lovely, lovely

On Saturday I went with Aina and her "crew" to a sidrería (cider house) in Astigarraga, a small town near San Sebastian that is known for its sidrerías. There they give you a fixed meal, with all the sidra you can drink! The sidra's great, the food is amazing, it's a good time with friends; all in all, it's a very nice excursion. There's a certain way of getting the sidra: first you pick which batch you'd like to try; next, the staff turns the spigot and out comes the sidra arcing through the air to the ground, and you do your best to get it in the glass and get some nice foam on top. The idea is that a line of people does it, each one with his or her glass under the one before, and thus no sidra makes it into the bucket on the ground. I'll admit we weren't that good at it, though, and we got told off a little bit. Hehehe.

Our "menú" consisted of: chorizo y morcilla (sausage and blood sausage); next, a tortilla de bacalao (cod omelette); a nice piece of bacalao (cod with I don't know what delicious green veggie on top); chuleta (steak, wonderfully rare and salted); and finally dessert of membrillo y queso (quince jelly and cheese) y nueces (walnuts). Sorry about the Spanish... but it's just not that cool in English. Everything was amazing. I didn't know what blood sausage was until afterwards (to tell the truth, I'm still trying to be vague on it so I don't get grossed out), but it was amaaaazing. I was the one going "you're not going to eat that? Ok, hand it over here." Haha. Yummay.

The next day I rolled out of bed and met a couchsurfer from Australia who was just visiting San Sebastian for the day, down from France; we met for breakfast (well, I had a café con leche and a croissant, but he was ready for some pintxos already) and ended up spending the whole day together. It was kind of rainy and shitty, but he was in such a good mood and so willing to do anything that we ended up having a great time together. We went up to the Jesus statue on Urgüll, souvenir-shopped, ate amazing pintxos and drank beer, and even got into the Real Sociedad soccer game for free. (We got there late; I told the ticket-checker that the box office was closed - which was true - and he was like "OK", shrugged, and let us in. Schwing!) It is days like that that make me really love Couchsurfing and couchsurfers. I also love it when there's really nothing you *should* be doing.

En fin, it was a great weekend and it should be a great week. Yesterday night I had a nice candlelit dinner with friends and much red wine after climbing, and today my kids didn't show up for my 4.30 class because the cafeteria workers are on strike (long story, chaos has ensued at school) so I just hung out with Molly before heading to the library. Tomorrow night is 1970s American thriller night at the Teatro Principal, and on Friday Aina and I have been invited to a dinner at a "sociedad" (a kind of gastronomical club, shrouded in mystery, closed to outsiders and historically women) with Molly and her Basque boyfriend. Yep, things are looking up. I hope they stay that way. :)

cold waves

Yes, I went swimming in the Atlantic today. Yes, it was cold. Yes, it was salty. Yes, it was awesome.

Afterwards we had a sushi picnic with the leftovers we had from last night and went for a hot chocolate. That was a few hours ago, but I'm still cold... I'm doing it again next week. :P

new year, new me, blah, blah, blah.

Well everyone, here we are in the new year, happy and healthy, I hope. I for one am back in the city we all know and love - San Sebastian. No, I'm not glad to be back, but I will be soon.

Let me tell you how my vacations actually turned out. They were fast and slow, hot and cold, short and long... to summarize, they were kind of messed up. I left San Sebastian for Barcelona on a Friday to spend the weekend at Inga's house before flying out on Monday. My mom called on Saturday, however, to tell me that she'd been diagnosed with "follicular lymphoma" (can't tell you what it is really, I should really Wiki it sometime). Cancer always kind of puts a damper on things, so I ended up scratching the plan for Connecticut and going back to Yellowknife instead. Ev and I spent hours the next day changing all my plans - I still would go through Toronto on my way up to Yellowknife, and I'd bump back my return flight from JFK to give me more time up north. So I spent a few days in Toronto; Ev left for Connecticut on the 25th. I spent most of Christmas Day in a hotel in Mississauga, watching tv. I did battle the awfully cold wind and rain to get myself supper from Popeye's, which was the only restaurant around open; I had never eaten from there before, and I probably never will again.

