I seem to be suddenly busy with all sorts of Spanish obligations....translations, transcriptions, and such. Is this what it's like to be over 21? ha ha ha

Itxas-Ondo : my name! and meaning good sea

My birthday was quite chill, just the way I like it. I had a delectable croissant filled with chocolate mousse for breakfast. The cashier called me guapa twice, and even though she didn't know it was my bday it made my day hehe. Mmm qué más...my padres from last semester called to tell me happy birthday (in English!). Later my friend Diana and I had some absinthe and she bought me another pastry.

Thursday I had lunch with my Spanish parents. After the meal, they brought out little chocolate lava cakes with numbered candles for their other host student and me. Her birthday was last week. It was just so precious, they sang feliz cumpleaños, and it meant a lot to me even if they thought it was just a small gesture. After the other American went to school, they said it was time for the siesta, and that I could have it there since I had class in a few hours. Just like old times!

Friday we had a school excursion to see a caserío (farmhouse), a unique church, and the geologically wondrous coast of Zumaia. Last semester, my friends and I went to the same farmhouse to see the apple press in action. This time of year it was bloody cold, and hard to imagine surviving without more than a small fire in the whole house. At Zumaia we first took a boatride out to the ocean, to observe the rocks from afar. Unbeknownst to me, the Iberia peninsula used to be an island separate from continental Europe. When it finally decided to join the party, it crashed into France forming the Pyrenees. In addition to that, in the town of Zumaia, the rock/crust was flipped vertically instead of horizontally, so that geologists can study the layers without even digging. The rocks along with the ocean in the background made for some wicked sites. This trip also confirmed my belief that País Vasco has a bit of all countries rolled into one (except it lacks a desert). There are green hillside like Ireland; beautiful coasts and beaches like in Brazil or Greece; mountainous regions like Switzerland; and ancient rocks reminiscent of Western USA. 

Autumn aka Atún. Artistic foto by moi