Diversions in the Dark

Yesterday was an exhausting day. It started with waking up at 10am and going to class at 1:30pm, which was held on the beach in order to provide a better context for our discussion on wind power.

View of the wind turbines from the beach

After a short siesta, I met with the other USAC students in Bilbao so that we could go group kayaking. It was meant to be night kayaking (as we started around 8:30pm), but it doesn't get dark in Bilbao until after 10:30pm or so. It was my first time kayaking but it was a memorable experience. The water in the river that runs through the city is a bit murky but still beautiful. The backdrop of our experience were the buildings and bridges of Bilbao as well as the Guggenheim Museum. I couldn't bring my camera on the kayak but here's an idea of what it looked like.

Around 8:30pm when we started

View of the river when we ended

One of the many bridges we went under

Typical backdrop of our kayaking experience

Following the night kayaking, many of the USAC students had tickets to go experience the "Art in the Dark" event at the Guggenheim, where the museum throws a party in its lobby and allows attendees to view the art for an extended period of time. Although we got there at midnight, we had about one hour to explore the museum.

Lobby of the Guggenheim Museum

Odd Video of the avant-garde D.J.

Pointless but interesting walkway art

One of the few photos I could catch before being told to put my camera away

I only got to explore about two floors of the Guggenheim and will probably go back sometime before I leave. The art though was very interesting to say the least, almost shocking. Among some notable pieces this time around included a variety of nature paintings done in pointillism, a giant motion-blur piece of a woman's face, and a large portrait of an African father and his infants adorned in red silk.

One of the local Spanish clubs known as Club Fever was having a special discount for attendees of the Art in the Dark event, so all the USAC students decided to attend. The club was in Bolueta, which turned out to be a pretty sketchy neighborhood in Bilbao characterized by graffiti, metal fences, and warehouses. As we were walking, there were dozens upon dozens of groups of young Spaniards hanging out in the streets. The street was bordered on both sides by cars and the scene seemed like something you'd see in a Fast and Furious movie. We got to the club at around 2:30am and the same D.J. that was at the museum was also the main music artist at the event. Most of the shots I got were blurry but here are the ones that turned out relatively fine.

Gelato from floral-fruit infusion place

View of Bolueta

Fast and Furious: Bilbao?

Outside of Club Fever

Inside of Club Fever

The music was pretty strange but good

Up-close to the stage

Last night/this morning was a true Spanish night experience filled with music, dancing, and hundreds of locals.

Hiking in the Hills

My neighborhood of Algorta is surrounded by those of Aiboa and Bidezabal. Yesterday, my group and I decided to get explore the wonders each had to offer.

Although what led us to Aiboa was the expectation of a Chinese Dollar Store where they supposedly had notebooks for us to buy, the neighborhood turned out to be a purely residential area. The houses and apartments are situated on a steep hill and offers sights not so often seen back in the states.

View of the Metro that cuts through the Aiboa neighborhood

Long walkway adorned with alternating tree and metal arches

Dog enjoying the Spanish Sun

View of the industrial bank from Aiboa

It may be interesting to note that the dogs here are amazingly well trained and that it is not uncommon for them to be walked or even let our without leashes. We found that owners punish their dog by putting them on the leash when they misbehave. Such behavioral modification makes sense and the culture in Bilbao takes advantage of it. We decided to meet up around 4pm to go hiking to a fort in Bidezabal that was used to defend Spain from the English attack.

View of Bidezabal from Algorta

View of the journey up to the fort

Kind Spanish elder telling us about the history of the fort

We kept walking along the path that took us to the fort...

Carrie on the edge of the cliff

Carrie sees something!

I don't know what she pointed too...

Oh, it was stairs

View of the beach from the stairs

View of the beach from the shore

Ultimately, the day was a fun day for hiking. The beach turned out to be Rock Beach and what looked liked to be soft sand from above turned out to be, unsurprisingly, hard and rocky. Not many people seem to go down near the shore because of how precarious the stairs were toward the bottom but the experience of standing on the shoreline was surreal.

Lost in the Locale

Our Group Attempting to Figure out the Metro System

Despite having orientation about the local area and the university yesterday, my group couldn't help but get lost both yesterday and today. I should mention that in the Bilbao/Getxo area, there are several neighborhoods that comprise each city and all of them are connected by a metro train. The metro train itself is the primary means of transportation for most of the residents and its efficiency is worthy of admiration. While the University is located off the Moyua exit, most of us residents live in either the Areeta, Neguri, or Algorta neighborhoods 15-25 minutes away. Most of our exploration yesterday was based in the Areeta and Algorta neighborhoods, and we saw several local attractions while we tried to establish our bearings.

