Un Semestre en España - Laura Hanson
I am studying abroad in Bilbao, Spain from January to May 2010!!

One Week until Spain
Minnetonka, United States
In exactly one week I will be getting up to leave for Spain! I'm flying to JFK airport in New York and then leaving from there to Madrid for a three day orientation. It still doesn't feel like I'm leaving, and the realization that I'm actually spending 4 1/2 months in a different country probably wont hit me until I actually arrive in Spain.
Like any other person who's just about to change their life, I feel super excited (I get to go to school directly across the river from the Guggenheim, I get to live in one of the best food regions in Spain, I get to travel, etc. etc), nervous (who will I be friends with?, how the hell am I going to be able to communicate with people?), and am suffering from a serious case of cold feet (why would I stop my life and leave all my friends and family to travel there?, I'm seriously not ready to do this!). Ultimately I know that my trip will be amazing, so right now I just need to focus on not forgetting to pack anything (which will for sure happen)...I guess the countdown is down!!
written by  Laura Hanson on December 30, 2009 from Minnetonka, United States
from the travel blog: Un Semestre en España

Orientation in Madrid
Madrid, Spain
View from my hotel
So I finally made it to Spain! Yesterday I landed in Madrid, after barely making my connection from JFK to Madrid, only to find that all of my luggage was left behind in New York. Thankfully my luggage arrived at the hotel today, which was perfect because I was starting to feel very smelly! Anyways...my orientation group is about 15 - 25 girls who are either studying in Santander, Salamanca, or Bilbao. From noon until 5:30 yesterday we had free time, so the girls who had all arrived and I all went out for lunch which was fun! I realized that I'm pretty good at understanding the drink menu, but that was about it... last night we took a bus tour of Madrid and three of my Bilbao roommates went out to dinner with my and we had fun eating paella and drinking sangria.
This morning we woke up, ate breakfast at the hotel, and went to the Prado museum...it was fun and interesting to see all the pictures that I learned about in my spanish classes in real life! This afternoon we had free time and my roommate and I discovered that our favorite part of the hotel are the electronic shades in our room, which is definitely helping us recover from jet lag. Our group then went to Reina Sofia museum to see Picasso and Dali art, which was for sure more of my style of art. We were able to see the Guernika picture which was huge and amazing, and even more exciting because my group is visting Guernika next Friday.
The weather is a lot colder than I planned, but I'm still enjoying the people (or most of them) and being able to have a lot of free time to walk around and explore the city! Tomorrow we are going to Toledo for the day and Sunday we're finally heading to Bilbao!
written by  Laura Hanson on January 8, 2010 from Madrid, Spain
from the travel blog: Un Semestre en España

Holy Toledo!
Toledo, Spain
Toledo
So we woke up this morning and went to Toledo, which is about an hour south of Madrid. It was really beautiful there and they said the city has existed for thousands of years. We took a walking tour, and I learned quickly why the term "Holy Toledo" was coined because the whole tour was basically looking at churches and mosques and such...not really anything I'm remotely interested in, but it was still fun to walk around the cobblestone streets and look at the architecture. It was also really cool to see El Greco's masterpiece and hang out in the little town squares, which reminded me of something you would see in either Italy or England. Since it was so cold out, there were barely any people in the streets when we started out tour which was a little eerie, and made me think that if vampires existed in ancient cities, like they do in New Moon, they for sure would be lurking in Toledo. Tomorrow we finally head to Bilbao and get to meet our host families so I'm very excited!
Street in Toledo
written by  Laura Hanson on January 9, 2010 from Toledo, Spain
from the travel blog: Un Semestre en España

First Impressions of Bilbao
Bilbao, Spain
My room at my homestay
This morning we woke up around 7am in Toledo and after breakfast, we took the coach bus back to Madrid, and were dropped of at the public bus station. We took the ALSA bus, a Spanish version of the Greyhound, to Bilbao, which is about a 4 1/2 hour bus ride. As we started to approach Bilbao, I started to internally freak out because what did I see looking out my window? SNOW. Uhg and I thought that I had left all the snow behind in Minnesota. But immediately after we crossed the Bilbao city limits, all the snow suddenly disappeared and I was happy and relieved to see green grass and even some palm trees.
My host mother Jone, or Juana in Spanish, is very kind and my roommate Summer and I decided that she looks super fun and laid back...and I'm guessing purely on initial judgment, that she was quite the party girl back in her day. Anyway..she introduced herself and immediately established that she doesn't speak any English at all...this will be interesting. We drove back to her apartment, which is a sort of suburb of Bilbao, and I love it..it's super cozy and clean here, and each of our rooms are more modern and sort of Scandinavian in design and decoration. She made us pasta and fed us ice cream cake and peaches for dessert, and I have a feeling that I will return to the States about 500lbs heavier with all this food! After settling in, Jone showed us how to get to the metro from her House, and we were able to walk down to the sea! Yep, I live about a mile and a half from the Bay of Biscay..
Tomorrow we're meeting up with the rest of the girls in the city center for a little tour and shopping. It will be interesting because I've never taken the metro before and Summer barely speaks Spanish..an adventure for sure!
written by  Laura Hanson on January 10, 2010 from Bilbao, Spain

First Impressions of Bilbao Continued
Bilbao, Spain
Casco Viejo
So today I had a new first...I took my first metro/subway ride! At first I was nervous, but we ended up riding it so much today, by this evening I was feeling like an old pro. Summer and I met up with the other Bilbao girls: Arielle, Brittany, and Natasha this morning and took a little walking tour of Bilbao with our site director. I love downtown Bilbao! It is clean, and beautiful and perfect...probably the most beautiful city I've ever been to. All the buildings are old and sort of french looking, and three sides of the city are bordered by rolling, snow capped hills and the other side faces the sea. There is a big river that splits the town in half; the new part on one half, the old part or casco viejo, on the other. People seriously fill the streets even in the middle of the day, and the shopping is amazing! The only hard part so far of living here is the fact that we're 25 minutes away from downtown by metro, and a ten minute walk to the metro station on top of that..making quick trips to town complicated.
Tomorrow we're doing our orientation at the university and get to meet more international students studying there!
written by  Laura Hanson on January 11, 2010 from Bilbao, Spain

