WLA Return to the USA

That morning we had to wake up at 4:00 am to be at the airport at 5:00, because the Americans took their flight back at 6:45. A couple of us (namely: Unai, Alex, and I) took our Westlake t-shirts to have them signed by the WLA kids. It was sad saying goodbye, but we promised to keep in touch, and some of us plan to return next year.

WLA in Bilbao Day 10

In the morning I had to go to Deusto to take my Certificate of Proficiency in English Oral Exam, so I didn't go to school. Meanwhile, some Americans (not Tim) took surfing lessons at Sopelana Beach. Having been told that even those who didn't take lessons had to go to the beach, I went there, only to find that Tim had gone to Bilbao. I had taken all of my bodyboarding gear, but since I hadn't done bodyboarding in 5 years, I had just eaten, and the waves weren't very good when I arrived there, I decided not to go in the water.

After the Americans were done with their lessons, we met those who hadn't gone to the beach at Neguri metro station. Tim and I headed straight for Bilbao again, because he wanted to do some last minute shopping. We got back just in time to go to the Farewall Party at school.

Alex, Sang Sun, Dan, and I were playing some music at the party, so, since I arrived late, I had to go get all my equipment set up. Once I had finished with that, we went through a couple of songs, just to get warmed up. The problem was that it was loud, so people started coming in. After letting them play around with the instruments, we finally managed to get everyone out.

We all went to eat. John Asensi cooked hamburgers and hot dogs, which were notably better than those of the Welcome Party. We played sports (kind of), and when everyone was done eating, they were taken to the Auditorium.

First, Alex, Sang Sun, and I played an instrumental medley of a couple of rock hits (Lenny Kravitz, Nirvana, The White Stripes, Michael Jackson, and Deep Purple). Then, Dan got up on stage, and everything got pretty intense. "The Hallabrins" (that's what we're called) played the Sex Pistol's "God Save the Queen", The Ramones' "Spiderman", "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by The Clash, and finally "Blitzkrieg Bop" by The Ramones. The audience raged for more, so we did a sped-up/slowed-down version of "Should I Stay or Should I Go" again. Everyone said we played very well, and we were a success.

Mr. Roger West gave a speech afterwards, thanking the Americans, the teachers, and us. John Asensi, David Jenkins, and Mrs. Daniela Lira followed. The Westlake kids then gave out presents for their chaperones.

Back at home, Tim and I listened to music, and played more videogames.

WLA in Bilbao Day 9

The Texans visited La Rioja, San Millán de la Cogolla, and Laguardia.

During the afternoon, we took the metro to Bilbao, and took them shopping around the Gran Vía, to El Corte Ingles and Fnac. None of them wanted to buy anything, because most had already spent the majority of their money. After this, we had a drink, and went back home.

Tim had said earlier that he wanted to make dinner (breakfast for dinner), so we let him do so. His intention was making pancakes, bacon, eggs and special Texas-style potatoes. The recipe for the pancakes, however, had the wrong measurements, so it seemed they were going to be more like biscuits. In the end, the result was a weird-looking half baked bread that tasted somewhat strange. Everything was excellent, except for this, but we made fun of his cooking nevertheless.

WLA in Bilbao Day 8

Since there had been a change of plans on Monday, we though the Americans would go to Burgos, but they didn't, and ended up going around the coast and to Gernika, even though we had been told that this had been cancelled. It was the exact same trip we had done on Saturday with Unai's family.

In the afternoon, we went down to the "Puerto Deportivo" once again, this time to go watch a movie. When everyone arrived, we fooled around a bit, and then we watched Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It was a pretty weird movie, with its funny parts, but very surrealistic. After the film we joked around about the movie, and then Tim and I went back home.

My mom had prepared paella rice especially for Tim, who enjoyed it.

WLA in Bilbao Day 7

The WLA students went to Santander, the Altamira caves, and Santillana del Mar. Meanwhile, we had regular classes.

