Weekend with the girls

I spent the last weekend out and about with the girls. On Thursday, I attended my first ERASMUS party with Leire and Naiara which was 80s themed and at The LOFT. ERASMUS is the European Union's exchange program for all international students, so the party was littered with people from all over the world, however, I was still the only Canadian. Though, I did find a group of Americans from El Paso and Chicago. They were easy to find, as there were the only other people who cheered when 'The Safety Dance' or 'Tainted Love' played. It was a good night, in which I concluded that American's who study internationally are good people, and confirmed my suspicion that French men are CREEPY! There was one who insisted on following me around and kissing my hand repeatedly. No one understood why, but it was kind of funny, because he would randomly show up and interrupt all conversion to kiss my hand. So strange. On the way home from the night of 80s music, I discovered what I believe is to the Spanish version of 7/11. As the convenience store doesn't exist in Bilbao, they compensate with a 24 hour vending machine that have an address on the street and is encased in cement. Also strange.

On Saturday, I went to Eva's basktelball game with Leire in Sopelana. Then Eva and I went for dinner and met up with Marta. We were planning on having a low-key evening, but we ended up meeting up with some of the people Eva, Leire, and Marta went to school with. So, we went to Casco Viejo with them to a place where there are large tables to sit around, drink kalimocho (a mixture of cheap red wine and coke - it sounds disgusting but is actually really good and very very cheap), watch football, and play cards. Then, we went to some bars in Casco Viejo. We discovered one that served Pitxiflu, and since I had never tried it before, everyone insisted that we all have one. Pitxiflu reminds me of Mexico. You put your head on the bar while they poor liquor into your mouth. Then, the bartender puts his hand over your mouth and shakes your head until you swallow. This is when Eva and I knew we had failed in our attempt to have a low-key evening. Pitxiflu was a bad idea. After that we ended up going to a couple bars in Casco Viejo, and then continued on to Abando. It was absolutely pouring rain and we all got completely soaked! 

In the bars in Abando, Andréa (a cool girl in the group who recently became a dentist) and I ended up being Samantha and Angela from Canada later in the evening. This started because everytime we went somewhere new, some guys we didn't really want to talk to would come up to us to ask where I was from. Eventually, Andrea started to say that she was also from Canada and would only speak english while I would speak the 'better' spanish haha.  It was a fun group of people to be in, and even though we planned on having a mellow evening, it turned out to be a lot of fun.

Hasta la proximá vez,

Kathlene

PS. Next weekend is a long weekend, and I'm off to Madrid!!

Weekend with the girls

Zorionak Zuri/Feliz Cumpleaños/Happy Birthday

On the last Saturday of Easter holidays, I went to the surprise birthday party of Jon a.k.a. Eva's Boyfriend a.k.a. Jontxu (the Basque equivalent of Jonny) a.k.a Pedro Picapiedra (in España The Flintstones are Los Picapiedras and Fred Flintstone is Pedro Picapiedra). The party started at Eva's house, where we all gathered to wait for Jon and Eva to show up after the Bilbao Athletica soccer match. When the car pulled up we all waited in the dark and waited to sing Happy Birthday in Basque (zorionak zuri, zorionak zuri...). After Jon got over the initial shock, all 16 guests enjoyed a big dinner of tortilla española, bocadillos, homemade pintxos, bruschetta (which no one had tried before) and two birthday cakes. Eva made a rice cake (typical here) and I made a chocolate cake (very exotic here). Both were great successes even though we were both terrified that we had made horrid cakes. There are no cake mixes here, of course, that would be convenient.

After dinner, the party continued at Eva's for awhile, and even included 'Singing Star'... karaoke for Playstation. It got just terrible haha. Then we headed to Sopelana to party on the beach.  There are several clubs and bars that line the beach in Sopelana and all had a more laid back feel then the larger clubs or those in Bilbao. The second bar we went to was one called Cafe Americano and there was hockey on the tv! I couldn't believe that I could watch a Flames game at 5am, but what was more unbelievable was that I ended up explaining hockey to several sports fans! 

