as experienced through the eyes, ears, feet, stomach, and heart of Sj.
If you’re looking for a WHAT to DO, WHAT to EAT, WHERE to STAY type of post regarding San Sebastián, you’re in the wrong place.
Nice meeting you, and I wish you well as you search for all that data.
If you want to know how it FELT to be in San Sebastián, you’re in the right place.
Overall, it felt good; though at times it was quite cold for this Kaua‘i gal. And on two particular days, it was quite hot (37 Celsius or 98.6 Fahrenheit). It was amazing how the temperature could change by about 20 degrees Fahrenheit from one day to the next. Fortunately, I had my Mom’s silk long underwear; so I was ready for anything.
The following is a list of my personal fav experiences and/or thoughts.
Of all the places I’ve visited during my life (and that’s been plenty), I have never before encountered a collection of people who were as consistently kind and helpful.
Yes, for real.
From the grocery clerk who was helping an elderly woman make sure some product didn’t have something in it that would harm a family member who had some particular food allergy to the tour boat captain who must have seen at least 5,000,000 visitors come on his boat and ask the same questions (over and over and over again).
I can’t promise you that that’s what you’ll experience, but for me, I did. Time and time again, I met kind people who looked me in the eye and really listened.
She’s not from San Sebastián; she’s French and lives in Paris, but her performance in a quartet during their annual jazz festival was one of my aural highlights. Her talent, exuberance, joy in doing exactly what she was doing at the particular moment (singing!) was an incredible gift to all of us lucky folk who were there that Saturday evening in late July.
I just enjoyed looking at Jesus up on the hill. And I had the good fortune of residing in an apartment which faced the ocean (and Jesus on the hill across the way) during my four week stay.
This is the language school that I happened to pick. There are many. Each person who worked there that I had the opportunity to get to know (either as a teacher or as a guide on one of the many excursions they host) was kind, professional, knowledgeable, and just cool. Yup, you guys rock, Silvia, Ester, Gorka, Idoia, Concha, Nora, Sara, and Salva!
The combination of mountains and sea.
Face it. I call Kaua‘i home and to find a place in the world where I could go for a hike and swim on the same day while learning Spanish . . . it just doesn’t get any better than that.
The town itself. It’s not too big; it’s not too small, but it’s . . . just right!
I liked how San Sebastián is laid out, how you can’t get too lost because you just need to figure out where the ocean or a particular hill is and then which bridge you’re seeing . . . and voila! I’d realize where I was.
Peaches (melocotones)
Okay, it was summer. And the peaches were dripping with yummy goodness. I love fresh, ripe peaches!
For less than a bottle of water (which wasn’t necessary in San Sebastián, per my host, their water comes from the Pyrénées mountains and is very clean), you can buy a glass of vino rosado. I didn’t have it everyday, but when I did, I really enjoyed it. It’s not super sweet like we have the U.S., and the color is really beautiful.
And now for a random collection of photographs . . .
Enjoy!
✫ Sj ✫
p.s. You’ll notice that Pintxos (Basque word for tapas) are not on my list. Most people go on and on about them. The locals love them. They were alright, but being a gal who really prefers vegetables over meat, they were just okay to me.
It was exactly the right length of time to be there (3 weeks).
Number 3.
I’m still amazed that I can converse in French at all!
The school I attended, Alpadia, is really a great school for folks like me wanting to get some input after learning on their own. The variety of ages and nationalities attending the school made it interesting. Bottom line. We were all there to learn French. Some because they had to (for school or work), but most (it seemed to me) because they wanted to (be there).
And this time around, I really got how spoken French is so very different from written French. I don’t mean the absence of sounds, like the s at the end of many words, but rather that they just don’t say what they write. They leave so many things out. And it seems that there’s an *unofficial way of talking that has nothing to do with what one reads, a spoken vocabulary that a non-native like me really has to search for. (Unlike spoken German which matches what we’re taught in school.)
So . . . my biggest take away is that I have to continue listening to French, spoken French, like in movies. This Harry Potter fan will continue to listen to JK Rowling’s books in French, BUT I’ll make sure to add a heaping dose of actual French conversations.
