First week down...

With the first day of classes yesterday, that means it is time to start the “study” part of study abroad. But the first week of orientations was so fun! Here are some of the highlights:

• Bilbao, Spain: Whenever I tell people I'm studying in Bilbao, Spain, they ask me if I meant to say Barcelona. Er... no. This is Bilbao:

 

yes... I'm in love

 

The churches are really beautiful

• Universidad de Deusto: My school is so pretty! It’s right off the water and the architecture is amazing.

 

An auditorium

"Knowledge is better than gold"

The old library

• The Metro: Since I live in Algorta, a suburb about 40 mins away from school, I have to take the train every day. The Metro is really nice though. It won an award for being either the best or most efficient public transportation system in Europe. To paint a better picture for the Chicago people, the Metro has the El service with Metra quality. It runs constantly every 5 – 10 minutes but it’s really clean and comfortable. You cannot eat on it. I almost got in trouble for having an apple just in my hand! Also, they have security walking around constantly.

• Portugalete and Balmaseda: These are two cities near Bilbao in the Vizkaya province of País Vasco. Unfortunately, the day of our excursion, the weather was cold in rainy, but we still got out and looked around a little bit. My favorite was the “Puente Colgante” or “Hanging Bridge.” You cross the water in it by going under the bridge. I also heard that many people go base jumping off the top of the bridge during the summer because you can also walk across the top. I definitely will not be partaking in that...

Balmaseda, Spain

           Lots of rain...

                                                              Portugalete, Spain

                           This is what you ride across the water (cars go in the middle open section)

• "Festa de Bienvenida" ("Welcome Party") - On Thursday, we went to a bar in Las Arenas (a suburb of Bilbao). It was a chance to meet everyone and see what a bar in Spain is like. One word: smoky.

Jon Franco: The Man, The Myth, The Legend (and also the US Liasion Officer)

 

• Guggenheim Museum: I will be the first to admit that I don’t know much about art, but the museum was really cool. The design of the building is really modern but then there are all of these older buildings near it. They had an exhibit about Frank Lloyd Wright so I felt more connected to Chicago :)

 

Giant spider statue *shudder*

• Nightlife!! - The Spaniards party late! They don't go out until after dinner around 10 or 11, then many clubs stay open until at least 5 or 6 am! Friday we went to a club called "Fever." It was basically an abandoned warehouse that they turned into a club. But it was a lot of fun. I particularly enjoyed the Spanish version of "I Got A Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas and a random Asian man who had his own dance routine to every song (see below). Saturday, I went out with some friends and one of my friends' Spanish host sister. Everyone was partying in the streets because the Bilbao fútbol (soccer) team won against Madrid.

 

 

This man was CRAZY