Lunes!

Esther and Eric took me out to Bilbao yesterday! I had a great time, but I was a little tired from desayunas service. No problema. I got ready and Eric closed the hotel and we left for Bilbao with a server named Sarah. She is very nice but she keeps talking to me in Spanish and expects me to answer her. She is very nice and friendly but I think she thinks if she keeps talking to me in Spanish I will eventually understand ( and her hand motions don't mean a thing for me!) She is muy curious and interested but I am unable to reciprocate but I try my best. Eric is driving and I am slowly discovering that he knows pocito (little) Ingles. Note to self: I need to know the difference between pocitio and pocinyo, help would be appreciated. So anyways It is a 10-15 drive down the mountain until we get to the main roads, then is its about another 15-20 to Bilbao. Not bad, but Eric says it only takes him 20 minutes to get to the hotel from his apartment which is near Bilbao.
We drive and Eric and Sara show me the sites as we pass through the city, it is a really nice small city. Sara ask me "Cuantos persona" and she points at me. I automatically assume she means Chicago and I answer 10 million people around. She is stunned and says Bilbao only has 1/2 a million people. We pass the Guggenheim museum and It is apparently world reknown and they have a wonderful place where they play symphonies! Eric jokes and say "it is zee best in the world, no in Chicago. Then he points at Bilbao's largest building (the electric company) . I tell him it looks big and he must of sense sarcasm b/c he followed with "OK! Sorry Mr Cheee Ca Gooo! (that how they pronounce Chicago) You don't have to make fun, you have big american buildings, but our building is da bessst in da world!" I'm slowly starting to realize that Eric is a very funny guy and likes to joke around, which is good for me, b/c he oversees what I do in the hotel.
We drop off Sara "Adios!" Then we drive a little more and pick up Esther, She seems a little tense at first b/c I guess we are late in meeting their friends. She then joins in the fun with Eric bragging about how great Bilbao is. I joke with her and point at the Guggenheim museum and I ask "Tu es Apartimente? (Is this your apartment)" I realize that is way off I'm sure, but once again feel free to correct me. She understands, laughs and says "Si es mi Apartitmente"! We Then head to a restaurant was close to park and it had a outdoor patio . As we walked in it looked like a two floor pub. All the furniture was hard wood and it looked a really simple classy kind of place and it was packed. It was 3 pm and I guess we were supposed to get there by 2. We walk upstairs and the tables are arranged picnic bench style along with a few tables on the side. The ceiling was very low and it was the roof slanting down, so you had to watch your head in some areas of the upstairs, but otherwise still a very nice place.
The crowd was a mix of people. I saw a birthday party for a little boy, A couple of families and friends sitting at big tables and then I saw Eric and Esther walk over to a table of around 10 people. Half guys and half girls. They gave me the pleasure of sitting directly in the middle and Eric sat across from me. The guys had pitchers and the girls just seemed to have water, and maybe some mixed drinks and the there was Pain (bread) on both sides. They all said "Hola" and they were all nice but then they all seemed to get back to their conversations. I guess they all ordered already and Eric gave me a menu. The Menu was in Spanish of course, So I just gave me menu to Eric and order something Bueno. He understood and coincidentally chose "Cordon Bleu". I said "Si" and he also ordered Salad and Chorizo for aperitif (Appetizers).
After I was done ordering I immediately look over to the girls side and reintroduce myself and say one of the only things I know how to say in a conversation. "Comment Te Llamos?" They all answer and I believe I heard "Litia,  Natali,  Another girl I forget, and Ester (No H is how she introduced herself, b/c  she is obviously Ester too)" Eric then interrupts and calls her "Ester dos ooh Ester numero 2!" The girls laugh and Ester dos, hits him in the back as she yells something in Spanish. I follow wtih "Soy de CheeCaGoo, y yo trabajar a la Etxegana Hotel dos meses. Yo finit school de Cuisine y ahora yo aqui por aprendir." ( I said something along the lines that I'm from Chicago, I work at Hotel Etxegana. I just finished culinary school and now I am here to learn) They all nodded so I assume they understood. Then Natali looks at me and says "Tu es Filipino?, Yo Tambien!" (Are you Filipino? I am to!)  