This one is the thing next to the church. I can't remember what it's
called... Oh well...
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Back in Bilbo
Bilbo is the Basque (Euskera) word for Bilbao. Curiously enough, it is also the name of a Hobbit in Lord of the Rings. I don't think there is any connection... but you never know.
I am back in Bilbao again, after 5 weeks in Barcelona. I used to think that Barcelona was my favourite city in Spain. 4 weeks of a highly intensive, highly stressful course, and then one week of Semana Santa there has changed my mind. I really like it still, but as Jen and Alice and I discussed last week, there is something slightly bizarre about it. Bizarre things happen there, people are slightly off-kilter.... Sarah agreed. She's from Holland as has been studying there for a while. It's as if everything is slightly tilted. If you turn your head to the side a little, everything looks and seems normal, but if you look harder, and put your head straight, you realise that things are not quite.... I don't know how to explain it.... I still would love to visit every so often, it's such a cool place, all the Gaudi stuff makes me happy when I look at it, and I would love to get a chance to visit MACBA and the Picasso Museum. Walking down from Tibidabo to Barcelona was cool too.
Tibidabo, now that was a surreal experience that totally summed up the weirdness that is Barcelona. Outside of the city, on the highest mountain in the area, 512 metres above sea level, there is a place called Tibadabo. We made a day triip of it on Friday, even though it was kind of cloudy out. By all guidebook reports, it would be an interesting view of the city and there was a cool church and an amusement park up there. I envisioned a mountaintop with a park and places to walk and sit, and this cool church, and an interesting amusement park.... Well. Not quite. We caught the Tibibus from Plaza Catalunya and after an infinitely long ride (I think it was half an hour) on a crowded, hot bus (the driver had turned on the heat, and some of the passengers kept closing the windows), we arrived. We got off the bus and it appeared we had landed in hell. Not in the fiery brimstone sense, but it was a public holiday, and everyone and their 6 children had decided to go to the amusement park. It hadn't opened yet, so there was just a 'line' - or rather a moving, screaming, shouting mass of excited children and frustrated parents. There doesn't seem to be much space on the Tibidabo peak.... the entrance to the church is right next to the entrance to the amusement park.... of course there was no line for the church... not even on Good Friday! So we squeezed through the people and walked up. There are actually two churches built one on top of the other. I don't quite understand why they would do this. The end result is an old-looking stone bottom bit, and a weird light grey granite monstrosity on top, towering overhead, topped by a figure of Christ with hands outstreched, which can be seen from all over BCN. So we climbed up. The weather was crap, we couldn't see a lot of the city for the fog. Looking up, the Christ statue emerged eerily out of the bottom of a cloud. The view straight ahead was of the top of one of the amusement park buildings, and a lame ferris wheel, an even lamer roller coaster, a sketchy looking merry-go-round and some other rides. The scary thing is, these rides are built into the side of a mountain. They look like the slightest gust of wind will blow them over the edge, crashing into the city below. We were there in time to see the gates open and the people rush in from one line to form another to go ont the lame rides. Kinda sad really.
We stayed there for all of about 15 minutes, at which point we had had enough. We had gotten a map from the info desk with a route to walk down the hill through the woods. We didn't quite know where the path ended, just that it was near Barcelona. The estimated time for the walk was somewhere between 30 minutes to one hour and 30 minutes. The fact that a possible 1 hour and 30 minute walk to an unknown destination was preferable to the idea of that bus again gives you some idea of how hellish the ride actually was.
The walk was beautiful, except for the first 10-15 minutes of it, which was on a road not designed for pedestrians, crowded with cars of people going up to join the lines at the park. But once we got onto the bike path, it was all good.
I still don't know how long the walk was, it was nice to be outside though, and walking, and not inhaling exhaust fumes or secondhand cigarette smoke, and not seeing buildings. Very nice.
I'm sitting here in Bilbao now with the view of the mountains, clean air, blue sky. I'm not missing Barcelona at all and it will be a while before the Gaudi buildings call me back for a short visit.
I am back in Bilbao again, after 5 weeks in Barcelona. I used to think that Barcelona was my favourite city in Spain. 4 weeks of a highly intensive, highly stressful course, and then one week of Semana Santa there has changed my mind. I really like it still, but as Jen and Alice and I discussed last week, there is something slightly bizarre about it. Bizarre things happen there, people are slightly off-kilter.... Sarah agreed. She's from Holland as has been studying there for a while. It's as if everything is slightly tilted. If you turn your head to the side a little, everything looks and seems normal, but if you look harder, and put your head straight, you realise that things are not quite.... I don't know how to explain it.... I still would love to visit every so often, it's such a cool place, all the Gaudi stuff makes me happy when I look at it, and I would love to get a chance to visit MACBA and the Picasso Museum. Walking down from Tibidabo to Barcelona was cool too.
