This is yet another video my friend Nick made.  I recommend making it large screen, click on the link to watch it on youtube's actual site.  This is of all study abroad...he got some cool footage---im in it a decent amount so keep an eye out for me!  Thanks for checking it out, and sorry for not really updated the blog lately....too busy enjoying myself!  I can't wait to fill you all in when I get back to the states.  Until then.....

This is a video my friend Nick made compiling some shots from spring break.  He is really good at editing and stuff!!  I was with them for the second half (I was in Paris with the fam while they were all in Italy for the first half of their travels, but it definitely is cool to check out!).

Quick update on the past month....so busy !

This is the video I made for my business frat for the brothers abroad.  We were supposed to make a video about what we have been doing so that the pledges and the rest of chapter could see a taste of what we were doing.  So, I thought I would post it on here!  Pretty random, but enjoy...!

street packed in Casco Viejo of Bilbao for Carnaval....NUTS!!!

2 weekends ago was Carnaval, which is basically like Halloween but Europe and crazy.  It has more to do with the beginning of lent, and indulging before ash Wednesday, but most people don't pay attention to religious stuff here.  Everyone says they are "Catholic" if you ask them, but probably have gone in a church seven times in their lives or something.

Urdabai Biosphere....sweet island thing......yea

This past weekend we went to the Urdabai Biosphere, which was really pretty.  There were some boring museums (roughhhh) but the lunch was good, and yes I am OBESE.

Urdabai.....freaking out on the little cliff...

La Rioja.....beautiful!  with my friend Steph trying to take a picture over the wall too haha

El Fabulista!! Winery (Bodega means winery in spainsh)

Then Saturday, some friends and I went to La Rioja, which is the wine region of Spain.  Absolutely stunning.   Going sounded like a good excuse to wear my purple floppy hat, so obviously I took my friends up on this brilliant idea.  We went to a winery in this cute town that had unreal views of the vineyards for miles and miles with the beautiful mountains framing the view.  The actualy winery was very cool, and learning about the different wines and how the were made was so interesting.

Sunday, we went on a hike in the Pyrenees.  So beautiful!  I was sore the next day for sure.  The only thing was, we wanted to keep hiking, but the Spaniards that were leading kept stopping to talk, eat, enjoy...such typical Europeans...and we were typical impatient Americans.  Culture....haha good stuff.

Cool area in Urdabai

My friends and I have a tradition of making dinners on Monday nights....starting last week.  Hah.  We made fajitas the first week, and then we made shish kebabs....without skewers, so basically meat and veggies with potatoes.  It is fun to make stuff that is not Spanish every once in a while, and enjoy a night without having to speak only Spanish to our host families.

little face pintxo in La Rioja!  with legit wine...doin it like a legit Spaniard!  WOO

Yesterday it was beautiful out, so we laid in the sun outside Deusto, got 1 euro pizza and ice cream and set out to the beach in Algorta by my apartment.  Great day.  Oh yea, and we went to class, a bit of an offset to the fun of the day....riiiight.  These classes are getting in the way of my life.  Just jokin...but actually...

I am leaving for Dublin very late tonight to meet up with some friends for U of I's "Unofficial" Saint Patrick's Day. I can't wait to see some friends and go to Ireland again!  It feels like it has been so long since I have been there, and it will be good to get away from Bilbao for just a weekend.

all of us trying to plan our spring break.....kinda getting distracted on facebook and stuff...oops

I haven't written anything in a while because I have been super busy.   I guess that is a good and bad thing...

I am having so much fun here it is unreal.  I can't believe I have been living here for over a month.  Crazy.
The first weekend of February, I went to Barcelona with some friends.  It was absoultely amazing.  It amazed me how much people spoke English and how tourist-y it was too.




Barcelona!!

biggest marketplace in the world!  

Can't go to Barcelona (or Spain in general) without some delishh Paella

outside the Sagrada Familia with friends in Barcelona!  so beautiful!

