Romane eunt domus?

It’s been a while since I last posted.  Three main things have happened since then.  I went to Barcelona during the Easter, all my mates came over to visit and I moved out of Lugones.

I have been to Barcelona at least twice before but this was the first time that I could actually speak Spanish with any kind of confidence.  It was nice to get away from the constant rain in Oviedo for a while.  That particular week most of Spain was experiencing rain but the sun was shining in Catalonia.  While I welcomed the sunshine I have to say that after a couple of days in the big smoke of Barcelona I began to miss the capital city of Asturias which is, compared to Barcelona, much smaller, more intimate and so much more relaxed.  Whenever I sat outside a café to have a beer or a coffee the people at the next table seemed to be crowding me.  Tables were placed very close to each other (bums on seats lovey) and at times I was in the situation where people who sat at the next table and had their back to me would be prodding me in my back with their elbows.  ¡Jolín!

I have never seen the inside of the Sagrada Familia.  It is a very impressive cathedral designed by the world famous Antoni Gaudi.  Construction began in 1882 and is on-going, with an expected completion date of 2026.  I stayed in a hotel about two blocks away and every day when I went to have a look inside, the queue stretched from the entrance right around the block to the back of the cathedral.  Forget it, maybe some other time.

I did however go to see Parc Güell, The park was originally part of a commercially unsuccessful housing site, the idea of Count Eusebi Güell, after whom the park was named.  Only two houses were completed.  Gaudi bought one of them and moved in with his family in 1906 and lived there for twenty years.  It is now the Gaudi House Museum and has been declared a historical monument of national interest.  The large cross at the Park's high-point offers the most complete view of Barcelona and the bay. It is possible to view the main city in panorama, with the Sagrada Família visible at a distance.  The park was thronged with tourists as pigeons and parrots competed for the food scraps left by these international visitors.  A busker played a guitar very badly but it sounded melodious in comparison to his singing voice.  Parc Güell is well worth a visit on a sunny day.

 

On Good Friday I decided on a day trip away from Barcelona.  So I headed to Tarragona to meet my friend Emma and her husband Mele.  They met me at the train station and brought me back to their house for some paella.  Tarragona is much smaller than Barcelona.  It boasts a genuine Roman amphitheatre beside the sea.  I found it very relaxing to be there after the hustle and bustle of the capital city.  Once I ate my fill they brought me to a walled medieval town called Mont Blanc. 

 

There are different gates into the town; apparently the St Jordi gate is the spot where St George killed the dragon.  As I said before it was Good Friday and so different statues describing the Passion of the Christ were placed about the town.  Being a Latin student and having an interest in the Roman Republic and Empire I was delighted to see Roman soldiers around the town.  I am assuming that they weren’t really Roman soldiers because this is 2013 after all.  Upon seeing a group of them standing outside a bar I decided to check their credentials, I shouted, “Romani ite domum!” but my goading was met with blank stares.  I’m pretty sure they weren’t the genuine article.

 

When I finally got back to Oviedo I had just three days to try and do some college work before my friends arrived from Ireland.  They were to arrive on Thursday evening and head back home on Sunday morning.  I was beginning to feel that living with the family in Lugones wasn’t really working out.  I felt trapped and frustrated because if I wanted to socialize after college I would feel guilty about not going back to the house to help the kids with their homework.  When socializing I would inevitably miss the last bus and then have to pay for a taxi and try to sneak quietly into the house while everyone was asleep.  If I did go back to the house after college I would sit with one of the kids trying to help with homework but she really had no interest and didn’t want to do it.  Then after that I would retire to my room to try and do a bit of work but to no real avail.

I was delighted to greet my friends late on Thursday night.  Hugs all round and then straight to L’esperteyu for pints.  Armando and Teresa had prepared tortilla and jamón for the guys and the food wasn’t long in disappearing.  The guys met most of the people I hang out with here in Oviedo and I think they enjoyed the cheap booze and the good food.  We drank all night and then headed for breakfast before retiring to bed.  The time passed quickly and I never really got a chance to speak to any of the guys on a proper one to one basis.  It was great to see all of them though and I am very grateful that they made the effort to come over and see me.  I forgot to bring my camera with me and therefore I have no photos of the lads.  Mónica is a big fan of George Michael and for some reason she thought that my friend Steven looked similar to him and she insisted she have her photo taken with him.  This is the only photo I have as a record of the guys being over here with me.

