we headed to a pub where you pour your own beer right at your table and then compete with other tables, seeing who is drinking the most.  It was fun talking with the other people at my hostel.  Several Australians were there and there was also an auxiliar from Madrid at my table too!  After a couple of pints, we walked back to the hostel and ate dinner.  I promptly then went to my bed because I was exhausted and my coughing and congestion were not treating me well.


My last day in Prague I went on a free walking tour with a girl from my hostel.  It was a fantastic way to learn about the history of the city.  And it didn't hurt that our guide was amazing!  He even brought little speakers so he could play sound effects and music!  On the tour we saw the famous Astrological Clock as well as a few synagogues and a statue dedicated to Kafka.  Prague is home to the oldest synagogue in Europe, and for an odd reason.  Basically Hitler loved Prague and wanted to use the Jewish district as a museum for the extinct race once he had exterminated all the Jews.  So while the reasons behind the survival of the Jewish quarter are atrocious, it is one of the few cities that preserved Jewish buildings.  After the tour I went back to the hostel and watched a movie since I still had some time before my bus to Berlin.  I really enjoyed Prague and I wish I could have seen more.  Unfortunately my body had other plans.  But Prague was one of my top destinations, so I'm glad I finally made it!

Krakow!

Clark, Amanda, and I arrived in Krakow around 8pm.  We then took a bus and a tram to our couchsurfer's house.  Thankfully all went well and it was easy to locate.  However while getting to the tram, Amanda and I jaywalked as Clark tried to stop us from the other side of the street.  Turns out the police in Krakow run on bribes, so they basically find the tiniest infraction and then ask for an obscene amount of money to make it go away.  Needless to say, after Clark informed us of this we did not jaywalk again!  After we met our couchsurfer Alina, who is incredibly sweet and friendly, she took us to a plaza lined with bars in restaurants.  We were quite hungry so we got in line for some food at one of the faster food restaurants (not McDonalds or anything, but they’re definitely aimed at the people who stumble out of the bars or people who want a cheap meal before drinking).  We ordered these pizza baguette things.  It was half of a baguette cover in mushrooms and cheese and then the ingredients of your choosing.  They were incredibly delicious and apparently Krakow is quite famous for them.  So our first meal turned out to be a great first tourist activity.  Then we went to a bar where you walk through an armour to get to more seating.  It felt like we were entering Narnia!  After one beer each we decided to head home since we were all exhausted.  

Our second day in Krakow was our sightseeing day.  First we walked to the castle and took the longer route so we could walk by the river.  On our way we saw a statue dedicated to Dzok, a dog who waited for a year in a roundabout for his owner to return.  Unfortunately his owner had passed away in that very roundabout.  The castle was beautiful and it had a nice cathedral attached to it as well.  Then we headed to the main square, which was incredibly beautiful.  While we were in the main square we went to the tourist desk and bought our tickets for our day trip the next day.  

The woman there also told us about a good restaurant so we made our way over there.  Unfortunately it was quite crowded, so we went to the one across the street (Clark’s friend recommended it!).  I'm not sure how the other restaurant was, but this one was fantastic.  We got the menu of the day, which consisted of soup, a main dish (I got some pork thing), two sides (I chose mashed potatoes and sauerkraut), and it finished with a delicious cheesecake desert thing.  After lunch, I parted ways with Clark and Amanda and headed towards Schindler's factory (as in the one from the film) because they wanted to see other things and didn't want to pay for the museum.  It houses a museum about Jewish life in Poland.  I took the tram, but thankfully I bought a ticket first because right before my stop a man came on the tram to check them!  We have kind of gotten in the habit of not paying for trams when we travel because a lot of them don't sell the tickets on the tram or at the stop (and most people, tourists and citizens alike, do it as well).  How we are supposed to buy them I never know!  Once I got off the tram, I wasn't quite sure how to get to the factory, but I saw a free walking tour guide so I decided to join the group in hopes that they were heading towards the museum.  We made one stop, at the old wall of the Jewish Ghetto, and then made our way to the museum.  So I got a little more information about Krakow than if I had walked by myself.  At the end of the tour, the guide told us that the museum was free today and that it was some sort of holiday and that they were serving some refreshments!  So after the museum I grabbed a bowl of soup and made my way back to the Alina's house.  

