My attempts at artsy and unique photography.

Here's some of my more artsy photos of my recent journeys to Segovia and San Juan de Gatztelugatxe.  The funky ones at the bottom were shot by my ipod touch using the hipstimatic application (one of the best $1.99 purchases of my life).

San Juan

How to speak adolescent Spanish in 7 simple words

Allow me to say first off that I love my job.  It's true that students learn from us as much as we learn from them.  Before I came to Spain this time around I thought that Spanish was a normal language full of grammar and vocabulary.  After spending six months with the future of the Spanish (or Basque) world, I have realized that the Spanish language is made up of a handful of key words.  Ala, Venga, Toma, Mariconaso, Tonto, Joder, Qué? (Note that all of these words must be said with an over exaggerated accent of an adolescent with an aspirated tone). 

Something happens that they think is cool they might respond Ala or Toma.  If it is someone they don't like they might use Mariconaso or Tonto.  If they get something wrong they'll use Joder.  Of course, when they don't know what you said (as you can see I didn't use "if"), they'll use Qué?  If an alien comes down and rips off someone's head they'll use Ala, Toma, or Venga.  If I had to give English equivalents they would be: Ala would be "no way", Venga would be "come on", Toma would be "sweet", Mariconaso would be "big fag" (sorry, their words, not mine), Tonto would be "stupid", Joder would be "fuck", and Qué would be "What, huh".   That's all for today, stay tuned...

Basic Spanish

Voy al - I go to (useful for speaking to taxi and bus drivers)

Advanced Spanish

La ebullición - boiling point

Basque

onegin (on again) - Bon appetite, enjoy your meal

British English 

European state of mind at six months

Yesterday I had officially passed the 6 month mark in Europe, coincidently marking the longest period of time that I have ever been in Europe, out of the United States, and away from Wisconsin.  The once daunting number of 300,000 inhabitants now seems obsolete.  The once charming cry for independence now seems like an annoying cry for attention.  The once misconception of a terrorist people has now blossomed into an admiration for a resilient culture.  I understand that the last two are a bit of a contradiction, but yeah...

It's funny to think back to when I first decided to do this program.  I was in my third year at the university when I heard about this opportunity.  I was in a relationship that had outstayed its welcome, with a career of nothing but certainty lying in front of me.  It seemed as though the opportunity to expand my cultural boundaries would forever become nothing more than a dream. I have and will always be a dreamer, clouded by Hollywood's portrayal of perfection, which is of course a huge character flaw.  Always trying to please while rarely attending to my own feelings, needs, and desires. It's scary to think how quickly tides can change and you can feel pinned in with little hope for escape.  Needless to say that I was looking for an out in any way possible.

Then a series of events ensued that changed my life for the better.  New friends took hold, new intimacies were discovered, graduation was in sight, and quite frankly, the stars all aligned, or so it seemed.  I was presented an opportunity, so I decided to take the opportunity and escape reality for awhile, because in all seriousness, it's these experiences that change your life forever.

I'm still evolving in terms of me and I'm having a ball doing it.  The experiences that I'm gaining contain a plethora of attainable knowledge that when unleashed in the proper moment with flawless presentation  can open a Pandora's box limitless potential for those who dare to listen.  Everyone began their lives in a similar fashion, but it was those who sought opportunities, experiences, and took risks that have excelled.  I both admire and covet their achievements.  I have neither the desire to ascend to society's highest positions nor the mental and emotional capacity to do so, but I do have an understanding of the tools necessary to achieve excellence and a willingness to share those with others.  Stay tuned...

Spanish Basic
perder--to lose (Like Marquette is doing at this moment)

Advanced Spanish
Hacer boca--eat something to warm up the stomach

Basque
Morrazoa--shark

British English
dummy--pacifier

Carnival

Every week I ask my students what they did the past weekend and what they'll be up to this weekend only to receive the same answer day in and day out: "I go to party".  After ignoring their lack of grammatical command, I think to myself, "Of course, this is Spain,".  If there is one thing that Spain is exceptionally good at, it's partying (and striking/protesting, but that's another topic in itself).  This week was the cremé de la cremé of the Spanish festivals.

