With Love From Bilbao

**Total disclaimer: I ripped off this lesson AND this blog from my friend Kaley who teaches high school-aged kids in Zamora. She thought up the lesson and blogged about it. I thought it was the funniest thing, and I had to try it for myself. Great success**

My 3rd E.S.Os (14/15) are working on modal verbs. For those of you who aren't as up to speed on your English grammar as I (who am I kidding, I just learned what modals were this week), modal verbs are should/shouldn't, must/musn't*, could/couldn't, and so on and so forth.

In order to hammer this into their little heads, I had them write letters to my friend Cassie (who is visiting in June) and advise her on what to see and do in Bilbao.

The results are both are informative and entertaining. (I edited some of them if they were unintelligible, but these are mostly their words.)

Dear Cassie, 

My name is Nicol and I live in Bilbao. I have to tell you some good news. We can go to visit some monuments and you should bring a camera. Next, we could eat ice cream and we can walk in the park. You shouldn't bring a coat because it is very sunny. You could bring your dog. You musn't smoke in the pub, but we can go to dance. We shouldn't stay at home, it's boring because we should go out to funny. 

Regards, Nicol

Dear Cassie, 

Hi! :) My name is Karen, I live in Bilbao, Spain, and I have to tell you some things. First, you must go the the Gran Via street and look at some things, also you should go to a beach and swimming pool. You must go to a party at the different discos in Bilbao, and you musn't go to San Francisco street** because it is very ugly and dangerous for you. Finally you have to go to the "Chupiuazo" in the Bilbao center, it is the party of Bilbao, it's very funny***. 

Love, Karen

Dear Cassie, 

You can go to my grandmother's house. We can also go get a coffee, or any other drink that you like.

Love, Sebastián

Hi Cassie, 

My name is Lander and I'll talk to you about Bilbao. You should visit the Guggenheim museum  but you shouldn't go to a protest, it's bad. You must visit San Mamés, but now they are working on it. You can visit the Arriaga it's very big. You musn't swim in the river. Too you should go to the shopping center Zubiarte it's wonderful. You must go to town hall and meet the mayor, he's old. :)

Love, Lander

*When was the last time you used "musn't" in a sentence?

**San Francisco is the immigrant area in Bilbao. It's a little sketchy, but not as much as they make it out to be.

***For some reason, many Spanish people thing that when something is really fun, it's "funny". I guess it kinda makes sense.

Originally published 5.21.11

Name Dropping

When I started my blog a year y pico ago, I wasn't really sure what I was going to get out of it. Mostly, I wanted people back home to be able to see what I was up to, and to keep a record for myself of my experiences here in Spain. Before I left, I became obsessed with reading different blogs of people who were already in Spain. I hoped that my blog would be half as witty/informative/interesting as many of the blogs was reading.

However, I didn't expect to make so many friends. I didn't expect the blogging community (expat and travel blogging community, to be specific) to be so friendly. I thought it would be more competitive, more of trying to one-up each other in tales and exploits. So glad I was wrong about that one.

I've found a group of people that are willing to answer questions, give suggestions, and relate to whatever problem or obstacle one might have.  It doesn't matter if you're all travel/expat bloggers, there's room for everyone on the internet.

And when I say I made friends, I don't just mean internet friends. I've had pintxos with Mike from Michael Feighner when he and his sister rolled through Bilbao. Kata, from Life in la Capital del Mundo, was the first person I met when I got to my new home in Euskadi. I met Megan from Only the Wind Knows Where... at the Chicago consulate getting our visas. And I shared a sunny afternoon in Sevilla drinking Cruzcampo with the lovely Cat, of Sunshine and Siestas.

I haven't actually met Kaley from Y Mucho Más, which is a pity, since she leaves to go back to the States in mere weeks, but since we're both Midwestern girls, I'm sure our paths will cross. I "met" Christine, from Christine in Spain, via twitter, and have enjoyed reading her posts. One of these days we'll be real-life friends, I think. Sarah from Love and Paella has inspired me with her photos, and all of these ladies (and Mike) have pushed me to be a better writer.

Some people think it's a little strange that I'll meet up with complete "strangers", but when you follow someone's blog, they're not really a stranger. You're reading about their life, their struggles and victories. You can relate to what they're going through, and as an American living abroad, it's nice to know you're not alone in all of this. It's fun to meet someone that you feel like you already know. 

I look forward to continuing my foray into the travel blogging world for another year, and I'm excited to meet as many more of these blogging friends in the following year as I can. So to all my blogging friends, thanks for being so awesome!