In the afternoon, Tim was so tired he just felt like sleeping, so he had a nap. We also listened to music and watched a couple of videos on my computer.

WLA in Bilbao Day 6

Again, not a very special day, at least not for me. The original plan for the Americans was to go to Burgos and visit the Cathedral, the Castle, and a couple of Museums, but there was a change of plans, so they went to San Sebastián and France instead. In Sebastian, Tim told me they played a game similar to treasure, in which each of the groups had to find certain monuments, and take a picture as evidence.

When the WLA kids returned back home, the original idea was maybe we could go back to Artea again (I was already fed up with Artea), but Tim was tired, and didn't really feel like going, so we just stayed home and relaxed by playing some videogames.

WLA in Bilbao Day 5

This wasn't a particularly exciting day. Tim and I were exhausted, so we slept up till very late. We just relaxed for a couple of hours, and then I had to go do my homework, so Tim played computer games for a while. We then went down to the "Puerto Deportivo", were we met Hector, Alexandra, Luis, and Eric. After a while, some more people came. We basically spent the time chatting, and had to be back home early for dinner, because next day was a school day.

WLA in Bilbao Day 4

This was a Saturday, a family day, so Tim, me and my parents met up with Unai, his parents, and Tyler, and we took them for a tour of the coast. First we took them to the Castle of Butron. They were both amazed by it, even though we couldn't go inside because it is now private property.

For lunch, we went to a typical Basque Sagardotegia (Cider House), where we had a very nice steak, fried green peppers, potato chips, and some cider. Tim and Tyler found the meat excellent.

After eating, we got in the car and continued our trip, passing by the (disused) Lemoiz Nuclear Plant, and stopping by so the Americans could take a look at the coast, the beaches, and the cliffs. We then continued to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, and climbed the stairs all the way to the top... where we rang the church bell.

Instead of going back home the way we'd come, we took the long way around Gernika and Mundaka, and showed them the Arteaga Castle (currently a hotel).

We went back to Artea, where we met up with some other guys from the group, and played pool. We then had dinner at a Pizza place and watched the Eurovision final (especially Chiki Chiki).

WLA in Bilbao Day 3

This was the only school day for the Westlake students. In the morning, while we had regular classes, they spent most of their time in the library and the computer lab, checking their emails.
There was an assembly in which he WLA kids introduced themselves (Noah gave a funny speech), and then Unai and I presented the pictures taken during our trip to New York and Texas. The 8th graders performed a play about what their lives could be like in a couple of decades, and how they'd meet at an airport and remember their experiences at ASB. After this, we had more regular classes. During Euskera class, we told the WLA students about life in the Basque Country, the language and culture. Then they had a class on the geography of Spain.

Back home, we had a rest, but soon had to leave to meet the rest of the group. We went around Algorta, showing the Americans a couple of places, and then took them to the "Puerto Deportivo" to have dinner. We had a walk around the lighthouse, and then Tim and I headed back home because he was getting tired.

WLA in Bilbao Day 2

In the morning, we all (WLA+ASB) met in Bilbao, and we rode the tramway around the city. We then went up the inclined railway of Artxanda, so that the Americans could have a view of the whole city. After this, they went to the Guggenheim, while we had an hour of free time. We had lunch in Zubiarte, and then took the bus to the "Puente Colgante". We went up, and some of the Americans were afraid that the bridge would fall down. After an incident with "rain" falling from the bridge, we crossed back.

Finally, we all decided to take the WLA kids to the bowling in Artea, where we played pool for most of the time.

WLA in Bilbao Day 1

The American kids arrived just on time (4:30pm), and we were all there to meet them. We were very excited to have them, and so were they to be here. We immediately took them to school, where a group of us showed them the school, while another one started cooking hamburgers and hot dogs for the BBQ (which were more like burnt coals). After eating, we played some sports: football/soccer, basketball, and we also played foosball.

At around 8:00, we went back home, and I showed Tim the house and his room. He checked his email and played computer games for a while, and we had a typical spanish dinner, with potato omelette.