It's Time To Say Goodbye

So, that’s it. Year abroad: done. I’m now sat in the garden of my family home in Somerset having completely unpacked all of my belongings in England again trying to take in the last 8 months of my life.

When I first started looking to study French and Spanish at university I always knew that the year abroad was a compulsory part of the course but I never thought that it would actually happen. That might sound strange, but it always seemed so far in the future that I never imagined living in Spain for 8 months to become a reality. Even when we started planning it last year it still felt like planning a holiday. But here I am a year later, a lot sadder to leave a foreign country which became my home than I ever thought I would be.

I don’t know how best to summarise my experience but it was without a doubt the best, most exciting, and scariest 8 months of my life. I’ve met some incredible people who I will be friends with for the rest of my life, travelled to amazing places, and transferred my whole life from one country to another. I’m really proud of myself and my friends for adapting so well and, effectively, starting our lives from scratch in a different country. It hasn’t always been easy but I wouldn’t have changed a thing about my time in Spain.

My own experience has even inspired me to become more involved in the ERASMUS society in Southampton as their social secretary, planning trips and events for the foreign students in Southampton. While I’m really sad that my year abroad experience is over, I’m equally excited for the next adventure.

So, for now, Goodbye, Adiós, Au revoir, or even Agur! 

Las Despedidas

It seems fairly appropriate that what should have been my last day at school today was actually cancelled due to a general strike. Therefore, my last week consisted of only 3 days and I had my last day yesterday instead. It was so sad and surreal to think that I may never travel to Ermua again, I may never be in either of the schools again, and I may never see the students or teachers who I’ve grown to be so fond of over these last 8 months.

This week has been really nice and poignant, full of giving out presents, receiving some amazing and unexpected gifts, and saying goodbye. It still hasn’t hit me that I don’t have to return, and come Sunday night I will probably set my alarm for 6 o’clock without thinking.

As it’s our last week together my friends and I have been trying to pack a lot in and really make the most of our last few days in Bilbao. Our fun-filled week started on Sunday night with Rihanna’s concert at the Bilbao Exhibiton Centre. Her concert was amazing and it was actually quite suprising how good she is at singing live. However, I made the rookie mistake of enjoying the support act (two unknown dj’s) a bit too much, so by the time Rihanna was half way through her set I was really hot and dehydrated from all my energetic dancing. My friends and I had made sure that we got a really good spot near the front but this also meant that when I felt faint I was stuck in a sea of people, so the only thing I could do was sit on the ground (slightly embarrassing for myself and everyone around me to witness). Luckily, my friend dragged me out of the crowd and we got some water which made me feel a lot better, and we could enjoy the rest of the concert with lots of space at the back. 

Also last night we went to watch Kooza by Cirque du Soleil, which was absolutely incredible. The acrobats are ridiculously talented but it was very scary to watch as very few acts were actually attached to a safety harness during their performance, which gave me the feeling that I was about to witness someone’s imminent death. Luckily, it obviously never came to that but my heart was in my mouth throughout the whole performance, it was so exciting! On the other hand, watching all of the incredible gymnasts, contortionists, and athletes made me feel very inadequate about my own talents. Clearly, my body is just not up to scratch.

Hospitalidad

One thing I will miss about Spain is how hospitable and welcoming the people are. Despite being eight and a half months pregnant and currently on maternity leave, one of the English teachers still managed to take me and some friends on a mini tour to see even more of the Basque country. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't great so while she was describing and showing us the beautiful countryside we couldn't appreciate it as much when we were freezing cold, wet, and spent most of the time trying to avoid puddles (although my efforts were unsuccessful). I definitely didn’t imagine that I’d still be wearing my coat in Spain in MAY!

Because of the weather we had to alter our tour slightly to include visiting lots of different Basque bars, and we even ended up at a huge shopping centre just outside of Bilbao - how I’ve not been there before I do not know. However, one of the strangest moments of the day was walking into a church as a wedding was taking place in Leketio and standing at the back with the other uninvited spectators, as if watching a wedding was a normal pastime. Me and my friends all stood very awkwardly trying not to laugh, while Jone couldn’t understand why we weren’t comfortable crashing a wedding ceremony. Although I clearly didn't feel too awkward to take a discrete picture.

On the subject of hospitality, a few weekends ago my friend Laura and I were invited to have lunch with one of the teachers at her school who first took us to a bar, and then fed us a 5 course lunch before taking us to the beach. This was especially lovely considering I'd only met her once before. Everyone here has wanted us to feel as at home as possible, our landlady who we rarely see even gave us Christmas presents, and Silvana calls herself my Spanish mum. I'll definitely be sad to leave all the amazing people I've met this year!

Familiar Faces

Recently I’ve been having a lot of visitors to Bilbao. Since Easter, as well as my mum, brother, and Tash, my grandparents visited last weekend, and a few friends from uni this weekend. 