Originally published 5.21.11

Basque Dancing in Getxo

This afternoon, there was a showcase of traditional Basque dancing in Getxo, about 20 minutes outside of the city. There were 75 different groups from all over País Vasco participating, so there were tons of people dancing and watching. The atmosphere was great, and even though we couldn't understand what the announcers were saying (my Basque still isn't quite up to par), it was great to witness the tradition.

All the different groups

Traditional dress, with the espadrille shoes

I'm obsessed with this shoe/sock combo

Typical...cigarette and a San Miguel

There comes a time during the day when you just have to take off your hair.

Originally published 5.15.11

Turning the Tables on the States

If you read my blog regularly, and other expats in Spain's blogs, you'll notice that we tend to point out the things that frustrate us, discourage us, and just seem plain backwards about Spain.

Well, I'm turning the tables and am going to point out the things that Spain does right, thus making the United States seem backwards.

1. Public transportation

If I want to go from the center of Bilbao to Santurtzi, a small town about 25 minutes away, I have several options to get there:

The lovely (award-winning) Bilbao metro

•  Find someone with a car to drive me
• Take the metro
• Take the Cercanías (commuter) train
• Take an inter-city bus

All of these options take around the same amount of time, and don't vary too much in cost.

Now, let's say I'm in Menomonie, WI (my hometown) and want to get to Eau Claire, WI (where I went to university), 25 minutes away. My options:

• Find someone to drive me (or drive myself)

That's it. No buses, no trains, no metros. Even in Minneapolis, MN, the light-rail will only take you to a few places, and the buses are complicated to figure out. Even some big cities in the US, like Los Angeles, don't have a metro system. Spain, you win this one hands down.

2. The metric system

There are exactly three countries in the entire world that don't use the metric system. One is the United States. The other two: Liberia and Myanmar.

Coming to Spain from the United States, I struggled with the metric system at first. I'm still getting the hang of it, but it just makes so much more sense, especially when it comes to converting units. According to my mother, when she was in elementary school the US tried (and obviously failed) to convert to the metric system. I say, let's join the rest of the world and give it another try.

3. Drinking age

In most of Europe, the drinking age is anywhere from 16-18. In Spain, it's "18", which basically means you might get id'd buying booze, but we're not going to do much to try and stop you. Same for getting into bars and discos.

Here's the thing. You rarely see kids (or anyone, for that matter) totally wasted, puking their guts out. It's because it's just not a big deal here. I know it's a tired stereotype, but many kids actually do grow up drinking wine with dinner. I see people having a beer at 1 in the afternoon and it's just not a big deal. There's no taboo on it, and since the driving age is also 18 (and the wonderful public transportation I spoke of), there's a lot less alcohol-related deaths. Also, in Spain, there's no pressure to drink as much as you can as fast as you can. Spaniards tend to nurse their drinks, still able to have fun, and stay out much later than any American bar is open.

We all know the story in the US. You're usually 18 when you go to university for the first time, so whenever you and your friends can get your hands on a handle of Flieshmann's vodka, you gotta down that as fast as you can so you don't get caught by the RA. Binge drinking is out of control in the US, and this leads to a bevy of bad behavior and choices people tend to regret.

I'm not saying the US needs to change the drinking age, which could have disastrous consequences in and of itself. Spain just has a little better view on alcohol in general, and doesn't put it on a pedestal as much as we do in the US.

Yes, it's that easy

4. Military time

Using military time makes so much sense. Yes, I know there are limited situations where you could mix up 2 in the afternoon and 2 in the morning, but it's the fact that with military time, there is absolutely no question about it. 14'00h is 2 in the afternoon. 2'00h is 2 in the morning.

It's not like it's that complicated to figure out. All you do is subtract 12 from the number. For example, 21'00h is 9 p.m. Easy as pie.

And it always makes my night when I see my clock switch from 23'59h to 0'00h. It's better than 11:11.

These are just a few of my observations, if you have any more good ones, leave me a comment!

Originally published 5.9.11

Insert Trip Cliché Here

My Semana Santa vacation was amazing, overwhelming, eye-opening, and unsettling...everything that makes a trip that you'll never forget. I may blog in further detail about some things, but here's a quick overview and throwback to this post.

Number of...

Cities visited: 11 (Málaga, Ronda, Marbella, Gibraltar, Tarifa, Cádiz, Puerto de Santa Maria, Tavira, Faro, Sevilla, Marrakech)

Countries visited: 4 (Spain, Portugal, the UK, Morocco)

People who drove the rental car: 3

Cameras used: 2

Drag queens encountered: 2

Times the Spain World Cup CD was played: 5

Monkeys on head: 1

Rainy days in "Sunny" Sevilla: 2

Pasos seen: 2 (most were cancelled by the rain!)