The First Important Aspect of Spanish Culture: Art
Guernica y Luno, Spain
Biodiversity Center
Yesterday the weather was horrible! Not only was it cold and rainy, but we had to battle pretty much straight line wind and ended up seeing broken umbrellas strewn all over the sidewalks and in the garbage all over the city. To avoid the weather outside, we took a tour of the Guggenheim museum..which is beautiful. I don't think that I have been in such an architecturally amazing building; the perfect combination of metal, stone, and glass. The art inside is amazing...it honors all modern art from sculptures by Richard Serra, to the fine art of Gauguin and Picasso, to architecture by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Today we went to Guernica, Guernika in Spanish, and visited the Peace Museum there. I think that if you ever visit Spain and are in Basque Country, you should visit this museum. There are a lot of museums in the world that house some of best art work or most famous art work in history, there are some that house interesting historical artifacts, there are some that are just very interactive and fun, but very rarely do these museums, even the most famous ones in the world, truly evoke such strong emotion that you leave feeling changed. This one does. The museum itself is small and plain, but the message, that universal call for peace and the remembrance of such a violent act could quite possibly touch even the most stoic individual. It was beautiful in every definition and worth the trip! We also visited the Biodiversity Center on the nature reserve on the outskirts of Guernica. It was more of a lighthearted trip and the center was amazing! It was just fun to walk through and look at all the pictures and wildlife they use to teach biodiversity!
Animal Room at the Biodiversity Center
Peace Signs by the Guernica Peace Tree
Countryside in Guernica
I had a great time on our first excursion! After we got back from our day trip, Summer, Natasha, and I were able to participate and experience another important aspect of Spanish culture: soccer. This evening we were walking around looking for a little pastry to tide us over until we ate dinner, when we came upon a HUGE crowd of people in front of the Hotel Carlton in the Plaza Mayoua. Well it turns out that the Bilbao soccer team, Club Atletico, is playing against Real Madrid tomorrow, one of the top teams in Spain and the world. Knowing that some of the best soccer players in the world were coming to Bilbao was almost too much for me, and it was amazing watching them walk off the bus in my city! I was freaking out the whole time, and Summer even let me sit on her shoulders so I could get a better look at them over the crowd! I hear that Bilbao and other Spanish cities go crazy when there's a match and I can't wait to participate tomorrow!
written by  Laura Hanson on January 15, 2010 from Guernica y Luno, Spain

Fútbol, Clubs, and Cool Kids
Bilbao, Spain
Crowd waiting for Real Madrid outside their Hotel
The other night I was talking about how we were able to see Real Madrid, one of my favorite teams, enter their hotel amongst a huge crowd of fans and onlookers. Well yesterday was the big game, and it was a very interesting experience. Summer and I were leaving the metro in the main Plaza, right by the Hotel Carlton, when we once again stumbled upon huge crowds, this time waiting for the team to leave their hotel. We waited for about a half hour with the crowd, and I was amazed to see that not only was it teenagers and young adults waiting to see these famous players, but the elderly had come out, as well as toddlers. Families and couples maneuvered strollers and stood in the middle of the road - and then I understood the importance of soccer in Spain. Just as Summer and I were about to give up and continue shopping, the team left the hotel, and we had perfect spots to see them enter and walk down the aisle of the coach bus. Of course I was waving, and screaming, and pointing out all my favorite players to Summer, thinking that everyone else was following suit. Not until all of the players had entered the bus and sat down did I actually look around and realize this was not the case. I was surrounded by people wearing the red and white stripes of the Bilbao team; people were spitting at the bus, children were energetically flipping the bird at the bus, and waving basque and anti-madrid flags...oops! That's when I realized why the riot police were present around the bus and why police with large guns were stationed at every corner of the bus route. Basque Country is largely known for its Basque nationalism and strong provincial pride, and the rest of the night I could see Basque flags and the red and white of Club Athletico throughout town. Good thing Bilbao won, or else there would of been heads rolling for sure.
Last night some of the girls and I had our first weekend night out in Spain. Most people say the nightlife here is crazy and goes until the sun goes up, so of course we were all excited. We had decided to try going to this hip-hop club called Club Fever, which ended up being in the middle of nowhere down a long abandoned street in the side of a warehouse. As we walked down the street, it was like something from a movie...there were all these cars parked on the side of the road, with people sitting around them blasting music and cars racing down the street. It seemed pretty cool until we realized that the cover charge was 12 euros and that the other clubbers hanging out with their cars and drinking openly from bottles, looked like they were about 16 years old. Needless to say, we didn't end up going to the club and somehow ended up eating gyros and making friends with a older, Russian-sounding, chain-smoker at a Pakistani bar at 2:30am instead..which leads me to my final observation of the day...
Cool kids. The kids here are just too cool...way cooler than I can ever hope to be. A couple nights ago I saw a 10 year old boy on the metro listening to an ipod and texting friends at 11 o'clock at night. Last night these high school kids, who are always dressed fabulously, racing cars, going to clubs, and drinking openly in front of cops (the drinking age is 16 here)...waves of kids were on the metro at 3am, awake and ready to find a new bar to try out..and here we Americans are, in our 20s, asking kids almost half our age where cool clubs and bars are. Maybe it's because they speak a different language, or it's the culture, but the kids in Spain are just damn cool!
written by  Laura Hanson on January 17, 2010 from Bilbao, Spain