Tibidabo, now that was a surreal experience that totally summed up the weirdness that is Barcelona. Outside of the city, on the highest mountain in the area, 512 metres above sea level, there is a place called Tibadabo. We made a day triip of it on Friday, even though it was kind of cloudy out. By all guidebook reports, it would be an interesting view of the city and there was a cool church and an amusement park up there. I envisioned a mountaintop with a park and places to walk and sit, and this cool church, and an interesting amusement park.... Well. Not quite. We caught the Tibibus from Plaza Catalunya and after an infinitely long ride (I think it was half an hour) on a crowded, hot bus (the driver had turned on the heat, and some of the passengers kept closing the windows), we arrived. We got off the bus and it appeared we had landed in hell. Not in the fiery brimstone sense, but it was a public holiday, and everyone and their 6 children had decided to go to the amusement park. It hadn't opened yet, so there was just a 'line' - or rather a moving, screaming, shouting mass of excited children and frustrated parents. There doesn't seem to be much space on the Tibidabo peak.... the entrance to the church is right next to the entrance to the amusement park.... of course there was no line for the church... not even on Good Friday! So we squeezed through the people and walked up. There are actually two churches built one on top of the other. I don't quite understand why they would do this. The end result is an old-looking stone bottom bit, and a weird light grey granite monstrosity on top, towering overhead, topped by a figure of Christ with hands outstreched, which can be seen from all over BCN. So we climbed up. The weather was crap, we couldn't see a lot of the city for the fog. Looking up, the Christ statue emerged eerily out of the bottom of a cloud. The view straight ahead was of the top of one of the amusement park buildings, and a lame ferris wheel, an even lamer roller coaster, a sketchy looking merry-go-round and some other rides. The scary thing is, these rides are built into the side of a mountain. They look like the slightest gust of wind will blow them over the edge, crashing into the city below. We were there in time to see the gates open and the people rush in from one line to form another to go ont the lame rides. Kinda sad really.
We stayed there for all of about 15 minutes, at which point we had had enough. We had gotten a map from the info desk with a route to walk down the hill through the woods. We didn't quite know where the path ended, just that it was near Barcelona. The estimated time for the walk was somewhere between 30 minutes to one hour and 30 minutes. The fact that a possible 1 hour and 30 minute walk to an unknown destination was preferable to the idea of that bus again gives you some idea of how hellish the ride actually was.
The walk was beautiful, except for the first 10-15 minutes of it, which was on a road not designed for pedestrians, crowded with cars of people going up to join the lines at the park. But once we got onto the bike path, it was all good.
I still don't know how long the walk was, it was nice to be outside though, and walking, and not inhaling exhaust fumes or secondhand cigarette smoke, and not seeing buildings. Very nice.
I'm sitting here in Bilbao now with the view of the mountains, clean air, blue sky. I'm not missing Barcelona at all and it will be a while before the Gaudi buildings call me back for a short visit.
Saturday, March 26, 2005
Last month in San Sebastian
Something happened last month that I never blogged, but I've really
wanted to, and although it happened about 6 weeks ago, when I was in
San Sebastian with Vi, it's still fresh in my mind as if it happened
yesterday.
We were in a bar, checking out the selection of pintxos that San
Sebastian is renowned for. While we were trying to decide between a
yummy looking salmon thing or a yummy looking something else, a man
with a young child in his arms stood next to us. The man, very
sweetly, came up to me and explained that his child (I'm still not
sure whether it was a boy or a girl, but definitely toddler-age, maybe
2 years old or so) had never seen a Black person and the father wanted
to show him (or her) that there was nothing to be afraid of. I was so
touched. He gently touched my hand and held his hand next to mine and
encouraged her (or him) to touch them both, and see that it felt the
same and that the only difference was the colour. The child was shy
and a bit scared, and didn't want to touch my hand, and the man was
sad, and very apologetic. He didn't force anything on the child, but
was very encouraging. They went and sat down and we got our pintxos
and sat next to them. Vi was also very cute and kissed me on the cheek
and touched my hand to show how much she loved me and that I looked
different but was still loveable. It wasn't any more than 5 minutes of
this, and the little kid was still a bit shy, but it was so touching.
Sweetest of all was the man's sadness that his child could grow up
being afraid of black people and his willingness to overcome his own
shyness and approach me to help him to show his child that it's okay
to look different. I don't know for sure if anything was accomplished
as far as the child was concerned, and whether or not this will be
remembered, but I think if his/her father remains as willing to help
overcome the prejudice that comes with ignorance, there's a lot of
hope....
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
It's only just begun...
Interviews... jobs, decisions....
