Aupa!

So i've finally stepped into the self indulgent world of blogging!
This is just a way for friends and family to keep up with what I've been doing out here in Spain and for me to keep a note of my thoughts and observations for when I have to do my report in my final year.
A lots happened in the past 2 and a half weeks since coming out here. Mixed emotions of stress, excitement, more stress and finally relief.
I'll try sum up into fewer words the past 2 weeks up until I started my job as much as I can.

22nd September was a fooking nightmare. This was the day I was due to leave the country. It was probably the most stressful morning of my entire life. Split suitcase, changing hostels at last minute, making sure I had everything, seeing my mum cry (which is never good to see). Eventually I got on the train to London and said goodbye to Hull. It only dawned on me at the boarding gate what I was doing: leaving my girlfriend and my family and friends and everything I had behind. I've had better days.

I flew to Bilbao and stayed there over night (prostitutes everywhere) before getting a bus to Pamplona to meet some fellow language assistants and stay there for a week. I must say how lucky I've been to meet such lovely people, they've all made these first 2 weeks a lot easier for me, especially when you're missing loved ones back home. We seem to have a lot in common and we didn't run out of things to talk about, which is always a good thing. The first few nights we went out and got ruined. I met some lovely people from Pamplona who gave me their numbers so i could meet up with them n go out when ever. One thing I've noticed about people in Navarra and the Basque Country is how friendly they are compared to other regions of Spain I've visited. They're very patient with us non-native speakers and they are so welcoming its unreal. The bar we were in played some of my favourite songs ever. Bit of QOTSA, LCD Soundsystem, Blur, Daft Punk (no Wolf Parade though). Also, they don't measure spirits out here. BONUS! It really is a different world out here.

So, I went to San Sebastián one day to look at a flat I'd had my heart set on. San Sebastián is about an hour away. Its a really beautiful city just on the Basque coast. I got there after the hour journey only to be told the flat had been taken. This was quite disheartning when i just wanted to get out of my hostel and have my own place. Then it pisses it down. Bastard.

Anyway, I finally got a flat sorted. It's perfect. I live with a gay couple (who are 2 of the nicest people I've ever met) and their 3 chihuahuas.

So this brings me up to the present day where i have finally started my job as an English language assistant at Toki Ona Istitutua in Bera, which is really close to the french border. It's going great so far, only problem is that the majority of the pupils speak Basque as I'm a very rural area. Basque is a unique language and on paper it looks like japanese or something. However, most of em can speak spanish too so all is well. They seem really keen to learn english and I was impressed at how good their english was, especially amognst the young ones. They taught me how to count to 20 in basque. I can't remember it though!
I feel I've been pretty lucky with my school. They were very friendly and helpful in the weeks leading up to me coming here and the staff are all really happy. The kids are great so far but I'm sure I'm gonna come across some right little shit at some point.

In other news...I was stopped by the Civil Guard today whilst in a car with some other teachers. This is because there are quite a lot of ETA members (basque terrorists) near the borders, so they had to check our ID and then check that we weren't members of a terrorist group! Good job I had my passport with me although they were a bit miffed as to why an english person would be in such a rural area. Plus the fact they had massive guns was quite unsettling! In the end they realised that I'm not a terrorist and let me go to work.