 

It rained the whole time they were here, which was unfortunate.  That weekend was the last weekend of constant rain; the weekend just gone by I got sunburn on my bald head and the past few days have been exceptionally hot and sunny.  Such is life.

After my trip to Barcelona and then the brief visit from my buddies I was back to the usual daily grind of college and trying to help a child who didn’t want to be helped.  The situation in Lugones was becoming more strained day by day.  One day in the following week, while everyone else was out of the house, Ángel and I sat down for a chat.  To make a long story short we both agreed that it would be better if I were to leave.  There is nothing worse than having to live in a place where you know you are no longer welcome and so I immediately sent out the word on the grapevine that I was looking for a new place to live.  The timing wasn’t great however as I couldn’t find anywhere quickly.  The exams will finish in May and then there will be many empty flats as all the students pack up for the summer.  My friend Mónica came to the rescue.  She could see that I was quite stressed living in Lugones and so she has let me move into her flat until I can find my own place.  Mónica has her own flat but is currently living with her parents.  Therefore I am now living on my own in a beautiful two bedroomed apartment in the centre of the city thanks to the generosity of a very good friend.

I have two weeks left in college and then that’s it, my Erasmus year completed except for the exams which take place in May and the other exams I shall be sitting in July.  So the pressure is now on to try and get things done to meet deadlines for handing in projects and essays.  Thankfully, life has been good to me.  The start of this year in Spain was strange, confusing and frustrating but now after nearly eight months living in Oviedo I have made some good friends, I have real affection for Oviedo, my Spanish has improved a lot, I am progressing at the ballroom lessons, I attend twice a week now instead of once a week and after moving accommodation for the third time the fates have seen fit to place me in a comfortable quiet flat, on my own with the chance to focus on the upcoming exams.  Nice one.

Paddy's Day.

It is 9.15am, Friday morning, and I am sitting in class.  The lecture was due to start at 9.00am.  Other students stroll in and sit beside their friends, the lecturer has yet to arrive; a typical scenario in the University of Oviedo.  Thankfully I managed to change some of my subjects.  I am now back studying Latin, this time through Spanish obviously and it is helpful for my understanding of both languages.  You will be glad to know that when you translate the accusative infinitive construction in Latin into Spanish it will be infinitive if there is no named agent but in the subjunctive if there is an agent.  That is, Caesar commanded that a bridge be constructed (infinitive) or Caesar commanded the soldiers to construct a bridge (subjunctive).  Are we clear on that?  Good, let's move on....  As I sit there in the front row wondering if I have time to pop out for a smoke I realise that I haven’t written in my blog for quite a while.

Not much has been happening to be honest, so I grew a beard for a while; not a great success.

 

I continue in college and the exams draw ever closer.  My first sets of exams take place between the 15^th and the 29^th of May and then the three exams I didn’t sit in January will be taken in the first two weeks of July and then my Erasmus year is officially finished.  Where has the time gone?

 

On Paddy’s day I was invited to dinner at Daniel’s apartment (Daniel is one of the guys from the dance classes).  There were nine of us tucking into roast lamb and roast potatoes.  One Peruvian, one German, one Brit, two Irish, and four Spaniards sat with plates on laps, sipping on red wine and conversing in Spanish and English.  After the meal Monica, Vicente, Soraya and I headed for L’esperteyu.  You will remember of course that L’esperteyu is where we originally became acquainted during the intercambio sessions on Wednesdays.  It was about 5.00pm when we arrived and the bar was practically empty.  While we were sitting at the bar Armando, the owner, reminded me that I had promised the other day to help behind the bar should it get too busy on Paddy’s day.  “Of course, no problem”, I assured him and made a mental note not to promise or offer to do anything in future when drinking.  The place was heaving by 10.00pm and I was ‘called to the bar’, so to speak.  The live trad band in the corner were playing at a volume that hurt the ear drums, people thronged the bar demanding pints of Guinness and the free raffle ticket that came with each pint.  The eventual winner would be entitled to a free pint of the black stuff every day for a year.  Armando, his wife Teresa and the new barman Tito were already running around like blue-arsed flies trying to cope with the onslaught.  I took a deep breath and joined the melee.  I worked for about two hours until things calmed down a bit.  I really enjoyed the experience, it made for a slightly different St. Patrick’s Day.  The language barrier wasn’t really a problem to be honest.  Dos pintas de Guinness means – and I’m just doing a rough translation here – two pints of Guinness, una caña de rubia is a glass of Amstel and a Paulaner is a Paulaner.  It was amusing to see people I know enter the bar and do a double take when they saw me behind the bar asking them, “¿Qué te pongo?”