For the past month I have been constantly writing lesson plans,
praying for the end of the course and the end of the long tedious
mapping out of every step a half-hour or 40-minute or 60-minute class
will take. They assured us that lesson planning will never again be
like it was on the course. Once we start working, a simple overview of
the lesson will suffice. They promised. But they forgot to mention one
thing... every interview I have been on, every application I have
filled in, has asked for at least one lesson plan. The latest job has
asked me for 3 one-hour plans. This is insane! I mean, theoretically,
I could download and adapt one off the Internet, so what are they
testing really? I think I've got the answer. They want you to prove
that you really are interested in the job.... So far they haven't been
too challenging. But right now I've hit a wall. For this well-paying
job that I really want, that will allow me to stay in Bilbao in my own
place and have a lot of free time, one of the 3 lesson plans is
teaching a businessperson the subjunctive in English. OK. Let's look
at this. In Spanish they have a whole set of stuff dealing with
subjunctive. it's a mood, with 6 tenses of its own. All the verbs have
6 conjugations for the subjunctive. It's a big thing. In English, we
hardly use it, and when we do, it's even easier than using a verb
normally. So yeah, I can teach it. But really, unless a person insited
on learning it, I probably wouldn't include it in a syllabus. Why are
the Spanish so preoccupied with it? If I were them, I would be glad to
be rid of it. (in that sentence 'were' is the subjunctive form). So,
since this employer demands that I prove my ability to plan a lesson
(another subjunctive... 'that I prove'), I shall....
Bye bye.
Sunday, March 20, 2005
It's Over!
Wow, a month flew by! The course is finally over. I got the grade I
was working so hard for. Now comes the fun part where I'm job-hunting
again. But this time I'm an English teacher. I came to Zaragoza for an
interview yesterday. It seems like a decent job, and the pay is good.
Only problem is that I have to come up with three sample one-hour
lesson plans to send him by tomorrow afternoon. I thought the assessed
lesson plans ended with the course... but it's only the beginning! The
job is fora company that does intensive residential English courses.
Basically clients come for a week (mostly business clients) and are
immersed in English. It normally takes place at a hotel in the country
somewhere, the company has a number of places that they use, including
some very near to and on the outskirts of Bilbao. The teachers live
wherever they want, and just come to the place to do the courses. It
looks quite promising. The pay is good, but it's because it's an
intensive work week (followed by a week of relaxing). If I get it,
I'll take it. I had an interview on Thursday for a job, but it doesn't
offer enough hours or money to be worth it, although I got the job.
I'm going to Madrid this weekend. Hector just told me about a Baha'i
school they're having so I'm going to go and help out. I haven't done
much Baha'i stuff for the month I've been in BCN so it's nice to be
doing something. Farida is coming for a visit this week and I'm
looking forward to seeing her again. We always have lots o' fun :o)
Happy Naw-Ruz!
Monday, March 14, 2005
No Time for Anything!!!
This course is intense!!!I can't believe it's been 3 weeks already! I only have to teach 2 more times and it's over. Of course the 2 times are today and Friday, so the intensity is here all week... Everyone else finishes teaching before Amanda and I. We were scheduled to teach our last class onThursday, but because the Cambridge assessor is coming on Friday, instead of going to observe someone who is already scheduled forFriday teaching practice, they decided to have her come and observe Amanda and I, and switched us from thursday to friday! ugh!!! It's okay though. I can prepare that class tonight and I'll be good to go. It's so strange still... on the lesson plans, there is a box where you put your name, and instead of "name" as the label, it says "teacher" I still feel weird putting "Krisia" in that box.
I have to go now... this is a lame blog I know, but such is life....
I have to go now... this is a lame blog I know, but such is life....
Friday, February 25, 2005
Swimming in a CELTA Sea
Well, I'm one week into my course in teaching English as a second
language, and I am enjoying it immensely. They definitely threw us in
the deep end, with an "orientation meeting" on friday last week, which
was actally to teach us the icebreaker games that we would be teaching
our students on Monday, our first teaching day, which also happened to
be the first day of the course. Of course, my big question was "who
are these suckers that have agreed to learn English from teacher
trainees?". I learned very quickly that, no they are not crazy
masochists, but actually a group of 14 wonderful adult students, who
jumped at the opportunity to get english lessons catered to their
level for 2 hours every day for a month at a hugely discounted
rate.... I mean huge. They pay about the same as most language schools
charge for 1 or 2 of the same lessons. It even includes some lessons
from tutors - our teachers who actually know what they are doing!
One of the first things that was done was that we were put into TP
groups (no, not toothpaste or toilet paper, but Teaching Practice).
