Lunes. Also known as Mondays, they are often the days that most people dread. Like any other Monday, my journey started biking in the pouring rain with soaked clothes and foggy glasses. Despite the rain, I was fortunate to have a new friend by my side. We rode our bikes along the coast of Ondaretta and La Concha beach. Once the rain finally stopped, my friend and I went shopping and ate delicious ice cream at Smöoy. To make a rainy day brighter, the friendly workers poured the remaining amount of my smoothie into my cup. On the left, I bought a strawberry and banana smoothie, ambrosía, whereas my friend bought chocolate ice cream.
Mount Igueldo
In the late afternoon, we took an old train up the steep hill. Slowly but steadily, we made it at the top of the train station where there was a map displaying the different attractions, rides, and carnival games. After taking some photos, my friend and I payed two euros to ride a lazy river called Rio Misterioso. Even though the water carried us slowly, a thought of “what ifs” popped into my brain. “What if we were to fall off the edge? What if I fell into the water?” Nevertheless, the support from my new friend turned these thoughts into more optimistic ones like “what if it is actually fun? What if I can make it to the end?” In the end, we made it together.
Combs of the Wind
On the way to the Combs of the Wind sculpture, some students stood on these small platforms. These pieces blasted a gust of cool and misty breeze rising from the bottom of the hole. Originally, the purpose of these stone puzzle pieces was to play different sounds or notes based on the number of waves.
Haizearen orrazia, as known as The Comb of the Wind, was built by one of the most famous Basque sculptors, Eduardo Chiliada. Nearly weighting 10 tons each, Chiliada utilized cranes and iron deposits from the mountains to build this unique artwork. As the wind blew throughout the city and the waves crashed down, rust remained on the artwork. Chiliada’s goal of creating this piece was for nature to interact with it; to change its original form. In other words, Chiliada desired to illustrate experience and balance throughout his work. This three piece sculpture represents the past, present, and future. The future piece, for example, symbolizes how we, as humans, project ourselves throughout our individual lives as well as the lives of strangers, acquaintances, lovers, friends, and family. Yet, with the other pieces, past and present, represent how our lives will continue to change and leave marks behind just as nature turned the sculpture from iron into rust. To be truly happy, we should focus on being present in the moment rather than thinking about our past or the future. The best thing that we can do for ourselves is to focus on each moment in the present, no matter how big or small. Ultimately, we create our future path by learning from the past, growing from it, and making each decision in the present. In other words, we strive to maintain balance in our lives, which cannot be too easy or difficult to do. We cannot control our past nor our future, but we can control what we think, believe, and do in the present moment.
In the photo above, we are standing and experiencing the present, whereas our future is in the far distance. Perhaps the past sculpture is not shown here because we already learned to let it go and grow from it. Each of us are at different stages, moments, of our lives, yet we all decided to come to Spain at the same time. We may not see what our future holds, but it will come nevertheless.
Throughout the past week, I felt homesick as this was my first time outside my little bubble, the United States. I miss my family, friends, cats; all of the things that are familiar to me. Even though I enjoyed eating Basque food such as pintxos, tortillas, and cheesecake, I craved for something familiar; homemade pasta. As this is the beginning of a new week in San Sebastián, I realize-to put this bluntly, how ignorant I actually am. I am ignorant because of little bubble I grew up in. Despite this, I will continue to grow from my past by staying open minded to the culture, food, and the social etiquetes, especially in restaurants and bars that are unfarmilar to me.
Ignorance. To put it another way, perhaps there are just a lot of things that I do not know; and that alone is okay. It is okay to not know about everything at this very moment. Change can be scary. However, it can be easier when there is help from people who support and love you unconditionally. They accept your flaws, imperfections, and especially are the ones that you can tell when you have good or bad news. These are the ones who should stay close to your heart.