Thursday night: The start of Carnaval (at least for the Americans). While we thought we were to dress up every night, as the weekend progressed we realized that most people only dress up on Saturday night. In any case, Thursday night my friends and I planned on going to a party for both foreign and Spanish students (Erasmus parties) in downtown Bilbao called Sala V.I.P. I dressed as a cowgirl ("vaquera"), Jacklyn as a Native American, Kelly as a devil, and Nina as an angel. The night wasn't all too different than any other night out in Bilbao, but it was made 10x better by the fact that I could shoot everyone with my plastic guns. There's a new sheriff in town.
Jacklyn and I goofing off in the metro station.
Jacklyn, Lizzie, Michelle, and I.
Friday: A few of my friends and I went to the tapas bars in Casco Viejo during the afternoon to try the renowned pintxos in Plaza Nuevo. It was a nice surprise on the way back to the dorms to find a carnival set-up in the plaza, complete with cotton candy, churros, games, and rides. Jacklyn, Santi and I shared THE BIGGEST cotton candy I have ever seen. And it was amazing. Friday night, we had planned to go to another Erasmus party, this time having rotated the costumes amongst ourselves. Somehow we went to the wrong club, but decided to stay there despite the fact. It was kind of comical, though, because we were the only people in the place, save maybe 5 others. Mind you, this is the club ("The Loft"), that was so packed the last weekend I thought I would have a panic attack. Let's just say it was the opposite this time- but we made the best of it. Jacklyn, Nina and I went to the top part and had a dance party all to ourselves... :) (We found out later that the DJ could see us the whole time)
Jacklyn and I.
Some Scottish guy picking my nose.
Saturday: THE night. As background, the week prior I was assigned to what is called a "Tandem" conversation partner- a person who goes to my university that I can meet up with so that she can learn English and I can practice Spanish. During the meeting, I met my partner, Olga, and we only briefly spoke in order to exchange contact information as we were both running late to class. We spoke via Skype later that day, and I suggested meeting for a bocadillo or coffee, just to get to know each other. Olga had something a little different in mind. Seeing as it was Carnaval, she invited me to come to her house for the weekend, stay with her family and go out with her friends. If you know me, you would know then that I was trying to find an excuse to get out of it- until I realized that, what the heck, I should just... go! I knew mom would tell me to go try something new, I knew I would have a good time, and I for sure knew I would regret not doing it. As dad said, it's very "European" to just invite me over like she did.
So, on Saturday at around 6pm I took the bus to Olga's town, Castro, which is about a 30-minute bus ride from Bilbao. When I got to Castro, Olga and her mom were waiting for me at the bus stop and we drove to her house where I met her dad and got a tour of her home. Her mom and dad didn't speak English, but were eager to speak to me so I could practice Spanish. They were also very hospitable and after showing me to my own room immediately offered me a sandwich and Coca Cola (which, I think they got just for me?). After meeting the parents, Olga and I had to rush over to her friend Itziar's house where all of her friends were getting into their clown costumes for the night. The house was full of girls rushing to get their makeup and costumes ready, so it was sort of awkward for me to be there without anything to do. I'm not even sure at that point if they knew I understood Spanish... :)
From Itziar's, we went to an old school house that was no longer in use, and that someone's mom owned, to hang out and meet up with other people. Walking into a room of even more Spaniards was definitely intimidating, but they warmed up to me and I to them soon enough. They asked me questions about lyrics to English songs, what my favorite TV shows were (they were really into Gossip Girl, Lost, and Grey's Anatomy), if I had a "novio"... those sorts of things. They would laugh after singing American songs out loud in front of me in case they said something wrong- and it was kind of funny hearing "All the single ladies" sung as "I'm a single lady". I found it most hard to understand them when they were speaking to each other, or telling a joke, but overall I was able to keep up (and if I couldn't, I'd just laugh). Humor is still hard for me to grasp in another language.
Olga and I.
Then we went to the street. There was a single street in the old part of town (Castro is a small town) that was completely packed with people in the most outrageous, ridiculous, and sometimes scary costumes. From the Terminator to Michael Jackson, to men dressed as women or babies, the Spaniards definitely know how to dress up! I liked how everyone, in contrast to the in the US, didn't worry about looking like a sexy clown or a slutty bunny. No, if they wanted to be a clown, they WERE a clown. After a long and fun (and unfortunately cold) night of going from the street to the bars, Olga and I were picked up by her dad. I laughed when Olga said to me, "noches alegres..." and I was able to finish it by saying, "mañanas tristes" (Hey, class really does come in handy!).
The next morning (I had to be woken up by the alarm- the shades these people have over their windows could keep me in bed all day!), Olga's parents had donuts and Cola Cao waiting for us. Then, Olga said that it was custom on Sundays for them to go into town to the bars before lunch to have a glass of wine, mingle, and eat tapas. They showed me around Castro, a small mariner's town complete with cliffs to dive from and a pretty beach. I was so grateful to be shown into the tapas bars by native Spaniards, and they even taught me how to order tapas in crowded bars- it's as simple as taking them and paying later. Olga, her mom and I sipped on non-alcoholic wine (it's a type of wine, more like grape juice) while her dad had vino tinto (red wine). After going to a few bars, we headed back to the house where we sat down for a home-cooked meal courtesy of Olga's mom. Can't beat that!
Olga and her dad were nice enough to drive me back after lunch, and said I am welcome anytime. Olga has already invited me back this weekend for her birthday, and said that her friends really liked me! Let's hope they did- I thought they were all really cool, and goofy like me. I told her she should come out with my friends and me as well, so that she can practice English. So mom, as you can see, you're always right. ;)
Great weekend!
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