Unfortunately, our group is missing one person, as Christopher the
mountain-climber was a no-show for the course. I am in a group with
Kate, Amanda, Caspar and Nives. The five of us spend a lot of time
working together, as we teach the same class, and are together for the
teaching and feedback. We don't teach in groups, but rather each of us
is respnsible for a 30- or 40-minute portion of the 2-hour class.
Our mornings are occupied with seminars and videos, followed by a
feedback session from the teaching practice the day before. Then
lunch, and the afternoon is spent teaching, reviewing how it went, and
preparing for the next day. So far so good.... must go. More to come!
language, and I am enjoying it immensely. They definitely threw us in
the deep end, with an "orientation meeting" on friday last week, which
was actally to teach us the icebreaker games that we would be teaching
our students on Monday, our first teaching day, which also happened to
be the first day of the course. Of course, my big question was "who
are these suckers that have agreed to learn English from teacher
trainees?". I learned very quickly that, no they are not crazy
masochists, but actually a group of 14 wonderful adult students, who
jumped at the opportunity to get english lessons catered to their
level for 2 hours every day for a month at a hugely discounted
rate.... I mean huge. They pay about the same as most language schools
charge for 1 or 2 of the same lessons. It even includes some lessons
from tutors - our teachers who actually know what they are doing!
One of the first things that was done was that we were put into TP
groups (no, not toothpaste or toilet paper, but Teaching Practice).
Unfortunately, our group is missing one person, as Christopher the
mountain-climber was a no-show for the course. I am in a group with
Kate, Amanda, Caspar and Nives. The five of us spend a lot of time
working together, as we teach the same class, and are together for the
teaching and feedback. We don't teach in groups, but rather each of us
is respnsible for a 30- or 40-minute portion of the 2-hour class.
Our mornings are occupied with seminars and videos, followed by a
feedback session from the teaching practice the day before. Then
lunch, and the afternoon is spent teaching, reviewing how it went, and
preparing for the next day. So far so good.... must go. More to come!
Sunday, February 20, 2005
In Barcelona
We arrived on a bus at 6:15 a.m.
Disoriented, stiff and tired, we decided to take a taxi instead of the
metro to the apartment where I am staying for the duration of the
course.
We got in the taxi. I couldn't find the card where I had written the
address. I rummaged around in my bag, and in my pockets. Nada. So I
decided to call the lady who I am staying with, and get the address.
Rummaged in pockets again - no cellphone! Geesh! Vi had the brilliant
idea of taking the taxi to the other bus station, where the bus was
going next. Our taxi driver, a Spanish driver with clear streets at 6
a.m., in a city where red lights are more of a guideline than a rule,
managed to get us there in record time. I ran downstairs to where the
buses were, and found our bus. It was being cleaned. The driver let me
get on and look. I checked our seat, and under it, and the seats in
front and behind. Nothing. The sweeping guy asked what I was looking
for and I explained that my phone was missing. He checked the seat,
then he did something I thought was crazy, he felt under the seat. Not
in the space on the floor, the underside of the seat. Hooked in a
really weird way that totally obscured it from view, was my phone.
There is no way I would have found it otherwise! Wow! So a few minutes
later we were in another taxi headed for my new home for the next
month....
Barcelona is beautiful. Just as beautiful as I remembered. The people
in my course are great, and I'm looking forward to the first day
tomorrow. The only bad thing is that Vi's foot is really badly injured
and she can't walk very well. We managed to get to park guell today
and will see things little by little :o)
Oh yeah, and i lost my wallet friday night.... internet time's up
though.... Next post....
Disoriented, stiff and tired, we decided to take a taxi instead of the
metro to the apartment where I am staying for the duration of the
course.
We got in the taxi. I couldn't find the card where I had written the
address. I rummaged around in my bag, and in my pockets. Nada. So I
decided to call the lady who I am staying with, and get the address.
Rummaged in pockets again - no cellphone! Geesh! Vi had the brilliant
idea of taking the taxi to the other bus station, where the bus was
going next. Our taxi driver, a Spanish driver with clear streets at 6
a.m., in a city where red lights are more of a guideline than a rule,
managed to get us there in record time. I ran downstairs to where the
buses were, and found our bus. It was being cleaned. The driver let me
get on and look. I checked our seat, and under it, and the seats in
front and behind. Nothing. The sweeping guy asked what I was looking
for and I explained that my phone was missing. He checked the seat,
then he did something I thought was crazy, he felt under the seat. Not
in the space on the floor, the underside of the seat. Hooked in a
really weird way that totally obscured it from view, was my phone.
There is no way I would have found it otherwise! Wow! So a few minutes
later we were in another taxi headed for my new home for the next
month....
