This week is my last week of Spanish classes! I have my first interview on Wednesday for an internship. I don't even know anything about it yet; I will receive more information tomorrow morning. Things are pretty relaxed here. I discovered early on that it doesn't do much good to stress about things because it always works out - even if it feels completely last minute...
This evening I am meeting my language exchange partner. This is someone that speaks Spanish as their first language but wants to practice speaking English. You can meet as often as you want to and you switch off speaking in Spanish and English with each other so that both people can learn. It's a really cool little program. It's a great way to learn the language and it's also a really easy way to meet people. Since you often get paired with someone who lives here in San Sebastián, they can introduce you to their friends and show you cool places in the city that you might not have discovered without the help of a native! I'm really excited!
After our meeting, I am going to a Jazz concert with some friends. This month, they are having free concerts every Monday evening. A bunch of the German students went last week and really enjoyed it. I love jazz, so it should be fun. And it's free!
This is exciting: I found someone who will teach me how to surf - for free! I just have to rent a wet suit. (However, i'm sworn to secrecy and cannot divulge this mystery surf instructor's name....so sorry) I'm really excited to give it a try. It looks really difficult. But the waves have been pretty tame and I've been told it's a good time for a beginner to surf.... We'll see about that.
Other than that, life is pretty simple for me!
Besitos y abrazos,
Sierra (Eli)
Monday, March 22, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Snow in San Sebastian!
Hello, all! The past few days have been very busy! The pinxtos tour was so much fun. As I mentioned in my last blog, San Sebastian is famous for it's 'pinxtos'. Basically, they are very fancy, elaborate appetizers. It is considered a very highly regarded form of art here. We went to 5 different bars on the tour and had one pinxto at each bar. It's also customary to have a 'small' glass of white wine with each pinxto (dangerous for a lightweight like me...). We started off the tour with a pinxto called Foie. Foie means duck liver.... it was....interesting.... I'm glad that I tried it, because it is definitely a delicacy here. It was a little much. The texture totally threw me off. And it was very greasy. But it also had very good flavor. Then we continued on to other famous bars and all the other ones were really delicious. We ended the tour with a piece of cheese cake! It was so incredible. I am such a cheese cake lover and this cheese cake was special! It was super creamy inside and the outer parts were a little bit more cooked and there was this sweet syrup over it that tasted like it was some sort of vanilla mixture - Mmmmm! Delicioso!
At the beginning of the tour, 2 girls that I had never met before walked up just as we were leaving. Their names are Maalia and Cristi. Maalia is from Greenland and Cristy is from California! It was so exciting to meet them. Since then I have pretty much been hanging out with them every day; they are a lot of fun!
After the tour that night, everyone went out to go dancing at one of the local bars called Tas Tas. It was so much fun! (Until we had to wake up for class the next morning!) That night I also met 2 guys from the U.S. who are living here in San Sebastian. One of them is from California and the other is from, guess where....SEATTLE! Such a small world! He's actually the owner of one of my favorite restaurants. So it's been fun getting to hang out with them a bit as well. The night after our tour, they cooked an amazing meal for us girls (there is a picture of my enchiladas on facebook). Everyone here is very friendly. Every time we go out to eat or out for drinks or to go dancing, we end up making new friends.
This past Saturday I went on a little excursion with my school to (even more) Northern Spain and then to France! It was really fun. It only takes about an hour to get there. We took a little tour through a really pretty old town in Northern Spain and we came upon a really cool wedding ceremony. There were all these people dressed up in these traditional costumes and they started doing this really cool dance together for the bride and groom when they came out of the church. It was really cool to see! (And the bride had a gorgeous dress!!!)
After the little tour we had a fabulous lunch outside in the sun and then hopped on a boat to France! We played on a nude beach there (even though it was pretty cold!) It was so much fun. However, it was way to cold for anyone to be nude!!! Then we walked through a really cute little town and took a tram back to San Sebastian. I'm happy that I can say that i've been to France now, but I still want to see more of that country!
Yesterday I went to a soccer game! San Sebastian has a soccer team called Real Sociedad. I went with a bunch of friends and we had great seats! Really close to the field. It was so much fun! And Real Sociedad won 2-1. The fans were going crazy and it was packed! It's such a huge part of the culture here; I'm so glad that I got to experience a fútbol game in Spain!