After my stint I sat back down with a pint (freshly poured by myself) and thought it a pity I didn’t have my camera with me as it would have made for good photos for this blog.  At the end of the night when I tried to pay my tab Armando wouldn’t take any money from me and thanked me for my help.  Nice one.
 

I am sticking with the dancing classes and I’m getting better, poco a poco.  I have at this stage attended eight classes, sixteen hours altogether.  Seeing that I am still there and making an honest effort, Belén the dance instructor, is giving me more of her attention, which is much appreciated by me.  The main difficulty I have with it is that we keep jumping from one dance to another.  Just when I think I may be getting the hang of the steps of the Salsa we then start on the Tango or the Cha Cha Cha y me confundo mucho.  It also appears that I am too polite when dancing with a woman.  Belén keeps telling me to be more macho and push and pull the woman around the dance floor.  It is my duty to lead and I should direct the woman into turns and spins by pushing on her shoulder blade or pulling on her hip instead of talking to her and asking her if she would maybe consider doing a spin on the next beat of the music.  The paso doble especially calls for me to be 'a man', I should stand erect (snigger), legs slighty apart, shoulders back, chest and genitals forward, my body language must proclaim 'Here I stand, I am a toredor and you, woman, shall twist and turn as I dictate'.  Hard to do this without feeling silly and laughing.  I hope that I can continue with classes when I eventually return to Maynooth. 

I’m off to Barcelona on Tuesday for six nights and I shall meet up with Emma, my Spanish friend of nearly four years now, and I shall take in all the sights and culture et cetera.  When I return to Lugones I shall have a few days to get some work done before my buddies from Ireland arrive for three nights of catching up and sightseeing and the tasting of local food and beverages.  So prepare for a deluge of photos in the next blog posting to make up for the paucity of visual imagery in this one.

Looking forward to seeing you guys soon!

Strictly Come Dancing

Last week a gang of us from L’esperteyu went for a Sunday meal in a little place just outside the city called Tellego (Tay-yego).  There were eleven of us, four Irish and seven Spanish.  Kevin, Grainne, Aoife and I met Monica outside the pub and we piled into her car so that she could take us there.  The restaurant is called Casa Cristina and is well known locally for the quality of the food.  Funnily enough neither Ángel nor Sonsoles had ever heard of it.  The restaurant is up in the hills and views were, as always, impressive. 

 

We met the rest of the gang outside the restaurant and Armando, the owner of L’esperteyu, stood us all a drink before the meal.  Carlos decided to have Sidra and so I took a picture of him pouring it in the traditional and necessary way so that it is aerated before drinking.

 

 

Of the eleven of us gathered, seven of us are smokers, which is a rare occurrence these days.  So I decided to have a picture taken of the magnificent seven.  They are Aoife, Kevin, Colin, Ana, Rosa, Monica and Alejandro.

Across the road from the restaurant is a building called a horreo.  It is built on four stilts and in the old days was used for storing foodstuff and grains etc.  I have noticed a few of them dotted around the area.  The old ones are now under heritage protection.  Some have six stilts or uprights and are called panesas.  I have included a picture of the horreo.

 

 

 

The restaurant is very small and intimate and on that day it was very full.  The food was indeed lovely and I had some fabadas and then also some bote (a potato stew) followed by lamb that was just falling off the bone.  I noticed on the shelf beside me a box with the Virgin Mary in it.  It was explained to me that the villagers in days of old used to take turns at keeping the box in their house.  They would put some money in the slot and then pass the box on to the next door neighbour.  When the box had done the rounds it would be returned to the local church.