Barcelona is beautiful. Just as beautiful as I remembered. The people
in my course are great, and I'm looking forward to the first day
tomorrow. The only bad thing is that Vi's foot is really badly injured
and she can't walk very well. We managed to get to park guell today
and will see things little by little :o)
Oh yeah, and i lost my wallet friday night.... internet time's up
though.... Next post....
Sunday, February 13, 2005
A Day and a Night in San Sebastian
Violetta arrived yesterday. We had planned to meet in Irún, where her train was arriving, and since she was arriving a day earlier than originally planned and organised with her host in Bilbao, I was going to meet her there and spend a night there, and then come back to Bilbao together today. Thing is, when I read the Lonely Planet about Irún, it basically said there's nothing to see here. The only information it gives is how to get out. This lack of interesting things was reaffirmed when I mentioned to a couple of people that I was going to Irún. "¿Irún? What are you going there for??? There's nothing there." If I needed more confirmation, I got it as the bus drove through the city/village when we got there. No problem. I met up with Vi and we hopped on a train that left for San Sebastian 2 minutes later. San Sebastian is said to be the most Basque City of the Basque Country. It was originally a fishing village, and then a century or so ago it became a really popular resort town for rich European holidaymakers. Now, with the old city containing more bars and restaurant per square metre than probably anyplace in the world, it's party central on weekend nights. It's also the host of an International Jazz Festival in July. Anyway, we hung out in San Seb, sampling tapas and mosto in various bars, played backgammon with churros y chocolate in a family-type churreria-cafeteria, and continued the backgammon game in a really cool cafe with some mint tea. Very nice. The plan was to go back to our nice (and cheap) room and rest before taking on the dance scene later that night. As I've already mentioned in a number of places in this blog, everything in Spain works on a different schedule. I have been told that clubs don't really get going until about midnight or so. When we went out at 10 or so looking for somewhere to hang out and dance, we proved this rumour true. We stopped at a few different places, they were pretty empty, just a few people hanging around, no one dancing. Not surprising, since at 10 or so, a lot of people are just having dinner. Some restaurants don't open for dinner until 10! Anyway, Vi was tired and suffering from a case of uncomfortable shoes so we went back to the room with plans to come back out later. However, the travelling must have taken it's toll and she had no inclination to get up at 1 in the morning and go party. So I went myself and checked it out. It was all I thought it would be. Every single place had people dancing and each place was, as they say in Bermuda, RAMMED. I didn't stay out long though, since it was weird all by myself.
We got up at about 10 and went for a walk by the water. The weather really wasn't good for taking pics, windy and rainy... so we went for croissants for breakfast and the ncaught the bus to Bilbao. Now we're here in "my city" and for the next few days I will show her around. I really hope she likes it! She's already addicted to Mosto.
We got up at about 10 and went for a walk by the water. The weather really wasn't good for taking pics, windy and rainy... so we went for croissants for breakfast and the ncaught the bus to Bilbao. Now we're here in "my city" and for the next few days I will show her around. I really hope she likes it! She's already addicted to Mosto.
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Engrish
I've seen a lot of Engrish here in Spain. So much so that I have started ignoring it. I've really gotta start carrying my camera. The menus in "English" are the best. Meanwhile, if you want something to laugh at occasionally, take a look at www.Engrish.com. I'm sure as a future ESL teaher, my Engrish days are just beginning.....
The Bus Community
I live in Bilbao. Greater Bilbao (Bilbao and the many suburbs surrounding it) has a population of about 500 000. It's pretty small for a city. I've lived in smaller, and I've lived in bigger. To get some perspective, I was sitting on the bus this morning comparing the population of Bilbao to the populations of the other places I've lived. Bilbao has (according to my memories of the populations of these places and some sketchy mental arithmetic):
almost 10 times as many people as Bermuda,
1/18 the population of Istanbul,
about twice as many people as Barbados,
half as many as Trinidad,
1/6 as many people as Montreal, and
2 and a half times as many people as Haifa.
As far as cities go, it's beautiful. As I showed Serene around last week we were talking about this. It is big enough to have everything you need, and is small enough that you know where to find it.
So generally in a city this size, taking public transportation you would find a random assortment of people every time. Well that's what I thought. But I don't live downtown. I live in a small residential area called Artxanda, known for its hilltop location overlooking the city, and with the beautiful views the restaurants where many couples go to get married. When one says "Artxanda" though, it's not the views or the restaurants that come to mind. I've come to realise that "Artxanda" is synonymous with "lover's lane" in Bilbao. From sunset, the road leading up to Artxanda is lined with parked cars. If the people in the cars were to look out of their steamed-up windows, they would have a beautiful view of a city surriounded by mountains, with a river running around the edge, the buildings lining it, a mixture of old and new.... but they're otherwse occupied.