(Additional photos available at lizenespana.blogspot.com)

Carnival, unlike our Halloween, has deeply rooted traditions and a complex history.  First and foremost, it is a Catholic based festival that revolves around Lent and Easter.  Many believe that Carnival comes from either Italian carne levare, meaning "to remove meat", or from the Late Latin expression carne vale, which means "farewell to meat" (wikipedia).  Hence, the celebration originally was one last day to gorge oneself on meat before the forty day meat fast.  Nowadays, most of the world tends to use this faith-based idea to dress up and gorge ourselves on whatever sinful vice we desire.  Sounds good to me.

The top three festival destinations are in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, Venice, Italy, and Tenerife, Spain.  However, due to Spain's comfortable climate and willingness to party for days on end, several other reputable alternatives to the big three have sprung up.  Cadiz in the south of Spain has attracted a large number of national and foreign youth who lack the funds to travel to Tenerife.  The general theme of this celebration is party from sun up to sun up, a constant state of incoherence that those with weak stomachs should avoid.  The sanitation and mentality would be similar to that of Woodstock, but replacing the live music with costumes.  It strikes a resemblance Mardi Gras, which corresponds with Ash Wednesday on the Lent calendar.

Since being in Spain twice now during this festival I have learned several things about this festival.  Although a few places are catered to young adults or middle aged people experiencing a mid-life crisis, many places hold family friendly events as well.  It's no longer a one-and-done situation, but an almost everyday party.  Little children wear their costumes all week and for the most part their parents participate in their children's fantasy.  Most people are content with spending Carnival in their little towns and villages and have no desire to head to the popular tourist filled destinations in their neighboring towns.

Basic Spanish

el coche : car

Advanced Spanish:

Replica : Aftershock

Basque:

n/a

British English:
bauble : christmas ornaments 
fairy lights : white christmas lights

Hidden Gems--Bay of Biscay

The Bay of Biscay in Spain's northern and France's southwestern coasts contain some of the best small towns in Europe.  Everyone hears about Santander, San Sebastián, and Bilbao, but they rarely plan to visit the true gems of Biscay.  I have just begun to uncover a few of these towns, but so far they're exceeding my expectations.  The following towns are no more than 45 minutes from Bilbao.

Bermeo

Sopelana

Plentzia

Castro Urdiales

Basic Spanish:

Muchas gracias: Thank you very much

Advanced Spanish:

Venga: One of the many words to say goodbye

Basque:

Ondo pasa: Have a good time, "que pasalo bien", 

British English:

Spanner: Wrench

Media Extra

The beauty of the Guggenheim is that they have random demonstrations every night it seems.  Here is a quick video of the bridge next to the Guggenheim.

Am I a tourist

Am I still a tourist?  Will I always be a tourist in Spain?  At what point does the label get dropped?  I am a current resident of Spain the point that I have a NIE card (National Identification for Foreigners), I have signed a rental contract, I make a "wage", and I speak the language of the country at an advanced level.  I don't even take my camera with me that much anymore, but even when I took pictures in the Wisconsin, I wasn't a tourist.  Am I still a tourist?  I like to think that I'm past that point.  I'm a Bilbiano.

What does this mean?  Well, this allows me to not feel guilty if I spend a day or weekend in the comfort of my own home.  It's Carnival week here in Spain and we have a week off of school.  I felt guilty for not having anything planned at first so last night I brainstormed places to go; Bordeaux, Biarritz, Toulouse, Zaragoza, Pamplona, London, Paris, etc.  I spent 3 hours looking for places to go for under 100 euros for both Liz and I.  Fat chance, ha.  Roundtrip travel alone would be over 100 euros for the both of us, not to mention lodging, food, and sightseeing.  Needless to say, I made the economical decision to make day-trips from Bilbao this week.  And to be frank, I'm OK with it.

If you hadn't noticed from my most recent posts, I have developed a love for trekking or mountain climbing.  I have little desire to see anymore churches, castles, or museums at this moment in time.  I just want to explore.  I've realized its cheap, invigorating, and when its all over, I feel a since of satisfaction.  Not to mention, people don't look at me as though I'm still a tourist.  Stay tuned...

Spanish for Beginners:
Soy: I am

Advanced Spanish:
Me cobras: what do I owe? or How much? (Charge me)

Basque:
Gela: room

British English:
Fancy dress: dressing up in costume

Teaching worlds apart

I've been working for my school in Spain now for about the amount of time that I worked at my school in the United States and I've come up with a few observations.

