Girl From the North Country

“The highest summits of the whole Autonomous Community of the Basque Country are located in this mountain range: Aitzuri, 1,551 metres high and Mount Aizkorri, 1,528 metres high.”

Without fully intending to do so, I climbed that little Mount Aizkorri two weeks ago.  After reaching the top the highest peak in el país vasco, an area characterized by its incredibly mountainous terrain, I took away a little more than awkward sunburn and a sore butt.  I took with me the realization that getting to the top isn’t half as important as the memories you make along the way and the attitude that carries you there.

As I left for my weekend trip to Barcelona on the 6^th, I was ready to attack the city.  Despite the fact that I hated field trips from elementary-high school (I’m not a fan of being told to stand in line, wait my turn, get my ticket, pass go but do not collect $200, etc), I have become a huge fan of being a tourist and letting these kind of “field trips” that help me get to know an entire city in a couple days time.  I have even (almost) rid myself of the habit of throwing major temper tantrums when my days out on the town don’t go my way.  Maybe I have just become so used to getting lost, ending up on the wrong metro line, sticking out like a sore thumb, being laughed at in public and generally doing most things incorrectly that it takes a lot more to upset me than it did in the States (a la the Getting Lost en Route to Stone Harbor Meltdown of 2011…wasn’t that fun everyone???). 

I arrived in Barcelona on Thursday and was welcomed into Chema’s absolutely wonderful apartment.  Chema, for those of you who don’t know, is my bestest friend at USC who I have been looking forward to seeing since I got to Spain.  I was extra lucky because this particular weekend, one of Chema’s oldest childhood friends named Eckart was also visiting.  Since I had the pleasure of meeting Eckart last year in Los Angeles, I was so happy that we were able to meet up with each other again, this time in Europe! I’m sure Eckart felt equally as lucky when I forced him to get off the couch and wake up extra early with me on Friday to meet up with my girlfriends and explore the city.

We started out on by waiting (patiently) for an hour and a half to get into La Sagrada Familia, a fantastic and HUGE church designed by Antoni Gaudí.  Although construction began on the Church in 1882, it remains unfinished and in a constant state of construction.  Needless to say, it’s a pretty impressive piece of work. 

La Sagrada Familia.

It's not possible to capture the inside of this building in a picture.

Miss Ashley Moret, my very good friend from high school who I haven't seen in years, was also in Barcelona for the weekend!  It was such a treat to see her!  Here we are on the roof of La Sagrada Familia.

After our lunch of paella, a rice dish typical of Spain, we headed up to Park Güell.  This park turned out to be everything I have been waiting to see in Spain and more.  This park is what I imagine Heaven to look like.  I was blown away.   The pictures do not do it justice.

My friends are supermodels!  

Can't wait to come back here next month...with a secret surprise special guest!

I decided I would like to get married here.

Preferably to a beautiful Spanish man a la Javier Bardem.

Eckart and I then went back to meet up with Chema for tapas, which were so good that I forgot that we had gotten lost for an hour and a half while looking for the restaurant.  Actually, once we arrived at said restaurant, at around 10:45pm, there was still a wait for dinner (because I swear that Spaniards are awake twenty-three hours out of the day and think that eating dinner at midnight is normal), so we just went to another restaurant close by, but I had absolutely no complaints.  The process of ordering many small plates to share within the group makes dinner much more relaxed, social, and fun!

On Saturday, we did a lot of walking around and sightseeing.  After walking down Las Ramblas, a street central to the city and absolutely buzzing with tourists, we ended up at the beach for the majority of the afternoon, just sitting and enjoying the view.  At this point, I had decided that I was in love with Barcelona and ready to move there. I was so sad we had to leave on Sunday.

We call this the "Wavey Bridge."  It may or may not have a slightly more official name.

All the girls I made the trip with.

I seriously miss you guys already!!!!!!!