After the meal we returned en masse to L’esperteyu.  Grainne and Aoife stopped off at home to pick up a tin whistle and flute.  Kevin saw some Spanish guy playing the flute on the street and invited him back to the pub with us.  So we had an impromptu Trad Session with the two Irish girls and the Spanish bloke playing on the flutes and Kevin beating out a rhythm on the Bodhran taken down from the wall of the pub.  Instantly there were toes tapping all around the bar and I was transported home to the Emerald Isle and visions of Sally O’Brien (and the way she might look at you) sprang into my consciousness, drawing on my heart-strings and eliciting an incomparable yearning for the land of my forefathers, mar dhea.  Joking aside, they were very good and I was well impressed with their dexterity and musicality and everyone else in the pub showed their appreciation with rounds of applause.

 

 

 

Some of you may be surprised to learn that I have started to take lessons in Ballroom Dancing… I have been twice at this stage.  Every Friday night for two hours; the cost is fifty euro per month.  That’s not bad at all; it works out at 6.50 euro an hour.  I meet up with Monica and Daniel outside the dance school at 8.15pm and we go it together.  Daniel is a guy from Southampton and teaches English fulltime in Oviedo.  Obviously all classes are conducted in Spanish and so all directions are shouted at me in Spanish and I have to try my best to follow everyone else.  There is a mirror completely covering one wall, so I have the pleasure of looking at myself looking like a fool.  On my first day I brought two left feet with me and my hips were aching at the end of the night.  The second session was an improvement thankfully.  It is very tiring and I had to remove my jumper and one of my tee-shirts as I started to sweat profusely.  Looking at myself in the mirror I looked like a red-faced hippo, huffing and puffing while trying to look like I knew what I was doing and at the same time trying not to look gay.  There are usually about ten of us, two or three blokes and the rest are chicas with ages ranging from early twenties to mid-sixties.  So far they have all been very patient with me and are happy enough to slow things down and explain the steps to me whenever they have the misfortune of being paired with me.  We have worked on the Salsa, the Merengue, the Cha Cha Cha and the Tango.  While I was trying to get my head around the Merengue the teacher explained to me that the dance originated from the slaves working in sugar beet fields. These slaves were connected to one another by a chain strapped to their ankles and had to walk in such a manner as to drag one leg.  Their steps were therefore limited and this explains why the steps are so small.  Knowing this made it easier to perform the required movement.  My favourite so far is the Tango.  I can at least remember the basic steps for that dance.  After an hour I am exhausted and can’t believe that we still have another hour to go before we finish for the night.

At the moment I’m really not enjoying college.  Sometimes I sit in on a lecture and after the hour I realise I understood practically nothing that had been said.  There are of course good days too but generally I am overloaded with work and I am feeling swamped.  I have too many Spanish classes, much more than is actually required and I hope to change that over the next few days.  As long as the administration department doesn’t throw up any objections I hope to lighten the load somewhat which will allow me to concentrate and focus better on the Spanish subjects I want to do.   NIL DESPERANDUM, hopefully I will get there in the end.

Feliz año

¡Hola a todos!, estoy de vuelta en España.  Llegué el cinco de enero, el día antes del día de los Reyes.  Fue un día de fiesta y por eso en lugar del autobús  tuve que coger un taxi de Oviedo a Lugones para llegar a mi nueva casa.  De hecho el taxi no pudo pasar por el centro de Lugones por el desfile que tenía lugar en las calles.  Tuve que salir del taxi y llevar la maleta pero no me importaba porque me gustaba ver la gente bailando en las calles con mucho ánimo y ruido.

 

Al llegar a casa la familia Barutell García me recibió y me preguntó sobre mi estancia en Irlanda durante la navidad.  Sí, vivo ahora en Lugones con una familia española.  Son seis, los padres Ángel y Sonsoles, y los niños que tienen de ocho a trece años.  Dos chicos y dos chicas, Iñaki, Olaya, Mara y Guillermo.  La familia es muy amable y muy generosa.  Suelo cenar con ellos y piensan que es raro que yo tome té muchas veces todos los días.  Cuando me desperté en la mañana de los Reyes descubrí que habían dejado los Magos Reyes una nueva taza de té en mi zapato.