I had a great time, as I do everytime I'm with mi cuadrilla (my group of friends). I got home at the latest hour yet after going to breakfast with Jon, Eva, and Pive. But, I have to say, I'm getting used to the schedule here! I have come to except that Sunday afternoons just don't exist, and that Saturday is a double day.

Hasta la proximá vez,

Kathlene

Zorionak Jontxu

Mountain climbing in the Basque Country

Today, I went mountain climbing for the first time. It was an interesting experience. What I saw was absolutely amazing, but as I sit here writing this, I'm not 100% sure my legs won't just fall off. I am absolutely exhausted.

Eva, Diana, Aingeru, Aitziber, Alex, Roberto, Aimera, and myself started our journey to the mountain at 9 this morning, and made it to the national park by 10. Then, it was up to the top! First, we trekked through what I not-so-fondly like to call the "Terrible Forest of Mud" which was just like it sounds.  It was a steep incline that consisted only of mud and rocks since there had been a lot of rain over Easter and the trees in the forest didn't admit sunshine. It was treacherous and next to impossible to find a safe place to step. I was the first to both end up ankles+ deep in mud and fall, but fortunately (for me) not the only one to do so. 

After the Terrible Forest of Mud, we entered a clearing or pasture that had the beginning of some magnificent views. Also, the sun wasn't hidden by trees, so the earth was nice and dry. This clearing took us to a steep slope of rocks for the final ascent to the first peek. The rocks were a bit scary from time to time as they weren't always stable, but we all made it to the top of the first peek! Here, there was a stone archway to walk through, and the views were, of course, spectacular.  

Next, we headed down the backside of the mountain a little ways, until we started to head across and up the mountain to go see a cave. Most of this journey was very rocky and quite difficult. I'm not sure which is worse, slick mud or wobbly rocks...call me crazy, but I like the ground under my feet to be stable. However, the cave was cool. We camped out there for a few minutes to have a snack, drink some water, and do some spelunking. There were no bears living in the cave, but there were some drawings on the walls which were obviously the first signs of Basque civilization... but I'm not sure what reindeer type creatures had to do with the Basques.

Next, we had to do some more climbing down, and up and around the mountain. We encountered all sorts of crazy things like a hole that literally seemed infinite and a tiny stone house that was actually in a state of livability. Apparently, there are tiny houses of all sorts scattered around the mountains for people to stay in case they get lost and have to spend the night on the mountain. Good to know.

Eventually we came over a ridge that opened up into a grassy valley between two peaks. We went down into this valley and found another little house, this one with some tables outside, so we sat down for a lunch of bokatas (sandwiches made with a loaf of french bread. Eva and I bought some delicious cured meat and cheddar ("Canadian") cheese for our bokatas the night before after having a drink with Leire in Algorta). During lunch, there were all sorts of horses and sheep kicking around in the valley and all the horses had cowbells around their necks. So, all you could hear all throughout lunch was cowbells, and all I could think about was "I gotta have more cowbell!" Unfortunately, my Spanish-speaking friends have never watched the American-version of SNL. They, of course, have their own Spanish SNL.

After lunch, we started heading back to the vehicles. It was quite a hike, but it was the easiest part. Here is where we saw the most beautiful views in my opinion (see pictures in the slideshow of the can-can and what not). Also, here is where you could view the mountain that is said to look like 'Mari' the dominant women in Basque mythology and was supposedly the goddess of the Basques. See the picture below (sorry for mispelling mythology in the photo edit).

All and all, a very interesting and cool experience. I'm glad that I can now say that I have climbed a mountain in the Basque country. But... I think it would be very difficult to persuade me to do it all over again.

Hasta la proximá vez,

Kathlene

Mountain climbing in the Basque Country

I'm moving to Plentzia one day

I spent Monday afternoon in Plentzia, and I have to say, I absolutely love it there!! I took the metro there Monday afternoon, and met a couple of the other international students from my Spanish class on the beach. It was a relaxing lazy day of lounging on the beach, strolling around, drinking beer in the cute plaza, and reading on the metro. I think I could live in Plentzia FOREVER. I told Stu we are first going to buy a flat in the plaza since they're only about 400,000€ and then, when we we're more settled, we will get a big house on the beach. It seems like a practical approach :)

Hasta la proximá vez,

Kathlene