this is definitely beach weather!

planes, trains and automobiles all over the Basque country

My long weekend in the Basque country was full of spectacular sites, beautiful cities, basically all forms of public transportation and a whole lot of adventure. Going in, I had read about where I wanted to go and spoken with some reliable sources on how to distribute our time, but unlike any other trip it wasn't that planned. I had a hotel in Bilbao the first night and a hotel for us the last night in San Sebastian but that was about it. A friend of mine who I met freshman year at UA flew in Thursday morning, March 18th. I joined him in the city center after my hard day at work. This is a joke because on Thursday, I went on the school field trip to the factory of the largest producer of beer in Spain. That's right, a SCHOOL trip to drink BEER. Only in Spain. It was actually a rather educational experience. The students had to be 18 to go and they are in the economics/business track of the school. This place was such a GIGANTIC operation, I can see the educational value in going. However, the open bar at the end of the two hour tour, was lacking in educational value and resulted in an hour bus ride back with drunk ANIMALS. Again, things like this remind me of how insane this entire experience is. I can't imagine going on a trip to drink beer with teachers and 60 of my classmates at 18. Crazy.

Anyways, Jonathan and I headed to Bilbao that night. Friday morning, I introduced him to cafe con leche and tortilla. He was asking for ketchup. In fact, all weekend I was enjoying his remarks calling attention to something's strangeness that has become my normal. The two beds pushed together in a hotel. A "large buffet breakfast" that is some slices of lunch meat and toast with coffee or tea. The lights on the outside of doors. Paying to use the restroom. Grocery cart in a department store. For someone who has never been to Europe, these are jolting strange things, but they have become so normal to me, I forgot to explain or prepare him on many of the fronts. We traveled together with ease all weekend and I was super happy to have him along and that we wee so successful in what we were able to see in such a short period of time, and on a reasonable budget. I am already excited about our NEXT adventure!

So Friday morning, we set out to spend the day in Santander. We walked for about an hour through the city to really feel the pulse of Bilbao then boarded the bus. After a lovely scenic bus ride for about two hours, we were just a quick walk to the tourism office. With a map in hand, we walked to the beach and in not ideal weather, sat on a bench overlooking the beach and dug into the picnic we had packed. The entire trip the weather wasn't exactly ideal but this actually worked in our favor in the sense that instead of laying around on the beach, we saw a lot more of the city. Santander has its own characters and charm. There was a nice palace so we walked up to that and explored this mountain-like area. Though it wasn't "beach weather" (a phrase we kept joking about all weekend), and no one wants to be in five layers,a  scarf and boots on the beach... let me tell you, you DO if you want to be ON the beach. So we made the most of it all weekend.

We left Santander after walking for hours and crashed at the same hotel in Bilbao.

Saturday morning, we walked a different part of the city and saw the infamous Guggenheim's bizarre art collection. Certainly, the architecture of the building itself was more impressive to us than anything it held inside, but it was worth the visit. After walking and exploring some more, it was off to St. Jean-de-luz. This jewel of a beach resort town is just inside of France and was a spectacular delight. Within just a few minutes of being there, we decided to spend the night. With no reservations and just my trusty Rick Steve's book, we had a room reserved in a quaint little place with this lovely woman. her english was great, our French was terrible and she gave us suggestions on how to spend our day and even made us dinner reservations where we later feasted n some of the best sea food I've ever had. "Langostines" are my new favorite thing. St. Jean-de-Luz was a great stop. It's port and winding pedestrian streets charming and alive with character.

Since we knew it was most likely going to rain and was cold enough for several layers, we decided to venture deeper into France. Sunday, I took a long morning stroll through the city and really enjoyed myself. This is the most relaxed I have felt in a long time and it was really a fabulous trip from beginning to end. Jonathan got out of bed and joined me at the train station for our two hour ride to Bourdeaux. We had the misfortune of sharing a cart with a large family with several screaming small children but the views out of the window were exceptional.

When we got to Bourdeaux, it was Sunday and we had no map, no Rick Steve's, no idea what was in the city or anything. After having an extremely disappointing meal for lunch, we walked in the rain until we found a cafe where we could pay for wifi. 30 minutes later, we were in full tourist mode and we walked all over that city again.

I brought Jonathan to his first crepe with sugar and nutella. He was in love, of course. Bourdeaux surprised me and I can't really explain why. Originally a man at the information desk in the train station told us that we couldn't even get back to Spain that night but when we consulted a different desk, miraculously there were four trains. We chose to leave at 8, so we got a nice taste for the city at night, which was really great.

