End of Week 4!

    Can you believe by Monday I will have already been here an entire month??  It's hard for me to believe.  It seems like I'm running out of time to do all the things I have planned, so I guess that means I will have to eliminate a few naps from my weekly itinerary.

    This week I found out that my schedule didn't work with the elementary school English program that I had applied to work for.  But don't worry, I already have another opportunity lined up.  One of the CIDE ladies called me into the office this week and said that there was a woman she knew with an 11 year old daughter that needed help with her English.  If I was interested, I would go to their house every Monday and Wednesday mid-afternoon for an hour to play with the daughter in English.  Of course I was interested!  I called the woman, and though I barely knew what was going on since we were speaking Spanish over the phone, she told me I could start on Monday.  I'm not sure exactly how this whole process will work since it won't be a set of lessons.  The lady from CIDE said it would be teaching through playing and reading, but so far I don't have many ideas.  If anyone has something that they think would be a good idea, please leave a comment!

    Besides this, this week was fairly uneventful.  The weather was nice every single day and there wasn't a bit of rain.  It was actually hot for Bilbao standards.  Some of us joked that Bilbao was jealous that we were bashing on her weather while we were on our vacations so she decided to show us up.  Either way, it didn't last long.  Last night the rain was back to normal.

    Friday, we had our first of three guided excursions through the CIDE program.  We went to Bayona, which is in the South of France and Hondarribia which is in the Northern part of Spain.  All in all, it was a waste of a day even though I was glad to get out of the house and spend the day with friends.

Driving through the Spanish/French border. 

    Bayona isn't located in the South of France that we all think of when we hear that phrase.  The South of France that we think of is all beaches and is where the stars vacation.  Bayona is part of the French Basque Country where many of the Basque people fled for their own safety when Franco took control of Spain.  This area is famous for its chocolateers.  The town is located right next to the river and the part we visited was inside of a fort used to protect the city during the world wars.  Bayona is the birthplace of the Bayonette.  The town wasn't particularly pretty but there were hundreds of shops.  We only had an hour to explore though, so I wasn't able to do much shopping (we waited 20 minutes in Bilbao for late kids who ended up not getting to go anyway!).  At least I was able to have my first French experience and try a crepe.

    After Bayona, we drove back into Spain, the San Sebastian area I believe, for lunch at a cider house.  It was three courses of awesomeness!  It started out with pasta cooked in the cider that was absolutely delicious!  Not to mention it contained hamburger.  Next, we each got our own chicken breast, also cooked in the cider with french fries.  After we were good and full, we were taken back to the cider barrels to give the restaurant's special, homemade drink a try.  It definitely wasn't the flavor I was expecting, but being 20, I never turn down a free drink.  When we got back to our tables, dessert was waiting for us.  I was terrified to try it because it looked like egg soup but it was delicious.  I couldn't even pretend I remember what it was called, but it did contain egg yolk.  It was cinnamon flavored and is what is used to make flan, another traditional Spanish dessert.  For the first time since I've been in Spain, I felt actually full after a meal.  And not just full, I felt satisfied.

   We finished our excursion off with an hour-long bus ride to Hondarribia.  This town, in the Spanish Basque Country, was right by the ocean, so I was able to see the ocean for the first time.  From where we were standing, we could even see France.  One side of the ocean was Spain and the next land you could see was France.  Besides the view of the ocean, there was absolutely nothing to do in Hondarribia.  Unlike Bayona, there weren't any shops to waste time in.  We ended up sitting by the ocean for nearly two hours talking.  After, we had another hour and a half bus ride home.  I guess the highlight of my day would be the three naps I got in on the bus.

My very first view of the ocean in Hondarribia! 

    Next week I am back to my regular schedule, but probably won't have anything terribly eventful going on. I am looking forward to going out on Sunday night at midnight to watch the Super Bowl all night.  Go anyone but the Ravens!!