Naturally, I was very spoilt by the grandparents, and because they’ve visited Bilbao before I actually got to see some places that I hadn’t previously, and revisit really nice areas. For example, we went to the Sunday morning market in the old town which I’ve never actually managed to get myself up for before. We also went to Getxo to see the famous hanging bridge, and had a lovely day trip to San Sebastian where luckily the weather didn’t fail us and we could sit outside with a beer next to the beautiful beach for a few hours, which was perfect. 

Despite some minor mishaps, such as almost getting us all killed by walking straight through a roundabout (in my defence it looked more like a plaza than a fully functioning roundabout), and accidently breaking onto the hanging bridge without paying, I think that their trip went to plan.

This weekend, three friends from Southampton who are also living in Spain have come to Bilbao so it’s been really nice to catch up with them and hear all about their year abroad. Even though I’ve been here for 8 months now, it’s still nice and reassuring to see friends and family from England when everything else is so foreign. It's also made me so excited to see everyone next year and compare all of our experiences!

I Need Some Space

One of my favourite teachers Jone has, with one month left to go, finally gone on maternity leave, which means that for my last month in Spain I’ll be working with a substitute teacher in one of the schools. Luckily, the new teacher’s absolutely lovely, but she’s highlighted the difference for me between personal space in Britain and Spain i.e. in Spain the concept doesn’t exist. While in Britain it’s generally accepted that there’s an invisible line surrounding us which people rarely ever enter, in Spain that’s not the case. People will get so close to you when they’re talking that you can actually feel their breath on your skin, which can be quite overwhelming at first as you have to constantly fight the urge to move away. Also, when in conversation it’s not unusual for the Spanish to touch or grab your arm after every other sentence, and look directly into your eyes for the whole 10 minutes that they’re speaking to you, leaving you quite self-conscious throughout.

Personal space invasion isn’t just limited to conversations with people you vaguely know, it also happens on public transport where people will almost sit on top of you making for a very uncomfortable journey, and queues where people will literally be standing on you. Coming from Britain where the closest we’ll get to personal contact with an acquaintance is perhaps a handshake this was all a bit of a shock, and has forced me to reassess my own personal space barrier.

I love how tactile the Spanish are, and they’re definitely very welcoming, but the British concept of personal space seems to be something I just can’t shake. Whenever someone comes too close in conversation I always find myself backing away, and when they creep forward I back away once more. I always imagine I’m doing this subtly, but in reality taking 3 steps backwards within one minute of talking is probably very obvious and rude.

Another concept which I also struggled with at first was the two kiss rule. Never before have I kissed someone to say hello unless it was family, so kissing complete strangers was new to me. However, I’ve found that the unwritten rule that you must kiss everyone you’re introduced to, whether you know them or not, has removed a lot of awkwardness from greetings. In Britain, kissing is optional, as is hugging, handshakes, or even a wave hello. Therefore, in social situations no one ever really knows what to do, but in Spain everyone ALWAYS go for the two kisses.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7040259.stm?lsm

This article perfectly sums up how awkward us Brits find greetings, which is definitely something I’m not missing this year.

Dissertation deadlines and a visit from Dell

It’s overrrrr! Ever since we wrote our proposal over a year ago for the Year Abroad Research Project (affectionately known as the YARP) I have been dreaming of this moment. All those missed beach trips, and weekends spent in the flat were hopefully all worth it (in reality I only missed 1 beach trip and spent 2 weekends in the flat working, but it sounds so much more dramatic this way), and I’m now free! However, in true Sarah style I’ve managed to completely burn myself out and I’m suffering with a horrible cold, so am forced to spend all day in bed. But luckily I can now do this without feeling guilty.

As well as writing my YARP I had a much welcome break last weekend as one of my oldest friend’s Tash came to visit.  Unfortunately, the weather here resembles what I imagine the weather in the North Pole to be like at this time of year so finding out that Tash hadn’t brought a coat and had pretty much only come with summer dresses wasn’t a great start. Despite the lack of suitable clothing we battled through the elements to have an amazing weekend seeing the sights.

We had one very messy night which was unfortunate because every guest I’ve taken out in Spain has been sick on the night out. While this may be a bad reflection on me and my peer pressure drinking (which despite my brother trying to claim otherwise is NOT true), I would warn those of you who aren’t used to 4€ Spanish death vodka to go carefully because it’s quite a shock to the system.

I’m now looking forward to making the most of my last month in Spain with no deadlines, no pressure, and absolutely no stress. 

Aupa Athletic!

After spending a lovely few days with my mum and brother in Bilbao last week I’ve had to come back to the harsh reality of balancing working at the school with finishing my dissertation. However, not without a little break to watch Athletic Bilbao v. Real Madrid after a friend happened to buy too many tickets to the match so gave two tickets to Steph and I at a discounted price.