When we got into the border town, it was 11:20 and deserted. Realizing we may not be able to get into Spain after all, panic began to sink in. We had already had quite an ordeal trying to find a hotel where we could stay in San Sebastian so there was no way I was going to stay in France in this tiny town. As luck would have it, there were two American girls who are currently studying abroad in San Sebastian so we split a taxi and drove off into the night. The four of us chatted away and even with a gps, the Frenchman got lost around seven times. After our night tour of the city, Jonathan and I walked into our place for the night. The owner is THE nicest person that I have ever. She loves her job, her city, her hotel and she had a huge smile on her face telling us about the city the next morning and helping us plan our time. She had us eating at wonderful places and deserved every cent of the money we paid her for the room.
San Sebastian is breathtaking. For the only day of the trip, it was sunny and though still not beach weather, it was definitely the best weather. It was hard to leave the city and i was really wishing I could call in sick to work tomorrow so we could stay just one more day. San Sebastian is a place I must go back and lay in the sun and enjoy the sand in my bikini. It is truly a small slice of paradise.

5 cities in 4 days was definitely an adventure but I wouldn't have done it any other way because we saw so much. The only way it would be better is if I also had a tan!

Law and Life update

Law school update: I am still waiting on 13 schools before I make my decision. I have been accepted to 10 schools, some of which have offered scholarship. I feel remarkably blessed and thrilled to be privileged to be making this decision and you can be assured I will be seeking your opinion and guidance as it gets closer. Keep praying that I hear from those schools by April 1st so that my decision can be completely informed and I can be confident I will be committing to the right place.

In other news, I officially told my boss at the private academy where I work in the afternoons that my last days will be the second week of April. Though I love many of my students there and I think they will be genuinely sad to see me leave, I have thought and prayed long and hard and I feel strongly this is the right decision. I want to travel more, explore more, rest more and "aburrirme" (bore myself) and relax before I enter prison that will be law school. I know I need to take advantage of this opportunity because I will never have it again and I think this is the best way to do that.

I will land in Atlanta on March 30th, I would love to see you (assuming you are in Atlanta) for a long, enjoyable visit, but most likely it won´t happen. I want to try though! Ill be in Atlanta that night, the 31st and half of the 1st. On the 1st, I fly to NYC for a few days to look at law schools there. On the 3rd, I fly to LA to spend a few days with my lifelong friends there and Dad. Oh, and also look at law schools. On Saturday, I will fly back across the great United States to sleep in my own bed one last night in Atlanta before heading back to Madrid Sunday afternoon. It´s going to be a worldwind of a trip but I am excited to see as much as I can, as many friends as possible and to finally make a decision about schools. Keep me posted on where YOU will be so we can coordinate!

Just over 10 more days til ChicFilA will be in my mouth. YESSSSSS.
The next post will be long and full of pictures from my weekend´s spectacular adventure, so get excited!

my favorite people, part 2

Fabio- Fabio is top five of my favorite students and one reason why I would consider staying here another year. He is super intelligent, hilarious and just... Awesome. I don't know what else to say about Fabio other than you have to meet him. When Ansley did, she literally asked if she could take him home in her suitcase. He is THAT great. I have that class with him and another student and I love them both, especially their banter back and forth. They are a pleasure to teach.When Fabio is speaking and he runs into a word he can´t think of, he makes this adorable face like he is trying to literally squeeze the English out of his brain. It makes my heart melt every time. Seriously, I want to take him home with me. I teach his older brother too and I am always talking about how much I love Fabio, the 12 year old who acts 28.

Nacho-Nacho, short for Ignacio, is my Spanish teacher on Mondays and Wednesdays. He loves his job and I love people that love their job. He is an effective teacher by always having conversation topics, splitting up the class in ways that are interesting and always managing to explain complex grammar in a way I actually understand. He makes himself laugh and is always making us laugh too. The two hours of class usually go by pretty fast. If I was studying more often, I am confident would be learning all kinds of things.

Till- Till is in his late 20s. I have Spanish class with him on Tuesdays and Thursdays. he's almost always my partner for work and studying. He works for the German embassy and is the least German-German I know. Unlike class with Nacho, class on Tuesdays and Thursdays drags on and almost kills me. But Till cracks me up with little jokes in Spanish or English. A few times we have gone out for a drink after class and really enjoyed chatting. He moves every few years with his embassy job and has amazing international tales to regale me with. He speaks perfect English, his Spanish is great, Fluent in French and when he leaves Madrid in the summer to move somewhere new, he will probably pick up that language without much hassle. He inspires me to keep dreamin' cause I just may see them come true.

The entire working crew of The Alamo- this little restaurant is where I enjoy a glass of wine and have lunch almost every day during the week. Its a family owned place and though there have been some changes in who is working there, I love the people who have stayed the whole time. My days have been crazier and I haven't taken the time to go there as frequently in the last few months, but I definitely miss it when i don't. The food is delicious, I am greeted with kindness and familiarity and the Spanish chatter is a bonus. They say things like, "what would you like to eat today, beautiful?" and "have a nice meal, beautiful" and I think everytime, "I can't leave this country where I hear I'm beautiful so frequently!"