Artxanda has very few residents. Probably less than a couple of hundred, I don't know really. It's more of a neighbourhood than a town or suburb. There is one bus between Artxanda and Bilbao. It runs a circular route, once an hour. I've never seen it full, and I've gotten used to seeing certain people getting on. I know the regulars, where and when they get on and off.... Obviously, so does the bus driver. Today we had a driver who I haven't seen in a couple of weeks. I guess he was either sick or on vacation. Either way, there was a regular who got on a few stops after me, and she was happy to see him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. How cute!
There's a lady who comes on the 2 o'clock bus with her daughter who has Down's Syndrome. The daughter talks to everyone on the bus and always has something to laugh about. She never wants to get off when it's time, and usually another passenger has to come to the mother's aid to gently push and slide the daughter from behind while the mother pulls her by the hands out towards the door and out of the bus.
There's a lady who comes on the bus in the morning and the afternoon. She seems to have problems with her neighbours, and the bus seems to be the only place she feels comfortable shouting at them and venting her problems. When she gets on, I usually make sure I have my walkman on and headphones in place.
There's a guy who catches the bus in the evenings. He looks Arab. I want to say hello to him in Arabic and talk to him a bit, but I always lose my nerve.
A girl who lives next door catches the 9 o'clock bus most evenings. She never talks to anyone. Yesterday, she nodded slightly and acknowledged my presence for the first time. I feel like I'm making progress.
David, the neighbour from 2 doors down, and a friend of Neisan's who I helped with preparing for his English exam comes on the bus periodically. We usually chat for the whole trip home.
There are various old people (there's an old-folks' home opposite our place) and young people (mostly students at the culinary academy near the end of the route). Not many people in between, I suppose they all have cars....
almost 10 times as many people as Bermuda,
1/18 the population of Istanbul,
about twice as many people as Barbados,
half as many as Trinidad,
1/6 as many people as Montreal, and
2 and a half times as many people as Haifa.
As far as cities go, it's beautiful. As I showed Serene around last week we were talking about this. It is big enough to have everything you need, and is small enough that you know where to find it.
So generally in a city this size, taking public transportation you would find a random assortment of people every time. Well that's what I thought. But I don't live downtown. I live in a small residential area called Artxanda, known for its hilltop location overlooking the city, and with the beautiful views the restaurants where many couples go to get married. When one says "Artxanda" though, it's not the views or the restaurants that come to mind. I've come to realise that "Artxanda" is synonymous with "lover's lane" in Bilbao. From sunset, the road leading up to Artxanda is lined with parked cars. If the people in the cars were to look out of their steamed-up windows, they would have a beautiful view of a city surriounded by mountains, with a river running around the edge, the buildings lining it, a mixture of old and new.... but they're otherwse occupied.
Artxanda has very few residents. Probably less than a couple of hundred, I don't know really. It's more of a neighbourhood than a town or suburb. There is one bus between Artxanda and Bilbao. It runs a circular route, once an hour. I've never seen it full, and I've gotten used to seeing certain people getting on. I know the regulars, where and when they get on and off.... Obviously, so does the bus driver. Today we had a driver who I haven't seen in a couple of weeks. I guess he was either sick or on vacation. Either way, there was a regular who got on a few stops after me, and she was happy to see him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. How cute!
There's a lady who comes on the 2 o'clock bus with her daughter who has Down's Syndrome. The daughter talks to everyone on the bus and always has something to laugh about. She never wants to get off when it's time, and usually another passenger has to come to the mother's aid to gently push and slide the daughter from behind while the mother pulls her by the hands out towards the door and out of the bus.
There's a lady who comes on the bus in the morning and the afternoon. She seems to have problems with her neighbours, and the bus seems to be the only place she feels comfortable shouting at them and venting her problems. When she gets on, I usually make sure I have my walkman on and headphones in place.
There's a guy who catches the bus in the evenings. He looks Arab. I want to say hello to him in Arabic and talk to him a bit, but I always lose my nerve.
A girl who lives next door catches the 9 o'clock bus most evenings. She never talks to anyone. Yesterday, she nodded slightly and acknowledged my presence for the first time. I feel like I'm making progress.
David, the neighbour from 2 doors down, and a friend of Neisan's who I helped with preparing for his English exam comes on the bus periodically. We usually chat for the whole trip home.
There are various old people (there's an old-folks' home opposite our place) and young people (mostly students at the culinary academy near the end of the route). Not many people in between, I suppose they all have cars....
Monday, February 07, 2005
VI'S COMING!!!!
A week from now, I will have spent a whole day and be well into my second day here in Bilbao with Violetta.
