(view from my window)
When one door closes, a window opens...
Here is why I love that there is no air conditioning in Bilbao (or most of Europe for that matter): the windows are always open.
Of course this means so many things. From a physical perspective, you are breathing fresh air. There is no such thing as a room feeling stuffy. You can also hear everything going on outside (which can get annoying sometimes) but for the most part you feel so much more connected and part of the outside world.
The more symbolic part of windows being open speaks for itself. It is a constant reminder to me however, that this is my window of opportunity to really live and have a totally different and real experience that many people never get a chance to do. It also says something about the culture. This place is overall more trusting. There are no fears that some crazy person is going to climb into your window and rob your house. And the people here want to be connected to the outside world. They are engaging, welcoming and warm. I love this.
My Spanish will take a while to get up to par with the locals, but in the meantime they are so patient and always want to understand you and help you. If they only speak Spanish, they try to find the right word for you to say. There are lots of hand gestures and pointing to also help. I am just very impressed with the society.
Anyway, yesterday was the most amazing day so far for me. After classes, all the students went together to see the famous Guggenheim museum. It was unbelievable and breathtaking. Pictures really don't do it justice. You have to see this for yourself. It is definitely a masterpiece. I took some photos outside, but they don't want you to take them inside. Here is one...
I believe we stayed there for 3 hours. There are tons of very different galleries inside. One was on Basque art and it's contemporary development and it's importance in the country. Another was an amazing exhibit by Serra full of these huge rusty metal installations that you walk through. It completely distorts your perception and makes you wonder how he was ever able to make these.
It was the first sunny day since I have been here and the temperature was about 74 degrees. I will never forget this day and I plan to go back to the museum several times. I have more pictures and I will probably post them on shutterfly. For some reason, they take forever to upload here.