Como he dicho antes, suelo cenar con ellos y luego hablo inglés un poco para que los niños lleguen ser acostumbrado a la lengua inglés.  No es nada formal, solo hablamos de vez en cuando en inglés y puedo ayudarles con los tareas si lo necesitan.  Pero lo normal durante el día es tengo que hablar español si quiero estar entendido.  Me ayuda mucho claro, no solo para hablar pero para pronunciar también.  Por ejemplo, el otro día Guillermo estaba sentado en la mesa, leyendo un libro y le dije - ¿Estudias todavía?  No me entendió, me repetí muchas veces pero no sirvió para nada.  Me preguntó porque estaba yo diciendo Asturias tantas veces.  Me di cuenta que aunque la palabra ´estudias´ fue en mi mente la palabra pasando por la boca fue ´Asturias´ o algo muy similar. Dios mío, tengo que mejorar mi pronunciación de verdad.

El tiempo aquí es lo mismo de Irlanda, más o menos, salvo hay más luz durante el día, brilla el sol a veces.  Sí, hace frío y tengo que llevar un abrigo cuando salgo de la casa.  En la distancia se puede ver la nieve encima de las montañas pero en Lugones y Oviedo llueve un poco casi todos los días.

Hay un perro también que se llama Manchas.  Pongo aquí una foto del perro y una de la casa.  No he sacado ningunas fotos de la familia todavía es que siento que no quieran que yo ponga fotos de ellos en la red y debo respeto; tal vez durante el año que viene.  La casa es grande y mi cuarto es muy cómodo.  Hay una cama de matrimonia, una mesa para estudiar y una televisión y DVD.  Tarda unos 20 minutos en el autobús para llegar al colegio y cuesta un euro cada vez, sí claro puedo comprar una tarjeta de abono si quiero.  Mientras ya lo he comprado un abono para la piscina que está enfrente de la casa y voy a usarlo mucho a lo largo de los meses que viene.

 

Son exámenes durante enero, voy a tomar los de inglés pero no hago los de español hasta julio porque ya no estoy listo para tomarlos.  El segundo semestre empieza el 29 de enero y me hace ilusión a comenzar pronto las nuevas asignaturas.  Ojala no sean tan difíciles como los de primer semestre.  Hasta pronto mis amigos.

Well I’m back in España folks.  I arrived back on the 5^th of January, the day before the feast day of the Three Wise Kings.  The 6^th of January is the Epiphany in the Christian calendar and in Spain it is a much bigger deal than it is at home in Ireland.  The 5^th of January is like Christmas Eve at home.  All the children leave one of their shoes out with some wine and a bite to eat for the Kings, who will call during the night and leave presents.

 

 

When I arrived back in Oviedo I had intended to take the bus to Lugones where I am now living.  While some of the buses were still running no one could predict when the next bus would actually arrive therefore I had to take a taxi, which worked out about ten times the price of the bus.  When we arrived at Lugones the taxi was stopped before entering the centre of the town.  The parade for the Three Kings was taking place and the policeman informed us that we could go no further.  Therefore I was obliged to get out of the taxi and carry my suitcase through the streets of Lugones towards the house.  To be honest I didn’t mind as it gave me a chance to see the many floats, dancers, musicians and general party revellers pass by. 

 

 

There was a lot of drumming and tooting of horns going on.  People dressed as the Kings marched by with banners informing the spectators which barrio they were from.  Others, dressed for some reason as parrots, danced in formation to the beat of a drum while a man standing on a pedestal and dressed as a king threw sweets at the children standing at the side of the road.  There were many floats spectacularly decorated.  There was even one with Sponge Bob Squarepants, although in Spain there is no mention of his cubist tendencies in the trousers department.

 

When I arrived at the house the family were there to greet me.  The family name is Barutell García.  They welcomed me and asked me how my time was over the Christmas period.  There are six all together in the family, the two parents Ángel and Sonsoles, and four children with ages ranging from eight to thirteen years.  Iñaki is the eldest with the two girls Olaya and Mara being in the middle and Guillermo being the youngest.  They were very excited because the three Kings were coming that night and I was told to leave out one of my shoes too.  The children think it is strange that I drink tea at all times of the day but obviously the three Kings don't because when I awoke the next morning I found in my shoe a brand new mug with the word TÉ written upon it.  Thanks guys.

