bonus blog!

Well, this weekend took Lindsay and I out into the city on a photo-scavenger-hunt of sorts.
It got us out of the house and the weather definitely cooperated.
[mid-70's all weekend, gorgeous]

one of the many sidewalks on our tour of all the places

we DIDN'T need to be for our project.

casco viejo.

haha, look at my face.

not exactly sure at this point whether or not

we were even taking pictures in the right place.

peoples were staring.

it was funny. later on.

after we took this photo, i realized we literally got the LAMEST angle of the whole thing.
it twists and turns in the middle and is the coolest bridge in bilbao.
aww bums.

i love spain.

Great weekend.

Spanish candy, kebob-a-dillo and a coca-cola.

These are the things champions are made of.

Kebobs here are like, the fourth meal of the peninsula.

Bocadillos are sandwiches.

Once upon a drunken spanish night, they married and a kebob-a-dillo was born.

It was magical. 

And with that, folks, I will leave you.

Much <3

Josie T.

It's official, I am in Hell.

Necessary information for my story: for our cooking class, we were taken on a little adventure to a local bar where they serve ‘the best’ pinxos in town, along with a little Spanish vino this particular area happens to be quite famous for.
After the meal of pinxos and tortilla, we were served one final dish; just a little something cute to wash down the delicious flavor of Spanish wine: squid.
The waiter set the plate in front of me and I was like, “okay, no.”  
My professor quickly retrieved the goods and between her and the other guide, quickly began devouring every morsel. They continued their conversation completely ignoring the fact that they are consuming dirty garbage-feeders from the deep depths of all that is wrong with this world.
Noticing the disgust in my demeanor [which can’t have been hard, as I was purposefully not allowing my line of sight to wander in the direction of her plate of slimy beasts] she says,
“Amy, mira – sometimes they put the tentacles inside the squid and smother it in its ink. It’s very good, I’m surprised you’ve not tried it before, you should . . ”
I literally laughed out loud [as I do frequently here in Spain when someone tells me to do something I so very obviously will never in my life do] and went along my with my day as I always have before, believing these things do not exist in my world.

So imagine my surprise when I sit down at my kitchen table today for lunch, where my wonderful host family has never failed to adorn the tablescape with a luscious wondrous spread, and sitting in its place, [this wonderful meal I was intending on consuming] was squid tentacles nestled deep inside the empty pocket of its body smothered ever so generously with its own ink.

Lovely.

I took one look at this meal over which my family was just ever so pleased and cue internal struggle –‘Amy, are you going to eat this, or are you not?’

Once I resigned myself to the fact that, while I cannot fathom bringing myself to eat this squid carcass, I stand a far less chance of uttering the words, “I’m sorry, I just don’t think I can eat this.”

Because I know what comes next, as my fellow picky-eating friends can confirm – “well, have you tried it?” haha, okay, not prepared for a debate in Spanish where ultimately I end up hurting Carmen’s feelings and eating the squid anyway.

In the end, I manned up, grabbed my irrational courage in one hand and my fork in the other, choked back a little unintentional gag reflex, and took my first bite.

It took every last bit of my motivation to ignore the overwhelming urge to reintroduce myself to my rubbery friends.

Suffice it to say, I am alive. I have conquered that demon and, now don’t misunderstand me here, NEVER again.

So, France.

France was exactly what I needed to pull me out of this Spanish funk I have been trudging throught these past couple weeks. Although photos never do a place justice, I would be remiss if I were to ignore the sheer beauty the French coastline has to offer the world. Absolutely gorgeous weather, French [Basque] architecture, and FAT BIRDS, which are adorable, obviously.

super basque.

kill me.

such a cute little town.

baroque church.

yes, the ocean was that blue.

omg.

I think it's safe to say we all know my obsession with fence hopping by now.

. . which was necessary to get out here.

Well I hope everyone enjoyed the photos.

It was such a relaxing trip.

Worth every study-abroad cent of my 2020 paycheck that will still be paying it off.

And now I've been to France, yay.

Classes Monday and Wednesday, then it's off to Irlanda.

Pretty stoked, can't wait.

Until then . .

<3 Josie

i wish i was the moon tonight

Well, if I've learned anything these past few weeks abroad, it is this:

1] There is never more than one stall.
Therefore, if you are literally about to piss your pants, speak up.
[sidenote: not necessarily encouraged, however in a state of emergency,
the men's restroom is nearly always available.]

2] There is never enough toilet paper.
So, if you're not planning on getting drunk enough to pull up the undies w.o wiping,
plan ahead and pack travel tissues, just in case.

Follow those two [very important] guidelines and you should fare well going out in Spanish-land.

