Sunday, June 19, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Encantada de la vida
Lately I've been caught up in the summer wind, taking in every moment and staying outside as long as possible. Today I woke up at 8.30 to go to a street market ("mercadillo") in the next town over with my host mom, where, even though we didn't end up selling very much, I had a great time and got to know a friend of my mom and I bought a few things for myself (a book for 1€, another book the girl practically forced me to take along with it for free, a 3€ winter hat, little earrings and the suchlike). But, as my host mom said, "El precio es simbólico" (the price is symbolic). The fun part was walking around staring at the ancient typewriters, the old, unwanted clothing, the hand-made earrings and bracelets, the books with little notes in the margins... and wondering what kind of story must all those little, seemingly unimportant objects must have.
Then, upon arriving back in Urnieta, I went to join my friends, who had spent the morning preparing a paella for a competition in the town plaza. I wasn't there to help them out but, despite the 5's and 6's from the judges, it was pretty delicious. Afterwards, we went to the "deposito" where they store the town's water. It's up in the hills in the outskirts of the town and on the top it's covered in grass and an ideal place to go enjoy the sun in the afternoon with friends. We spent the entire afternoon talking, sharing music, relaxing and taking advantage of the good weather.
All in all, I've been out the entire day and sitting on the sofa while listening to one of the CDs I bought at the street market this morning, I don't think I could be happier.
This brings me into more of the "mindset" part of my post today. I've noticed lately that the days have been longer, I've been sleeping significantly better and even though I've got the last few tests ahead of me, I've been completely relaxed. Little by little I've been attempting to speak in Euskera (I actually had a full conversation with a friend's dad yesterday in Euskera, even though he did spend most of the time talking) and I've been trying a little bit every day, even though I find it a little difficult to get started with speaking in another language since I don't know it too well. I finished reading my first book in Spanish outside of school the other day as well and I've been really inspired artistically. I feel like I don't stop moving, I'm constantly entertaining myself and I hardly ever get bored. I'd like for this not to be just because I'm leaving soon because I wake up in the morning with a smile on my face (which, if you lived with me, you'd know its pretty rare) and when I finally go to bed at night I'm still smiling.
Then, upon arriving back in Urnieta, I went to join my friends, who had spent the morning preparing a paella for a competition in the town plaza. I wasn't there to help them out but, despite the 5's and 6's from the judges, it was pretty delicious. Afterwards, we went to the "deposito" where they store the town's water. It's up in the hills in the outskirts of the town and on the top it's covered in grass and an ideal place to go enjoy the sun in the afternoon with friends. We spent the entire afternoon talking, sharing music, relaxing and taking advantage of the good weather.
All in all, I've been out the entire day and sitting on the sofa while listening to one of the CDs I bought at the street market this morning, I don't think I could be happier.
This brings me into more of the "mindset" part of my post today. I've noticed lately that the days have been longer, I've been sleeping significantly better and even though I've got the last few tests ahead of me, I've been completely relaxed. Little by little I've been attempting to speak in Euskera (I actually had a full conversation with a friend's dad yesterday in Euskera, even though he did spend most of the time talking) and I've been trying a little bit every day, even though I find it a little difficult to get started with speaking in another language since I don't know it too well. I finished reading my first book in Spanish outside of school the other day as well and I've been really inspired artistically. I feel like I don't stop moving, I'm constantly entertaining myself and I hardly ever get bored. I'd like for this not to be just because I'm leaving soon because I wake up in the morning with a smile on my face (which, if you lived with me, you'd know its pretty rare) and when I finally go to bed at night I'm still smiling.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
That month that always seemed so far away/Expiration date
June. That's tomorrow. What does that mean? No more school in the afternoon, now we only have from 830 - 200 every day. Final tests of the year (not finals, just my last 3 tests), warm weather, summer, schools out, fiestas, birthdays... Oh, and my last month. Its not time to reflect yet, Im still in my anteanteantepenultimate (5th to last) week, and after talking about it with my host dad I realized Id be so much better following his advice- until now I've been doing "vida normal," I settled in here a long time ago and by now I can get through my morning routine with my eyes closed. It feels like I've been living here all my life (most of the time), so why should I act or think any differently now?