She arrives at 5:45 a.m. on Sunday and will stay with me until February 17th, when we will both head to the beautiful city of Barcelona, and spend a few days together there. I am so excited!!!! As I walk around Bilbao, I try and see things the way Vi will see them. I can't wait to see this city that I've fallen in love with and come to think of as home as described by Violetta.
She's arriving by bus, so I know she will be tired when she gets here, but it will be Sunday morning, perfect for checking out the bizarre bazaar that is the flea market in Plaza Nueva in Casco Viejo. That's the place where you can buy things that most people would call junk. It's kinda scary sometimes, you look at the stuff arranged on a table and you know this guy is selling the contents of a house he robbed recently. One guy was selling used car radios... come on! Cellphones without sim cards? find them at the flea market! However, this flea market is also a collector's dream. There are stamp collectors, gem collectors, coin collectors, old book collectors, dirty magazine collectors, and whatever.... In the `plaza itself, groups of people congregate to trade trading cards of different types, other areas contain makeshift pet stores selling birds, turtles, goldfish and other pet paraphernalia, and near to them you will find people who are owners of new litters of kittens or puppies, looking for adoptive parents. I go there looking for books in English, and sometimes I even find them! The atmosphere is really fun though. I am sure most people aren't there to buy. Just to drink in the crowd while sipping at their red wine or a glass of mosto in one of the jillions of barras that line the plaza.
Speaking of mosto... I discovered it a few months ago. I have yet to find out what the difference is between mosto and zumo de uva (grape juice). Mosto is grape juice. However if you go to a bar and ask for grape juice, no one has it. If you ask for mosto, they always have it. It is served in a tall glass with ice and a slice of orange. Always. And it's always the cheapest thing on the menu. If a coke or nestea is 1.50, the mosto is almost always less than 1 euro, often 80 cents. I don't get it. But I like it :o)
So tip for non-drinking travellers in Spain who want to save a few centimos... drink mosto.
She arrives at 5:45 a.m. on Sunday and will stay with me until February 17th, when we will both head to the beautiful city of Barcelona, and spend a few days together there. I am so excited!!!! As I walk around Bilbao, I try and see things the way Vi will see them. I can't wait to see this city that I've fallen in love with and come to think of as home as described by Violetta.
She's arriving by bus, so I know she will be tired when she gets here, but it will be Sunday morning, perfect for checking out the bizarre bazaar that is the flea market in Plaza Nueva in Casco Viejo. That's the place where you can buy things that most people would call junk. It's kinda scary sometimes, you look at the stuff arranged on a table and you know this guy is selling the contents of a house he robbed recently. One guy was selling used car radios... come on! Cellphones without sim cards? find them at the flea market! However, this flea market is also a collector's dream. There are stamp collectors, gem collectors, coin collectors, old book collectors, dirty magazine collectors, and whatever.... In the `plaza itself, groups of people congregate to trade trading cards of different types, other areas contain makeshift pet stores selling birds, turtles, goldfish and other pet paraphernalia, and near to them you will find people who are owners of new litters of kittens or puppies, looking for adoptive parents. I go there looking for books in English, and sometimes I even find them! The atmosphere is really fun though. I am sure most people aren't there to buy. Just to drink in the crowd while sipping at their red wine or a glass of mosto in one of the jillions of barras that line the plaza.
Speaking of mosto... I discovered it a few months ago. I have yet to find out what the difference is between mosto and zumo de uva (grape juice). Mosto is grape juice. However if you go to a bar and ask for grape juice, no one has it. If you ask for mosto, they always have it. It is served in a tall glass with ice and a slice of orange. Always. And it's always the cheapest thing on the menu. If a coke or nestea is 1.50, the mosto is almost always less than 1 euro, often 80 cents. I don't get it. But I like it :o)
So tip for non-drinking travellers in Spain who want to save a few centimos... drink mosto.
My Blog Is Boring
I'm bored of my blog. I can't believe you're even here reading it. It is totally lacking in substance, interest, humour, depth, and pretty much everything.
It's not that my life is devoid of substance, interest, humour, depth etc, it's just that I haven't felt like writing about it. There's a lot of stuff I'm going through as part of moving to a new country, learning a new language etc. Most of it is fun, but hard to describe. The stuff that is easy to describe is the stuff that is not necessarily positive, and borderline backbiting, and that's a border I want to stay away from. So for now, my blog will probably remain boring and dull....
It's not that my life is devoid of substance, interest, humour, depth etc, it's just that I haven't felt like writing about it. There's a lot of stuff I'm going through as part of moving to a new country, learning a new language etc. Most of it is fun, but hard to describe. The stuff that is easy to describe is the stuff that is not necessarily positive, and borderline backbiting, and that's a border I want to stay away from. So for now, my blog will probably remain boring and dull....