All members of the family are really pleasant and make sure I feel at home.  My bedroom is very comfortable with a double bed, a desk for studying, a built-in wardrobe and TV and DVD.  I am fed and watered every day in the house but yesterday they served up chipirones, baby squids, cooked in their own ink and found it funny that I wouldn’t even taste them.  They laughed when I explained that, to me, squids look like extra-terrestrials and that I had no intention of putting one of them in my mouth.

The children all play instruments; Iñaki plays the clarinet, Olaya the trumpet, Mara the Viola and Guillermo the trombone.  I have access to a guitar and a piano whenever I feel like relaxing.  (I also have a ukulele I received at Christmas).  In return for the run of the house they ask that I speak English now and again with the children.  Nothing formal as such, they just want the children to get accustomed to hearing English spoken by someone with a relatively clear and clean accent (no slagging please).  I don't have any photos of the family as I get the feeling they wouldn't appreciate photos of them appearing on the net.  I have to respect that.  Maybe during the coming year it may come about.

There is one other member of the family who lives out in the garden; it is the dog Manchas who comes to greet me every time I arrive back at the house.  Manchas loves to be rubbed around the ears and I always oblige.  Me gustan los perros.

From Lugones it is only a 15 to 20 minute bus trip to the college and costs one euro per trip.  I believe I can get a ten trip ticket for the price of eight, somewhere, I must investigate.  There is a swimming pool just down the road from the house and I have paid up for three months unlimited access to the pool and gym.  I’ll be using the pool as often as I can; I have no intention of using the gym.

Regarding exams I am sitting the two English ones but I have decided to defer the Spanish ones until July as I feel I am not yet ready to make a good attempt at them.  My first semester in Oviedo could have been a bit more productive to be honest.  Now that my accommodation has changed for the better I am hopeful that I will be more focussed on my Spanish studies and that the second semester, which begins 29^th of January, will bear sweeter fruit.  That´s all for now folks.  Hasta luego.

Merry Christmas

So here it is, Merry Christmas, everybody's having fun... I'm home now in Ireland for the festive season but things changed for me in Spain before I left. I secured new lodgings in a town called Lugones. It is fifteen minutes on the bus from there to the college. I am now living with a Spanish family composed of Mother, Father and four children. It is a fine big house with lots of open space and lots of light coming in the windows. I have my own bedroom equipped with a table and chair for study purposes and a tv and dvd player for relaxation. They are happy to have me stay with them as they want the children to hear English being spoken on a daily basis. I am happy to stay there as I will be hearing informal and relaxed Spanish spoken on a daily basis. Everyone wins!

Unfortunately, Paco's has closed down. He told me it was time for him to move on; he is hoping to move back to Ireland in the New Year. I gave him my email address and asked that he look me up whenever he likes over the next few years. Paco was the first person to make me feel welcome in Oviedo and I shall miss him.

On the day I was due to come home I attended a meal that was hosted by L'esperteyu, the pub that I drink in every Wednesday night when it holds an intercambio for locals and foreigners to practice speaking Spanish and / or English. Myself and Kevin met up with Monica and Rosa, two ladies we know from the intercambio sessions. I always call Rosa 'Sarah Connor' because I think she looks like the character in the Terminator movies.

 

The menu was typical Asturian fare. Meals are usually served in three courses; el primero plato, el segundo y el postre. For my first dish I opted for the fabada asturiana, a traditional Asturian dish of beans with bits of pudding. For my second plate I went for the lamb, el cordero, which is served with a little bit of gravy, some roast potatoes and no vegetables. I finished off with a bit of sorbet. The food was lovely and the amount of wine was considerable, plus we were also served some type of fizzy cider which is a change from the usual non gaseous cider that is served in Asturias.

 

 

Everyone was chatting away in Spanish and Kevin and I fitted right in. Armando and Teresa, the owners of the pub made us both feel very welcome and made sure we were not excluded from the conversations around the table. The meal only cost 20 euro per head which I thought was excellent value.