The next day we went on a tour of Auschwitz.  We took a shuttle to and from the camp along with several other people.  It was a sobering experience, but also a little difficult to soak everything in and really reflect because we were in a large group that basically just walked through without many moments to pause and contemplate.  I also think the tour guide was a little inexperienced and was not able to tell us as much as some other guides.  Or perhaps I just know more than the average person visiting the camp.  I have always been very interested in World War II and the Holocaust, so it was a very meaningful experience, even though it is a very hard subject to digest.  While most people use Spring Break to party and go to the beach, I was soaking up history and remembering a horrible time in the past.  Not your typical Spring Break, but a worthwhile one.

That evening, after the mandatory pierogi dinner, Alina went with me to the bus station because I was taking a night bus to Prague!  Thankfully she was there to help me because the station was doing renovations and my bus stop was on a side street nearby.  Also she was able to call the bus (apparently that's a thing you can do in Poland, just call the driver and ask how late he will be) and tell me that it was an hour and a half late.  She waited with me until my bus came.  She was an amazing host and I hope to see her again someday.  She asked me to send her a postcard from Chicago since she's never been.  Let's hope I remember! 

Being a Tourist in My Own City!

When Emily and Mara came to Madrid it gave me the perfect opportunity to be a tourist in Madrid.  I got to do many things I had wanted to do, but just never got around to!  Tuesday night we went to a Flamenco show in a bar called Quimera.  It was a small bar and it made the show feel very intimate.  According to the performers (and I'm choosing to believe them), they prefer to do a more authentic Flamenco performance so they only have a guitarist, a singer, and the two dancers; no microphones, no unnecessary instruments, etc.  Both the male and female dancers were very good, or appeared to be with my little knowledge of Flamenco.  The female dancer had an old friend visiting, who happened to be sitting next to us, and it was fun to see him really get into the music, and she seemed to be giving her best effort for him!  It was a fabulous show accompanied by delicious sangria!  So now I can finally say I saw a Flamenco show! 

Wednesday night, we went to a football match!  It was the quarter finals of the Champions League Cup, so it was a pretty important game.  My favourite football team, FC Barcelona, was playing Atletico Madrid.  The stadium was pretty close to my house, which I didn’t know previously!  When we got to the stadium we were on the hunt for some Barcelona jerseys.  Unfortunately, they were all 40€.  So we all opted for some 10€ scarves instead.  It had the match and date on it, which enabled us to appear like we could be for either team.  This was good because we happened to be seated in a very passionate Atletico section even though secretly I was cheering for Barcelona!  The game got off to an exciting start when Atletico scored a goal within the first five minutes!  Unfortunately, at half time Mara and I went to get some refreshing beers only to find out that the stadium doesn’t sell alcohol.  This would explain why everyone was chugging beers as we walked to the stadium!  I wasn’t really surprised the stadium didn’t sell alcohol, I think the U.S. might be one of the few countries that does!  We got some non-alcoholic beers mixed with lemonade and returned to our seats.  Spanish people actually really seem to like their non-alcoholic beer, it often on tap and I hear people order it frequently.  I don’t really understand it, but then again, beer isn’t my favourite beverage.  The game was amazing.  I got to see some of my favourite players and experience a real Spanish football game!  Alas, Barcelona never scored a goal and therefore lost.  But the whole experience was a dream come true!  After the game, we headed to the plaza near my house and got some beers and food.  It’s one of the cheapest places I frequent and it has outdoor seating right on the plaza, so it was a nice way to end the evening! 

Thursday evening we went to the Reina Sofia, the modern art museum in Madrid.  I had been meaning to go here since I arrived, especially considering it's only a few blocks from my house, but I hadn’t made it yet.  It had some pretty interesting artwork, including works by Dali and Picasso.  Of course we made sure to see the famous Guernica, which I will say was quite impressive.  I also saw a painting by Santiago Rusiñol, the namesake of the street my school is on!  It was nice and I therefore now know that he’s a famous artist!  After the Reina Sofia, we made dinner: a delicious quinoa salad and some pineapple.  Then we had a few drinks as we got ready to go to Kapital, one of Madrid’s most famous nightclubs.  We got there before 1:30, which is very early for Spanish people, so we decided to explore all seven floors (yes seven! each one having a different vibe and different music, aka Kapital is like 7 clubs in one building).  Long story short, we danced the night away until 5am when we decided we should get some burritos and head home.  Great thing about Kapital is that it’s only a few blocks from my house as well (it’s right across from the Reina Sofia)!  