Landscape View of Areeta

The following are some observations of Spanish culture I noticed while walking the city:

• Most people have dogs and walk them often
• The dogs here are either furry giants or tiny balls of fur
• In addition to biking and walking, rollerblading is a popular mode of transportation
• Public displays of affection are more extreme than in the U.S. and are considered normal in Spain
• People walk with a purpose
• The Basque language is distinctly different from Spanish and looks almost German
• Going down the wrong hill is extremely regrettable

One of Several Alleys on Old Bilbao

This morning wouldn't prove much better. After meeting up with Carrie and Kaitlyn (two other USAC students from UNR), we wanted to get some coffee and baked goods for breakfast before our first day of class. We wanted to revisit Old Bilbao because of its quaint, European atmosphere. However, there comes a point where once you lose your position, every alley and street begins to look the same and the neighborhood becomes a maze of sorts. We started rushing to find a familiar landmark and even asked directions from locals. After 45 minutes, we arrived at the UPV (Universidad del Pais Vasco) just in time for our class. I guess I should note that we (the three students from UNR) are the only students in our class, meeting the bare minimum to prevent USAC from canceling it. Needless to say, our instructor was happy we all enrolled, therefore subsidizing his free trip to Spain. The rest of today will involve studying at the Bilbao library and relaxing on the beach but I will leave you with more pictures of Old Bilbao before I leave. Hasta Luego!

Hanging with the Hosts

The Room provided by my Host Family

Kaixo! After a series of flights from San Francisco to Dallas, Dallas to Madrid, and Madrid to Bilbao, I finally arrived at my destination around 1:00pm. I was kindly greeted at the airport by my host mother and her husband. One of the USAC representatives had to explain to them that I did not know much Spanish, leading to an interesting introduction consisting of my host mother asking me a barrage of short questions in Spanglish and me responding with one or two word replies. Despite the language barrier, they have welcomed me to their home like a son.

The View from my Room

Speaking of sons, they have two. Pablo, who is my age, is a senior in high school and plans to study philosophy in Barcelona. Pedro, who is around 13, is carefree but seems to always check on me to see if I am comfortable. At 2:00pm, we had lunch, which consisted of penne pasta with tomato sauce; salad with olive oil dressing, pickles, olives, pearl onions; and a bunch of marinated sardines with bread. Cultural Insight #1: Spaniards usually eat later than in the U.S. and have a large lunch.

After lunch, I fell asleep for an hour, which I later found out was customary in Spain and is known as a Siesta. Seems like I am already fitting in. After my nap, Pablo - who speaks English - guided me to the Metro Station, which I will use daily as transportation from my residence in Getxo to the university in Bilbao. Afterwards, he introduced me to some his friends who, through USAC or other means, have been studying in Bilbao for at least five months. After chilling (which I have been informed is the only thing one can do on a Sunday in Spain) for a bit, Pablo and his friends took me to a local Pakistani kabob joint (which seems to be very popular throughout Spain). It was tasty and covered in some type of thousand island-type dressing but I was already full from lunch so I took it to go.

Pablo and his friend, who also speaks English and is a Spaniard who studies in India, then gave me a tour of the local Getxo area. It's very quiet compared to Bilbao but that doesn't take anything away from its appeal.

Narrow Streets, Crowded Buildings, Hilly Landscape

Gexto's Great Hillside Views

Spanish Neighborhood of Nigura Right Along the Beach

Chilled Along the Sidewalk for a Bit

Chilled at the Wharf for a While

Chilled Along the Railing in Front of the Red Cross

My evening was defined mainly by my conversations with my host brother Pablo and his friend. A sort of intercambio, I learned a lot about Spanish culture and its perception of America and other countries:

• Spaniards were able to name more states and cities (along with their geography) than a few Americans I have met
• Spain (as a whole) isn't generally fond of America and believes that a majority of its people are obese, unintelligent, and ethnocentric
• Britain is the black sheep of the European Union and tries to be special by using a different currency, a different side of the road, and a different measuring system
• Most Spanish parties don't start until 2:00am and end around 6:00am
• American films and TV shows are popular in Spain
• There is nothing to do on a Sunday except converse with friends around the city

The day was capped off with dinner at 10:00pm, consisting of burgers and green beans with sauce. They gave me an otter pop afterwards telling me it would help in my digestion. Ultimately, today has been one eye-opening experience and hopefully tomorrow will be even more insightful.