Adventure #1
Algorta, Spain
Beach near my homestay
Today we started school! I had two classes: Business Spanish and Basque Language and Culture. Both were only 50 minutes long, and I was home by 2 in time for lunch and a nap. Since it was a beautiful day yesterday (sunny and about 60 degrees) Summer and I had our friends Arielle and John come up to Algorta/Gexto, which we just found out was the name of our town, to go check out the beach and explore. I thought it was warm, like late April in Minnesota, and was surprised to see that neither my American friends nor the Spaniards agreed with me, and as I walked around yesterday I recieved many stares as people in coats, hats, and scarves stared at me, my tank top, and light sweatshirt. We walked back down to the beach that Jone had showed us the first day we got there, and it is so beautiful there in the daylight! After we left the beach, we decided just to find our way around the town by just walking wherever, and on this walk we discovered: 1. That our town is much bigger than we thought, 2. The most amazing, delicious little pastry shop, where I know I will spend a lot of my money, 3. Cute little bars and cafes really close by, and 4. A beautiful and busy boardwalk right next to the beach! It was fun walking around, with everyone from the age of 1 to 90 out walking around with their friends and families. We decided that people in Spain and probably Europe in general are much happier, especially the elderly. I can't even count how many groups of 80 -90 year old men and women I saw out hobbling around on their canes with their friends; the women gossiping and the men smoking their cigars. It was the perfect day to finally get out of the apartment and see a little bit of our town (we live in what Summer calls "the 'burbs"). I can't wait to explore further in the future!
Sea near my homestay
written by  Laura Hanson on January 18, 2010 from Algorta, Spain

Vino, Pintxos, y Toros
Pamplona, Spain
The Hotel Where Ernest Hemingway Stayed
We just got back from a two day excursion to Logroño and Pamplona! We left yesterday morning and took the bus to the town of Logroño, which is apparently the wine country of Spain. Once we arrived, we took taxis to a bodega, where we were able to learn about the history of wine, the wine making process, and finished our tour with a wine tasting, which was very fun! After the tour, we went back to downtown Logroño, where we had a couple of hours to eat before we needed to catch the bus, so Arielle, Ellen, and I decided to go Pintxo (Tapas) hopping. Down one street, there are all these tiny, mostly standing room only, shops that offer many, but usually specialize in one specific type of Pintxo. At our first stop, Ellen ordered the snails, which are actually very good, and I ordered octopus served in its own ink...totally something Andrew Zimmern would eat...and it was actually really yummy once you got past the look of it. We went to another store and got chicken kabobs with guacamole on bread, which was also delicious!
The Girls at the Wine Tasting
At the Pinxto place, I realized that I left my camera in the back seat of our taxi, but thankfully Logroño is a very small, safe place and not only did the taxi driver drive back to give me my camera, but he told me how he had driven to the bus station earlier to try to find me there. What a great guy! Anyway, we hopped another bus after lunch, and rode to Pamplona. We stayed at the Hotel Blanca de Navarra hotel, which is very nice and is where the King and Queen of Spain have stayed in the past! We had the night free so Summer, Natasha, Arielle, Ellen, and I walked downtown to find dinner and ended up in this cute, two story restaurant in the center of town and got a three course meal for a very good price!
This morning we woke up, ate breakfast at the hotel, and met our tour guide in the lobby. We had a great tour of the city, which included a visit to the beginning of el camino de Santiago (where people begin their 800km pilgrimage to Santiago, Spain), a tour of the streets where the Running of the Bulls takes place, and a visit to the 3rd largest bull fighting ring in the world! After our tour, we went out for more Pinxtos and chocolate before we left for Bilbao. Pamplona and Logroño are both beautiful places with friendly people and amazing food!
Fun at the Bullfighting Ring
written by  Laura Hanson on January 23, 2010 from Pamplona, Spain