Anyway, I shipped out bright and early on the 26th and stayed up north till the 6th of January. Not a whole lot to report: Reub was there for a bit; they got a Christmas tree just before I came but we never decorated it; my dog is cute; it was cold but pretty; we watched lots of Jeopardy. I went snowmobiling once with my dad and we drove alongside a dogsled. You don't realize how cool yet absurd those things look until you actually see one. I got a cavity filled. I managed to eat most of my gigantic slab of Arctic char at Bullock's (delicious, but for some reason you get a double portion size). There was nothing really happening in Mom's situation, since it was everyone's Christmas vacation. However, once I got back here she got word that her latest biopsy turned out clear, which means she will be doing four weeks of radiation on the affected area, rather than any chemotherapy. So that's great news.

Her and Dad were going to come to visit me here in February, but it looks like that trip will be postponed now. That is good news for the Fito & Fitipaldis concert that José Luis invited me to that week. (I think it's that week?) Whatever. The point is, I have a week off in February ("la Semana de nieve", "Snow Week", so nicknamed because everyone goes skiing). And I should be able to make a li'l trip down to the nether regions of Spain, otherwise known as Madrid/Ciudad Real.

I also have good news about my program at MIIS. Not only did I find out that I got in super fast, they also let me know only a short while later that they're giving me a $12,000 merit-based scholarship. The maximum they give out is $14,000, so that is pretty freaking awesome actually. Goooo me! :P Free money!!

As for my time in Toronto, it was really amazing. I have this weird love affair with that city... I'm not sure why I like it so much. But I managed to see a lot of great people and buy myself rain boots (sorely needed) and another pair of those Puma sneakers I love (just 'cause).

It was pretty cold, but I was so happy just to walk around the streets while Ev was at work. Yes, I also got to be with Ev again, which made me very happy indeed. I had a really good time with him, just eating out and walking around like we used to do.

That meant of course though that things were pretty shitty when I first got here. We agreed that we wouldn't speak for the remainder of my time here, so I had probably the longest week of my life this past week. Kudos to Molly and Aina for putting up with me and for their support. Aina even brought me out last night, so I was nice and hungover today to teach. You know... people here have the idea in their heads that I don't drink. I was like... what? Really? Wow, I was that much of a hermit last semester? For shame, Laura... for shame.

Ok, I can't figure out how to put pictures in the middle of my post, or I would put some up. And on that undramatic note, I sign off for now,

yours truly,

the Juicemeister.

glimpses of weirdness

Today I saw a dog that looks like a goat, a homeless guy sitting with a pet chicken on his arm, and a man with a white biker moustache and a boina (Basque hat). We're going to have to start a "People of San Sebastian" website.

moves and changes, comme d'habitude

Well, folks, the verdict is in -- I've been accepted into the program at the Monterey Institute. I'm still not sure what that really means or entails - I just found out a half hour ago -, but what I suppose it means is that I will be starting another Masters in September, this time in translation and interpretation. It will also mean that I will be living in California for two years and that if I pass, I will be accredited by one of the world leaders in this field! Yeee... gads!

This is the school's website, in case you're curious: http://www.miis.edu/

It kind of looks like something that Daniela would attend instead of me.... ;)

Right now I have all this nervous energy that I wish I could run off, but it's flipping cold outside and I don't want to kill myself. It's actually cold in here... I blame the fact that Raúl has cracked open the window in the kitchen permanently in order to pass his internet cable outside and into his room so he can play videogames online. Siiiiiigh.

So yeah... I have three days left of teaching before I can leave for Barcelona, and finally Toronto. It's getting close.

Back to the Masters thing - does anyone else think the same way when they apply to things? Basically I figure that if I apply to something and I don't get in, that means that I am not good enough for anything, really; but if I apply and get in, that means that either A. there was no competition, B. they fucked up and made a mistake, or C. the program actually sucks and is desperate for applicants.

Holy bad attitude, or what? I mean - it's not that I think I totally suck. But when you do an application for something you start realizing how many weaknesses you really have, and you have no way of knowing how you're going to compare to anyone else. But I suppose most people are their own worst critics - right?

Anyway - although I'm not really feeling it right now, this is kind of a big deal for me, just so y'all know. Back in my undergraduate years I think I mentioned I might like to become a translator or some such thing, and my aunt (who is a language and lit professor in Alberta and whom I highly respect and admire) sent me the link for this school, because she'd heard it was the best in said area. I sort of kept it in my mind as my dream school - it just looks friggin' awesome, in every way. And so... yeah! Basically I planned on coming here and improving my Spanish again so that eventually I could go to this dream school - and then in November I just figured what the hell, I may as well try and apply this year, I don't have anything to lose!