I immediately answered and asked her if she spoke to tagalog and she said pocinyo (little) but it's not like that mattered b/c I speak just as much Spanish as I do Tagalog. Natali es muy Bello! She explained how her dad is Filipino and her mom is Spanish. We continued small talk back and forth about how we were Filipino Then Eric offered me a beer. I started talking the guys next and they all seemed to be having a good time. They reminded me of my friends goofing off and joking around and picking one of the guys for doing something stupid. They were then intrigued by a youtube video on one of their phones that was very gross and not table appropriate to say the least. Eric looked at me rolled his eyes and said "Mi amigos not normal, They es Loco!' Our food came along with everyone elses, I guess they were nice enough to wait for us. Cordon Bleu was basically a Country fried steak filled with Cheese. It was awesome! Frites served on the side and you could tell they were hand cut, amazing! Eric ordered with a sauce called pimiento mayo that had capers in it that was really good. Overall just great pub food with awesome beer. It felt great to finally be out of the hotel and in an environment with people my age even though I had no clue what they were talking/ laughin about. We finished our meals, drank a little more, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. They were all pretty much in their own conversations, and I tried my best to jump in every now and then, but Mi Espanol is still no Bueno!
After the restaurant, we left to go to another bar close to the Beach. It's was near a cliff next to the Ocean and it was beautiful. The only bad part was that it was cold rainy day. We went inside, grabbed more drinks and I finally start to get a feel for their culture. They don't really binge drink, but they drink a lot, throughout the entire day. So they definitely drink more then Americans, but not all at once. It is usually with meals or just sitting around. We sat at a table and played a card game that I had no clue how to play, but I did my best. Eric seemed very tired and said he got two hours of sleep last night b/c he partied in Bilbao the night before. He definitely looked tired when I saw him for Desayunos. I discovered that his father is Luis and Esther is his GF. The hotel is family owned and that aspect of it makes it seem that much better. I slowly started to realize that all their friends seemed to be dating on or the other and I felt like an 11th wheel, but they were never hangin on to each other, they would all be sitting at different ends of the table. After more drinks we left and more cheek to cheek kisses. I felt awkward at first b/c I had no clue how it works, but I felt very welcomed. Cheek to cheek kisses were just with the girls. Eric looked at me and laughed and said "Only homosexuals kiss each other on the cheek" as he grabbed one of his guy friends and jokingly kissed him.
We left and went to Eric's brother's new apartment, it was still in the process of being built but very nice. For the first time, I realized that everyone was family one way or another. Great family! Very nice and friendly people.
We left the apartment after about an hour then went to another bar and met up with the same friends. Had more drinks! Met Natali's sister Christen who is Filipino Spanish too (muy Bello tambien)! Didn't get a chance to talk to everyone as much b/c one of Eric's friends spoke english and we joked around about American Culture and what is fun to do in Bilbao. They all said "It is fun to Drink and ... (other things that are not blog appropriate but I'll leave that for your imagination.)"

It was a great night to finally go out and experience the night life a little bit, see more of the city, meet Eric and Esther's Friends, get a taste of their culture in Bilbao. It was also nice just to kick back and relax after working all throughout the week. I've learned soo much in la Cocina (kitchen) but it's a whole other experience seeing how people live on the other side of the globe. It's just a a different way of life. Not better or worse, but very different from how I live in America and it's cool to be a part of. Sorry, not tryin to get all deep philosophical but yea there is lots of down time with no TV and other people to talk to. Justin said my blog is dense like his Biology book and Zach said they are way too long. I'll try to shorten them up, but these are as much for me as they are for you all.

Adios Todos Peronas!