The next day it was off to Krakow to start my Spring Break!  I had an amazing week and am so glad that Emily and Mara were able to visit.  Not only had I not see them in quite some time, but it also gave me the opportunity to experience some awesome events with great friends! 

Barcelona Baby!

So far April is proving to be a whirlwind of a month!  The first week some friends visited and then the next week I left for Krakow, Prague, and Berlin (currently updating my blog from Prague!).  On the 5th, Emily (a friend from high school) and Mara (a friend I met through Emily) arrived in Madrid! That afternoon we headed straight to Barcelona for two days!  The night we got there, we got settled in our apartment (we splurged just a little and thus weren't in a hostel).  Then we went out to a Basque bar where you pick appetizers and then count the number of toothpicks you have at the end, and that's the number of tapas you pay for!  All of the ones I tried were delicious!  The next day we went on a walking tour and saw some interesting sights and learned a lot more about Barcelona's history.  We got extremely lucky because that day a group of people were building castelles, aka human towers!  So we took a little detour and watched a few being completed! 

It was quite interesting seeing the towers form, but also very nerve-wracking watching very young/small children climb way up to the top! However, being able to see this very Catalan tradition made up for the fact that our cooking class got canceled! 

After the walking tour, we went to a paella restaurant that our guide recommended.  It was the best paella I've ever had, but I've also only had paella maybe twice in my life.  Then we made our way down to the beach.  Unfortunately it was a little cold, but we still put our feet in the Mediterranean Sea! After that we got some sandwiches and sangria for dinner and headed back home.  

Monday was our day for Gaudi!  We started our day at the Sagrada Familia.  After learning about it in high school, Emily and I have always wanted to go there.  So it was a bit of a dream come true!  And it definitely lived up to the hype!  We decided that in a few decades, all three of us would come back to Barcelona and see the finished basilica!

Then we headed to Park Guell and saw some fabulous Gaudi art/architecture!  Unfortunately now you have to pay to get into the famous parts of the park, so we passed since we had other Gaudi buildings to see!

Unfortunately the first house we went to was under construction and we couldn't see any of it.  But thankfully the one I wanted to see the most, was open and visible!  

  

Then we went to La Boqueria, a famous street market, and got some fantastic tapas for lunch.  We enjoyed some meatballs, patatas bravas, and prawns!  All of them were amazing!  Barcelona was a fantastic trip and I am glad I was able to share the experience with Emily and Mara!  

I could probably write much more detail about this trip, but I had grandiose plans of writing this blog, one about their week in Madrid, and Krakow.  But my bed is calling me.  I haven't gotten too much sleep this April and I've definitely caught some type of cold.  I'm going to use Prague as an excuse to get some sleep and not feel bad about early nights! 

Pachelbel, Boob Jobs, and Visitors!

The signal for the students to enter or leave the school is always three different songs (one in the morning, one for recess, and one when school dismisses).  The songs generally play for a week or two and then they switch to new ones.  This week the songs changed thankfully; because hearing "Wrecking Ball" every day as I exited the school was not my favorite way to end my day.  The morning song is now Pachelbel's Canon in D, which for some reason made me feel like I was walking down the isle for a wedding followed by a herd of children.  I'm always intrigued by the song selections.  From what I've noticed, it seems like the morning song is generally instrumental (a nice calming way to begin the day).  The song played at the start and end of recess is generally a song sung in Spanish.  And the final song of the day is usually a fairly famous pop song.  I typically enjoy the last song of the day.  I find it a fun way to exit the school! 

Yesterday one of the first graders told the class that her mother was getting new boobs.  The professor asked the student if something was wrong with her mother's breasts or if she was sick.  And the student simply replied with "No! They are just too small!"  Not quite sure the message that's sending to a six year old girl, but to each their own!  Then the student told us that she had to do her homework at the beauty salon because her mother wants to look good when she goes to the hospital for her surgery.  I'm digging this woman's priorities!  The professor and I continued to giggle as this student excitedly told us all about her family's fairly intimate going ons.  

On Wednesday, as the students and I were settling in to begin school, the phone rang.  Apparently I was going to be accompanying the fourth graders on the recycling field trip I had recently gone on with the third graders.  I was pretty confused because I only see the fourth graders once a week on Fridays and because I would be assisting the Spanish teacher.  Aka there would be basically no English spoken the whole day and I'd be with a class I rarely deal with while my other classes would be missing an entire day of having an English assistant.  While it was nice that I got to go on a field trip (who doesn't love those?), I was a little disappointed I wouldn't be with my regular classes.  And I was also swindled out of two of the three breaks I get a week.  But spending more time with the fourth graders was fun because their level of English allows for decent conversations!  Turns out because of the size of the class, two chaperons were required and I was the lucky expendable person! 