Beautiful Barcelona
Barcelona, Spain
Harbor on the Mediteranean
I just got back from an amazing long weekend in Barcelona with the girls, and there were definitely some unforgettable memories made on our trip! Summer, Arielle, Natasha and I flew out from Bilbao on Wednesday night and the flight was so short that I literally listened to about five songs on my ipod before they announced that we had arrived in Barca. After a bus ride, and several confused references to our map, we finally found our hostel, the Barcelona Sound Hostel, and it was amazing! We chose to stay in a room of 8 people, and the first night we stayed with two New Zealanders who were traveling around Europe for a month. Our hostel is right off of the main street Las Ramblas, and that night the four of us decided to explore. Las Ramblas is filled with different bars, restaurants, and clubs, so there were tons of club promoters handing out fliers and vouchers for their clubs. We ended up going to this lounge where we got a deal of shots, sangria, and tapas for 3 euros, which was the best deal I've seen since I got to Europe.
The next morning, we woke up and decided to walk down to the harbor, which is about a mile and a half away from our hostel. The weather was perfect, and the sea was so beautiful! We spent the afternoon roaming around along the shore, took a siesta on the beach, stumbled upon a Gaudi fountain in a gorgeous park, and made our way back towards the center of town. Some highlights of the afternoon was Summer getting her lip pierced and going to the market a couple blocks away from where we were staying. Apparently Rachel Ray has been to el mercado, and it is amazing and huge...we got any type of fresh squeezed juice we could think of, there were huge stands of fresh fruit, fish, and vegetables, and amazing looking candy and chocolate booths as well. It is seriously a paradise for people who love to cook. That night, Camile (who had just arrived that day), Summer, Natasha, and I got ready and headed out for a night on the town. We ended up trying to follow this club promoter to her club, which ended up being about four miles away from where we lived and eventually gave up the search and headed back into town. We tried going to this club, City Hall, around 2am and met a promoter named Jordy, who was super goofy and we all were immediate friends. Deciding that the club wasn't worth the cover charge, we made our way back to our hostel, and ended up meeting a Swede, and a Turk who were sailing from Sweden to Turkey, and invited us to their boat for coffee the next day. Unfortunately we never found them again because all the information we received was that their boat was "the second from the left"...little did we know then, that with hundreds of boats sitting in several different harbors, there are many "second from the left" boats to choose from! Anyway, we ended the night at about 4 or 5am after making a stop at Pepe's for hot dogs and french fries.
Fresh Vegetables at the Market
The next day we woke up, grabbed some fresh fruit and juice from the market, and decided to explore for the rest of the day. Camile had heard about a fashion event called the Brandery going on during the weekend, so we took the metro over there. We ended up not going in, but the building and location of the show was beautiful, and the people watching was great! Later that evening as we were walking home, we ran into Jordy again and he told us about a party he was hosting at a club nearby that evening. Because time is so different in Spain, we didn't end up leaving our hostel until 12:30am..when parties and clubs really start to get busy. The club was pretty fun and very trendy, and we ended up leaving about 2am. We walked back to our hostel, and as we were about to walk in the door, a guy grabbed my wristlet bag that I was holding, ripped the bag clear off, and ran away. Natasha and I ran after him, but this guy should of been in the Olympics, because we lost him a couple blocks down the street. Unfortunately for the guy, I only had: one check card (which I canceled right away), a half pack of gum, a student ID, some club fliers, and a hair binder in my purse...I was flat broke that night and didn't even have spare change laying in the bottom. Nevertheless, it was a surreal experience..and one that I hopefully will never have to relive! I heard that in the off-season in Barcelona, particularly during tough economic times, 80% of people are robbed..and we knew two other people from Bilbao who were pick pocketed over the weekend there. This is especially bad for tourists, because here, the Spanish police are essentially useless...they don't really do or care about anything, and I am told that you NEVER stop a police officer and ask them a question..they are notoriously disliked among the Spanish people.
Fashion Event
On Saturday morning, we woke up early in order to make it to the free Gothic walking tour that the hostel and a local travel bar offer to hostel stayers. The thing I love about Barcelona is the incredible amount of foreigners that visit..and during our trip we met so many interesting people from all over the world. In our tour group, the guide made us meet one other stranger and introduce ourselves...I met James from Liverpool who is a plumber by trade and an avid futbol fan like myself. Other tour group members included people from Australia, the States, England, and South Korea. Our guide was great and showed us all the interesting places around the city: the building that Picasso drew when he was drunk on Absinthe, the art school that Picasso attended and also the place where he lost his virginity, the Real Plaza that was funded by the Bacardi Rum family...etc. etc. The tour was fun, interesting, and ended with a pint of beer at the bar, so if you ever go to Barcelona and aren't a real fan of boring, historical tours...go to this one! After a paella lunch and siesta at the hostel, we headed out again to see some of Gaudi's famous architectural works: La Casa Mila and La Sangrada Familia..both were awesome to see and though I don't know much about him, Gaudi seems likes a very interesting guy, and his work is one of a kind. For dinner, we went to a travel bar, where we grabbed a cheap dinner and met a very fabulous and flamboyant hairdresser by day, waiter by night named Allan. After dinner finished at about 10:30pm, we went back and got ready for the night. There were some other groups of students in our Bilbao program staying in our hostel, so for our last night we planned to go out with some of them. We left for a club with the ridiculous name of Razzmatazz, where I was barely allowed to go into the club, because apparently I don't look like I'm older than 16. Anyway, the club was huge and amazing, with different levels and rooms that play different types of music...a room of every type of person. It was so much fun, we didn't end up leaving until about 5am, and weren't in bed until 6am...a bad idea considering the fact that we needed to leave for our flight by 10 this morning.
La Sagrada Familia
Our flight was extremely long today, it took us 1 hour to fly to Barcelona, and 7 1/2 to fly back...when we first booked the tickets, we knew that we had a layover, we just didn't know where. Turns out, our layover was in the Canary Islands...meaning the islands off the coast of Africa. Yep, we flew down 2 hours in order to be able to spend an hour in 80 degree weather, looking at the ocean, just to get on the plane and fly 2 1/2 hours back to Bilbao. It was great spending so much time in Barcelona, and it is interesting being in a new place, because after a while you really do start to think of that place as your place. The people were so friendly there, and we met a ton of great people both Spanish and foreign. I would have to say that my favorite person during the trip is a middle eastern man who worked at a sandwich shop down the street from where we lived, every time we passed by whether it be 10am or 11pm he would shout out across the street "Good Morning! Are you hungry?" and energetically smile and wave...and by the end of the trip we were returning the greeting. I will miss eating amazing gelato, or going to the market for juice, or seeing what random person will show up in our hostel room each day. It's nice being back in Bilbao, and we start classes with the Spaniards tomorrow, but Barcelona is truly an amazing place to visit.
Picasso's Art School
written by  Laura Hanson on January 31, 2010 from Barcelona, Spain

Carnaval, El Puente Colgante, y Españoles
Universidad de Deusto
So this weekend it's Carnaval! I have no idea what the history or meaning behind Carnaval is..but I do know that it's basically like Halloween, but without the trick-or-treating and with more serious partying. It's fun, but at the same time strange having Carnaval fall on the same weekend as Valentine's Day...yesterday afternoon Natasha and I went to Party Fiesta, which is like a Party America here, and it was bizarre seeing Halloween masks lined up next to boxed chocolates and paper heart decorations. The festivities started last night, and we all went to a costume party, and the big day is Saturday, where there is a big parade, and the whole main street downtown turns into a big block party the whole night. The other night, as a warm up for Carnaval, our host mom treated us to a dessert they often serve during this time...turns out it was French Toast! It's crazy to see what kinds of foods are the same between Spain and America.
This afternoon, our program director, the rest of the girls, and I went to visit the Puente Colgante, which is the oldest suspension bridge in the world and is located on the river, at the mouth of the sea, between the towns of Areeta and Portugalete. It's super tall to prevent the waves from the sea from hitting it, and we took an elevator and crossed it at the very top. It was super scary, but it was really awesome seeing the whole town from so high up!
El Puente Colgante
Top of el Puente
Lastly, I would just like to take a moment to reflect on the Spanish people..or at least the people in Bilbao. When you first get to Spain, and look at the people you immediately go..Wow! I'm in over my head...the people here are dressed to perfection. The girls all wear nice boots, and cute clothes, and even during finals week when they just study at the library, their hair and make up is perfect. But when you spend a month with these people and look a little closer...there are some things very off about Spanish fashion. First of all, I don't think I've seen so many mullets in my life...mullets with dreadlocks, mullets with too much gel, mullets with an extra rat tail at the end..it's ridiculous. Also, if you're a older women, apparently the current trend is to take a piece or section of your hair, and dye it an obnoxious color, like green or purple...it's apparently a hit with the over 50 set. Also, I apparently wasn't aware that white jeans, acid wash jeans, or white pleather boots were still in fashion, but apparently it is cause I see it all over...so folks, if you have anything stored away from the 1980s...you can apparently pull them out, come to Spain, and pull off the look once again!
written by  Laura Hanson on February 12, 2010 from Bilbao, Spain

