vrijdag 14 november 2008

Don´t be shy

``You should know that Basque people are very shy´´, is what people told me when I started talking about my four month study in the Basque Country. Others said things about having some good sangria and dancing flamingo..

Ok I could laugh about the last comment right away because by the hits that Google gave when I typed the Basque Country I understood that it would not be like the Costa Brava or something.

But still, I thouhgt that the people who told me about the big shyness were just blowing things out of proportion. That was at least until I came here..

The first time I entered my flat and met my housemates..The first time I entered a shop or supermarket.. The first time I entered a full classroom.. People were looking at me all the time like I was a very strange object and they didn´t spoke to me right away. Even now after I have been here almost three months they still look at me like that on the streets sometimes.

At first I thought like `what´s going on? ´Do I have something on my face (except for my freckles)? The first feeling I got was to walk pass everybody really fast because I didn´t like the starring. But then I let my brains work realized that of course I must be strange to everyone here. In Arrasate for example most of the old people probably have never seen a foreigner before, except for on the TV maybe. Then they see me passing, a 1.83 m tall girl with red hair and freckles (that on top of that wears shoes with heals because she isn´t tall enough yet).

So I decided to just say “Hola´´ or “Epa´´/“Keitxo´´, which I learned here, to people while I was passing by them. Surprisingly the curious and a little afraid looking faces turned into smiling faces! I got a greeting back, most of the time followed by a question or a comment. Unfortunately I didn´t understand everything that people told me right away, especially not when it was in Basque, but I learned a little and I´m still learning.

And once the contact with a Basque is made it´s not hard to make friends at all. Everybody has been very interested and friendly to me. Most of the time people have a good sense of humour as well.

But even now I know the way it works around here I can´t help it like still mentioning the shyness of people. For example..I can´t forget the faces of the two old men that I was passing by yesterday. It was raining so I held my umbrella a little higher trying not to hit them. While I did that they looked up to me with big eyes and there mouths fell open. So I smiled and said “Keitxo!´´ Which made them look even more shocked, that came over as rude so I just walked past them. But then behind me I heard “ Keitxo!´´, and when I looked back one of the man was waving shyly at me.

This happened on my way to school were I had to give a presentation with some classmates about a Basque restaurant that we want to open in Tokyo (just imaginative of course). During the presentation again the shyness of the Basques suprised me so much.

My group of five stood before the class, all with a blush on their cheeks and giggling. They asked me if I was nervous and actually I really wasn´t because I have known that class for like 2 months now. And that´s exactly why I was so surprised of them being shy, they have known each other for almost four years now.

Our presentation was well prepared by all of us, we did good research and had some interesting background information so I accepted it would go smooth. But no..Once the teacher interrupted the first speaker with a question they all looked at each other like ´you give the answer, you give the answer´. So I started speaking but I didn´t know the full presentation so some parts I had to guess.

I looked at them while I was speaking and added “Right?´´ to my sentences. They nodded on everything. Then the presentation continued one of my classmates whispered me in my ear what the answser that I gave should also have contained. So I said to him that he should open his mouth because it would be could for our credits. He nodded. Then their fell I silence and I said to teacher, wait he has to add something. We were all looking at him waiting for his comment but then, and I felt so bad about it because I had placed him in this position, he turned all red en said to me “ No, you say it! You say it´´. Of course I did but it surprised me so much! Why should they be shy to speak in public? Especially when it is in front of their classmates who they have known so long now.

I think it could be because they had to speak in English. Everybody here keeps telling me that their English is terrible but I don´t agree because they tell me bunch of funny stories in English all the time. For sure they know English..

If it was up to me then I would say that they just shoudn´t be so stubborn, it´s much better to just try and make fun of it when you use a wrong worth or something. That happens to everybody, even to the ones for who English is their mother tongue.

woensdag 12 november 2008

To go but not miss

Today I realized that I've now written a blog for a long time.
"Why haven't I?", I asked myself. Ofcourse there was my family that was visiting me. We travelled together because I wanted to show them the Basque Country. But stil..

This is not a accepted excuse..if I had really wanted to then I would have made some time to get behind the computer. But even now I'm sitting here I feel like getting up again. I can't relax my mind, and my body, enough to just take it easy and organize my toughts.

I still have the urge to just go and travel true the Basque Country again like I did the first month. Oh..how I loved that time. Everyday everything was new and amazing, the same goes for all the people that I have med, my curiousity was being fed. But now it is starting to get hungry again and I know why..

The feeling of getting out of time is comming over me because I am indeed running out of time. My Basque life will only continue to exist for just 1,5 month! I don't want to go home jet..
That's why I'm trying to get the most out of it while I'm still here. If only I was not so curious to the new and comfortable with the familiar at the same time. I want to go on again, leafe the farmiliar behind and start over again in a place in the world that is unfamiliar to me.

At the same time I'm just contended with what I have here. I'm really not ready leave the Basque Country jet because it feels good being here. The country and the people here have welcomed me so warmly and that still makes me feel very good...