Then later on that evening it started snowing!!! It was absolutely beautiful, however I definitely was not dressed for snow! It has been snowing off and on today as well. Just when I thought this city couldn't get any more beautiful, I see it snow. Yet again, I have to pinch myself to make sure it's not just all a dream!
Miss you all! Besitos y abrazos,
Eli ;)
At the beginning of the tour, 2 girls that I had never met before walked up just as we were leaving. Their names are Maalia and Cristi. Maalia is from Greenland and Cristy is from California! It was so exciting to meet them. Since then I have pretty much been hanging out with them every day; they are a lot of fun!
After the tour that night, everyone went out to go dancing at one of the local bars called Tas Tas. It was so much fun! (Until we had to wake up for class the next morning!) That night I also met 2 guys from the U.S. who are living here in San Sebastian. One of them is from California and the other is from, guess where....SEATTLE! Such a small world! He's actually the owner of one of my favorite restaurants. So it's been fun getting to hang out with them a bit as well. The night after our tour, they cooked an amazing meal for us girls (there is a picture of my enchiladas on facebook). Everyone here is very friendly. Every time we go out to eat or out for drinks or to go dancing, we end up making new friends.
This past Saturday I went on a little excursion with my school to (even more) Northern Spain and then to France! It was really fun. It only takes about an hour to get there. We took a little tour through a really pretty old town in Northern Spain and we came upon a really cool wedding ceremony. There were all these people dressed up in these traditional costumes and they started doing this really cool dance together for the bride and groom when they came out of the church. It was really cool to see! (And the bride had a gorgeous dress!!!)
After the little tour we had a fabulous lunch outside in the sun and then hopped on a boat to France! We played on a nude beach there (even though it was pretty cold!) It was so much fun. However, it was way to cold for anyone to be nude!!! Then we walked through a really cute little town and took a tram back to San Sebastian. I'm happy that I can say that i've been to France now, but I still want to see more of that country!
Yesterday I went to a soccer game! San Sebastian has a soccer team called Real Sociedad. I went with a bunch of friends and we had great seats! Really close to the field. It was so much fun! And Real Sociedad won 2-1. The fans were going crazy and it was packed! It's such a huge part of the culture here; I'm so glad that I got to experience a fútbol game in Spain!
Then later on that evening it started snowing!!! It was absolutely beautiful, however I definitely was not dressed for snow! It has been snowing off and on today as well. Just when I thought this city couldn't get any more beautiful, I see it snow. Yet again, I have to pinch myself to make sure it's not just all a dream!
Miss you all! Besitos y abrazos,
Eli ;)
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Germans, Mullets, and One Way Streets!
Hola, buenas! I have been in San Sebastian now for 3 full days. I still feel nervous that I'm going to wake up any second and realize that this city couldn't possibly be real!
This is funny - In Spanish, the word 'sierra' means 'saw' or 'close'. For this reason, my host and her boyfriend have given me the nickname Eli! haha. They came up with this by taking the first three letters of my middle name, Elizabeth Ann. Everyone here calls me Eli, even the people at my school. And I actually really like it. (Although I think I'd like to go back to Sierra when I get home.)
San Sebastian is very small and is basicall broken up into two different parts: the "old part" and the "new part". Yesterday I took a tour of the old part of the city. As we were walking through the streets, I felt like I was on the set of a movie. There is such an interesting contrast between the old buildings and the modern things inside them. I don't know if you've seen it, but I almost feel like i'm in the movie "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". I don't know, something about the architecture or something.
Anyways, the pace of life here is very calm. I love it. It's on the coast so there are a lot of surfers walking around with their wet suits and surf boards. (I might even give surfing a try! But no promises!) Since the town is pretty small, a lot of the people know each other. My host owns a cafe very close to the center of the town. There are tons of really yummy pastries and the coffee is really good! I never drink coffee at home but this morning, I had 2 lattes!