The Most Beautiful Place in Spain
Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
La Concha
So I take back what I said about Bilbao being the most beautiful place ever, because once you go to San Sebastian, or Donostia in Euskara, nowhere else in Spain compares. On Friday morning, we took the hour bus ride to our ISA excursion in San Sebastian. The day was a little cold, but still sunny and nice enough for walking around. We dropped our bags off at the Amara Plaza, the four-star hotel we stayed at for the night, and took a little walking tour with Geno as our guide. We visited the Deusto campus there, which is the sister school to ours in Bilbao. We walked along the river, visited the first of three gorgeous beaches, and explored the Casco Viejo in San Sebastian. There are a couple things that San Sebastian is known for: the beaches, its glamour, and its food. Since food is not only important in San Sebastian, but to the whole Basque country, we stopped for pinxtos at a little bar, where everything eaten is paid for by the honors system, and the food is prepared to perfection. It is amazing how these people can turn something as simple as a slice of french bread, a piece of cheese, and a garnish, and turn it into something wonderful. After lunch, we of course had to grab some gelato before we continued our tour. We walked around the main beach called la Concha and took the funicular up the side of one of the mountains to take in the breathtaking view of the city below. At around 6:30pm, the girls and I went to the famous spa in town called La Perla. Since we are University of Deusto students, we were able to get cheap passes to this world-class spa, located directly on the beach. It was the most interesting, fun, and relaxing experience I've ever had at a spa. You walk in, change into your bathing suit and swim cap, and walk into this whole new world. There are different stations and pools, all filled with salt water and different jets that target different types of muscles in your body. There are underwater exercise machines, steam rooms, relaxation rooms, and stations that experiment with hot and cold water. We had an amazing time and the burgers and hotel time we had afterward, finished off what has easily been one of the best days I've had in Spain.
The beach
Artwork on the ocean
Aquarium
Yesterday morning, we slept in a little, ate breakfast, and went for a little walk before our bus came at two. We went to the aquarium by the sea, which was small, but well designed and fun. At two o'clock, we took the bus to Biarritz, France, which was only about an hour and a half ride. When we arrived, we walked to the Chocolate Museum, which was celebrating Carnaval. There were little masks made of chocolate that we got, and were able to paint with different colors of melted chocolate. It was so fun! The place was festive and the chocolate looked mouthwatering! After the museum, we walked along the shore, and grabbbed paninis and chocolate crepes at a little stand before we grabbed the bus back to Bilbao.
My painted mask at the Chocolate Museum
Shore in Biarritz, France
Last night it was also Carnaval in Gexto/Algorta, the town where Summer and I live, so the streets and bars were packed with kids and adults when we got back home. We had a great weekend, probably one of the best so far in Spain, and tonight we're going to try to get tickets to the championship game of the ACB King's Cup Basketball Tournament. The ACB is the Spanish equivalent to the NBA, and is the second best league (behind the NBA) in the world. Some of the NBA stars that you see now, started their careers in Spain, and this year BIlbao is hosting the big tournament. I can't wait to check it out and see some of the players I hear so much about!
written by  Laura Hanson on February 21, 2010 from Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain

San Juan de Gaztelugatxe
Bermeo, Spain
San Juan de gaztelugatxe
What a perfect Sunday! This morning Summer, our host mom Jone, her friend Fernando, and I took a day trip to Bermeo, about 40 minutes from Bilbao, to visit San Juan de Gaztelugatxe. The day was beautiful, around 60 degrees and sunny, and the drive there was very scenic. Once we arrived, we drank coffee at a little restaurant at the beginning of the hike. The hike down to the start was very steep and rocky, but it was totally worth it. San Juan de Gaztelugatxe is a basque treasure. The view of this tiny church located on top of a little island in the middle of the sea is breathtaking, an absolute must see if you're ever in Basque Country. We hiked up a 200 or so stairs to the top of this island, where the church is located. Once we arrived, we took an hour or so to enjoy the view, eat sandwiches while looking out at the sea, and take a nap on a grassy knoll at the top of a cliff. A special part of this church is the bell; according to legend, if you make a wish and ring the bell three times, your wish will come true. The views from every direction were breathtaking, and this place is truly special to everyone who visits.
Starting our hike up to San Juan
Our view from where we napped on top of the island
Ringing the bell after making my wish
After we had hiked back to the car, Jone told us that she had made plans to stop by her daughter Ana's House for coffee. Ana lives Halfway between Bilbao and Bermeo, and is the first person I've met in Spain so far who actually lives in a House. We spend the evening sitting out on the patio, eating cheese and chocolate. It was really fun spending time with Jone's family, and we all planned a dinner soon, when her third daughter comes to visit. It was the first time we spend the day with Jone and I really enjoyed getting to know her and her family better!
With my host mom Jone and roommate Summer
written by  Laura Hanson on February 28, 2010 from Bermeo, Spain