Athletic Bilbao are a big deal in the city of Bilbao. I live by the stadium and whenever there’s a match every single bar without fail will raise their flag and hundreds of people will line the street to cheer on their team, even if they don’t have a ticket to the stadium. The reason why Athletic Bilbao's matches are such a huge occasion with the residents here is that throughout its history the club has engaged in a Basque-only player policy. Ask anyone in Bilbao and they will tell you that they feel a much stronger affinity to the club and its players than a supporter of any other team because they share the same country, the same language and the same blood runs through their veins. Only selecting footballers from a limited area might make it harder to find quality but Bilbao are one of the only Spanish clubs to have never been relegated from La Liga, along with Real Madrid and F.C. Barcelona.

We knew that it was going to be slightly hectic in the stadium from what we've witnessed every match day on the streets, but when we got there we were completely overwhelmed. It was chaos. There were so many people squeezed into our section, clearly too many for the number of seats and tickets available, and due to the sheer amount of bodies we never managed to find our seats. However, we did find a good standing spot which gave us a clearer view than we probably would have had if we’d been sitting, and the atmosphere was amazing.

At first, Steph and I momentarily forgot who we were supporting and we got very overexcited every time Christiano Ronaldo touched the ball. However, after some stern glances from everyone around us we realised that this probably wasn't a great idea, especially when Ronaldo scored a goal in the 2nd minute of the game, so we proudly waved our 3 euro flag which we’d bought outside of the stadium and became Athletic Bilbao’s biggest fans. By the end of the match, as well as learning many racist chants to direct towards Christiano Ronaldo we found that, despite losing 3-0, the Athletic supporters will fight until the end for their club.

Mayhem in Mallorca

What was meant to be a relaxing holiday in Mallorca turned out to be an accidental clubbing holiday in Magaluf. How can my friend Laura and I go on a clubbing holiday accidently you may be wandering? Well, the first step was booking our flights. We knew when we wanted to go away so we booked the cheapest flights possible for those dates, which happened to be to Mallorca. About a month later we realised that we didn't have accommodation, so once again we looked for the cheapest accommodation possible, and found a hotel in Magaluf. We didn't really think much about the hotel being in Magaluf, despite its reputation, because we just wanted to go somewhere with a beach to get some sunshine in April. However, when we arrived at our hotel we found that it was actually located right in the heart of the clubbing strip, so really there was no way to avoid going out. Even though it wasn't the high season, Magaluf was still full of people, and it seems to be a very attractive destination for stag and hen dos.

Although Mallorca is a Spanish island, it was the closest I've felt to British culture on my year of living in Spain. Almost everyone was British, from the tourists to the workers who could barely speak Spanish, and I also watched the most English television I've watched in a long time. Even though I rarely watch daytime TV when I’m actually in England, I found myself watching Jeremy Kyle and This Morning every day just because I could.

We did get our wish to be near the beach but it wasn't exactly ideal sunbathing conditions as it was pretty windy. However, both of us still managed to come back sunburnt – classic British tourists.

In between sunbathing whilst wearing lots of layers we also visited Palma, the capital of Mallorca, to do some sight-seeing.

It wasn't what we expected but we had an amazing holiday, and we definitely made the most of the situation. What wasn't such a nice surprise, however, was when we had two separate flights cancelled trying to return to Bilbao, and then being stranded in the airport without any information for two hours before being taken to a hotel for another two hours, and then returning to the airport at 5 in the morning to finally fly back at 7am without any sleep. All part of the la aventura española I guess...

Family, Friends, and Lots of Fun!

I’m lucky enough to be enjoying a 2 week Easter break. I’m currently in the middle of the holiday after spending the last week back home in Somerset. I envisaged myself relaxing a lot and being pampered, but it didn’t quite turn out like that and it was actually a very busy time, however I loved every minute of it. Some of my university friends came to visit which meant that I got to celebrate my birthday for a second time with both my friends from Somerset and Southampton. I also got to be a tour guide for Somerset and the surrounding areas which definitely made me appreciate where I live. One of the funniest moments of the weekend was getting a phone call from a lost Allana who tried to describe where she was by saying, “there’s a field on my left and a field on my right… I’ve now just gone through a village that looks like it was built 400 years ago, and I feel like I should be in a tractor”. It turns out she was only about 2 minutes away from my house. Bless those city dwellers.

I had the best weekend, and my family were absolutely amazing, and very accommodating given the circumstances. After all the festivities I was finally allowed to open all my presents. While I appreciated everything I received, the sentimental presents were the ones that made the biggest impact, and I definitely didn’t think my brother would be the one to make me cry with his gift of 21 cards filled with his 21 favourite memories of us. He is a sweetie after all!

