Drinking, driving and everything in between

Oviedo is like no city I have ever been in before. Statues, fountains and cobble stone streets stretch through the whole of the city. The city is well-lit and always full of people. I wish that my photos could do the city justice but it is just not the same as being here breathing and living the Asturian culture. La Calle Uria is one of the main streets in Oviedo, full of shops and a department store I discovered on Thursday, which is just like Kirkaldie and Stains in Wellington! The old women walk along the streets together often arm and arm wrapped up in fur coats and sometimes with a cigarette in their hand. It seems everyone smokes here. I cannot get over it, I have to smell it everywhere I go. Drinking is a big part of the culture here as well. It is not different to the parts of Europe I have travelled to but it certainly is done a lot more often than what we would do in New Zealand. The driving here is very different too! A red light is treated more as a warning that you might need to stop but does not seem to be regarded as an obligation. If no one appears to be in the way the drivers often keep going. Parking is just as crazy. If they cannot find a park in the city they often park on yellow lines, or drive up onto the footpath. If they cannot find a park in the suburbs they sometimes just leave their car double parked in the middle of the road. Obviously the people here are aware of these habits and are used to swerving cars that are in their way.

ESN, which is the the Erasmus Student Network here in Oviedo is so well organised! This week was the Welcome Week so there was an activity on every night. So far I have had a city tour of Oviedo and neighbouring Gijón, cider tasting, a tapas night, a walk up to the El Cristo statue (think Rio De Janeiro but smaller), a typical Asturian dinner and a night out on the town. We also watched Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona directed by Woody Allen, a film I would recommend and you get to see a little bit of the magic that is Oviedo! Everyone who comes along to these events are usually the ones that are studying at La Casa de Las Lenguas like me, so it is a great way to meet heaps of nice people. Most are American but there is the odd one from other countries. ESN has organised heaps of trips around Spain too so I'm going to try go on as many as possible. País Vasco, Galicia, León, Portugal, Salamanca, Ávila, Segovia, Andalucia and a final trip to Ibiza with 3000 other exchange students are all on the agenda! I just hope my course and other commitments won't conflict with any of these!

I had some time to kill on Thursday before our trip to Gijón. I decided to go visit the Campo del San Francisco, a small park in the central city, in search of the peacocks that supposedly wandered through there. It was so idyllic, walking through the park observing all the people, with their dogs, lovers, family or friends. The bells were playing their usual tune across the city (I have now learnt that the tune is the Asturian anthem). The sculptures and fountains are scattered throughout the park too. Oviedo just continues to blow my mind every time I explore a new place or meet another lovely person, I know it is going to be hard to leave here in four months time.