Baloncesto!

So this past weekend was a good one. I told you about Friday in my last post and on Saturday me and the guys went to Vitoria, which is the capital of the Basque Country. It was a really cool city. It was sort of split into two between the old town (parte vieja)and the new town. The new town had a bunch of really sweet parks and buildings. Around 4 pm or so, which is siesta time in Spain, we found this really peaceful park where we all just crashed for a while. The sun was out and it felt so good. I just laid down on the grass and put on the new Jack Johnson cd, and then passed out for about an hour. It was one of the more peaceful places I've been. Most people are at home sleeping or something at that time so the streets are very quiet. Here's a picture of my napping spot.

Then on Sunday we went to the beach with a group of about 9 of us. One of my friends, Ainhoa, bought a volleyball so we hit the ball around for a while. There isn't a net, but it was still cool. Monday night, I cooked up mom's world famous chicken/vegetable stir-fry. Evan was my wingman, and we cooked it pretty dang well. The barbeque sauce here is a lot closer to tomato sauce than back home, so it wasn't an exact replica. And they didn't have bean sprouts, which are a key ingredient, but it turned out excellent.

Today we got back from classes and went and hit the volleyball around a little more, then Fabrice and I went to the park down the street from our apartment and played some pickup basketball with a couple kids, one was 16 and I think the other kid was the same age. I haven't touched a basketball since the beginning of January, which is by far the longest I have gone without touching a ball since I was probably two years old, so this felt really good. One kid, Nelson, is from the Phillipines and has only been here for 8 months. I tried speaking to him both in Spanish and English and he didn't seem to speak either one very well. He and I were on a team and we took down Fabrice and Jason (the other kid) 16-13. We kicked it up a notch at the end to get the w, because we're clutch like that. I asked Nelson in Spanish if he knew Kobe Bryant and he perked up and smiled. He said he also knew Iverson and Michael Jordan. I mentioned Pau to him and he smiled again and mentioned that he played for the Lakers. Then I told him that my brother went to the game yesterday and he thought that was so cool. They said they were playing again tomorrow so we'll probably head back for another game.

Right now, Evan is trying one of his mom's recipes. It's some kind of chicken and pasta. I'm pretty pumped for it. Our dinners have been really good so far. We're all bringing our moms' recipes and way of cooking to the table and we've been making some pretty good stuff. We've gotten creative too and tried to come up with some of our own stuff. So far I wouldn't say that we've had a bad meal. But my personal favorite, of course, was the stir-fry. You just can't beat it.

70 and Sunny

So I told you all yesterday that there this protest thing that was going on and I wasn't sure how it was going to go. It turns out my afternoon class got cancelled and I was off campus by 11:30, and the actual demonstration didn't start until 12, so not much to report. I was kind of bummed because I wanted to see what all hype was about, but I'm not going to complain about not having to wait 3 hours for my next class. I ended up taking about a 4 hour nap, which was amazing.

Today was a great day. I don't know the exact temperature, but I would say it hovered somewhere around 70 for most of the day. I grabbed my ipod and my camera and just started walking. I threw on shorts and my rainbows, which always makes me happy, and saw an incredible sunset and found some new sweet spots around town. Remember how I said that people don't really have a problem with showing affection in public? Well today I was walking along the water where there about 10 or 12 benches in this small little area. There were a bunch of old guys and older couples sitting, watching the sun go down. And then there was this girl straddling this guy on the bench making out with him. I couldn't help but laugh at it. It didn't even seem to phase anyone else around them, I guess they're all just used to it.

I haven't gotten my pictures from today on my computer yet, but when I do I'll post some. I think I got some pretty good ones. 

Protest

Hey everyone, sorry its been a while since I posted last. There hasn't been anything extremely exciting since I returned from Barcelona. Last weekend I went out on my own walking around Getxo Friday and Saturday (see above picture). It was pretty cool just getting some time to myself, listening to some good music, reading my Bible, etc. Yesterday was a good day. Got an A on my first spanish test, felt good about my marketing midterm. I went for a run down by the water, ran some errands and then we cooked a pretty good meal. I'm here at school early today because there is going to be a protest today and they recommended that we take the earlier bus. I don't know exactly what the protest is about, some complicated political issue that I only know a little about. But I guess there will be people at all the bus stops "discouraging" people from not getting on the buses, and people at the entrances to school with banners and stuff. My teacher said she was coming early and going to come in the back entrance. Thats comforting. And I just heard this morning from another USAC student that these things have been pretty crazy in the past. He talked with a Spanish girl who told him not to bother coming today because the buses usually stop running part way through the day and most local students come to school. But here we are. Hopefully if a trash can gets lit on fire I won't be in it. I just read that the Lakers finished up 7-2 on the roadtrip, looks like the making of an NBA champion. Well, I've got to run to class, talk to you all soon.

Pau is a Laker!

One of the most unexpected moments that I have ever experienced occurred this past weekend. I was walking down Las Ramblas in Barcelona. Las Ramblas is the main street in Barcelona where there are crazy human statues, little shops set up that sell chickens and pigeons and rabbits, and it is packed with people speaking all sorts of languages. So I'm walking by one of these tents that sells everything from postcards to soccer jerseys to toy cars. There were newspapers lined up in front, a few of which had Pau Gasol on the front page. I got used to seeing him because he is the best of only a few players in the NBA from Spain, so they love the guy here. Then I read the caption in Spanish, which I thought said that Pau lost to the Lakers. Wrong! I soon realized that it said that Pau was traded to the Lakers. Big difference there. Fabrice and I started jumping up and down in the middle of Las Ramblas like little children. It was so unexpected that I could hardly believe it. Luckily it turned out to be true as I watched the highlights of Pau dropping in 24 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in his Lakers debut. Como se dice championship en espanol?

So Barcelona was great. I think I walked more this weekend than I have in my entire life combined. The guys and I went to the Picasso Museum, saw the Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, went down to the beach/harbor, watched the Super Bowl from midnight to four in the morning, ate at a couple buffets, and enjoyed some cafes around the city. Our hostel was really nice, it was more like a hotel. Us three had our own room and my bed was bigger and much more comfortable than the one in my apartment. I got sick a couple days before we left and I was feeling pretty crappy the first day there, but after that I got better and better and I'm close to recovered by now. It was fun traveling and seeing a new city, and getting away from the things that have become familiar. No ipod, no computer, no books. I pretty much packed up a couple changes of clothes, a toothbrush, and my camera and took off.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was the Picasso Museum. It had all of the paintings that he collected over the years as well as over a hundred of his own works. I was amazed to see the range of his art. He started out do a lot of very realistic paintings. When you think Picasso, you think of his abstract pieces, but this was only one of many stages in his artistic evolution. Picasso was also a sculptor, a ceramist, and a playwright. Yeah, he was a pretty lazy and untalented guy.

I was also amazed at how many people spoke english there. First of all, there were a ton of tourists. I could tell that it was a very international city, there were people there from all over the world. And even the Spanish workers in restaurants and bars mainly spoke english. I would order something in spanish and they reply to me in english. Its kind of nice being back in Bilbao now where I am forced to speak spanish to survive. That's what I came here for.

 

So those are the highlights, we saw so much and did so many things that its hard to fit them all in one blog entry. Now I'm off to class. I only have a two day school-week this week and then a three day weekend. Its a rough life, I know. Hasta luego amigos!