Chapter Four: I see

What can I say? The Spanish like their holidays. En punto. Nothing further to explain really except that this love for holidays creates several opportunities to travel. So this past weekend turned into a four day weekend when I had both Monday and Tuesday off from teaching. I took up the chance right away to meet up with friends in Bilbao, Spain. All three of us studied back in Eau Claire, WI to be both elementary and world language teachers. With the history that we have, this reunion was well worth the wait after we had all spent a full month in Europe. Discussing past, present, and future matters in our lives, we found ourselves roaming the streets of Bilbao and under covering treasures around each corner.

Bilbao is perhaps the first city that I have come across with an equal balance of the old with the new. This connection was immediate and obvious but the underlying message did not reach me until after I had left. It took me time to see the Guggenheim Museum with its artwork surrounding it and hidden within it. The reason for it is because the flowering "puppy" at the front doors, the swirling roof lines, the long-legged spider in the back were all pieces of art that one cannot see except in this city. It took time to see the old neighborhood and enjoy a two-hour meal of delicious food. And no, the food was not late. This is just the way life is here. You are served by dish and not by time. There is no rush here but rather enjoying the company with whom you are with. But more than anything, it took time to see the entire city from the hills to fully convey the mixture of culture and life here. Near sunset, I at first had a hard time capturing the landscape since I was looking into the sun. But waiting led to thinking and I saw what I could later reflect on with my life.

For some time now, I have always said that I saw life around me and knew what I wanted. All of this because I thought that I was an observer. An artist. I think I must have been in some sort of fog to deceive my sight. Because now I realize that like the city of Bilbao with the old and new, I too have that sense of old and new. I have my old self. The part who supports and scaffolds who I am today. But I also have this new and upcoming self who is reaching out for something different. The city and the company of close friends taught me this. I see this now. And realizing this, I also see that this next year here will open my eyes even more to fully understand where I want to be after this year abroad. Old with the new. What is to be the new? We'll have to wait and see.