Road Trip!

Last weekend, my friends and I rented the smallest, cheapest car available and decided to drive along the Basque coast, stopping along the way until we reached our destination of Biarritz.

Our first stop was Getaria, a quaint, traditional Basque town with narrow streets and a beautiful port.

The next destination was San Sebastián. Since arriving in Bilbao everyone has told me that I need to visit San Seb as it’s so beautiful. After finally going I can say that the recommendations were deserved, and I’m planning on going again when it’s warmer. Despite the weather not being great, the beach still looked stunning, as did the old town, and the food.

We finally got to Biarritz where, due to limited funds, we stayed the night in the car (definitely won’t be doing that again). After not very much sleep we explored the town of Biarritz, which was truly magical with lots of little coves and walkways to some of the rocks.

On the way back we stopped in Saint Jean de Luz, a small French town about 7 miles from the Spanish border. Both Biarritz and Saint Jean are in the French Basque Country, so it was great to see the French twist on Basque culture. All of the restaurants and cafés had Basque names but the town itself looked typically French. I personally thought that it looked exactly like the town in the film Chocolat.

We didn’t have the best experience, however, with the French Basque food as upon ordering risotto we were surprised when it came out in a shot glass, black, and containing squid.

After spending 2 days in France I have realised how much French I have forgotten, so it was probably my poor, broken French which got us into the situation where we were eating squid risotto. My French has become so bad in fact that, when asked where I was from by a nice French woman I was unable to remember possibly one of the easiest French words. While panicking, I shouted England and ran away. Despite studying French for longer than I can remember, I definitely lived up to the ignorant English stereotype at that moment in time.

Food and Fashion

I realised that I'm halfway through my year abroad and am yet to talk about two of my biggest passions, so this post was made to rectify this situation.

Anyone who knows me will know that I love to eat, however I'm fairly fussy when it comes to what I’m willing to eat as I tend to stick to what I know (this first became very apparent when I travelled to Senegal, and after two weeks of refusing to eat the delicacy of fishy rice I forced my Mum to drive me to the nearest McDonalds upon arrival to England). I am spending a year in the Basque Country, famous for its amazing pintxos and fish. The sight and smell of fish makes me feel sick, let alone the taste, so I'm afraid I can't give you my review of the seafood, but I'm sure it's very nice. Due to the fact that I only eat meats which I’m familiar with it took me about a month to work up the courage to eat chorizo, and even then it was only a small slice. I didn't realise that it's pretty much the only sausage they have in Spain, and the students were unable to understand that the Christmas pigs in blankets I have been telling them about aren’t chorizo wrapped in bacon, but it is in fact possible to buy other sausages in Britain. I ate my first whole chorizo sausage about 2 months into my stay and I've come to the conclusion that it's ok in small quantities. 

After eating about 50 pintxos I would say that I'm becoming a bit of an expert in this area of Basque gastronomy. Surprisingly, one of the tastiest pintxos I've tried since being here has been foie on toast. I would never normally eat duck liver but when in Rome (or Bilbao in my case), and I was very pleasantly surprised. Of course you can't beat the Spanish tortilla made with lots of potatoes and eggs which also comes with bread (because lots of carbs is always a good idea), and with a variety of fillings such as onions, peppers, ham, and cheese to name a few. This was our attempt at making one with chorizo (so Spanish), and it turned out so good.

When you enter a bar in Bilbao you won't be able to miss the vast array of pintxos on sale, and I think it's such a good idea. They're so cheap if you only want a snack (around 1€), or you can choose to make a cheap and varied meal by buying as many as you want. You can get anything from small sandwiches to the most delicious garlic mushrooms you will ever taste.

Now, to talk about the fashion found in the Basque country. I only mention this because the clothes, piercings, hair, everything here is so different to anything I've seen before. The first I’d heard of the Basque beret was on the plane flying to Bilbao in one of the magazines. I thought the beret was a French thing but it turns out I was very wrong, and the beret is thought to have actually originated from the Basque country. It’s not unusual for every man you see walking down the street to incorporate a beret into their everyday wear. It is very much a tradition still popular today.