At the "Ovella Negra" (Black Sheep) bar in Barcelona with some Delta Sigma Pi friends I met up with!

This past weekend we went to "Art after Dark," which is basically the Guggenheim art museum turned into this huge discoteca at night with dancing, drinking, etc.  Really cool!  Met some Spanish people and had a good time overall...

We also went for a trip to the south of France the same day as "Art After Dark," and we got French cheese and crepes...pretty solid.

My host mom has been pretty weird.  I am only allowed to shower between 8am and 11pm, which is frustrating because I have to leave for class at 8am so I have to shower at night most days....but I am trying to respect her wishes.  eh.

For valentines day we ate apples and little cookies....it is not as big here, but people still celebrate it.  Not as commercialized, but definitely similar to the U.S. on a smaller scale.

I am almost done planning my spring break...I am going to Paris for a week with Mom, Tom, Maureen and Luke and then I will fly to Prague to meet up with friends.  From there we will go to Amsterdam and Brussels, then finally back to Bilbao!  It should be a blast...so excited!!!

I got a tandem partner named Nerea.  She is legitttt Basque, and really cool.   It is awesome to practice talking with her and learning about her life.

Americans are finally here and the second week of classes has begun!
I have made many American friends, but it is more difficult to meet Spanish kids, although I have met some.  The U.S. students I have been hanging out with are mostly from USC, U of I and Nebraska.  It is awesome to meet other Americans that want to experience the same thing as me.

Typical day for me--
Wake up, eat cereal or toast with tea, make a chorizo (pepperoni) sandwich for lunch and get on the metro to class downtown.  People on the metro are pretty quiet, and about 98% do not speak any English.  So when I am on the metro being loud, as usual, and speaking English with other Americans I get a lot of annoyed looks.  Sometimes I try to be quieter but I usually forget haha.  I have only 2 to 4 classes each day, Mon-Thurs.  Pretty easy.  They are almost all with Americans, but there is a girl from Germany who is really annoying and a girl named Elsa from Sweden.  Elsa is really fun and her English is excellent.
During the day, when I do not have classes, I have been wandering Bilbao or going shopping with Americans.  There is not a ton of homework, so there is time to spend doing whatever.
Dinner is pretty late, as I eat at about 8:30 in the evening. 

Pintxos--
Instead of "tapas," the people in the Basque country call them Pintxos, pronounced "Pinchos."  There are pintxo bars lining every street, where you can go in and have a couple with a glass of wine or coffee.  They are absolutely delicious, and much of the culture seems to be surrounded by eating and drinking at these bars at all hours of the day.

University of Deusto--
pretty small, but very beautiful.  The library is extensive and modern, and it has an awesome cafeteria in the basement.  It has a lot to offer, although it is not as large as U of I.

People--
Walking on the streets of Bilbao, I see most people to be well dressed, and with dark hair and eyes.  Some of my blonde friends and I really get stared at, but there are some Basque people with light hair as well.  It is rare to see someone in sweats or t-shirts unless they are on a run.  People really care about shoes.  I would say it is the most important article of clothing to them.  Leather boots and shoes are worn by almost everyone, even though it rains here a lot.  The Basque people care a great deal about appearances, and they show it by dressing to impress for the most part. 
College students and younger people fall into 2 general categories based on my observations: 1) the majority of people-- those that wear skinny jeans, leather boots, furry jackets, thick scarves and earth tones. 2) much less common--sort of grungy style, with studded belts and quicksilver and roxy-branded type punk clothing. Obviously this is huge stereotyping, but it is pretty safe to say that most people fall into the first category.  
The personalities of people obviously vary person to person, but of the people I have met and/or observed have been much more serious and less playful than Americans.  I do not see a lot of people laughing or horsing around with their friends.  More calm and focused attitudes are pretty common, although very laid back (especially in terms of timeliness).