Friday, January 28, 2005
According to my profile...
I boredly clicked on my blogger.com profile. Narcissistic? Maybe. I occasionally Google myself too, just to see what comes up.
I was born in the year of the tiger. I think that's cool. If someone told me all the possibilities of animal names of years for the Chinese year thing and I had to choose one, I would definitely choose tiger. The years are Rat Ox Tiger Rabbit Cat Dragon Snake Horse Ram Monkey Rooster Dog and Boar. If I were born in the year of the rat, I probably wouldn't be writing anything about it. Tigers are cool though. Dragons are a nice second choice.
I really don't believe this stuff though. I just found out my tiger horoscope for today:
Your spouse will have much to do to endure your changes of mood. Take good care of your feet. At work, you'll be more realistic, more careful and pragmatic than ever. In family, you'll be surrounded with warm affection; you will achieve an understanding of rare perfection. Know that you're a unique being -- you don't have to act like everybody else.
1. I don't have a spouse, so yeah, no.
2. Take good care of your feet... ummmm ok. Random.
3. At work... ha! I have been unemployed for ages. In fact, maybe the take good care of your feet comment has something to do with the fact that I've been pounding pavement for months job-hunting....
4. Hmmm family, warm affection, rare perfection. Well that's nice. I love my family. I'm helping my mom with some cards, so maybe we will accomplish rare perfection...
5. Unique being... Dude... I know that already!
So all in all this daily horoscope thing is mostly wrong. I could be a daily horoscope writer. It must be fun to make this stuff up. Almost like writing the copy for the back of product labels. You can pretty much say anything you want.
This is my overview for the upcoming year of the rooster starting february 9th:
Eager for action, the Tiger may instead be surrounded by harmony. In order to turn their energy into useful channels, they must join cultural clubs or participate in different debates and seminars. If an occasion presents itself, they will have an interest in discovering new countries, civilizations and peoples still unknown to them. Their trips will stimulate their thinking and help them acquire wisdom.
The character summary for tiger people is kind of interesting too.... I read it here. Read yours if you want... If you're bored.
(for entertainment purposes only. InsideKrisiasHead cannot be held responsible for anything resulting from any adviced followed as a result of reading this blog or reading anything on the links from this blog, or the links from those links. In fact, InsideKrisiasHead is totally irresponsible. I'm just bored and writing stupid garbage. If you really want something to do, read Violetta's blog, or look at Ryan's pictures. Now go, get a life.)
I was born in the year of the tiger. I think that's cool. If someone told me all the possibilities of animal names of years for the Chinese year thing and I had to choose one, I would definitely choose tiger. The years are Rat Ox Tiger Rabbit Cat Dragon Snake Horse Ram Monkey Rooster Dog and Boar. If I were born in the year of the rat, I probably wouldn't be writing anything about it. Tigers are cool though. Dragons are a nice second choice.
I really don't believe this stuff though. I just found out my tiger horoscope for today:
Your spouse will have much to do to endure your changes of mood. Take good care of your feet. At work, you'll be more realistic, more careful and pragmatic than ever. In family, you'll be surrounded with warm affection; you will achieve an understanding of rare perfection. Know that you're a unique being -- you don't have to act like everybody else.
1. I don't have a spouse, so yeah, no.
2. Take good care of your feet... ummmm ok. Random.
3. At work... ha! I have been unemployed for ages. In fact, maybe the take good care of your feet comment has something to do with the fact that I've been pounding pavement for months job-hunting....
4. Hmmm family, warm affection, rare perfection. Well that's nice. I love my family. I'm helping my mom with some cards, so maybe we will accomplish rare perfection...
5. Unique being... Dude... I know that already!
So all in all this daily horoscope thing is mostly wrong. I could be a daily horoscope writer. It must be fun to make this stuff up. Almost like writing the copy for the back of product labels. You can pretty much say anything you want.
This is my overview for the upcoming year of the rooster starting february 9th:
Eager for action, the Tiger may instead be surrounded by harmony. In order to turn their energy into useful channels, they must join cultural clubs or participate in different debates and seminars. If an occasion presents itself, they will have an interest in discovering new countries, civilizations and peoples still unknown to them. Their trips will stimulate their thinking and help them acquire wisdom.
The character summary for tiger people is kind of interesting too.... I read it here. Read yours if you want... If you're bored.
(for entertainment purposes only. InsideKrisiasHead cannot be held responsible for anything resulting from any adviced followed as a result of reading this blog or reading anything on the links from this blog, or the links from those links. In fact, InsideKrisiasHead is totally irresponsible. I'm just bored and writing stupid garbage. If you really want something to do, read Violetta's blog, or look at Ryan's pictures. Now go, get a life.)
Thursday, January 27, 2005
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