That's Basque speak for for "hey!"
This past weekend I made my first journey back to Valladolid since I moved away at the end of June. I went to see my friends, Leto and Miguel (aka Rubio, and my Spanish parents; even though they are only a few years older than me they've basically taken care of me the way a mommy and daddy would care for a newborn lol) and the gorgeous Yovana. I was sad not to see Octavio, my Castilla y León travel partner in crime, but he is currently working in Germany (no. 1 on my list of countries to visit this year). Leto and Miguel's old roommate, Ana, is also in Germany right now, to study abroad and then hopefully live permanently (as to fulfill her life-long dream of never-ending sausages and high-quality beer). She is probably the funniest and most perverted chick I know; I used to eat lunch with her and Leto on Mondays and her sense of humor made the pleasure of dining with her and nearly choking on my food every time all the merrier.
So, things were not exactly as I left them but when Leto and Yovana and Rubio came to get me at the train station it was still as if not a day had passed. I had a great time! I have to be honest, I was kind of dreading the first visit back. I mean, I love my friends dearly, but I have so many mixed feelings about that place. On Saturday night we went out for Javi, aka Zicler's birthday. He's a friend I met first semester and then second semester he went to study abroad in Romania so I hadn't seen him since. As we walked through the streets I couldn't help but feel a bit strange. I felt a sort of nostalgia, but not the fond, longing kind. But, it is what it is, and like I said, I proceeded to have a blast nevertheless. The weekend was really great just because I got to spend time with people I care about, having heart-to-hearts with my Spanish "papis" and such. I even got to meet Yovana's lovely boyfriend (recent development! Ah, I am becoming such a Spanish señora with all of this gossip) before he flies off to France to start his post doc.
I realize I love spending time with her and Leto because they are the two people who taught me the most survival skills last year when I was having a really hard time dealing with living in Valladolid. The most valuable lesson they instilled in me was how to have a pair of cojones when dealing with unpleasant people (something I'll admit I'd never experienced before). I'll never forget how proud they were when I told them the story of going to visit Marta and how I had to argue with the bus driver to turn around and go back to my stop, which he missed. Pffff! If that had happened earlier on in my stay I would have just died. But thanks to them I had the wherewithal to handle that situation. Well, according to Leto, the bus was lesson # 1. Lesson 2 was on Monday morning when she so graciously accompanied me to the bank to sort out a little problem I had right before I left to visit her, that problem being that the ATM swallowed my bank card leaving me without funds. Yeah. As soon as the bank employees started to "pasar de mí" and be a bit rude, she was right there to have my back and insist that it was really the least they could do to just call the office in Vitoria and ask them to hold the card for me. I mean, really. Once everything was sorted out I started thanking her endlessly. She told me not worry and that she couldn't wait to see what Lesson 3 will be. I do have to add that once I got back to Vitoria and visited my bank branch here, they were LOADS nicer to me. Stupid vallisoletanos. Good riddance.
After I bid adieu to my chicas at the train station I headed back Basque side for a very very bizarre week. By the way, I'm pretty sure Lesson 3 could have been on the train back when the man whose job it is to check tickets sat down next to the woman across from me and proceeded to shamelessly hit on her. She was blonde and foreign, from Bulgaria I think, and she didn't speak much Spanish. When he sat down next to her like that I just assumed he knew her. But when my pod-cast ended (by the way, thank GOD for those) and I could hear their conversation I was totally appalled. Since I spend like all of my time listening to people try to communicate in foreign languages I gathered that she was politely but vehemently refusing to give him her phone number because she didn't know him at all. When he kept hassling her I was, I kid you not, 2 seconds away from causing a scene. The poor woman was on the verge of tears and there was no one around to help her. But alas, the stupid "viejo verde" finally got the hint and left her alone, saving me from public embarrassment. I told this anecdote to my new friend from work, Sergio, and he burst out laughing like, "What's the problem?" He's clearly never been a woman alone in a foreign country.
Well, there is more on my strange adventures to come. Things are very very crazy right now. I'm having a good time for the most part, but I feel like I don't have a moment to breath. I desperately miss home because I feel so disconnected from everyone. Hope to fix that soon. Love you all! Muxu bat :)
No comments:
Post a Comment