I was going through a bit of an end-of-exchange crisis, but slowly I've pushed myself away from those thoughts (as a journalist once said "dont worry, or worry, but know that worrying is about as useful as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum") and I feel like a certain calmness has set over me. But this calmness wasnt something I lost because of the anxiety and the proximity of my flight date, it actually dissapeared a few months ago (between February and April, sometime) and after a week of complete stress (two projects that had to get done, a test to study for about a topic we barely had time to cover in class in spanish that I knew everything about but screwed up on the test, and a latin quiz about pronouns which I only had time to study for the night before) I feel relief but also a bit of the laziness where you get over a really difficult week but still have half of all the work to go and you just want to stay in bed and read all day for a few days. I kind of got off topic there and I know the sentence didnt really make that much sense, but what I was trying to say was, I haven't completely gained this calmness back yet because of the schoolwork and the gloomy weather, but I know its there, and Im glad it is.
To explain myself better, Id like to refer to a past blog post where I talked about how the warmth reminded me of the beginning of my year here and how there was a point this year where my mind had opened up to the world. That period was one of my favorite emotional states to look back upon because I felt more like "myself" (just generally more comfortable with everything I did) than ever and it was a stage where I often spaced out, caught upon a train of thought thatd appear out of nowhere and I felt a lot more inspired to learn, to read and especially to write. Now, a few months later, even though it feels like decades, and a lot of experiences later as well, I feel like I'm returning back to that state of mind, this time with nearly perfect language skills to express myself, and another language on its way (actually, Im writing a poem in my euskera class, which even I didnt know I was capable of). In general, I'm really happy with my experience here, and I think i'll keep doing things that way, expiration date or not.
I was going through a bit of an end-of-exchange crisis, but slowly I've pushed myself away from those thoughts (as a journalist once said "dont worry, or worry, but know that worrying is about as useful as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum") and I feel like a certain calmness has set over me. But this calmness wasnt something I lost because of the anxiety and the proximity of my flight date, it actually dissapeared a few months ago (between February and April, sometime) and after a week of complete stress (two projects that had to get done, a test to study for about a topic we barely had time to cover in class in spanish that I knew everything about but screwed up on the test, and a latin quiz about pronouns which I only had time to study for the night before) I feel relief but also a bit of the laziness where you get over a really difficult week but still have half of all the work to go and you just want to stay in bed and read all day for a few days. I kind of got off topic there and I know the sentence didnt really make that much sense, but what I was trying to say was, I haven't completely gained this calmness back yet because of the schoolwork and the gloomy weather, but I know its there, and Im glad it is.
To explain myself better, Id like to refer to a past blog post where I talked about how the warmth reminded me of the beginning of my year here and how there was a point this year where my mind had opened up to the world. That period was one of my favorite emotional states to look back upon because I felt more like "myself" (just generally more comfortable with everything I did) than ever and it was a stage where I often spaced out, caught upon a train of thought thatd appear out of nowhere and I felt a lot more inspired to learn, to read and especially to write. Now, a few months later, even though it feels like decades, and a lot of experiences later as well, I feel like I'm returning back to that state of mind, this time with nearly perfect language skills to express myself, and another language on its way (actually, Im writing a poem in my euskera class, which even I didnt know I was capable of). In general, I'm really happy with my experience here, and I think i'll keep doing things that way, expiration date or not.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Me faltan horas en el día
I was just talking to a friend online and realized an important lesson I've learned. Sorry for the gramatical errors.
Thats what this year is about, losing yourself and finding yourself again. Itd be nice if we coud go back to the beginning and knowing everything we know now, do it a whole lot better (learn euskera, get rid of that accent, read in spanish more, personally, write more, get better grades, be more interactive with friends, not be on the computer so long, watch more movies...) but the whole point is that we didnt do all that because we didnt know what itd be like and thats exactly what this whole things about.one of the most important lessons ive learnt here is to truly value my time. Ive learnt to forget about stupid tv programs and take an interest in movies, ive learnt that writing poetry in another language thats not yours is not imposible, ive learnt to understand euskera and hold a basic conversation or talk about what i did yesterday and what im doing tomorrow, ive made a ton of new friends who ill never forget and miss dearly (not only from here, but from aroud the world), ive learned what its like to plan your own trips and deal with everyone thinking youre just too young, ive seen the three autonomous communities of spain, ive walked 112km in 5 days, i have read books in spanish even if they havent been at a very high level, ive even learnt a basis of latin. But the most important thing ive learnt is that there arent enough hours in the day everything i want to do, and thats the greatest feeling in the world.
