Basque Country + life update

My lovely mother reminded me that I had not updated this in a while, so here it goes!

Last weekend, I went to San Sebastian with Andee and with some other students from OSU. It seems like a very different country over there! It was a 2.5 hour bus ride, and it was beautiful! It is like a mix between the Columbia river gorge and the Oregon Coast. All the signs are in both Basque and Spanish, and we saw ETA banners and parades all over the place. It was somewhat scary, but I was ore worried about drowning in the rain...It rained over 6CM while I was there! The first day we were there, Andee and I walked through the rain and saw some cool things...then decided that we didn't want to go swimming after...so we played some cards and met some cool guys from Wales. It was interesting because Wales has been trying to get independence (sorta) like the Basque region. Wales has its own parliament-type structure now, like Scotland.

Later that night, I went out with Andee, 12 or so guys from Scotland, a gal from Canada, and two dudes from Florida. It was a great mix of people, and I ended up going home past 6am (once again!) I met a guy at one of the discos; and I began to tell him how much I loved Spain. He quickly replied that he was not Spanish, but rather he was Basque. We talked in Spanish for about an hour about their Independent movement (he lead the conversation) and how there needs to be Peace in all the world. It was interesting to say the least!

The monsoon stopped the next morning, and Andee and I walked around the city and saw how beautiful San Sebastian really is. We walked up to this huge Jesus statue that looks over the city, and saw everything, it was awesome! Then, we met back up with the Scottish guys in an Irish Pub and watched England vs. Australia Rugby (Go Aussies!) We left San Seb at 5pm, and made it home safely.

The others who left San Seb the next day had some issues in Bilbao because there was a ETA attack there on Sunday. The security was very tight for them and they were stopped on the autopista by the military and were searched!

I kicked butt on my grammar test today, but I think I didnt do too good on my Culture test last week because I ran out of time . The first page is an A+! :-)

I am going to Madrid this weekend with European Erasmus students to see the King of Spain and to "party" in the capital because Friday is the biggest holiday in Spain, la dia de hispanidad. I get to see Madrid twice, and Burgos as well, but I get to practice my Spanish and I get to meet new people!

Song of the moment: Drowning (If you know who sings this song, let me know...because this is a test!)

Choa,

Esteban