Also in the Basque Country the mullet is going strong on the female population, while boys prefer short hair on top with a ponytail at the back. I would say that 90% of the male population have their ears pierced with facial piercings also very popular, even on students as young as 12. The styles here are so diverse that after 4 months of living here I don't think I will ever become desensitised to them, but who knows maybe by the end of my year abroad I'll have adopted a whole new style taking inspiration from the local people.

Aprovecharse

Last week, a Southampton University facebook group was created called “year abroad tips: how to make the most out of your year abroad” which has been designed for people to share resources and ideas of how to make the most of our time left in our foreign lands. Some people obviously feel like they’re not taking advantage of their year abroad as much as they should be and, while I would never claim that I’m having a much better experience than everyone else, my year hasn’t been too bad so far, so here are my own tips on how to make the most out of your year abroad.

1. Live with British people or have a close group of British friends. This may be quite a controversial one as it goes against everything you’re told at university, but, personally, I love living with someone else that speaks my language and shares my culture. After a long, tiring day listening and speaking Spanish I enjoy coming back to talk about my day in English and know that I will be properly understood, and have someone who can relate to my experiences. I think the majority of the time this has stopped be from getting homesick. Being a language assistant you don’t have the whole Erasmus network through which you can meet lots of other people your age, therefore I’ve found living with someone English who’s my age and doing exactly what I’m doing has introduced me to lots of other people and activities. Don’t worry though I do also live with a Bolivian who speaks no English at all so I get plenty of Spanish practice at home as well. Best of both worlds.

2. Say yes to everything (within reason). This is such a cliché but it genuinely introduces you to so many more opportunities. Saying yes this week has led me to buy Justin Bieber and Rihanna concerts for when they play in Bilbao, agree to rent a car with some friends to drive to France next weekend, and plan a trip to Cadíz for their annual carnival. These are the things I’ll remember about my year abroad, rather than the times I stayed in and did nothing.

3.  Following on from my previous point, accept that this year will probably be a very expensive year, and embrace it. After two years of properly living like a poor student I have decided this year to live by the motto money is no object. As a language assistant I’m not exactly struggling as I'm given a salary, Erasmus grant, and student loan. So why not blow it all and have the most unforgettable year this year? 

4. Get out there. I realise that this is easier said than done but even if you do something as simple as go to a bar once you will be more exposed to the language, and people who could become potential friends. Most Thursday’s my friends and I go to an open mic night at the same bar. We’ve started becoming acquainted with the locals there, and we even go out with them afterwards now. If you stay in your room there is no possible way that you will be improving your spoken language.

5. Stop worrying about if you’re doing enough to improve your language on your year abroad. If I actually took the time to dissect my language learning maybe I’d start thinking that my Spanish isn’t good enough, and panic. But I don’t. There are days when I speak a lot more Spanish than others, but this doesn’t worry me. When you see people who don’t study languages you’ll always get the dreaded question of ‘are you fluent yet?’ And while you may not be quite fluent just yet, 9 times out of 10 you’re doing a lot better than you think you are.

These are just a few tips from my own personal experience. I’m not going to sit here and say don’t watch English television, and try not to speak to people from home very often because I am 100% guilty of doing both of these things. As long as you attempt to integrate into the other culture as much as you fall back on your own you’ll be fine.

Getting back into the swing of things

All good things must come to an end as I found out this Monday when it was time to say goodbye to England and hola once more to Spain. Weighed down with even more shoes and enough tea to last the year I was ready and excited to start the second half of my Spanish adventure.

After spending the majority of Christmas sleeping until midday and watching Midsomer Murders with mum the 6am start on Tuesday was particularly difficult. However, by Thursday the early starts had once again become part of my routine. It was nice seeing the pupils and staff at school, and I discovered the Spanish tradition of eating 12 grapes on New Year’s Eve as the clock strikes twelve. I had brought back some chocolates and crumpets for the teachers which earned me extra brownie points, although not enough it would seem to make them forget that I didn’t teach on Monday as unfortunately I still have to make up those hours, which means I have a very long and horrible Monday in a few weeks’ time.

This week has consisted of catching up with friends in Bilbao over many long lunches and nights in filled with movies and wine. It was nice going home but it’s now given me more motivation to make the most of the last six months. Bring it on.