Spainy Story Time: Wolves, Bubbles, and Wind

Time flies by here!!

Even though the weather has been a little damp, it has not put a damper on my experience!! I was expecting to shiver constantly in the cold throughout the semester. So far, the weather and I are getting along just fine.

Chus buying flowers for the balcony!

The Basque accent is so interesting. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish between a "B" and a "G" because they are both very weak consonants. I will catch on soon enough. Chus and I went to the flower shop a few days ago, she pointed and I heard her say "lobo". I thought the animal she was pointing at was a wolf! In reality, she was saying "luego". Which means "let's go". Now every time she says "luego" I have to repeat it and remind myself that she is not talking about a wolf!

I met with my buddy, Judit, yesterday afternoon. She showed my how to get a transportation pass for the Metro, train and bus. We also went to El Corte Ingles (the store that has EVERYTHING) and I almost bought a Hannah Montana straightener for 10 euros (HA!)...but Judit remembered that she had an extra for me to borrow. Then we went cell phone shopping! Thank goodness she was with me, I got a really awesome deal.

The kids! Marcos and Uxue

Yesterday after dinner I saw Chus making 2 cardboard cylinders out of something she had around the house. The she poured soap into a little cup and gave it to her grandchildren and they started to bow bubbles (pompas)! So creative. I'm going to have to remember that when I'm a grandma. We went into the bathroom because the kids were making a mess and pretty soon, they formed a band with the cardboard instruments. It was fun. The kids are really intelligent. Their names are Marcos and Uxue (oo.sue.eh) and they are 5 year old twins. They can speak English, Basque and Castellano (Spanish). The first time I met them, the sang the entire chorus of the Waka Waka World Cup song! It was hysterical.

My American friends and I went to the coast today and saw the Bay of Biscay. (See where we were: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=204145249901475562674.00049996740cb9b2bbfd0). It was a 20 minute ride on the Metro and it started raining immediately after we got there! My umbrella almost flew out of my hands several times! It was pretty funny though. We ran up to a little restaurant and drank hot chocolate (coco cao). When the rain ceased and we were dry and warm, we went back out to take a few more pictures and this time the wind almost blew me off the mountain! It was a great afternoon.

The Coast- Bay of Biscay

The intensive language classes start tomorrow! YAY! Hopefully I will meet lots of new people and learn more Spanish. Speaking Spanish in SPAIN is completely different than learning it in an American high school or university. I have learned more here in 3 days than I have in 3 years in the US! (Okay so that is probably a hyperbole but it really seems that way!)

I did not eat lunch until 5:30pm today. Chus asked if I wanted dinner and I told her that I probably would not be hungry. Then she said "Okay, you can just have dessert!" I responded with "Por Supuesto!" (Of course!).

Until next time,

Michelle