 

 

 

 

After the meal all thirty of us went back to L'esperteyu for free cocktails made by Armando. It is his own recipe and he wouldn't divulge all the ingredients. It was basically Champagne, a cherry, and some other unknown liquid. When cocktails had finished we moved onto beer and I had to keep my eye on the clock as I had a bus to the airport to catch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before I left, Teresa and Armando presented tee-shirts to Kevin and me. I was given hugs and kisses from lots of people who insisted I swore that I was coming back to Oviedo after the Christmas. So I had a great last day in Oviedo and a great send off by my new friends.

I look forward to getting back to Spain in the New Year and meeting head-on the challenges of the second semester. Meanwhile I shall have to cram over the Christmas for the January exams which start for me on the 9^th of January.

I would like to wish all my friends and family a very peaceful and happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

tempus fugit

 Time flees.  It has been some time now since my last posting to this blog and I think it is about time that I got back in the saddle and bring my friends up to date with my Spanish experience.  The weather is more like Ireland now; it is cold and wet most days.  Christmas is in the air, shops are starting to put up decorations and festive lights are beginning to appear overhead on most of the main streets in the city.  One of the reasons I didn’t post much sooner is that I was sick with a chest infection that just would not go away.  I tried all the usual remedies; I attempted to flush it out with beer, I smoked more than usual, I even had a few hot whiskeys in Paco’s but to no avail.  After two weeks of coughing incessantly in class and feeling embarrassed when people asked me why I continued to smoke I eventually decided I needed antibiotics.  A quick trip to the chemist confirmed my fears; no prescription means no antibiotics.  I went to the health centre in the city centre with hopes of seeing a doctor.  A woman with a face like a bulldog chewing a wasp and a temperament to match practically threw my European Health Insurance Card back at me over the counter and told me I had to register with my local neighbourhood health centre.  With a smile and a painful cough I thanked her for her help.  I returned home to google my local health centre.  The next morning I arrived at the Centro de Salud de Barrio Naranco.  As my chest wrenching coughs echoed up and down the steep streets of Naranco I held in my sweaty hand all the paperwork I could possibly imagine they would ask for.  It turned out to be relatively easy; my Spanish is definitely improving.  I was seen by a doctor (no charge) who gave me a prescription for a week’s worth of antibiotics (7 euro) and the infection cleared up very soon after that.  I am now registered with the health centre and I can ring to make an appointment anytime I am in need of a doctor. Olé!

In saying that I must admit that to date I have not yet made any phone calls in Spain, too nervous, I fear the confusion that is bound to occur.  Either the person on the other end won’t understand me or I won’t understand them and then there will be awkward silences as they await an answer and I fight the impulse to hang up.  Someday, soon, I will do it.

Life continues in an amazingly boring and isolated way in the flat.  My flatmate Moises continues to not make any real effort to talk with me and at this stage I have basically given up trying.  When the bills arrive he leaves them on the kitchen table, I leave the money on the kitchen table.  The next day the bills and the money are no longer on the table.  The only time he talks to me is when he asks me not to stand so close to the mirror in the bathroom when I clean my teeth as he then has to wipe off the tiny splashes on the mirror.  Or if I use the washing machine too often he reminds me that the electricity bill is due soon.  There are no lights turned on in the flat unless it is absolutely essential.  Sometimes I have to use the light on my mobile phone in order to get to the light switch on the other side of the common living area so that I can make my way to the bathroom or kitchen without tripping over the dog who lies on the floor in the darkness. The common living area is a waste of space; neither of us use it.  That is because he stays in his bedroom 24/7 and I won’t sit out on the couch because I am made to feel uncomfortable.  The last time I did so to watch a DVD he walked past me with the dog to go for a walk, not a word spoken, he returned from the walk with the dog and again had to walk between me and the TV, still not a word spoken.  At least the dog came over to me and rubbed his head against my knee.  We now have internet and a landline.  The internet makes it a bit more bearable when I am in the flat as I can watch things online in my room.  Though as I have said the situation is quite uncomfortable and isolating so I will have to remedy that.  It is quite likely that I will be moving out of here in early January; I have been asked to move in with a Spanish family. The parents, who are both teachers, would like me to live with them so that their four children can practice speaking English with me.  It will of course improve my Spanish too.  I will keep you posted on how this works out folks.

