Fotos

One of many posters all over the city. I need to figure out what it means. It's either asking for Basque people who are ETA-sympathizers, but not ETA, to be let out of prison. Or it is asking for ETA prisoners to be brought to a prison in the Basque country, because the Spanish government sends them to the far corners of Spain where it is difficult for them to see their family.

This is a shot from the corrida de los toros in Coslada, a neighborhood on the perimeter of Madrid. They just let the bulls go and the guys would taunt the bulls then run and jump over the wall.
Here is a shot of the Donostia from the hill/mountain that I climbed yesterday. It's beautiful, but a bit foggy.
Here is my lovely bed and workstation. I didn't have a desk so I got a TV dinner table at the chinese bazaar.

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

As many of you know, I've done a lot of research on the Basques. I probably drove you crazy with my multitude of fascinating Basque facts. Well, my research was somehow incomplete. Nowhere in all of the information I read did they mention that not only did the Basques withstand the Romans, Visigoths and Moors, they also withstood endless rain. I don't know how this can be a popular beach resort because it rains almost everyday and it's often overcast when it's not raining. I've been here for a week and half and I've had 1 day without rain. According to the locals, this is not uncommon. Only the Scottish girl who I met said it wasn't bad, but her frame of reference is a bit different from the rest of us. So the first rule I learned about living in San Sebastian (Donostia) is never, ever, ever leave the apartment without an umbrella (no matter how sunny it might be).

I'll work on posting more photos, but here's a start. This is the view from my new apartment. It's very "Rear Window."  I love it! My apartment is great and my flatmates, Sergio and Marisa are total sweethearts. I'm really enjoying it. And I think it must be working out for them too, because they offered to let me stay here for the 2nd month! Horray! No more apartment searching!

So beyond moving around from place to place, you're probably wondering what I'm doing here.

I forgot the pack a microphone when I came over here so I've been eagerly waiting for it to arrive. It got here on Thursday so now I'm all set and ready to film. I took a quick trip to Madrid to visit my friend Rosemary and saw a running of the bulls. I'm going to check out the one in Pamplona, but after seeing these bulls run, I don't think I'm going to actually go in the ring. Madrid was beautiful and sunny ( a nice change of pace) and gave me an opportunity to talk with a Spaniard in Madrid about the Basque situation. He had no tolerance for the Basque autonomous movement and has refused to go the the Basque Country because of the movement. It was a gentle reminder to me that I'm researching a subject that people here are very passionate about and I need to tread lightly.

I've been scouting good locations to film pretty scenery and buildings to show a bit of what Basque Country is like. I want to make sure I know the good spots because the camera is heavy and not fun to carry up a mountain just to find out there's no good view. So yesterday I climbed up the small mountain/large hill on the side of San Sebastian to survey the scene. It's amazing. Had it not been completely hazy and gray, it would have been an unbelievable shot. Next time we have a sunny day (if ever) I will hike up there again to get a nice shot of the city and coast.

Though exploring the territory and getting settled has been fun, I want to film some people. I emailed all the Euskaltegis in the area (schools that teach Euskera) and got no responses. I'm starting to see that emailing here doesn't do much. So I have been going to the Euskaltegis in person to talk with people. Most of them were pretty quick interactions where they told me they have to talk to other people at the school and they'll get back to me. So I have a bit of waiting to do. The director of one of the schools was really excited about my project. He gave me the names of the heads of 3 big Basque groups that work on language promotion, Basque culture and politics. He also told me about a big meeting happening next week where all the important Basque sociolinguistic experts and officials will be. I need to get an invitation to go, but I have the number of the guy with all the right connections, so I think it will happen. I called the contacts the director gave me today and I'm going to have to do a bit more waiting. A few people said they'll get back to me and one lady said she'd let me interview her next month. So I have a meeting! This is good.

I also have a meeting this weekend with a woman from Donostia who I met through Rosemary. I get to film her this weekend and she's going to help me get more interviews with some of her friends. I'm wicked excited! She grew up under Franco so she was not allowed to speak Euskera when she was young. She is know trying to learn it. I think my interview with her is going to be really interesting.

So now I have a few more people to call, and a bit more waiting to do. I really need to get this going...

Goldilocks Story

I found a place to live! I ran around in the rain yesterday in search of a new apartment. The first place I found was nice, but there was only an old guy living there so it wouldn't have been a very relaxed environment. The second place was in a good location and had young people, but was unbelievably tiny and really dark. I felt like I was in a dungeon. Finally, at the end of the night I found a place that's beautiful, in a good location and has nice people living there. I'm now living with a young couple from Buenos Aires. They've only been here a month so they're just as new to San Sebastián as I am. I'll post some photos of the place as soon as I get the rest of my stuff moved in.

