(That's Basque or euskera for "hello!")
I've been living here for about a week now and so far haven't picked up much by way of 'vasco', but luckily around these parts it's not necessary at all. By these parts I mean Vitoria-Gasteiz, Vitoria being Spanish and Gasteiz being the city's name in Euskera. (All of the cities in the Basque-speaking regions have two names like that but apparently this is the only one catchy enough to get a hyphenated city name. Something about San Sebastián-Donostia just doesn't stick). It's the capital of the province of Álava, as well as the autonomous community of the Basque Country, so in that sense it's similar to Valladolid, but that's about where the similarities stop. I've been thrilled with the city from the get go. It's about 250,000 people but with a very European metropolitan feel, and all that includes (sprawling "avenidas," totally hooked up bike paths and a functioning tram system).
So, let's see... I got a house! Well, a tiny but well-located apartment. I live with three Basque girls, Nerea, Miriam and Ruth, and until November with a friend of Nerea's, Alain. He's from Pamplona but went to college here and is working on a excavation project outside of the city until he starts grad school in the south. So, he crashes on our floor five nights a week. I have to say it's a really good mix of people. The girls are very nice and cool. They're all older than me but still in school (so it goes here in Spain). Since I moved into the house I've just been working on fixing up my room. It was disgusting when I moved in... dirty walls, broken window shades, just one nasty light bulb hanging precariously from the cob-web covered ceiling... But a lot of cleaning, a little decorating, a new desk, a one light fixture later, it's home. Oh, and did I mentioned that David helped me with all of this? He's such a stud.
I live on a really nice main street, at one end is the school where I'm going to be working come the first of the month and the other is downtown. In between are lots of shops and a couple parks. Oh, and my gym. I joined Curves! And no, I'm not a peri-menopausal working mother. It's just that now that I have the time I wanted to join a gym and it's close to where I work and cheaper than the other places I looked at, so I signed up!
Besides that, another funny and out of character thing I've done was give an interview on Basque television. I know! It was like my third day here and I was waiting for the tram to head to the National Police and work out some "trámites" for my residence card (one of the reasons I had to come back so soon). There was a newswoman and a cameraman coming toward me and there was no where to go! So when they asked me if they could ask me a few questions I humored them. They were looking for people who weren't from Vitoria (and the blond girl with with green eyes must have been a dead give away) to ask about the city's candidacy for Europe's "green city," so they wanted my take on that. I was like, "well, I've been here 3 days, but it looks pretty good!" lol. I was so embarrassed because they caught me at the worst moment too, looking like crap nonetheless. David always make fun of me for primping before doing silly things like running errands, but this just goes to prove my motive for doing so-- you never know who you'll run into!
This week I've also gone to my future school. I met the teachers I'm going to be working with, two older women, Isabel (my boss) and Marian. They seem very sweet and I'm really excited for the classes I'll be teaching. I think that's the best part. Wait for it... only juniors and up! Yay! I'll be teaching 1st and 2nd "bachillerato" which is equivalent of junior and senior year, but not quite since it's optional. It's really identical to British A-Levels, like pre-university stuff, but anyway... I'll be with them half the time and then the other half I'll be with the "Formación Profesional" students. This is the same level as "bachillerato" but these students don't go on to university, they study a trade or in a field that doesn't require a college degree. I'll be teaching English to Tourism and Early Childhood Education students, so I am thrilled because some of them are even over 18 and you know if they sign up for these programs they actually want to be there. Hasta luego ESO students! I really had enough of them last year.
Since I only work at the school in the mornings I've been looking for a second job (the other reason I came back early). I've had a couple interviews at different language academies and I tentatively have one landed. I'm nervous because I accepted the offer a few days ago and haven't heard a thing since. Just in case I did another interview at a dual Basque/English school today. The people there seem very cool but it's not as many hours. So I'll keep you posted.
Also today I took a trip to the offices of the Government of Euskadi (Basque Country in Basque). It was the real deal! I had to pass through security, get a visitor's badge. Pretty cool. I went down there to get some papers I need to renew my residence card. The truth is the whole bureaucracy thing is just as much of a nightmare here as it was in Valladolid. The difference? The people here are nice! And they want to help you! So I actually met face to face with the two women heading up the program here in País Vasco (something I never experienced in Castilla y León). They sat me down, got me what I needed, asked me how I was doing. Amazing. After chatting with them for a while I even agreed to speak at the program orientation next week, since it's my second year. I'm going to get in touch with one of the other repeat guys, a French Canadian who I haven't met yet, to give the North American branch's talk and try to answer new teacher's questions and resolve any doubts. Trust me, I had a hard enough time at the beginning of last year; I think I can prepare them for anything!
Well, that's all for now. Just another day in the life of a vitoriana. Can't wait to hear from you all!
By the way, my new address is:
Calle de Ramiro de Maeztu 15, 1 Izda.
01008 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Write to me!
Lots of love,
Katie
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