Caesar - Caesar is a teacher at the high school where I work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Though not a daily thing, usually the other "native English speaker" (because we were referred to as los nativos the other day and i thought it was hilarious) and I venture down to the teachers lounge for a coffee with a lot of the other professors from different departments. Caesar teaches Marketing and is one of the most animated people I have ever met. He is always trying to capture a few English phrases but mainly we sip on our coffee chatting about more or less absolutely nothing and I love that. Last week, he told me that the best beaches are in Malaga and for the Holy Week he will be there at a resort by himself. He invited me to join him on his vacation and I just laughed for a few hours afterwards with Ryan about how ridiculous he is. Someone you have to meet!

Ana- There are about 900 women named Ana that I work with at both of the schools. This Ana is the woman who makes all the copies at Las Canteras. She is always asking me if I like Spain and making small talk about the weather or the song on the radio. I have never seen her without a smile on her face and from what I have seen her job entails manning the front desk of the school and making copies for all the teachers. But her real job is brightening everyone´s day and being one of the nicest people in this country, or at least that´s what I am convinced.

I think one of the best things about traveling is who you meet on the journey. This weekend, on our adventure to the Basque country of Spain and France, we met some really incredible people. Its an awesome thing when you meet someone that LOVES their life, LOVES what they do and LOVES where they live. It´s such a breath of fresh air and a great reminder to follow in their steps by radiating the passion that you have caught from them. Such passion for life and work is beautiful and contagious.

i may sound like a mother... but EW....

to enlighten you on some facets of my culture shock that still SHOCK me daily.

i absolutely cannot stop myself from cringing when i see one of the following things:
-dredlocks
-facial piercings

-a single dredlock or long braid protruding from semi-normal hair

-jeans sagging so low they may fall off at any given second
-conversely, jeans so tight that i am wondering how the person vacuumed into them is breathing
THESE ARE NORMAL THINGS IN THIS COUNTRY AND ITS DISGUSTING.

i cannot grasp the lack of respect, sense of time and schedule, disorder and complete ignorance of any normal behavior in these schools. i cannot believe there is no dress code. its remarkable i dont have nightmares about what these kids will be wearing in the summer! if i see cleavage and its 10 degrees outside, seriously, i am terrified about summer!

one of my kids came to school wearing this tshirt and i remember getting DETENTION for having a white undershirt on under my navy blue polo. on "college tshirt day" someone got saturday school for wearing the alabama tshirt with "rammer jammer yellow hammer give em hell alabama" on the back because it said "hell." i know i went to private school and all... but seriously. i asked him what his mother says when he wears that shirt and he said, "she doesn't care, profe!" oh, really??!! unbelievable.

because there is no time between classes on the schedule, everyone is always late somewhere. it blows my mind. every day its like i have to relearn how abnormal it is not just to be on time, but to think anyone else would be on time. and by "not on time" i'm talking what stephanie would call "late." which is OVER ten minutes LATER than i'm suppose to be there.
the concept of a syllabus could really go a long way over here. and by that i mean, every student would be failing and/or expelled by week two.

"public displays of affection" does not quite accurately describe the PDA that occurs in every corner of public spaces, on the metro, on the streets, and worse of all, on the escalators. while you are just trying to stand there on the temporary step, the couple in front of you is exchanging saliva and attempting to eat eachother's tongues as if this is the LAST chance they will ever have to do so in their ENTIRE LIFE! as if, when the escalator ends, they will no longer be allowed to touch. instead, there is usually another escalator, where they continue their touching, again, centimeters from your face. its torture. really. the PDA is just as bad at the schools. there is hand holding in class, lap-sitting, petting during recess and all i can think is, "EWW" the entire time! ES UN HORROR!

you can gamble at any and every restaurant here. there are slot machines in every restaurant/bar. yes. yes. and its quite disruptive when youre trying to read the newspaper and enjoy a nice meal.

of course for as many things that i think are totally crazy and ridiculous, there are just as many things i absolutely love. but, just to give you an idea of what i get to stare at on a regular basis, i hope you enjoyed the images provided. i really do obviously CRINGE every time. ew, who knew facial piercings had so many names.

people I love in my daily life here

I thought this week instead of a post about my week, I would do things a little differently and let you get to know some of the people I interact with regularly.