The City of Churches
Burgos, Spain
Entrance to a part of the city
So I haven't written in a while, but I guess that's because not much has happened since my last entry. My friends and I have planned our 2 1/2 week spring break; I am going to Paris the first couple days to meet up with the parents and some friends, and the girls and I are heading to Alicante (southern Spain) to hopefully lay on the beach the second half of break!
On Friday, the ISA girls and I headed to Burgos for a day trip. The weather this week has been unusually cold, and my language friend informed me the day before our trip that Burgos is the coldest city in Spain...great. The trip is about 2 hours on bus, and I was thankfully able to sleep the whole way, because the night before we had been out late at a fiesta. Once we arrived, we grabbed some coffee before we started our tour. At first the weather wasn't too bad, but then the wind picked up it was freezing! Coming from Minnesota, I'm usually the hearty one on the pack...but after spending a couple months here in 50 degree weather, I'm afraid I have gotten soft and the 30 degree weather was almost unbearable. Geno, our program director, is from Burgos so it was nice having her as our tour guide. We walked around the town, and she told us some history of the city and we walked up this hill where there is a castle that Napoleon stayed for a while and such. Afterward, we went to this small modern art museum, which only locals really know about. We saw this exhibit by a french artist named Georges Rousse, who might be my new favorite artist. His work is a mixture of paint, architecture, and photography which is put together in a way that makes almost optical illusion type art...it's amazing so you should all check him out! After the museum, we walked around a little, and I had heard from my host mom that Geno's family owned a restaurant in Burgos so I asked if we could go visit it. Well, it turns out that Geno's family owns one of the most famous, upscale restaurants in Burgos and the prince has even ate there! We didn't get to eat there because it was too expensive, but we got a tour of the place from her aunt, plus some free pastries so that was fun! For lunch we went to a little bar down the street that served a sorts of little sandwiches and tapas for 1 euro. After lunch, we went to the Cathedral, which is what Burgos is known for. It was absolutely huge and elaborate. I'm not a huge fan of exploring churches and such, but the guide was nice and had fun and interesting little facts that made the tour a little more bearable. We finished our excursion by going back to Geno's families restaurant for churros and chocolate.
Cathedral in Burgos
Inside the Cathedral
We have been here for two months, so I pretty much feel acclimated to the culture here, but there are still some weird things about Spain in general that are hard to get accustomed to. After I got back from Burgos, I found out that Summer had invited our three other friends over to our house for a girls night in. We didn't think that this would be a problem at all, because we had friends over in the past without a problem. However, we found out after a long lecture from Jone, that guests who are not family are really only allowed to stay over for under an hour, and it is completely unacceptable for anyone to ever sleepover at the house. Our mom is usually very laid back, it was a big surprise to see how adamant Spaniards are about people in their living space. After this surprise, we decided yesterday that we should have an American day, because everyone was getting a little homesick. We went to a huge mall in Portugalete, which is basically mirrored exactly like an American mall, food court and everything. We ate nachos with fake cheese, slushies, and ranch chicken wraps with french fries. It was nice spending a day with the girls in the same way we would be if we were in the US..a definite cure for homesickness! I have a lot of homework piling up for this week, but only a couple short weeks until break! Can't wait!
written by  Laura Hanson on March 14, 2010 from Burgos, Spain

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

Wine + Cheese + Crepes = Paris
Paris, France
The Louvre
Well I just got back from Paris, and it feels good to be home! The trip was very fun, and it was nice to spend sometime with family and friends. I left Thursday afternoon, took a 2 1/2 hour bus to Biarritz, France, had a layover, took the plane to Paris, waited FOREVER for the airport shuttle to come, and finally made it to the apartment where my parents were staying by 12:00am.
The next morning, we woke up and took the metro to the Opera House, and then the Eiffel Tower, which was really fun to see in person. The metro here is crazy...super complicated and dirty, but after a while I think we all got the hang of it. The Opera House was amazingly pretty, and it was nice out, so it was fun hanging around outside and enjoying the streets of Paris. We went to the Orange Museum and that was amazing to see huge Monet works (one of my favorite artists), walked down the Tuleries and went to the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa and the Venus di Milo. It was crazy there though and the museum was huge and overwhelming. Kjell came to visit, which was fun, and that evening the two of us met our friends Sam and Masera from Morris for a night out.
The Opera House
The next day we went out to see the Notre Dame and the Luxembourg gardens. I loved the area where the Notre Dame is...with musicians playing in the streets and Parisians riding their bikes all around the island. The Luxembourg gardens were also in a great area, and after visiting, we ate at a cute outdoor cafe in a bustling neighborhood. That evening, Kjell and I met up with Masera and some of her friends and went to a bar called Cafe Oz, where they line up all these tables against the walls and people dance on the tables. It was really fun hanging out with familiar faces and I loved catching up with everyone!
Street Market in Paris
On Sunday, Mom, Dad, and I went to the D'Orsay Museum, which was also very cool. They had an amazing selection of some of my favorite painters: Monet, Van Gogh, Gaugain, and Renoir. It really is truly amazing to see these works of art in person, being able to examine every brush stroke and use of subtle differences in color to create a masterpiece. We walked back to our apartment in the Le Marais district, and made sure to grab a falafal from the famous stand in the Jewish Quarter.
Monet in the Orange Museum
My last day in Paris was probably my favorite day of the trip. We woke up earlier than usual, and headed up to the northern part of the city to see the Moulin Rouge and the Sacre Cour. The Moulin Rouge wasn't much to see, but the Sacre Cour was really amazing. It sits on top of a hill where you can see the whole city, and even though it was busy there, it wasn't in the crazy touristy, sell-out way other monuments around the city were. The inside of the church wasn't the most magnificent interior in the world, but the hundreds of candles that people lit that sat around the Cathedral is really something to see. That afternoon, I met Masera and we went shopping at Les Halles, which is a pretty interesting shopping mall. We visited her favorite crepe stand, and I got to experience my first Paris crepe, which was super huge and very sweet. The rest of the afternoon, we just wandered around the city by the Pompidou center. Later, we met up with Sam and the three of us walked along the Avenue de Champes-Elysees to see the Arc de Triomphe. It was nice catching up with them, and we got to see all the famous designer stores as we walked to see the Eiffel Tower lit up at the Trocadero. I think that seeing that monument lit up, next to the lights of the river and the surrounding city, was the defining moment of the trip. It was absolutely stunning.
Eiffel Tower
Today, I unfortunately had to wake up at 3:30am to meet the shuttle. The trip was long, but I thankfully made it back to Bilbao without a glitch and to warm, sunny weather. I think the only thorn in my side to the travel today was this one couple that took the bus from Biarritz to Bilbao with me. No wonder people always say that American tourists are some of the worst crop. This couple was just awful. When we reached San Sebastian, the bus driver asked all of us to leave the bus for a 15min bathroom break, so he could go refill the bus with gas. This couple didn't think to grab their coats, even though it was clearly raining, and continued to blame the bus driver for this. Once they got on the bus, they continued loudly complaining to anyone who would listen how the driver "wouldn't let them grab their coats" and how the driver was a jerk because "he clearly knew that we didn't understand him speaking french" (the bus driver was speaking Spanish). Having to get off a bus for 10 minutes apparently added "too much extra stress", even though the 80 year old Spanish lady who was traveling with us didn't seem to have a problem with this simple request from the driver. If you travel, please don't ever do this, it's horribly annoying and ruins the experience for everyone else who has to listen to you. Thank you. Alicante in two days with the girls, so I'll have another update soon!
written by  Laura Hanson on March 30, 2010 from Paris, France

