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Published: June 30th 2007
Arte en la Ciudad
One of the many pieces of art situated throughout the city. After a European breakfast (aka small, but good) this morning, my fellow students and I took the short walk to La Universidad de Deusto for the first time. Here we were introduced to the CIDE program and took a placement test for language classes. We then were given an orientation session for Bilbao after which we had lunch at a hotel—Italian, finally! From there, a tour of Bilbao, including mention of the parts of the city that we should not wander into at night. We then had the rest of the day to do what we wanted. I went to the bookstore in “El Courte Ingles” and bought Harry Potter in Spanish (a difficult task, because the person who I was talking to spoke mostly Basque—very different from Spanish. Also, I could only find HP in Basque). While I sat on a bench outside the store reading the book, a demonstration came by bearing signs and chanting. I’m not sure what they were fighting for, but the sign (of course, in Basque) appeared to say something about torture? I have no idea. Apparently this kind of demonstration is common, and happens everyday.
While I’m talking about “days” lets talk
La Ria
A bridge over la ria that runs through Bilbao. a bit about Spanish culture. Was that a groan I heard? Too bad. In Spain the morning lasts until just before lunch, usually between 2:30 - 3:30. Afternoon does not end until night begins sometime between 10:00 - 11:00. That’s a very big difference from the US! The biggest change that this caused is the space between meals. Every day I eat breakfast at about 9, lunch at about 3, and dinner around 9:30. A first this was a pain, but now I hardly notice that it is time to go to the next meal. I think the Spanish have something right with their meal times (and sizes, which are very much smaller than the US. An American breakfast would shock most Spaniards, I think.). And of course, let’s not forget Siesta during which the world shuts down between around 2:30 until 6:00. No wonder the Spanish are known as the laziest people in Europe. Well, off to bed with me. It’s been a long day.
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