I was well and truly spoilt, and it was a very welcome break from my daily routine in Bilbao. However, it’s now Easter weekend and instead of eating so much chocolate that I’m almost sick, as is the usual tradition, I’m spending the weekend back in Spain because I’ve got 6000 words to write for my year abroad project which, despite having had all year to do it, has now become a bit of an issue with 1 month left before the deadline. I’ve set myself a personal 3 day deadline to write 2000 more words because on Wednesday I’m jetting off again, but this time to the warmer climes of Mallorca. I, therefore, have 3 very boring days to come… Happy Easter! 

Happy Birthday To Me...

Anyone who knows me will know that I take my birthday very seriously – I once fell out with two of my friends because they’d booked a holiday to France on the weekend of my birthday party (sorry Maddy and Beckie but at the time I thought you were being very selfish, I can now see that I was wrong) - so when I first realised that I’d be spending my 21^st birthday in Spain I was pretty upset to not be with my best friends and family. However, I started coming round to the idea of celebrating this monumental birthday (although I’m not even sure myself why it’s such a big deal) in Spain because this whole year has been unforgettable, and how many other people get to spend their birthday in a foreign country?

Luckily, I have amazing friends here who surprised me with some amazing presents, a personal favourite being the One Direction card, and a delicious cake. I also got some lovely cards from my friends and family back home, so I didn't feel too forgotten. After dinner, we made some really nice cocktails and headed out to a club with some other friends. Although my memory of the night is quite vague, I do remember having a great time. The same can't be said for the next day.

My birthday fell on a Thursday this year, so on the Saturday one of the English teachers, Silvana, kindly took me on a mini tour of the Basque country, along with her husband, her son, and her son’s girlfriend. The first stop was Gernika, famous for the Nazi bombings which destroyed the whole town and inspired the Picasso painting. The only thing that remained from the bombings was a tree, and my reliable tour guide informed me that people come and pay their respects to this symbol of peace by posing like so…

While in Gernika we also visited the parliament of the province of Biscay, and the peace museum. We then went on a road trip to see some more sights. I’m not exactly sure where we went but we visited lots of nice castles and scenery.

After the trip, we went back to Silvana’s flat to pick up her two daughters and their partners, and her sister before we went to eat lunch at a sidrería. A sidrería is a typical Basque cider house where you can expect to find huge cider barrels, wooden tables and chairs, and food cooked in a big chimney. Silvana’s son described the experience to me as being in the ‘Flinstones’, if that helps conjure up a better image. During the road trip we’d built up quite an appetite and we’d definitely come to the right place. We ate so much just for starters – bread, ham croquettes, cod tortilla, tuna and asparagus salad, chorizo – and then the waiters brought out the main course of chuleta, a grilled rib eye steak. The steak comes out very rare but you can leave it to cook on a hot plate for as long as you want. After all the savoury food I couldn’t face dessert (weird) but there were lots of creamy goodies on offer as well.

I had an absolutely amazing Basque birthday, with some amazing people, but I’m now ridiculously excited to go back to England tomorrow and celebrate with my family and friends there. If anything, being in Spain has just given me a good excuse to drag the celebrations out for as long as possible.

I Love Teaching

Ok maybe the title's a slight exaggeration – I complain every single day about waking up early to go to school, and I dread Sunday nights more than I ever did when I was at school. Before I came to Spain I had absolutely no desire to be a teacher, I chose to spend my year abroad as a language assistant because the salary and lack of university work seemed like a very attractive option, and I definitely don't want to be a teacher now. I'm not even very good at teaching. When left alone with the students for half an hour on two occasions this week, instead of doing the set work I preferred to talk to them about their school trip to Lanzarote (of course I made them take their books out so it looked like they were working). I can't discipline them at all because I've definitely crossed the line between friend and teacher, which I'm fine with. I’m so young that I can relate to some of the kids more than I can to most of the teachers. I can even sympathise with the really naughty ones, as I wasn't exactly an angel myself at school. The discipline in Spanish schools is so much worse than the UK anyway; teachers aren't respected in the slightest and if a student doesn't want to do something there's no way of forcing them to do it. I regularly leave lessons with a headache because the students have been shouting for an hour.

However, when the students give me a round of applause and cheers after every presentation I do, write me stories in English with titles such as 'The Girl Who Married With a Bear', randomly make me a C.D filled with songs that they think I'll like, or walk past the staff room twice just because I didn't see them and say hello the first time, it makes me realise that this ‘teaching’ thing isn’t so bad after all.

Madrid

You can’t spend your year abroad in Spain without visiting the capital city, so last weekend some friends from university and I took a trip to Madrid. Unfortunately, one bad incident kind of tainted my opinion of the city so instead of boring you all with my depressing experience I’ll instead upload some pictures so you can make up your own minds.