Cultural Experiences.. o algo así

In spite of the fact that I have lived in Spain for nearly a year now, I still find myself calling things that would be of the norm in daily life in the United States definite cultural experiences here. Trying to get internet, going to the doctor, going to the farmacia, going to work, dealing with the policia (or umm getting hit on by them as well as sleezy imigration officers, etc), going to the gym, asking old men for directions, paying bills, etc, etc, all result in experiences that make me go 'hmmm' in either a good, bad, ugly, or hilarious manner. Even after a year of Spain, I still find myself surprised by so many things, and find the language barrier with the Andalú Spanish still getting in my way of communicating with ease in every situation, though it continues getting easier as my vocabulary extends out to every new situation I have to embrace and I slowly master translating their words into the words I learned in Castellano.

Here's an artistic look at the dialect spoken in the deep south of Andalucía (I think this chaval is from Jerez de la Frontera): http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1186801052692540560#

After a long week of pressure headaches and one tooth giving me hell, I decided I had to dive in and have yet another cultural experience: el dentista. This morning, I arrived to my appointment on time (5 mins early, pure america style), checked in, then proceeded to read juicy spanish gossip magazines for a good 40 minutes while nervously awaiting my fate. I finally got my consult, explained the problem, got xrays, and then was taken to the exam room where I waited another 30 minutes staring at a big screen tv with an xray of my mouth. There anyone could see the cause of the pressure: giant wisdom teeth growing in the wrong direction. Awesome. My dentist told me last year I wouldn't have to get them out.. apparently things change. So after an excruciatingly long wait, the dentist comes in, finds a few cavities, then tells me to come back with her to the office to discuss what we should do--which doesn't even involve removing my wisdom teeth. Meh. I am going to ask around for a better dentist asap who doesn't try to convince me to get braces I don't need or root canals. Eek.

January sunshine

January is the month of the year I have never been fond of (July has always been my personal fave). Back home in Alaska/Washington State, it is 31 days of bitter cold that drag on and on, and bad things always seem to happen, from break ups, to loss of loved ones, to anything that brings complete misery to any stable white girl. New year's resolutions are usually broken by the 10th, the dark hours make it ever so hard to get out of bed, and promises of having a great Spring semester usually are never carried out until March or April rolls around and I'm able to take the snow tires off my car. One might guess I'm another SAD sufferer who could never return to the Great North of Alaska-- sorry mother land. It's crazy to think about where I might be living and what I will be doing 5 years from now; the future is wide open...

Anywho, take my vida, move it thousands of miles away from the northern US of A, and none of that seems to be a problem. Thanks to the weather in Andalucía and all kinds of good happenings lately, it is turning out to be a wonderful start to 2011. As of the 10th, I am back to work, back to online classes, always trying to fit in errands and fun in between, and loving it. I should be having some visitors from América during the next few months and I'm soo excited to spend some time with them and show them around the place I call home. Probably moreso Sevilla than Huelva. Gotta love fresh air.

I'm feeling motivated, energetic, ready to get things done, and of course, with ganas to travel some more. Goals for the Spring include Istanbul (not Constintanople), Greece or Croatia, and of course, more travels around Spain and many weekends across the border in Portugal.

Come visit me!!!

January 2, 2011. At the beach. Nearly 70 F. Lovin' it. (jamón chips)

I don't speak dutch.

I have been free from work, school and any other commitment for a good 15 days or so now, spent time in 2.5ish countries, and already I know Monday morning will be back to real Monday morning way too quickly and I'm going to have to start getting up at 7 am and remembering what day of the week, what year it is, etc, etc.
To put a long, hilarious story into a nutshell, vacation time and the fake holidays have treated me very well and brought along many good and well, interesting, adventures. I got to spend three days in Amsterdam, three days in País Vasco, 1 day on the autobus, 6 hours sleeping in Granada, and a good week or more resting up and perfecting my Northwestern American English in Huelva with an amiga from my university back home. I have slept like a princesa.

My three days spent in Amsterdam were a mix of bright lights, dutch delights, a ton of English speaking, and very freezing cold weather (yes, I have become so weak after living in Andalucía that 30 degrees Fahrenheit is basically unbearable now). We stayed in a Christian hostel in the infamous Red Light District and it was an adventure in itself sharing a room with some potential Hungarian drug dealers. Good times. The definite highlights of Amsterdam were the Heineken Experience, the Van Gogh museum, and just the prettiness of the city itself covered in snow and decorated up for Christmas with surprises around each and every corner. Due to my ultimate whiteness, many locals came up to me trying to ask me questions in Dutch, and I did not understand a word.


A hot mess of Christmas lights in Amsterdam

On Christmas morning, we woke up bright and early to head out to one of the coolest airports I've ever been to and fly back to the wonderful land of Spain, destination Bilbao. The airport was in a state of cheering up dreary Christmas passengers. There were many random happenings put on by employees there, complete with live music, acrobats, remixing of Christmas carols, and most flights heading out for on-time departures.

We arrived to a sunshiney Bilbao earlier than scheduled and were instantly impressed by the beautiful, clear Spanish spoken by the Basque people and the amazing landscape of the North of Spain. It didn't seem like Christmas one bit and I didn't mind. We spent three days in Bilbao and there is something I can't quite describe about it, but I was enamored and didn't want to leave. Our amazing "Christmas miracle" four star hotel gave us the gift of free tickets to the Guggenheim and it has to be one of the best museums I have ever been to. It is very unique and sparks so much thinking as you go through its many rooms and expositions, I would love to go back. Part of me will always want to live in the north of Spain.

Beautiful, sunshiney days in Bilbao

Today is the final holiday of Spain's crazy holiday season, and the Reyes Magos did not bring me any gifts, which means I must have been bad or slept so long that someone stole my present. Oh well, I am really glad the holiday season is officially closed until next year.