In other news, it's still 83 degrees here in Getxo.
Perfect weather for weekend activities such as reading literature homework in the company of a great cup of cafe or visiting a local theater to enjoy the comical genius of the Maniatic@s. Didn't have a chance to procure excellent photos, however I am predicting perfect picture possibilities a-knocking on my door these next few weeks.

This Friday, CIDE heads to Francia to enjoy French things.
Then Lindsay and I embark on our Irish journey to a real pint of beer; drowning in excitement over the prospect of a fresh Guiness straight from the brewry. Then CIDE teams up on final time to enjoy a local biosphere here in Euskadi, which seems pretty terrific. Plants and Eco-friendly activities.
Still keeping our eyes peeled for good deals on tickets to France or Italy. Although, I guess if I have to group Paris, Venice, Rome, and Prague together for my next trip across the pond, so be it. I mean, another reason to make a return trip? Twist my arm, I guess I'll come back . .

i did find a bar close to home that sells Guiness.

heaven.

and these spanish ladies were like,

where are you from?

i was like, errrr . . u.s.a.

oh! america? your spanish is very good! let us take your picture!

i was like, haha, oh. okay :]

church near the theater in Las Arenas.

street.

so now that we've figured out how to procure tickets,

i'll be walking across this tout de suite.

[first ferry-bridge in Bilbao -

it had to be soooo high so boats could pass underneath]

park near the bridge.

okay, so it's no jets, but telepizza can make a pie.

oh yeah, i cook too. see that tortilla on Molly's plate there?

yeah, i flipped that shit right out of the pan.

professional.

also, my hair is getting LONG!

Well folks, Spain is great, but it's not nearly as fun without my peoples.
I miss G.Rap ferrr sherr and I am eagerly anticipating happy returns to Christmas festivities.
Snow covered eves and smokey fireplaces. Christmas lights and Bing Crosby. yes please!

Until more exciting activities transpire,

<3 Josie T.

OMG sheep

So apparently Carmen's son came over some time early yesterday morning and has been lounging around, in pajamas, ever since. He seems, well, boring. But nice. Everyone is so weird here. I walked into the kitchen yesterday for lunch, and he was just, there. Nobody thought to say, "oh hey, amy, my son is coming tomorrow, so don't look like a dirty bag of ass when you come to lunch." A little heads up would have been nice is all. I walk into the kitchen and Carmen is like, "have you two met?" Hi lady, no. I just peeled myself out of bed at 11:30 in the morning. When exactly did we have time to meet?

Anyway, had to get out of the house yesterday because I spent the previous 48 hours lounging around watching movies and doing homework. Kinda felt like a slug. So when Marissa texted me to go out to some historic castle in Urduliz, I jumped at the chance. Threw on some jeans, ran to the metro, and missed it by 1 mintue. So we ended up going 20 minutes later and just walked around the city.

umm . . yeah.

so much green.

love it.

bahaha, sheep.

goat.

longest path ever.

turns out, it's a driveway.

the private kind.

ahahaha, whoops.

oh, don't mind that rock in my backyard.
it's just a mountain . .

horse.

metro in urduliz.

most amazing park i've ever seen.

Around this corner is just about the most perfect place for

horny teenagers to drink kalimotxo and make-out on top of eachother.

Did manage to get my lazy ass outside for a short jog today. in the rain.

Enjoying fall weather for the first time since we've been here. 19C/65F

Pretty exciting. Other than all that, looking forward to Sunday festivities such as eating and sleeping.

<3

Daylight Robbery

So, what does go on now that the honeymoon phase has come and gone?

Well, we party and plan trips and explore, and sometimes we study.
Here are some random photos from little Esther, my cannon powershot:

[hey, is that the new powershot? how do you like that, powershot? powershot!]

yeah, it's nice.

 haha, Lindsay double-fisting my ginebra and her ron.

beach day tuesday: 85 degrees in october, kill me.

okay, so where I live, people cruise.

some random building starting to mold . . .

random path we took to get home.
the leaves are dying but it's still nearing 90 degree temps.

not cool mother N, not cool.

haha, this place was turning real sketch, real quick.
Lindsay's about to get raped. don't worry, I saved her.

I'm kind of a big deal.

planning our trip to dublin leaves my room a messy mess.

this is what i look like, lest you forgot.

This weekend is shaping up to be much of the same.
Going to finish my mountainous heap of homework tonight,

probably go out to a local pub tomorrow night

and perhaps walk around on Sunday and take some gorgeous photos.

Then again, perhaps not.

Not the most interesting for keeping on the up-and-up, but things are pretty chill here.

Waiting for France in a couple weeks and Dublin the weekend after that!

Enjoy the fall, fellow Michiganders.

<3