My friends Emily (a friend I met in high school) and Mara (a friend I met through Emily) are coming to Madrid this week!  I'm beyond excited!  I haven't seen either of them in a while and I'm thrilled to experience Spain with them.  I plan on writing a post about this later so I won't give away all our plans yet.  However I leave for Poland, the Czech Republic, and Germany on Friday (they leave on Saturday), so I'm not sure when that will be coming.  I'm contemplating perhaps doing a daily blog for a week, but that will all depend on how exhausted I am each day!  But this is one part of my life in Spain I want to be well documented so I can always look back and remember it!  All I can say is it's going to be a few jam packed weeks for me starting tomorrow! 

On another note, this week marks the three month count down until I return back to the USA!  I had to start looking into flights, which makes the situation a reality rather than just a quick thought that passes through my brain.  I'm excited to head home, sad to be leaving, and nervous to see what the future holds.  But I'm just going to try to continue enjoying my time here rather than worrying too much about the months to come!  (But don't worry Mom and Dad, I will be trying to get some sort of plan figured out for my future!) 

The Little Things

I don't think I've mentioned this before, but I apologize if I have.  You just get to read about it twice!  When students in the USA have to go the bathroom during class, they politely ask, "May I use the bathroom, please?".  Here is Spain it is a little different.  First, since they learn British English they are taught the correct question is "Can I go to the toilet, please?".  I've heard a few Americans gripe about how this seems a little impolite, because we don't often use the word toilet (probably because we'd rather not think about what a person is actually doing in the bathroom, I'm not quite sure).  But what the kids say in Spanish is on a whole other level!  The way students ask to go to the bathroom is "Me hago pis, me hago caca?", which literally translates to "I make pee, I make poop?".  Every time I hear a child say this I still get a little thrown off.  In the USA, we generally save the phrases "I'm going to go pee/poop," for close friends and family.  And even then I often wouldn't use that phrase, unless I'm being slightly ironic.  It's a little crass.  But here, it's just the way it's done! 

On Wednesday, the entire school participated in a "lipdub."  Aka the principal ran around the school filming the students doing various activities and singing along to a song.  We had to rehearse it twice and do "the real thing" twice.  Hopefully, I'll be able to post the video soon.  But for now I'll just leave you with the song the school chose.  

A few mornings a week I start in a classroom that overlooks the patio the students enter through to get to school.  Sometimes I watch the late students come in.  Many times it is the same students that are late, which always makes me think, "Why don't their parents just try to leave 5 minutes earlier?".  (But I don't know their situation so I can't judge!)  It is interesting because the way certain students approach the school gives a little insight into their behavior at school.  Some are sprinting to try and make it to class before the music stops.  These are often students that try hard in school, whether or not their grades reflect it.  Others half jog/half speed walk.  These students tend to sometimes put in some effort, but often would rather talk to their fellow students.  Then we have the students who casually walk into the patio.  Most of these kids are older (the younger students still seem to have some desire to not disappoint the teachers) and tend to put in almost not effort in school.  I always try to watch out for the students in my class so I know not to shut the door, hoping they can sneak in without the teacher noticing!  

I have a few names students call me, mostly various ways of pronouncing Natalie.  These various pronunciations includes Natchalie/Naxtalie (actually I can't even really pronounce my name this way).  One of the girls in first grade does this often and some of the students say, "NOOO it's NaTalie."  I don't even notice, but the other students seem to!  Others will sometimes call me Natalia, aka the Spanish version of my name.  Recently, I noticed a student started calling me Nata.  I have been called Nata by one other class but it was a joke while they were chanting "Nata y Juli" because the professor and I were doing a silly activity.  Nata is a Spanish word (I'm not sure how often it is used as a nickname) that means cream, and it's basically the Spanish equivalent to whipped cream.  I think it started out as a little bit of teasing between him and another student and me.  But now that's the only way he addresses and I think he has forgotten my actual name! 

       


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On another note, one of the students has a fauxhawk and the other day it literally looked like dinosaur spikes.  It was pretty funny, but cute.

Also, I noticed a student was wearing a sweatshirt that said "University Nebraska."  I don't think it has anything to do with the actual University of Nebraska, but it was a nice little reminder of home.  I obviously had to take a photo of it!