I guess also at that point I was kind of dissatisfied with the whole "improving my Spanish" idea without having something to really work towards. My dear friend Amit has cautioned me to not worry so much about making plans for the future, but year-by-year plans has pretty much been what I've done since undergraduate. Us young'uns seem to always be caught between the career-driven path and the taking-it-easy path - I don't want to just fritter away my time without working towards something, but I also want to experience different things.

Anyway, it's kind of crazy to be thinking about going to California in September when I just arrived here. But hopefully I will be able to have a great time in the six or more months I have left in Europe before moving once more to an unknown location. Goooooodness gracious me.

Thanks everyone for your support and if I don't write again before then - Merry Christmas! Have yourself some great holidays. I sure will give it a try. :)

y'a un, part deux

News in my life:

1. Sergio has certainly dolled up the bathroom. We've gone from my and Pablo's bare establishment to a space complete with air freshener/nightlight, mat, and two-tiered organizer - AND, he got a mug to put our toothbrushes and toothpaste in! How - lovely. :)

2. Another about Sergio - he got waxed up... and good. I got my legs waxed for the first time in my life less than a month ago - just did the calves, and MOTHER FUCKER did that hurt! Way more than I was expecting. Well, Sergio waltzes in one day and is like "Hey Laura, check it out, I got done today!" He lifts up his shirt and shows me his bare stomach and chest. I'm like ok, that must have hurt... is that all you got done?

Oh, no it wasn't. He also gets his entire legs WITH bikini wax done, along with back, armpits, and - you guessed it - arms. HOLY SHIT! Your whole frickin' BODY?!

I am NEVER doing that. Not that I have to do chest and back, and who does their arms, but still. I WOULD never do that.

3. I finally sent in my application to that school in California - Masters, translation & interpretation. I feel like it's utter crap; not getting my hopes up for it. Still, it would suck not to get it. Just be like stamping FAILURE across my forehead. So I'll keep y'all posted.

4. Upcoming weekend is a long one here - I'm supposed to see both Haruka and Jocelyne, and I think we're going to be in Barcelona, but details are still sketchy. In any case, I'm getting from Friday until Tuesday off - SWEET!

5. Christmas is getting close! This is what's happening for me: I'm flying out of Barcelona into LaGuardia on the 21st, staying over a night, flying up to Toronto on the 22nd, hanging out there until the 25th, then going with Ev to Connecticut, and leaving on the 31st back to Barcelona (sigh). A whirlwind tour of North America. I'm freaking excited about (maybe) going to see the Sound of Music before it ends its run. Also, I miss the TTC. Also, I have been really missing the sushi, but that's kind of abated right now because of the AWESOME homemade sushi I had at Aina's tonight. YAYYYYYYY SUSHIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No more news for now, over and out,

L.J.

of fibre and sugar

I have to comment a few things that are truly amazing. First off is being able to run along the Paseo Nuevo at night. It's so quiet, but so beautiful: no one around except for the odd straggler or fisherman; the breeze; the ocean at your side; the white beam of the lighthouse from the other side of the bay.

Another is just how truly gorgeous San Sebastian is. Every day I'm astonished again at how really beautiful it is, and every time it happens there's the realization that I barely ever take the time to really look. Especially at night: there's a striking church just across the street from me, but because I always walk right beside it, I never look up at it. But whenever I stretch in the plaza in front of it, I get to admire it. Another great view is available coming down from the gym where we climb; we walk down a hill looking over the bay, and at night it's absolutely stunning. Nighttime is just a great time to take a look around. The streets are empty, and there's no feeling of having to be somewhere stealing your time.

Thirdly, the greatness that makes up those All-Bran fibre stick things. You know, the extra fibre you put on top of your cereal or in your yogourt or whatever. When I first got here I bought some health-food-store replacement for it, and I was blown away by All-Bran when I got it again. Sooooo delicious. (You guys must think I'm a weirdo.)

Finally, how friggin' tasty those Reese's peanut butter cups are! You better believe that when Will's Halloween candy came, those were the first to go.

Uhhh... yes, the candy arrived today. And yes, all the peanut butter cups are gone. Get over it.