Today was my second day of Spanish classes. All of the other students in my class are German! It is difficult to understand them because they speak Spanish with a German accent! Yesterday I didn't really understand anything they were saying, it was really bad. Today, it was much easier. Hopefully that means i'm getting used to it. Maybe tomorrow I won't have any trouble at all....? (Probably wishful thinking, but I'll keep you updated.) Even though it's difficult to speak Spanish with the German students, I am constantly using the language and I can't believe how much better I have gotten already! It's exciting!
The people here in San Sebastian are very fashionable! There are so many cute shops and walking to and from school is torture! It's like i'm forced to window shop! There is a certain style here that I guess I would compare to what we would call "emo" in the U.S. But here, apparently it's trendy, or "scene" to have a mullet....! It's so funny! In Washington, when you see people with mullets, they usually aren't the most trendy people....But here, the people with the mullets are the fashionable ones! So don't be surprised if I come home in June with a trendy mullet in an attempt to bring the fad to Seattle! ;)
Every street in San Sebastian is a one way street. In theory, this makes it very easy to cross the streets, right?? WRONG! It is so confusing for some reason. I just can't bring myself to believe that I only ever have to look one way! And as a result, crossing the streets here is even more scary than it is at home! But lets be honest, I've never been very brave when it comes to crossing the street.... Travel to a foreign country by myself?? No problem! But someone better hold my hand when I cross the street!
Tomorrow I am going on a "Pinxtos", or tapas, tour! I am really excited because San Sebastian is known for it's cuisine and they are famous for their pinxtos! :)
besitos y abrazos,
Sierra
This is funny - In Spanish, the word 'sierra' means 'saw' or 'close'. For this reason, my host and her boyfriend have given me the nickname Eli! haha. They came up with this by taking the first three letters of my middle name, Elizabeth Ann. Everyone here calls me Eli, even the people at my school. And I actually really like it. (Although I think I'd like to go back to Sierra when I get home.)
San Sebastian is very small and is basicall broken up into two different parts: the "old part" and the "new part". Yesterday I took a tour of the old part of the city. As we were walking through the streets, I felt like I was on the set of a movie. There is such an interesting contrast between the old buildings and the modern things inside them. I don't know if you've seen it, but I almost feel like i'm in the movie "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". I don't know, something about the architecture or something.
Anyways, the pace of life here is very calm. I love it. It's on the coast so there are a lot of surfers walking around with their wet suits and surf boards. (I might even give surfing a try! But no promises!) Since the town is pretty small, a lot of the people know each other. My host owns a cafe very close to the center of the town. There are tons of really yummy pastries and the coffee is really good! I never drink coffee at home but this morning, I had 2 lattes!
Today was my second day of Spanish classes. All of the other students in my class are German! It is difficult to understand them because they speak Spanish with a German accent! Yesterday I didn't really understand anything they were saying, it was really bad. Today, it was much easier. Hopefully that means i'm getting used to it. Maybe tomorrow I won't have any trouble at all....? (Probably wishful thinking, but I'll keep you updated.) Even though it's difficult to speak Spanish with the German students, I am constantly using the language and I can't believe how much better I have gotten already! It's exciting!
The people here in San Sebastian are very fashionable! There are so many cute shops and walking to and from school is torture! It's like i'm forced to window shop! There is a certain style here that I guess I would compare to what we would call "emo" in the U.S. But here, apparently it's trendy, or "scene" to have a mullet....! It's so funny! In Washington, when you see people with mullets, they usually aren't the most trendy people....But here, the people with the mullets are the fashionable ones! So don't be surprised if I come home in June with a trendy mullet in an attempt to bring the fad to Seattle! ;)
Every street in San Sebastian is a one way street. In theory, this makes it very easy to cross the streets, right?? WRONG! It is so confusing for some reason. I just can't bring myself to believe that I only ever have to look one way! And as a result, crossing the streets here is even more scary than it is at home! But lets be honest, I've never been very brave when it comes to crossing the street.... Travel to a foreign country by myself?? No problem! But someone better hold my hand when I cross the street!
Tomorrow I am going on a "Pinxtos", or tapas, tour! I am really excited because San Sebastian is known for it's cuisine and they are famous for their pinxtos! :)
besitos y abrazos,
Sierra
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