A Thing For Words - Life translated by travel

San Juan de Gaztelugatxe

Jenny Bilbao and Basque Country November 20, 2013

On Saturday, taking advantage of a very rare spell of overcast-yet-rain-free skies, my friend Katie and I caught a bus to the coastal city of Bakio, about 45 minutes from Bilbao. From there we hiked an hour through beautiful green countryside to San Juan de ...Read More

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The Importance of Pronunciation

Jenny Teaching November 17, 2013

After hearing from my students one too many times, “Jenny, do you live on the bitch in California?” I’ve decided to focus on teaching correct English (well, West-Coast American English, anyway) pronunciation. It started easily enough–I showed them how to stretch their cheeks far ...Read More

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Lost in Translation: U.S. vs. British English

Jenny Lost in Translation, Teaching, Words November 10, 2013

I thought Spanish and Euskera would present my biggest linguistic hurdles here in Bilbao. Turns out, I’m having more trouble with U.S. vs. British English. Students in Spain learn British English, for obvious reasons of geographic proximity, just as students in California tend to ...Read More

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Weekend Escape to Biarritz

Jenny Bilbao and Basque Country, France, Worlds November 6, 2013

This weekend six friends and I rented an apartment in Biarritz (French Basque Country), and spent a relaxing time exploring the picturesque beach town, and of course indulging in the three French staples: cheese, bread, and wine. Even though Biarritz is only 11 miles ...Read More

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Things Middle-Schoolers Ask

Jenny Just for Laughs, Teaching October 30, 2013

I’ve been working for just under a month at IES Zorroza middle school (ages 12–17 in Spain), and here are some of the many questions I’ve been asked: Do you like Justin Bieber? (When I answer no, all the boys cheer and all the ...Read More

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Weekend Escape to San Sebastian

Jenny Bilbao and Basque Country, Spain, Worlds October 25, 2013

One of the reasons I chose to work in Basque Country was to be able to explore more towns and cities on the northern coastline. This past weekend some friends and I took a quick one-night trip to San Sebastian, considered by many to ...Read More

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Trials and Triumphs of Living Abroad

Jenny Auxiliar de Conversación, Bilbao and Basque Country, Teaching October 22, 2013

In order to avoid a completely sugar-coated travel blog, I’ll discuss in this post some things about living and working abroad that are testing me, to the point where last week I almost had a mini mental breakdown (hence the gap in posts on ...Read More

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First Week in the Real World

Jenny Auxiliar de Conversación, Teaching October 13, 2013

I officially completed my first week as a working member of the real world . . . if you can call it that. I taught ten lessons in a middle school and three hours in a private English academy. I have no idea how ...Read More

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Lost in Translation: ETA

Jenny Bilbao and Basque Country, Lost in Translation October 10, 2013

The tiny region of Basque Country in northern Spain is bilingual, meaning that almost everything here–street signs, advertisements, metro exits, menus–is written in both Spanish and Euskera (Basque). Euskera is completely unrelated to any living language, so you’d be amiss to think you could ...Read More

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Reunion ¡¡Por Fin!!

Jenny Uncategorized October 8, 2013

This past week my best friend from Granada, Javi, came to visit. His band Aurora was playing a concert in a beautiful church-turned-music hall in the center of Bilbao, and it was absolutely great to get to see them all again. I played the ...Read More

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