Thats what this year is about, losing yourself and finding yourself again. Itd be nice if we coud go back to the beginning and knowing everything we know now, do it a whole lot better (learn euskera, get rid of that accent, read in spanish more, personally, write more, get better grades, be more interactive with friends, not be on the computer so long, watch more movies...) but the whole point is that we didnt do all that because we didnt know what itd be like and thats exactly what this whole things about.one of the most important lessons ive learnt here is to truly value my time. Ive learnt to forget about stupid tv programs and take an interest in movies, ive learnt that writing poetry in another language thats not yours is not imposible, ive learnt to understand euskera and hold a basic conversation or talk about what i did yesterday and what im doing tomorrow, ive made a ton of new friends who ill never forget and miss dearly (not only from here, but from aroud the world), ive learned what its like to plan your own trips and deal with everyone thinking youre just too young, ive seen the three autonomous communities of spain, ive walked 112km in 5 days, i have read books in spanish even if they havent been at a very high level, ive even learnt a basis of latin. But the most important thing ive learnt is that there arent enough hours in the day everything i want to do, and thats the greatest feeling in the world.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
The exchange experience
For those wondering what its like, as a general description, to go through a year of exchange, here's a link to a friends blog (living in the south of spain) who wrote about it. I'd try to describe it myself, but I don't think I could put it any better than she did. I'm in complete agreement with everything she says here: http://marybeth-afs.blogspot.com/2011/05/illusion-of-exchange.html
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Relax, take it easy
The last two months of my experience here have been and will serve to basically enjoy every moment, now that I can communicate extremely well with the people around me and just knowing and having made a lot of good friends. My life here has turned into a more or less "normal" routine type of thing, and so I'm presented with the opportunity to now do 'more' than just the routine, because the routine used to be difficult and filled up all my time and kept me entertained (also studying was something to take up the time and a large responsibility, but keeping up with my grades now is easier as well). Monday, right after school, my friends and I rushed to the train station and 15 minutes later we were at the beach. I even jumped into the ocean with two of my friends. It was pretty cold but I really felt like jumping in and it was quite a great experience. We spent the afternoon doing homework in the sand, playing volleyball which later turned into soccer because the majority of us were soccer players and enjoying the sun and hot temperature. I plan on learning to surf with a friend who knows how soon enough and I hope to be able to go to the city for the day this weekend. Also, I went to the highest mountain in the area, which was only 800km hiigh, so not much of a mountain, and we hiked up to the top. It was a nice way to start the Sunday and really relaxing. I feel like the end of this experience is just a great way to take it easy.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Adventures in April cont
After the end of course trip, I went to Galicia with some of my fellow AFSers from all around Spain to do the last five steps of the Camino de Santiago. In total, we walked 112km, about 20 km a day, excluding the second day where we walked almost 30. The routine was wake up, eat breakfast, walk, collapse from the happiness of finally arriving at the hostel, eat lunch (some days we ate during the walk), take a siesta, do a few activities with the volunteers for an hour or so, relax, eat dinner, sleep and repeat. The experience overall was amazing. We walked from 5 to 8 hours a day, talking amongst our group, getting to know eachother, walking in silence and observing our beautiful surroundings. My favorite day in terms of scenery was the first, where we really walked through Galician countryside and everything was so green and the air was so fresh (although it wasnt too much of a change, living in the basque country, but coming from new jersey, I always appreciate it). I had a lot of time to think and reflect as well as look ahead, and I actually got so used to walking that two days after we finished it felt weird not getting up and starting the day off with a long walk. I would definitely consider doing it again, possibly alone and a longer distance.
After arriving at Santiago (seeing the front of the cathedral was such a relief, we all starting hugging and actually tried to get everyone to dance the macarena) we all went out to lunch, and I actually got into quite an interesting philosophical conversation with some of my fellow AFSers. I felt like the group dynamic between all of us was really good, and that if you wanted to join a conversation with people you didnt know from before (most people did know at least one person from their region from beforehand) everyone would welcome you to join. Even the volunteers felt like a part of the group, like friends. There was just an overall understanding between all of us, a certain similarity that even though some of us were very different in terms of personality, we all shared.
Returning back to the host family , we actually went to Catalunya to spend the rest of break there. I got to walk around Barcelona, see the Mediterranean, and I got to know what its like to have the car break down in the middle of the highway on your birthday. Overall, it was a great experience.
After arriving at Santiago (seeing the front of the cathedral was such a relief, we all starting hugging and actually tried to get everyone to dance the macarena) we all went out to lunch, and I actually got into quite an interesting philosophical conversation with some of my fellow AFSers. I felt like the group dynamic between all of us was really good, and that if you wanted to join a conversation with people you didnt know from before (most people did know at least one person from their region from beforehand) everyone would welcome you to join. Even the volunteers felt like a part of the group, like friends. There was just an overall understanding between all of us, a certain similarity that even though some of us were very different in terms of personality, we all shared.