Volleyball-- 
I went to the University of Deusto's volleyball team's practice last Thursday evening.  The girls did not have much skill.  They literally applauded when I hit the ball.  It was fun to talk to some of them, and I met a girl named Esti that lives at my metro stop who is studying English, so we practiced talking with each other.  I am going to go to practice with them again tonight, but I am not sure if I will compete for their team because it may do me more harm than good to train with them.
Some of the girls thought I was Russian...not sure what that´s all about but I told them I was from Chicago and they were like "ooooh."  Riiiight.

Church--
I went to mass with my friend Julie this past Sunday and it was beautiful.  All of the churches around here are from like the 1600s or something;  they are so old and full of history.  Obviously the mass was in Spanish, but I could get the gist of what was going on.  It was sad to see that there were really only elderly people at the mass.  We were probably the only people under 30 in the entire church. 

Home--
My host mom, Leticia, and my brother, Teo (5 years old) are very interesting.  He loves to watch Spongebob and other cartoons, but Leticia makes him watch it in English, even though he doesn't understand.  She says "poco a poco" (little by little) he will come to understand if he keeps watching it.  It is interesting to see how much American popular culture dominates even this little suburb called Algorta.
For food, some of the things I have eaten have been hot dogs, mashed potatoes, salad with olive oil, fish, and omeletes.  For sandwiches people love pepperoni so much, and basically anything from pig.  My host family and others are obsessed with yogurt and chocolate. Sweets in general are a bit more popular here than in the U.S. I think.
We eat around 8:30, but my friend John's family eats at 10 every night.  So late!  But between 2 and 4, a lot of smaller stores close because its siesta--a lot of people nap or at least rest and eat lunch, some going out to get drinks and pintxos. 

Going out--
There are a couple discotecas which are basically clubs that young people go to.  They play techno music and lots of American songs, which sounds so weird here.  My friends and I went to a couple, but we prefer the pintxo bars, because they feel authentic to us.  It is crazy because we do not go out until like 11 in the evening and get back at 6 am the next morning.  I am always so tired by the end of the evening--I do not know how they do it so often.
Alcohol is quite expensive at the bars, sometimes 8 or 10€ for one drink, but it is hilarious because at grocery stores you can buy a liter of wine for less than 1 euro.  Literally cheaper than the water, kinda hilarious.
One of the popular regional Basque drinks is called Kalimotxo.  It is a combination of cocacola and red wine, which is popular with college aged and younger people because of its sweetness.  I really like the taste of it, although I thought it sounded gross at first.
There are a lot of creepy Spanish guys, so I am glad I have a group of American guys and girls that are out with me at night.  Bilbao is extremely safe, definitely better than Chicago or even Champaign.  Never have any of us felt in danger, which is really good. 


Classic little Spanish dude playing harmonica and guitar in the street. NBD.
the town square in one of the historical towns in Biscay, close to Bilbao


the hanging bridge in Bilbao...pretty sick

Inside "Pub Witch" with my friend Cathy.  Pretty creepy bar, but kinda cool.  hah.

Chupitos (shots) that the director of our program, Jon Franco bought for all of us...he is literally crazy but he is the man.  He kept buying us drinks and we kept wondering how legit it was...

View of the main Deusto building where I have my classes from across the river downtown.

Friends from USC and Nebraska outside the Guggenheim museum on the river!  Good times...

Temporada---San Sebastian drumming festival!

A couple of the legit drummers....every time that they weren't playing, they were getting free drinks from the bars or taking swigs from bottles they brought....unreal. haha.

                                                                              The little bakers with drumsticks at the temporada festival, and Nick with a backpack just big enought to fit DON SIMON---(1 € wine) and cocacola....to make Kalimotxo of course

more drummers at the Temporada in San Sebastian!!

Tortilla Española--basically a potato omelette on bread.  So delicious, one of the most popular pintxos, if not the best!

Typical pintxos bar in the Basque country.  So tasty.  I am going to have to make some of these for back at U of I...

And finally, some Spanish kids we met in San Sebastian.  One of them never heard of Chicago, but most had.  Some even spoke a little bit of English.