Happenings

I have been horrible about keeping up with posts, so here is a quick debreifing on some important happenings.

I have begun tutoring a 13-year-old boy in English twice a week. Like all things, this has its ups (being paid in euros) and downs (preparing lessons), but in general has been a good experience.

This weekend, I'm travelling with a friend to San Sebastian and Bilbao. We have Monday and Tuesday off school, so we'll be staying in San Sebastian for two nights and Bilbao for two nights, staying in albergues (hostels) and eating lots of tapas, for which San Sabastian is famous!

My first European clothing purchase: a purple leather jacket. Well, not real leather...I maintain some of my principles!

While wondering around on a Saturday night, my friend and I discovered a wonderful chocolatería and churrería, where one can purchase 5 churros and a cup of hot chocolate so thick you have to eat it with a spoon for less than 3 euros. Our new favorite dinner place?

Two Sundays ago, a friend of my host mother invited us to a chicken fair in a small town about an hour north. He drove us in his mini-van (not a minivan, but literally a small van) with which he travels about Spain with his dog. We stopped to see Nationalist trenches from the Civil War and wound up in a tent filled with doves, chickens, and other fowl from all over. Of course we also stopped for coffee, which inevitably involved buying a doblado - pastry folded over a filling of pine nuts and cinnamon. The trip was lots of fun and reminded me slightly of the livestock section of the Franklin Country Fair...

This weekend, however, I slept almost the entire time: I unfortunately caught a flu-like virus. However, after a few days at home and in bed, I am back at school and totally ready for the País Vasco this weekend!