Returning back to the host family , we actually went to Catalunya to spend the rest of break there. I got to walk around Barcelona, see the Mediterranean, and I got to know what its like to have the car break down in the middle of the highway on your birthday. Overall, it was a great experience.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Aventuras en abril
The month started off with the Matt and Kim concert, which feels like decades ago by now. Then, after a week of tests and projects, we had an AFS orientation with those staying here as exchange students in the Basque Country as well as those from the Basque country going abroad this summer and next school year. Then, the Monday after, my grade and I went on the viaje de fin de curso (end of course trip) from Monday to Friday. We went to Jaca, a town next to the Pyrenees, to do rafting, paintball and other sports of the sort. We spent two days there and then went to Barcelona to spend the day there Wednesday. We spent most of the day in the bus, and when we went through Barcelona we had a guide come on the bus and talk to us as we drove through the city. We got off for about 45 minutes to see the park of Gaudi and about 5 minutes to take pictures of the Sagrada Familia, but we really didnt get to get a good look of all tourist attractions except for a glance from the bus windows. Then, we went to Calafell, a town in Catalunya, because the hotel was there. Thursday, we went to Port Aventura, an amusement park in another city in Catalunya, and spent the day there. In the hotels at night we all gathered in eachothers rooms, whcih was probably my favorite part. Later i'll tell the rest of the story.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
More pictures...
The writing will come when I get home (I'm still in Barcelona, so the vacation and the stories are still piling up)
My friends and I eating lunch on the first day of viaje de fin de curso...
We made some friends on the beach the third night (for those of you who haven't seen pictures of my class before, the majority of these kids are from other schools)...
The AFS orientation in Hondarribia the weekend before (where hosting meets sending)...
My friends and I eating lunch on the first day of viaje de fin de curso...
We made some friends on the beach the third night (for those of you who haven't seen pictures of my class before, the majority of these kids are from other schools)...
The AFS orientation in Hondarribia the weekend before (where hosting meets sending)...
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Camino de Santiago (third day, 29km)
We were so tired we actually fell asleep on the sidewalk. This is not a joke.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
A quick update, more later
Hey all, I know I've been pretty out of contact lately, i'm currently in Barcelona with the host family and I'd rather not spend too much time on the computer. I'd just like to say i'm doing great, everything went well and as soon as I get back to Urnieta I'll write a very long post explaining my journeys in April, and it'll be accompanied by a good amount of photos and possibly a video if I encounter one. Sorry for the lack of updates and thanks for the patience.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Sun? What does this remind me of?
Lately the temperature's spiked up and it seems like it came out of nowhere. I've had some trouble figuring out why it's been so weird for me going to school in shorts and a t-shirt, and today I realized why. When looking back on this entire experience, obviously, what I remember least is the beginning. This probably doesnt sound very odd at first, but taking into account that from December on I remember things down to their littlest details, I just couldnt make any sense of it. But then while sitting in the sun today I wondered why lately everything's been reminding me of the beginning, and then it all tied together.
The first three months for me was a sort of "reboot" stage for me, like a knowing baby opening her eyes to the world for the first time. Everything was so exciting and new and beautiful and just different that my head felt like a baloon inflated to its maximum capacity. The only way I could stop my thoughts from bouncing around in my head at night, which actually wouldn't let me sleep, no matter how tired I was, was blocking them out by listening to music. Then, at some point in the beginning of winter, my mind suddenly opened up, like a jar of jam when you first take the top off, realeasing many of the cultural "instincts" I had locked into my system in America and letting a large flow of thoughts, ideas, images, everything run smoothly, yet at a high velocity, through my mind. I remember studying for a History test in that period, and I simply absorbed it all without really having to put any effort into it. I found myself really inspired and interested in my surroundings, and I guess that was the point where everything started coming to me easily language-wise, and from that point on I remember everything pretty clearly. So the first question was, why dont I remember the beginning that well? Wasn't that the most exciting part? But that's just it. A closed mind filled with so much activity can only take in so much, and I'm not surprised that the first months went by so quickly, because I was so occupied trying to figure out how it all worked again, that the time just passed in front of my eyes. Finding out where the weird tupperware went that I had never seen before and just taken out of the dishwasher was much more important at that point than discovering a small bookstore in San Sebastian that happened to be the same one that my host dad goes to, coincidentially. I suppose being a bit of a perfeccionist didnt help me too much with taking it easy, because later I realized that speaking a new language isn't a book of grammer and vocabulary, that's writing, but I already knew how to do that well enough. Speaking is trial and error, having people correct you and figuring out the little tricks that help you tie it all together, even though later those tricks later are impossible to explain. And then I noticed that that wasn't just a language thing, but socially it's practically the same. Taking a loose, calm attitude toward things, watching and reading the actions and interactions of my peers, and just throwing myself in there without really knowing what I was doing, in the end turned out working pretty well for me.