Meters the mountain we hiked in Morocco: 1,600

People wearing flip flops on said mountain hike: 5

Games of rummy played: 15

Bottles of green wine consumed: 3

Tennis matches played: 1

Royal weddings watched: 0

Basques encountered: Countless. Seriously, they're everywhere.

Our sweet ride

Gibraltar

Tarifa, the southern-most point in Spain...and the windiest!

Faro, Portugal

One of the few moments of sun in Sevilla

It really is a novelty for us to see a Spanish flag!

Market in Marrakech, Morocco

Minaret in Marakkech

Hiking in the Atlas Mountains

We ate at this cafe on Tuesday. On Thursday, it was bombed by terrorists. We heard the blast from our hotel, about a 5 minute walk from the square. We're fine, but 15 people, mostly tourists, died. Scary, scary stuff.




Originally Published 4.30.14

Away We Go: Semana Santa in Southern Spain

2008 Sevilla

It's almost that time in Spain again. 

In the United States, land of "Separation of Church and State", you're lucky if you get one day off for Easter. Not so in Spain. Most schools get between one and two weeks off. In País Vasco, we fall into the latter category, securing 16 days free of school and any responsibilities that come with it.

How lucky.

Of course, we will be using this time to the fullest, having planned a wonderful Semana Santa extravaganza. It will be myself, Matt, roommate Amy, and friend Andrew.

On Thursday night, we will fly to Málaga, in the south of Spain. There, we will rent a car and continue our journey west. We will be making stops in Ronda, Gibraltar, Marbella, Cadiz, and Tarifa, to name a few. Then, we will be journeying into southern Portugal to laze around on the beach for a few days.

After all the R&R, we will drive to drop the car off in Sevilla, the Semana Santa capital of Spain. Semana Santa in Sevilla is serious business. I was there 3 years ago, but my friends haven't seen it, so we had to stop there for Easter weekend. If you want the low-down on the celebration, my amiga Cat recently wrote a good piece on it that you should check out.

Following all the Easter goodness, we will hop on a plane to Marrakesh, Morocco. I'm super stoked to check out  Africa, and I'm looking forward to seeing some different sights. And possibly riding a camel.

I know a lot of you live in Andalucía or have traveled to some of the places on my itinerary. I would love some suggestions of things to see, what to eat, where to go, so leave some comments please!

Originally published 4.11.11

Getting Sick in Spain

Being sick, obviously, is never fun. Being sick when you're outside of your comfort zone is a double whammy. But Spain finds another way to kick you when you're down.

You see, in Spain, when you're sick, you have to go to a farmacia, a pharmacy. OK, you say, this sounds normal. That's what most people do when they're sick, head on down to Wal-greens and pick your remedy.

Not so in sunny España. The first time I went to a pharmacy in Spain, I was confused. It was full of weird anti-aging creme and baby formula. No trace of ibuprofen, cold medicine, or even tissues. Then someone informed me that you have to ask the pharmacist for what you want. Even for something as simple as aspirin. You tell them what's wrong, and they give you your meds and tell you how to take them.

This poses a couple problems (for me, at least):

1. Like I have stated in a previous post, I can speak Spanish, but still have my moments when I feel like no one understands what I'm saying. When I'm sick, I don't really have the motivation to leave my house and describe my symptoms, in Spanish (which usually involves me pointing to whichever body part is ailing me, because my medical vocabulary is not stellar, let me assure you) to the pharmacist.

2. When I'm sick, I'm obviously not feeling good, which usually means I'm not looking my best. Now, I don't know if you read my homegirl Kaley's advice on how to dress like a Spaniard, but I'll just say that my ratty sweatpants and UWEC sweatshirt get me a lot of dirty looks on the mercifully short walk to the pharmacy. The dripping snot doesn't help either.

3. The pharmacists at the nearest pharmacy to my piso are two young, relatively good looking guys. Imagine this scene, if you will: Maybe I'm asking for something for my killer cramps. Or I'm looking like a hot mess with my sinus infection and hacking cough, trying to remember if "I have a cold" really is "estoy constipada". Or perhaps I'm looking like a chimpanzee, rubbing my stomach or patting my head, trying to explain where exactly my migraine is. A really pretty picture, let me tell you.

So Spain, my plea to you is this: Grant me some dignity in my moments of illness. I just want to scan my local Wal-greens for the perfect remedy in peace.

Originally published 4.2.11