On my way back home, I realized that I was truly bummed out to be coming back to Bilbao –which was the same way that I felt coming back from Madrid.  My friends and I were so in love with Barcelona that we had let our complaints about our hometown pile up over the weekend to the point that returning to Bilbao felt like a punishment.  During the week, I couldn’t shake that feeling, and was wondering why my friends and I had gotten so down about Bilbao.  I decided to devote the next weekend to exploring the city with the same enthusiasm that I explored Madrid and Barcelona.  Just because I live here all the time doesn’t mean that I can take it for granted and stay in my dorm on the weekends that I am not traveling. 

On Thursday, I started volunteering at an after school center in downtown Bilbao in an area called San Francisco, the most socioeconomically disadvantaged area of the city.  The center’s main goal is to give the children of the neighborhood a safe place to be as the afternoon turns into evening, as many of their families and neighbors are dealing with financial stress, drug dependencies/addictions, and issues surrounding prostitution.  Perhaps these kids are up against a lot, but their smiles sure do not show it, and they absolutely made my day!  I spent an hour working with four students in an ongoing workshop teaching English.  There is an extreme amount of hyperactivity within the group, as often occurs with children who are dealing with issues at home that are much greater than “How do you say ‘geometría’ in English?” I have some ideas as to how to engage the students through some more interactive and game-centered approaches that I am hoping to get the green light to try out in the weeks to come.

As I said goodbye to those four children and made my way outside, I was immediately jumped on by four new children, all girls, who I had never seen before in my life but who were immediately fascinated by the sight of me.  “¡¡¡¡¡¡OJOS CLAROS!!!!!!! ¡¡¡¡¡¡OJOS CLAROS Y AZULES!!!!!!!! ¡PROFESORA RUBIA!” Blue eyes AND blonde hair?  They couldn’t get over it.  It’s so funny to stand out with this color combination, which attracts absolutely no attention in the States, and especially at USC.  They instructed me to take the clip out of my hair and flip my head around to tousle my hair up, and they asked if “more pretty teachers would be coming tomorrow.”  I assured them that there would be, and they were very pleased.  They thought it was “super guay” (really cool) that I could speak English, but I thought it was super guay that they just made my week by giving me hugs full of enough energy to carry me through the rest of the weekend.  They were literally hoisting each other up to try and help one another reach my cheeks to give me two kisses.  They were screaming happiness at the top of their lungs.

On Friday, my friends Elana, Emily and I decided to explore the older neighborhood of the city a little more.  We climbed up a very, very long set of stairs and found ourselves in a beautiful park above the city that we never knew existed.  That’s what we get for complaining about Bilbao instead of going out and living in it!   We plan to return to the park for a picnic soon.

Then, on Sunday, the three of us risked our sanity as well as our lives by returning to the hiking trip for their hike up Mount Urregarai.  My backpack weighed about one hundred pounds.  I was so ready for that mountain.  Two sandwiches, two apples, two cereal bars, two bottles of water, one powerade, my camera, and a smile on my face: I was ready.  The hike was everything I wanted and more!  It was not only absolutely breathtaking, but there was little to no rock climbing, no tears, no mental breakdowns, and no cursing out of the entire Basque countryside!  It only took us a little over two hours to climb up the mountain. We sat at the top enjoying our food and the amazing view for about an hour and a half before making our way to the bottom.  We decided it was one of our very favorite days that we’ve spent in Spain so far.  The 75-degree sunny weather did not hurt.

Sweaty and squinty-eyed: Looking great.

I live here.

The sheep ended up here, too. Baaaaah.

So, yes, I absolutely love traveling outside of Bilbao and Barcelona is one of the coolest cities in the world.  But, that doesn’t mean that Bilbao is not also beautiful, and I have to dedicate more time to exploring it, instead of thinking as my weekends in Bilbao as “rest weekends” in between trips to other cities. Today, I felt very proud to be from the Northern Spain.  El País Vasco really is beautiful and unique, and today I truly felt like a part of it.

In the end, it’s not about where you are, or even where you are going.  It’s about the journey you take in getting there, what it helps you learn about yourself, and the amazing people with whom you share the highs and lows.  As I am feeling extra in touch with my Zen, one-with-nature, wild and wildnernessy side of myself today, I return to my favorite quote, from Chris McCandless’ final diary entry in the book Into the Wild: “Happiness only real when shared.”