Spring and Some Thoughts about the Metro

So it is finally spring here!! The past couple days have been amazing this week, yesterday it was 72 degrees out, and amazingly yesterday when I checked the weather, there was a 0% chance of rain, which was a miracle in itself. In my lit class, my German friend keeps asking if I would want to play on his soccer team here, and so I finally agreed to play on Monday cause the weather was perfect for playing. Turns out that most of the guys on the team are friends in my program, so it was fun getting back out on the field. We were suppose to play 7 v. 7, but the other team only had a couple guys show up, so we just divided in two and played a pick up game. It was a little intimidating at first, because I was the only girl playing, but eventually everyone got in a good rhythm and we ended up playing for almost 2 hours.

Another thing that I haven't talked about yet, is a very important part of my day...transportation. Each day, I have to walk 10 minutes to the metro, ride the metro 25 minutes to the Deusto stop, and then walk an additional 10 minutes to school from that stop. It is a very long commute compared to my commute in Morris, but it makes for great people watching. Since I usually take the same metro, I usually see the same people each morning...I avoid sitting with the older, gray haired man who clears his throat constantly, I always like sitting by this girl who wears huge headphones and has a pair of leggings that I'm dying to buy, and I always look for the cute guy who gets on at the Lamiako stop and who I'm pretty sure goes to my school. Apparently in Spain it's socially acceptable to stare at people, so I take advantage of that and I really do see some very interesting things and people. On weekends, especially Saturday when the metro runs all night, I always see at least a handful of middle-aged couples heading home around 5 or 6 am after a night of partying with the rest of the young crowd. My favorite time to ride the metro is on Monday and Wednesdays when I'm done with class at 11am...all the people I ride home with are cute, elderly people, which means the ride is usually very quiet and with lots of open sitting spots.
There are some key do's and don'ts of riding the metro:

DO: Take pictures with your friends

DO:
- bring your ipod, especially if you are stuck next to someone who clears their throat, blows their nose, or talks loudly.
- learn how to predict where the metro doors stop, so you can effectively jump on before the crowd in order to get a seat.
- learn how to balance effectively on the metro if standing...there is nothing more embarrassing than falling on or into people.
- learn how to pick a good seat...learn how to judge your fellow sitting companions before you sit, especially during weekends. There is nothing worse than sitting in the same section as an overly drunk person, who may or may not throw up all over where you're sitting.

DON'T: Sleep on the metro

DON'T:
- eat food on the metro. Trust me, these people don't snack, so they'll all stare at you like you're crazy.
- have an emotional conversation on your phone on the metro..I saw some lady have one, followed by her crying alone and it wasn't very enjoyable to witness.
- fall asleep on the metro without a designated companion that will wake you up before your stop. A couple of weekends ago, Summer and I were coming home around 6am and both dozed off...we would most likely of missed our stop if it wasn't for a nice man who woke me up to ask what stop I needed to get off at.

It's St. Patrick's Day today, which means that I need to finish my homework before we go out tonight to celebrate. It's also the perfect day (68 and sunny), so I think some of the guys and I are going to meet up for some beach soccer this afternoon. Spring break starts in a week so there will be a new update soon!

written by

Laura Hanson on March 17, 2010 from Bilbao, Spain

from the travel blog: Un Semestre en España

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