two cleaning ladies- these two ladies are always chatting me up at JF (the high school where I work on Tuesday and Thursday). one has a daughter with plans to go spend a few months in Massachusettes. we've yet to communicate what city but she always asks if there are gangsters there with guns. every time I assure her no and that there are dangerous areas in every city but that I'm sure whatever city in "MasssaaaaCHUUUshhiitts" she's going, it will be safe there. one day I revealed I will be going to law school next year and they now think I'm just below celebrity status. when I explained I didn't know where I would be living but maybe NYC or LA, they kept repeating back and forth, "we know a New Yprk lawyer!!" uhh, not yet ladies but you can come visit me if that's what I end up being. they also mention coming to visit my office with a window over looking the statue of liberty every time I run into them. they speak so fast and while cleaning/mopping/etc, gossip pours out of their mouths. it seems like their main job is running the rumor mill and spreading the most controversial news. they must be good friends because they even carpool to an from school together. I love them.

Two ladies who look like sisters at LC (the Monday and Wednesday high school)- these women wow me every time I see them. there are maybe five or six disabled students at LC. I have two in my classes. one of whom can get around with her walker remarkably well though it appears as if each step is a struggle. she's smart and participates in class. the other disabled student I have is pretty "rough off" (even though even that seems terrible to say). he really has extreme difficulties communicating in Spanish and relies completely on someone else pushing his wheelchair and collecting his things. one woman tends to him full time all day. she miraculously understands him when I can't even make out that he is saying words. her patience and soul are solid gold. it appears to be her sister who does this for another one of the disabled boys. I thank God for them daily because I don't know if those boys can.

Silvia- my boss at LC- it sucks that I don't get to see her that often every time we speak it's incredible. she's an absolutely wonderful woman and I hate that I work every afternoon and I can't spend hours chatting at her house with a homemade meal. she is funny, she's always asking about my life, she worries about me when I have dark bags under my eyes and she would do anything for me.

The teachers at JF- Carmen is absolutely the sweetest, kindest, most soft spoken woman I have ever met. our schedules coincide so we have two hours where we are both in the department free grading and making lessons so we chat often. I told her I wasn't sleeping well and the next day, she had brought me these herbs that help her. she's simply wonderful. Pilar, gave me the vitamin C out of her purse one day when she said I looked like I was getting sick. she's from Sevilla and her accent, although subtle, reminds me of the hundreds of amazing memories I have in that beautiful city. Estrella is this ball of energy. she always jokes that her bottle of water is full of gin because the students would drive her past insanity otherwise. she's hilarious and always telling some huge story or flailing her arms around when she's talking about basically anything. I love her. anthony calls me speedy Gonzalez because I talk so fast. Ana is super super pregnant and looks like she may have her baby any day now. she's also super sweet and great. she's eats tortilla everyday for breakfast and I just love that. she's wonderful. and then theres marta. marta replaced a teacher who left on maternty leave in january. then, her husbands cancer came back. a week or two later, he died. a week agter yhe funeral, she was back at school. i can see her fragilty in her eyes and i see a bit of myself only someone who has experienced such a grave loss can recognize. every time we speak, i think, this must be what i use to look like. she is so strong and brave and must feel like working is the only reason why she would ever leave her bed. she was back working within a week of the funeral. there is a phrase in spanish that can only there are 11 total and I don't dislike any of them, but those are my favorites.

Cande- my roommate from Argentina- Living with someone I like has made a huge, huge difference in my life here, especially when I lay around the apartment for three straight days. Cande and I get along really well, she is an amazing cook and we offer to make dinner then split it a lot. she briefly mentioned she was thinking of moving and i was terrified. i would be really sad and lonely without her here. she's introduced me to some of her friends here and we always have a good time when we go out together. she is a great listener and a great advice giver. we've got a lot in common and i think shes one of the only blessings thats come out of living in this apartment. well, her and the brazilian that i love that moved out.


Gab- Gabriel lived with Cande and I when we first all moved in but then he found a cheaper place and moved out in november. we have stayed in close touch and still get together abotu once a week or so. gab is studying his masters in intellectual property now after getting his law degree in brazil. he is hilarious and so incredibly smart. i can tell him anything and we can talk about anything. anytime we get together is a pleasure.


Melania- wow, Melania blows my mind. shes running around crazy all the time because shes teaching as an auxiliar and also doing a masters program. she speaks four languages and always has something wonderful to say that you need to hear. shes simply one of the purest and most incredible people i have ever met. we had great adventures traveling to hungary and portugal together and im so sad that we cant travel together every weekend because shes so busy but i am so lucky to have her to encourage me to do everything i want to do and that life is too short to just sit around. shes such an inspiration!


One thing is for sure, I will miss these people when I have left here and I am determined to make the very most of the next few months of memories with them! I am grateful to be surrounded by amazing people and that these friends are just a special layer on top of great US friendships. I am already looking forward to the people I will meet in law school too!