At times learning a new language seems insurmountable, with two steps forward and three steps back. BUT this gal, moi, has a tenacity that surprises even me.
I will continue.One step at a time.
Both the forward ones.
And the backward ones.
This includes the next four weeks, which I’ll spend in San Sebastian, Spain attending another small language school (this time for Spanish) while residing with a Spanish family.
Where am I at the moment?
In Germany, not too far from Heidelberg, spending a most wonderfully relaxing week with dear, dear friends.
And . . . believe it or not, speaking in German is actually giving me a most welcome rest from intense mental activity. My girlfriend, who I call a walking dictionary and grammar guide, corrects me when I say something a little wacky. I welcome each correction and celebrate as I also recognize that they’re coming less and less frequently.
Meanwhile, here are some photos I took while in Lyon.
Enjoy!
✫ Sj✫
*Dear Non-native English Speakers,
I’d love to know about some of your experiences in learning English. What are some specific challenges?
But I’m not just any rat. I’m a rat who loves to travel, a bit like my gal pal, Sj. We two females love to travel. Si!, I’m female. If I were male, I’d be PedratO, but I’m not, I’m PedratA.
I enjoyed Lyon. To da max. Here are some of my fav memories.
Enjoy!
✷ Pedrata ✷
p.s. for whatever reason, these 4 pix didn’t want to be part of they gallery . . . so they’re here all by their lonesome. : )
And especially a concert . . .
I’m not sure why Sj bought this old briefcase for all of 4 Euros.
Without nary an announcement that this non-native could decipher, summer arrived and set up camp in every corner of the city.
Just two days ago, I was wearing the silk long underwear that my mom lent me as PJs; it was that cool at night. Now, I’ve taken the comforter out of the duvet cover. And I may not even need that (the duvet cover, that is).
Earlier today, sweat was running down my arms rivalling that of my experience in Cambodia five years ago.
Summer has arrived.
And with it are some of the most magnificent flowers. They can be seen all over the city in various public gardens.
Practically ALL of Europe has travelled to France for the soccer competition.
Red, blue, and white can be seen everywhere . . .
This logo is EVERYwhere. Even on the toilet paper.
. . . in the cathedrals . . .
. . . and in store windows.
On a side note, I decided to stop at Starbucks today to have a real coffee. It seems that instant coffee with chicory is the café prefèré these days at French houses. In the way of going with the flow, I’m drinking it and also adding the cocoa meant for the 16-year-old Swiss girl who is also staying at this house. What I discovered this morning at Starbucks is that they actually have a separate reading room with complementary books to read. There was even a Harry Potter there en francais. Pretty cool for this Harry Potter fan/nerd. ;-)
Yesterday marked the completion of week one at ALPADIA in Lyon.
What does that mean exactly?
That we each got to have a complimentary croissant.
That we were to take a test covering this past week’s topic: le subjonctif.
And that we were to play a game of guessing WHO or WHAT someone or something was.
“Such as?” you ask.
Name at least 3 French présidents. I wrote Charles de Gaulle and Mitterand. A teammate wrote Sarcozi. (Must have been right because we got a point : )
Who is this French singer? Someone one of my teammates knew. Pas moi.
Who’s playing the guitar? Jimmy Hendrix
Etcetera.
We were to give our team a name. Three guesses what our team was called.
And on a side note: the French verb rater is a clue, BUT it didn’t really apply because in French rater means to miss or to fail . . . ;-)
So . . . with that I shall sign off. Enjoy les photos!
p.s. I zqs qble to uploqd the photos to ,y zebsite using ,y iPhone; but then the co,puter qt the school just decided it zqs ti,e for q lunch breqk: So : : : I too stopped qnd figured it knez best: I hqd the ,ost a,qwing rest of ,y dqy in Lyon : : : zqlking : : : tqking pictures : : : riding q bike : : : hqving q glqss of zine zith ,y hostess qnd q French of herùs : : : qnd then todqy; Sqturdqy; I found qn internet cqfe so thqt I could post it; ,qke chqnges thqt I cqnùt do zith ,y iPhone; etceterq : : : qnd; qs you see; the keyboqrd is q little different thqn ours: M ° ?qde it ,e q little chqllenging: M 0