Spring Break Part 2: Alicante
Alicante, Spain
Swimming in the Mediterranean
So yesterday morning we returned from a great week in Alicante, a town in southern Spain right on the Mediterranean. I got back from Paris, had a day to pack, and on the 1st I went with Summer, Natasha, Destiny, and Camille to the beach for Semana Santa. We flew in and out of Santander, a town about an hour bus ride away from Bilbao, and wow...it is seriously the smallest airport I have ever seen! Once we arrived in Alicante, we were picked up by the caretakers of our apartment. Hours before we left, we found out there was problems with our original apartment, but they found us a 3 room/ 1 bath apartment that ended up being really nice! In total, we had four great days where we went to the beach or the pool by our apartment. The other "cooler" days (it was still consistently 60+ degrees our whole trip), we went to the internet cafe or spent way too much time watching old, Lifetime channel-like movies - enjoying the fact that we finally had TV channels in English. Summer stated that the whole week was pretty much just a giant sleepover; we all stayed up way too late, ate great meals, constantly snacked on junk food, and had lots of really great conversations. We really only have a month left together, so this trip was a great opportunity to bond and spend time together as a group. Highlights of the trip for me were going to the beach and swimming in the Mediterranean sea, running on the beach at sunset, and dancing to a satellite radio station on TV called "Gaydar radio".
Easter breakfast on the terrace
Here's a fun anecdote from our return trip to Bilbao...So when we booked our ticket back from Alicante to Santander, no one really looked up bus schedules from Santander to Bilbao. Therefore, when we flew in to Santander at 10pm, there was no more buses leaving to our city the rest of the evening. We were essentially stranded. To top that off, we found out that the airport closed at midnight and re-opened at 6am...so we originally thought we were stranded for 6 hours, outside, with all of our luggage. great. But once we landed, and asked a couple of people, we discovered that we could take a bus into the central part of Santander, where there was a bus leaving for Bilbao at 6am. Once we got on the very last bus leaving for the central part of town, our driver told us even greater news - that there was a bus going to Bilbao at 3:45am. We got to the central bus station around 11:15pm, and found a Chinese restaurant open until midnight conveniently situated next to the terminal. So we went for a late dinner and tried to stay there as long as possible, still anticipating hours of being stranded outside until the bus came. Once we finally left, we found that we could sit inside the bus station until 1am when they closed. We found a great spot on the floor to sprawl out on, and found free wi-fi so, like anyone deprived of free internet for a week, all the girls were in heaven. However, at 1 we were kicked out, and still had to spend 2 hours sitting outside until the station opened again at 3. We were a sight to see - five girls, all dressed for the beach, laying outside the station with beach towels thrown over them for warmth. Everyone basically pulled everything they owned out of their suitcases and threw on layers for our impromptu outdoor "camping" trip. Good thing Santander seems to be a safe town, and the rest of the night went without a hitch, and Summer and I finally made it home around 5:30am. It was a unplanned adventure, but made for a night we wont forget anytime soon!
Outside our apartment
Now, we have the weekend free to hang out and school starts again on Monday. Last night we went to a reggae bar, which was interesting, and today I think we're going to the beach. I've really enjoyed this long break, but it will be nice to go back and see everyone at school again, and get back into my routine. Only a month left!
Summer and I heading to the beach
written by  Laura Hanson on April 10, 2010 from Alicante, Spain

Kayaking
Heading down the river
School started again this week, and it felt good to get back into my Normal schedule and see everyone after their trips! The week, like usual, sped by and last night we all went out to my favorite bar/club called the Loft for the Erasmus party. This morning, we woke up to a beautiful day and as Fridays are "Dia de deportes" (day of sports) with ISA, Ellen, Summer, Natasha, Geno, Ellen's friend, and I all met up to go kayaking on the river. I found out that kayaking here, isn't like kayaking in Minnesota, the boats are kind of like canoes, but with the standard kayak paddle. Whew! I forgot how much of an arm workout paddling was, and Summer and I were struggling against the current within meters of our start out point, but it was still amazing to see everything: the Guggenheim, our university, even our favorite mall, from a different perspective. It was great spending time with the girls and doing a different activity. Afterward, Natasha, Summer and I went for lunch at our favorite buffet; the perfect ending to a great day. Only 30 days left, and we still have a lot more activities to do! So many things, so little time!
With our wetsuits
ISA girls
written by  Laura Hanson on April 16, 2010 from Bilbao, Spain

Last Excursion
Santander, Spain
Real Racing Club
Today we had our last ISA excursion! We went to Santander, which was actually the location of our little bus incident a couple weeks prior. Once we arrived, we took another bus to the Real Racing Club soccer stadium to watch their open practice. Unfortunately, we arrived at the very end, so we didn't get to see more than a few minutes, but it was still cool being in a stadium, and so close to all the players! After the practice, we walked along the beach, which was beautiful, and went to get ice cream at a famous heladeria where the king has even bought a cone! We walked to the peninsula of the city, where this is a park with a little zoo with penguins and seals that were fun to watch. After, we went to this packed bar, where we all got to try our first taste of "green cheese", which seems to be a version of blue cheese, but a little stronger? We had free time for the rest of the afternoon, so Natasha, Summer and I went and found a little cafeteria to have lunch in and did some shopping until the bus arrived. The city is apparently one of the most beautiful in Spain, and it was a very nice last excursion! I have really enjoyed spending time with my ISA friends, and I'll definitely miss our trips...they were all some of my favorite days in Spain!
At Open Practice
written by  Laura Hanson on April 23, 2010 from Santander, Spain