Homeless in a Basque city

I figured out how to post photos. Here's a view from my room at a band playing in the plaza across the street. There have been Basque bands parading through the streets for the last couple of days.
Here is one small example of the some of the Basque posters that are everywhere in San Sebastián.  This may be a big tourist city, but the Basques here are still very politically active. Every Friday the relatives of arrested Basques (ETA and ETA sympathizers) parade through the center of the city with pictures of their relatives. I'm really excited to talk to some people who can translate these posters and protests some more. I can only figure out so much, because everything is in Euskera.  

So I'm back to apartment searching. My apartment owner is evicting me. The neighbors have complained about noise at night for the last month. Somehow she figures that even though I have only been here for 3 days, it must be me. They complained about noise 2 nights ago and as much as I try to convince her that I only made dinner and went to bed, she thinks that my leaving will solve the problem. All of the walls in the building are really thin and I've found it easy to confuse noise in our apartment with noise in another. I think the neighbors are hearing the people across the way. Whatever the case may be, I'm guilty until proven innocent so now I'm at a cafe searching for apartments online. My professor found a few places in town that I'm going to try and see later today. Until I find a place I think I'm going to stay at a hostel. Luckily, I already made some great friends with some Germans and Italians here who are helping me out. I'm leaving a bunch of my stuff at my friend's place while I search for a new place. I found a place that's right on the beach that I think my work. This could end up being a blessing in disguise. I'll let you know when I'm no longer homeless. Until then, take care.

Un abrazo fuerte!

Safe Landing!

After 3 days, I finally made it to San Sebastián. I didn´t have trouble with my flights and the only problem I had with my luggage was the pot holder I got for Javier, my professor, that security thought was a throwing star. I started the trip on a very British note. I had bangers and mash at the Dulles airport then spent my first day in Europe waiting in the Stansted airport. The flight to Bilbao had the entire US men´s soccer team. I had no idea who they were (I thought they worked for Nike because of all their Nike gear) until they were announced on the airplane.

On my way to Spain I was a bit nervous, and the sleep deprivation didn´t help the situation. When I finally arrived in Spain I couldn´t find the bus stop for the life of me and I was a bit concerned about what I was getting into. I have people to call if I´m stuck, but I don´t have a program to guide me or a group of Americans to lean on. I´m on my own. I called Naira, the friend of Javier who offered to let me spend my first night with her. All I needed was that 2 minute phone conversation and I felt great. It was the first time I´d talked to a Spaniard since Salamanca and I could still do it.

Naira is amazing and I really hope I can go back to Bilbao some more because I had a great time there. She is from Bilbao but lives with 2 Swedes and 1 Scottish girl. We all had dinner together and conversed in a mix of Spanish and English. They´ve all lived there for a while so their Spanish is impeccable and they know a lot about the area. They really helped me feel comfortable.

The next day I actually met up with a friend from high school, Val Couch. I found out 2 days before I left that she´s in Bilbao (thank you facebook). I hadn´t seen Val since high school so it was really amazing hanging out with her. Val showed me all around Bilbao and helped me get a cell phone.

After a great day with Val, she helped me lug all 4 of my bags to the metro. The only thing I don´t like about travelling is carrying around a lot of stuff. Unfortunately, no matter how light I pack, I still have a computer, external hard drive, tripod and huge camera. There is no easy way to manoeuver around the city a backpack on your front, one on your back, a tripod on your shoulder and a rolling suitcase. I got all of my stuff to the bus station and couldn´t seem to find my bus until I realized that I was getting all of my information from the arrivals posting.

3 planes, a metro, 3 buses and a taxi later, I arrived at my apartment in San Sebastián. The apartment is great. I have a big room and live with 3 other people. Hiro is a chef from Japan who is starting his own catering business and is already having me try his new creations. Tim is an Australian who is leaving on Sunday to hike the Camino de Santiágo and will be replaced by an Italian girl. Vincente is Italian and that´s about all I know about him right now. I really like the place and it´s too bad I can´t stay here the whole time. I still have to find a place to live the 2nd month because my room is already reserved for someone else.

Today I went grocery shopping so I finally have food. I gotta figure out some good recipes because I´m going to be cooking a lot of my own food. It´s pretty overcast right now, but it´s warm out so I went for a long walk to check out the city. I grabbed a map and just explored for a few hours. It´s a pretty good sized city. There´s going to be plenty to film. There are so many signs in Euskera as well as Spanish. And I found tons of people with long earlobes (a sign of Basque decendency) and tons of Basque berets. I can´t wait to start interviewing people to get their opinions.

I think I´m headed to Salamanca for a few days next week to meet with Javier and get my film started. I don´t have wifi in my apartment so I´ll I have to figure out how I`m going to post photos on this. First I have to wait for a sunny day so I can get some good photos.

Hasta luego!