So it's been a crazy week!

I've been super busy this week! Last weekend was fun-filled. Katie came to visit us from Irun (yay!), so we went to a very popular nightclub called Fever. It has maybe five rooms with different music, including a reggae/hip-hop room called "Black Fever." Yes, you read that right.




















































I think we went to the beach the next day:














It was MUCH prettier than before.

Monday, I started work at one of my schools. It's called Urritxe, but as you can see, some of the letters on the building are missing.














I love the kids. They treat me like a celebrity! Apparently, I'm the first person in my program to ever go to this school. A group of them followed me to the bus stop:














There are a few off to the side who didn't want to be in the picture. One of them was smoking (gasp), so I think that had to do with it. The smoking one was 15 and asked me what I thought about George Bush. The questions the students had were crazy. Examples: What is prom? What is punch? Do you see Hollywood films being made in the streets? What celebrities have you met? Do you know Kobe Bryant? Do you like Bruce Springsteen/Bon Jovi/U2/Linkin Park, etc.? Do you have a gun? Are drugs illegal in the US? Are the boys in Florida beautiful? Wow. I felt like I had to dispel SO many myths! They base a lot of their ideas about Americans on the movies, unfortunately, and few of them have ever met a real live one.

The commute out there is about 1 hour from door to door, and I work about 3 hours a day, four days a week. I also started tutoring a little bit this week out in Galdakao, which is about a 25 minute commute from here. Getting it together at the school basically took up my whole week. Next week, I have to do it all over again, since I'm starting at another school.

Last night, we went out for Indian food, and my GOD. It put me into the biggest food coma of my life. It did a number on the boys, too. I fell asleep at the table! We'd had nan (bread), bhaji (little deep fried things), lamb, chicken, basmati rice, and various desserts, not to mention a bottle or two of very tasty wine. No wonder we were immediately stricken with "the itis." I slept for about 11 hours last night, whew.














That brings us up to the present, so...bye. =)

Why are groceries so wonderfully cheap?

Monday, we had another orientation day in Vitoria, which is the capital of the neighboring province. I got to meet three teachers from my schools, which was absolutely great! They were so incredibly nice. I start work on Monday, and one of the teachers is picking me up near my apartment. Yay! I'm supposed to work with students age 12-18, which frightens me, but I always get three day weekends, which delights me.

So, some pictures!

I've met some very nice people:













That's Ryan, Kyle, and Dom. Ryan and Dom are English, and so we shared our culture with them by teaching them how to properly use the word "douchebag." It was one of the highlights of my day.














This is Jaron eating a raw carrot, something he does on a disturbingly regular basis. He's like Bugs Bunny.

Today was a beautiful day! I washed my clothes a few days ago and hung them outside to dry. Of course, it rained cats and dogs for two days, so I took them in last night. Apparently, the niceness of the weather is in an inverse relationship with the amount of underwear I have hanging outside my window. This is some of my neighborhood:


























In other news, all the libraries have free wi-fi, and there just happens to be one across the street from my house! I'm here at the library right now, paying a whopping zero euro to internet my heart out. Thanks to Roopa for the tip.

I went to the grocery store today, as well, and I bought water, bread, milk, eggs, wine, beer, and cake, and it all came up to 11 euro. Amazing! The alcohol is SO cheap. The wine cost me 1 euro. How is that allowed?! I'll never be able to buy a crappy $7 bottle of wine in the US again without feeling cheated. I also bought some gum:














I'm going to an intercambio tonight at an Irish pub with a few other people in the program. I can't wait to finally get some real Spanish practice in. Wish me luck!

This one´s for Ari

Hey! Ari requested an update, so here it is. I´ve been meaning to, but I don´t have internet at my apartment yet (I´m going through some terrible withdrawal over this...I haven´t used Wikipedia in WEEKS). It also seems as though posts with pictures are far more entertaining, and I so rarely get the chance to upload those. My favorite internet cafe tends to be randomly closed, so coming here is always a roll of the dice. Much stands in the way of me updating this blog as often as I would like =/.

Anyway, I went to my program's orientation in Madrid last Monday. There were three sessions, two of which were in Spanish. I was called out in one of them for not knowing enough Spanish to understand perfectly, which ticked me off. I'm sure she wasn't being mean, but it's a little frustrating that everyone expects you to just be fluent in TWO weeks when you haven't studied Spanish for FOUR years. I'd rather not be lectured about having a more open attitude toward learning the language. I'm trying here, people!

Anyway, the bus trip was nice. I like traveling by bus and train here. There's so much to look at outside the window. This looks kind of boring, but it's much more awe-inspiring in person.














While in Madrid, I managed to snap a picture of the elusive "mullock." It's an AWFUL hairstyle that is insanely popular here. It's a mullet made of locks. Why? Just why?














I went shopping at Zara finally, which made me feel like a real-life European! Everybody here has a Zara bag, not just for Zara merchandise, but for various documents, electronics, whatever you have lying around that you need to transport.














So, at the orientation, I met other people in Pais Vasco. My roommate was Katie, and we got along great, but unfortunately, she's living in Irun, not Bilbao. There's another orientation in Vitoria on Monday, however, so we'll see each other again. I also met two guys from Idaho who will be working in Bilbao. They were a fun bunch!



























That night, I finally stepped in one of the HUNDREDS of piles of dog poop that litter the ground here. I knew it would happen eventually, and I'm sure it will happen again. There's just too much poop.

When we got back, my roommates and I went to a store that I guess is the equivalent of a dollar store. They had a little of everything, including souvenirs you would never want to receive, such as "La Bruja WC":




















http://es.noticias.yahoo.com/vocento/20080930/video/ven-la-bruja-wc-es-designada-como-el-sou-fdadd33.html

Click that link if you're interested in hearing the sound effects that really make this souvenir unforgettable.

I went to the beach with the Idahoans yesterday, but it was terrible weather!



























Yeah, just a smidge depressing.

Today was so beautiful, though!
































These days are going to occur less and less frequently in the next few months, so I've been out and about enjoying it today. I took a walk! At first, I was all worked up about these lazy Spanish weekends, but I think I'm learning to enjoy it. They really FORCE you to take the weekend off here because everything is shut down for most of Saturday and all of Sunday. They also force you to drink all the time because the alcohol is cheaper than the water (if you go to a cafe or something). I hate being so unproductive when there's so much to be done! I can't complain when the weather is this fine, though. I suppose that's all for now.