Good Friends, Good Times
Sopelana, Spain
Beach in Sopelana
So with only 17 days left in Spain, the realization and ultimate panic begins to kick in..we're leaving soon! We're all are experiencing conflicting feelings of excitement, nostalgia, sadness, and panic...soo much to do, so little time! The last couple days I have been trying to take advantage of all my free time, shopping or walking around Gran Via during my breaks and after class, taking a little extra time to look up and take in my surroundings, and spend quality time with my friends here. Thankfully, the weather here as been perfect lately, 75+ degrees and sunny, with the sun not setting until about 9:15pm. Yesterday, Summer and I spent the afternoon going on a long walk to the beach, just talking about life and enjoying the day. Today after class ended, we all went up to Sopelana, a bigger surf town a couple metro stops past where we live, and spent the afternoon at a beautiful beach. It was super warm today, and it looked like everyone had skipped work and school to come out and enjoy the day. It was amazing just spending the afternoon walking up and down the beach, swimming in the sea, and watching the surfers Battle the waves. Also, that particular beach was interesting, because it happened to be a clothing optional beach and we saw many nude beach-goers confidently wandering around. This evening we went to the ISA office to learn about Bilbao's urban exhibit in the Shanghai world fair, and it's awesome to learn how globally recognized my town has become! Afterward, it was fun chatting with the girls and eating pizza in the office with Geno. On our way home, Summer and I were talking about how Spain has changed us and how amazing this whole experience has been. It was great really taking advantage of the little time we have here, but I know that these next couple weeks will speed by. I must continue to take advantage of these great moments in time with some really great friends.
Surfers
Boats in Algorta at sunset
written by  Laura Hanson on April 28, 2010 from Sopelana, Spain

Athletic Club
Athletic Club Locker Room
So this weekend has been so much fun! On Thursday night we made it out to one of our favorite clubs for the usual Thursday night Erasmus party. It was 80s night or something of the sort, so it was fun listening to Michael Jackson and the usual 80s hits all night. On Friday morning, Summer and I met up with Geno and Ellen and went to the San Mames futbol stadium where the professional team plays. We got a tour of the stadium and saw the lounge where the president of the club sits, the locker room, stood on the Field, and sat on the bench where the team sits during the games! It was definitely a highlight of the weekend for me, and I hear that Bilbao has some of the best fans so I can't wait to see a game! On Saturday, Summer and I finally got out of the House and downtown, only to find out that like every other week, it was a day of fiesta and all of the shops were closed. We had fun though walking around town, sitting out side the museum talking, and grabbing beers and wine at a cute, little bar next to the river. That night, we went out with Camille and some other kids in our program, which was fun. Since it's the end of the semester, school work is really piling up, but hopefully there's enough time to continue enjoying the city and people during these last couple of weeks!
On the San Mames Field
Athletic Club Bench
written by  Laura Hanson on April 30, 2010 from Bilbao, Spain

Ultimo Fin de Semana
The field from our amazing seats
So it's the last weekend in Spain, and the weather here seems to be reflecting exactly what we're all feeling here...sunny and warm at moments, and then suddenly, freezing and rainy. This past week and weekend have been amazingly fun, but still veiled with the sadness that we will never be able to do this again.
The festivities began on Wednesday with Cinco de Mayo. Summer and I headed over to our ISA friend Arielle's dorm for authentic Mexican food and beers before we headed to the Athletic Club soccer game. It was rainy and cold, but we had great seats and I really enjoyed the ambiance and clear love for the game that these Basque people had. A highlight of the game was at halftime where we looked around and EVERYONE had packed a bocadillo (sandwich) to eat for dinner...it was almost comical as the stadium was filled with the sound of ripping aluminum foil and plastic bocadillo bags rolled across the field in the wind like a tumbleweed. On Thursday, Summer and I headed out for the night early and headed out to one of our usual clubs for the weekly Erasmus Party. Since it is our last weekend out, the club was packed, and it was fun spending time with many of our friends. On Friday, we spent the day relaxing and unsuccessfully tried to do homework. We met up with two of Summer's friends from Texas that night and headed to a pub crawl in Casco Viejo. Something I love about Bilbao, is how it is a big city, but you still run into people you know everywhere you go...on the metro, in a random side street, in a bar or restaurant. always. It makes living there so much more comfortable knowing that wherever you go, you'll see someone you know. The pub crawl was a lot of fun and packed with people inside and outside of each bar. On Saturday was our very last weekend night out and Summer and I wanted to see everyone that night. It was amazing how many people came out and it was a sight to see with 50 or 60 Americans all out roaming around. We finally made it home and in bed by about 7:30am this morning, marking a successful last night.
Hungry Spaniards and their bocadillos
Pizza break during the Pub Crawl
In the last couple days, people have become much more sentimental and reflective about their last couple of months abroad, and it has lead to many long talks and revelations between us. To me, there really is no greater experience than being able to spend time in another country, being a part of their culture, and meeting new people along the way. Being here has changed me in a way inexplicable to people who have never studied abroad before. There is just something about the culture here that is so warm. Here, life isn't about looking to the future or being obsessed with getting ahead in your job or life; it's about enjoying the little things everyday, eating dinner with your family, and spending time with your friends. Why are there so many benches here? Because people take time to sit and talk and enjoy their surroundings. Why is there a siesta during the middle of the day? Because being at home with family is more important than making a little extra money. Honestly I really have never been in a place so accepting and non-judgmental than here. People don't care what you wear (thus the blue hair, piercings, and crazy clothes), what you do, or what you believe...all they care about is being happy and doing whatever it is that makes them happy, and that truly is something to live by. Sure, I came to Spain to learn Spanish, but I will leave Spain with some of the most important keys to life: a greater confidence, independence, acceptance, and tolerance...you can't ask for much more than that.
Out with the girls
ISA girls before a party
written by  Laura Hanson on May 9, 2010 from Bilbao, Spain