Now, going back to the original questions, the other one was, as stated in the title, why does the nice weather remind me so much of my experiences 7 months ago? Well, it's pretty simple taking everything into account. After the first three months, or my "eye-opening" stage, I had slowly begun to feel more of a "belonging" to my surroundings and less of an object that "stood out" so much. Of course, it had at that point started to get pretty cold outside, so what I was getting used to being a part of, subconciously, included the cold. It doesnt seem like that big of a detail, but the heat and the sun and walking to school when it's actually light out again, well, it all gives me a "familiar" feeling, as if it were something I used to always love a long time ago, as a young child, when in reality it wasnt that long ago at all. And so in this manner I discovered that that moment when my mind opened up, it wasnt just some part of the experience thing. Something actually changed at that point, within, that affected me a lot beyond just a clearer head, and reached the memories I have associated with some of the best sensations, such as waking up to feel warmth seeping in through the window, even before the sun's up, or the feeling of walking to school in shorts and still starting to sweat, or even just how great it feels to walk into a cool apartment entrance after spend the past few hours under the beating sun and smelling that musty air as I slowly walk up the reddish stairs, a walk i've done so many times, and yet every time, it feels a tiny bit different.
The first three months for me was a sort of "reboot" stage for me, like a knowing baby opening her eyes to the world for the first time. Everything was so exciting and new and beautiful and just different that my head felt like a baloon inflated to its maximum capacity. The only way I could stop my thoughts from bouncing around in my head at night, which actually wouldn't let me sleep, no matter how tired I was, was blocking them out by listening to music. Then, at some point in the beginning of winter, my mind suddenly opened up, like a jar of jam when you first take the top off, realeasing many of the cultural "instincts" I had locked into my system in America and letting a large flow of thoughts, ideas, images, everything run smoothly, yet at a high velocity, through my mind. I remember studying for a History test in that period, and I simply absorbed it all without really having to put any effort into it. I found myself really inspired and interested in my surroundings, and I guess that was the point where everything started coming to me easily language-wise, and from that point on I remember everything pretty clearly. So the first question was, why dont I remember the beginning that well? Wasn't that the most exciting part? But that's just it. A closed mind filled with so much activity can only take in so much, and I'm not surprised that the first months went by so quickly, because I was so occupied trying to figure out how it all worked again, that the time just passed in front of my eyes. Finding out where the weird tupperware went that I had never seen before and just taken out of the dishwasher was much more important at that point than discovering a small bookstore in San Sebastian that happened to be the same one that my host dad goes to, coincidentially. I suppose being a bit of a perfeccionist didnt help me too much with taking it easy, because later I realized that speaking a new language isn't a book of grammer and vocabulary, that's writing, but I already knew how to do that well enough. Speaking is trial and error, having people correct you and figuring out the little tricks that help you tie it all together, even though later those tricks later are impossible to explain. And then I noticed that that wasn't just a language thing, but socially it's practically the same. Taking a loose, calm attitude toward things, watching and reading the actions and interactions of my peers, and just throwing myself in there without really knowing what I was doing, in the end turned out working pretty well for me.
Now, going back to the original questions, the other one was, as stated in the title, why does the nice weather remind me so much of my experiences 7 months ago? Well, it's pretty simple taking everything into account. After the first three months, or my "eye-opening" stage, I had slowly begun to feel more of a "belonging" to my surroundings and less of an object that "stood out" so much. Of course, it had at that point started to get pretty cold outside, so what I was getting used to being a part of, subconciously, included the cold. It doesnt seem like that big of a detail, but the heat and the sun and walking to school when it's actually light out again, well, it all gives me a "familiar" feeling, as if it were something I used to always love a long time ago, as a young child, when in reality it wasnt that long ago at all. And so in this manner I discovered that that moment when my mind opened up, it wasnt just some part of the experience thing. Something actually changed at that point, within, that affected me a lot beyond just a clearer head, and reached the memories I have associated with some of the best sensations, such as waking up to feel warmth seeping in through the window, even before the sun's up, or the feeling of walking to school in shorts and still starting to sweat, or even just how great it feels to walk into a cool apartment entrance after spend the past few hours under the beating sun and smelling that musty air as I slowly walk up the reddish stairs, a walk i've done so many times, and yet every time, it feels a tiny bit different.
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