First off, I'm not sure if either system is perfect. One moves at a snails pace and the other is going a million miles an hour. One builds community among students, while the other allows it to develop at its own rate. One builds community among teachers, but cripples their ability to create a learning environment. The other encourages the creation of a proper learning environment, while not necessarily hindering teachers relationship-building among each other, but doesn't encourage.

I had been doing some actual teacher work for the first time since leaving the United States and realized that I take one-third of my teacher's class. Allow me to elaborate a little more on the background. In the United States our students' daily and weekly schedule give permits about 7 subjects for the semester per day, per week. In Spain, they have most classes only 3, math is 4 days a week, but you have more than 7 subjects. However, Spain does not have as many electives as we do. Anyhow, I teach each English class once a week, leaving the real teachers only 2 hours of English class a week! I couldn't help but wonder how they get done what they're supposed to in any given year. Then I realized, they do this by teaching classes of only grammar and nothing else. Talk about boring.

Community is another thing all in its own. In the United States we put the students' lockers in the hallway and mix the composition of every class in both their age and ages around them. In Spain, their lockers are in their rooms and almost all of your classes are taken with the same people with the exception of English. Going yet further, in the U.S. we provide our students with numerous opportunities to express themselves through extracurricular opportunities that the school provides for the students. In Spain, the students are pretty much on their own and have little to no time to their fellow classmates outside of the school day. However, Spanish schools provide ample downtime to allow students to identify others with similar interests. On Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday they receive two 25-minute breaks, as well as a lunch period. On Wednesday and Friday they have shorter break periods due to a shortened schedule. As I recall, we aren't normally rewarded with such time in the United States.

Last, but certainly not least, what is the most important when it comes to teachers? Should we give them a classroom, allowing them to avoid crucial idea swapping and venting sessions with their fellow colleagues? Or should we provide them with ample colleague time, hence stripping them of their a vital advantage over their students? Who knows? One thing is for sure, I am becoming a much better teacher thanks to my daily chats with my fellow colleagues, however, I walk into an uncontrollable environment 70% of the time.

Now I understand that I'm a very new and still untested teacher, but I'm hoping that this will help my training immensely. When all parts are considered, I believe that we should just follow in the footsteps of one of the greatest teachers, Aristotle, and teach outside to whomever wants to listen, and our subject should be thinking.

Basic Spanish:
Esto va a (location): Asking a bus/train/tram driver if the bus "Does this go to (location)?"

Advanced Spanish:
un fulano: an unknown person
una fulana: an unknown woman or a prostitute

Basque:
Es dakit euskaraz (ace-ta-kiit auus-kar-aas): I don't speak Basque

British English:
What are you on about? : What are you talking about?



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Basque excessiveness

Basques are like any other of the world people, excessive in one way or another. I have been observing this wonderfully unique culture for the past six months and I still can't believe my eyes (and ears) at times.

First and foremost, Basque people swear too much. I knew that Spanish people swore an unnecessary amount, but I thought that it was more the youth. My host mother would swear, but she only used the typical filler word, joder (fuck). Needless to say, I was blown away when one of my students used "no me jodas" (don't fuck with me) and "gillipollas" (asshole, bastard, etc) in the same sentence. Confused, I punished the student and he was a bit taken back. Later, speaking with my teachers, they say swearwords are more or less terms of endearment. I most recently saw a bestseller in a bookstore in Basque titled Fucking Artists.

The second thing that gets me is there constant and unnecessary abuse of beer. In Spain, the more foam, the better the pour. In Wisconsin, this would be considered a terrible pour and you'd have to wait a couple minutes for it to go down. Unfortunately, I have yet to learn "tilt the glass when you pour" so that I may explain my reasoning reaching over the bar to pour my own glass. Last weekend I watched a bartender pour a glass, level off the foam overflow with a metal rod, pour more, level it off again. He repeated this sequence two more times before giving me my beer with an inch of foam in the glass.

The last thing is how the Basque excessively baby their children. I've seen 5 year old children still riding in their strollers. I want to stop the stroller and ask the person what they're thinking. Not to mention I've never seen children as well dressed as they are in the Basque country. They have nicer clothes than I have.


Spanish Beginners
Encantado (in-con-ta-doh)--Enchanted; Nice to meet you (usually used after you meet someone)

Spanish Advanced
Al Azar--at random

Basque
Gela (Gay-lah)--Room

British English
Full Stop--what they say for the punctuation mark known most as the period.