I now have some part-time work as a teaching assistant in one of the local schools.  Six hours a week, four on Monday, two on Tuesday.  The name of the school is Colegio Santa Teresa De Jesus and caters for children from four years of age right up to eighteen years.  The college is up the road from where I am living at the moment.  When I say up the road I mean ‘up’ the road.  It is on the way to the Christ statue on the hill and no matter how cold a day it is I am still sweating after negotiating that incredibly steep gradient.  The school is nestled at the foot of the hill of El Cristo and looks out upon the city of Oviedo.  In the distance, beyond the city, the encroaching snow-capped mountains are an impressive sight and I get genuine pleasure simply standing on the road and drinking in the view.

 

 

 

I work with nine different classes.  Four of them are infant classes and they each get half an hour.  They are basically four and five year olds and I have stood in front of them and sang ‘One finger, one thumb keep moving’, ‘Old MacDonald had a Farm’ and ‘If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands’.  Then, while they sit on the floor I sit on a tiny little chair and read them a story, pointing at the pictures asking them to name different objects such as a dog, or a table.  I ask them if the duck in the picture is happy or sad, that kind of thing.  It is all in English and so it is pretty easy for me (I can speak English fluently). It is however highly embarrassing and if anyone I knew were to walk in while I was flapping my arms and clucking like a demented chicken I would feel obliged to kill them before they had the chance to notify the outside world what was going on.

The other classes are kids aged six to seven and eight to nine.  I can get away with the ‘one finger one thumb’ gig with the six year olds but the eight and nine year olds are studying science and when I asked one of them to explain to me distinctive features of a mammal I was told that it was viviparous.  Dumbfounded, I lowered my finger and thumb and nodded knowingly. "Well done young man", I said. I had to look the word up when I got home.  Over the past few weeks the kids seem to have taken a shine to me and as I walk through the corridors I am greeted from all directions with ‘Hola Colin’ or ‘Hello Colin, how are you today?’  Some of the girls insist on hugging my leg when I arrive at  the class. Love hearts have started to appear on the blackboard with the words ‘I love Colin’ written in them.  Some of them think it is hilarious that when they ask me a question in Spanish I reply to them in Spanish saying I can't speak Spanish and therefore don’t understand what they mean and that they will have to ask me again in English.  I separate the classes into teams and hold quizzes based on what they have been studying.  They seem to love that. 

Yesterday I was invited to have lunch with the staff  in the canteen.  I walked into el comedor a couple of minutes too early, before any of the staff had arrived. The canteen was still full of kids eating their lunch.  Immediately I was met with a chorus of ‘Hello Colin, how are you today?’  Each of them asking individually and expecting an individual answer.  As the children shouted and waved I noticed the catering staff looking at me, wondering who the celebrity was.  Each child is given a hot two course lunch and healthy dessert such as fruit or yogurt.  There is a playing field outside and a small running track.  The facilities are very impressive indeed.  All the staff have been very welcoming and helpful and there is always a real teacher present when I am with the children.  They all wear white coats and remind me of doctors or dentists.  You can see some of them in one of the photos.  The lunch was a two course meal consisting of pasta and chorizo with a large helping of pickled vegetables for el primer plato, el segundo was a large slice of tortilla with tuna.  Two large salad bowls sat on the table with olive oil in a bottle so that you could add according to taste.  A few of the teachers have practically no English but they are friendly and try to engage me in conversation.  The teachers that I work with appear to be pleased with me and tell me that I am doing very well with the kids.  As long as I can come up with songs with lots of actions for the little ones and can think up new games and quizzes for the older ones everything will be fine.  One finger one thumb will get old soon enough so any suggestions for keeping them entertained would be most grateful folks.

I think that is enough news for this posting.  I am involved with an informal language exchange that has been set up in L’esperteyu, the pub next door to Paco’s.  It is on every Wednesday night and it has really improved the social aspect of my stay here in Oviedo.  Perhaps my next blog will be about that.