SUNSUNSUNSUNSUN
(I am so sunburnt)
(( I actually kind of forgot this blog existed
for a few weeks. Whoops.))
It’s
baaaaaack. The sun has reappeared with a vengeance and is currently engaged in
a fierce battle with the entire population of Spanish señoras who are determined
to continue wearing their fur coats until June 1st. With the sun
came the beginning of a constant stream of tour buses. The good people of
Granada are in general pretty laid back about the ridiculous amount of photo
snapping and fanny-pack wearing foreigners invading their town, partially
because they really just don’t get riled up about anything unless it involves
futbol, and partially because it allows them to participate in their second
favorite pastime: gossiping about tourists. Being rather taller and blonder and
less fashionable than the average Spaniard, people often play the “Guess Where
That Girl’s From” game, assuming I can’t understand them.
Listening to people debate
my ethnicity is a bit like being the horse on the auction block.
“!Mira! Inglaterra?
“Pues no! Look at her hair! German”
“Anda ya. . . Did you remember to buy olive oil? So pale. . . she
could be a Russian.”
“Rusa? Que va, hombre. . . not skinny enough. She’s definitely
German. And yes, I bought 26 litres, do you think we need more? Federico
invited me to his communion next weekend in Sevilla.”
“In Sevilla! Madre mia, que cajones. . . Look how
tall, maybe American? And only 26? What are you thinking? I’ll go by 39 more at
Mercadona ASAP, vale? ‘Sta luego”
“Ciao!”
On a bus from Madrid this
past week it suddenly hit me that I could now actually understand the gossiping
of the people sitting around me. This was a double scoop of delightfulness as
it served as a tangible piece of evidence that I was actually improving with my
Spanish (much needed after the past few weeks of playing
Subjunctive-Tense-Russian-Roulette in my homework) and also because I have
always enjoyed listening to random snippets of peoples’ lives. Understanding is
a small step, nothing more, yet its rewards are intoxicating and deceptive. It
gives me a dangerous amount of confidence in my Spanish abilities, which leads
to me attempting to corral innocent Shwarma sellers and men who ask me to dance
at my favorite salsa club into long, involved conversations, as well as
attempting to explain the concept of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups to my host mom,
who thinks I’m about as nutso as they come, but still nodded and smiled
politely.
1 month left!! And so much
gelato to eat, places to see, and bachata learn before I return to the real
world. Until then, here are 5 cool pictures of the approximately 78,930 on my
iPhoto that have never been uploaded.
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| 1. Andalusia is kinda pretty |
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| 2. San Sebastian is also rather attractive |
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| 3. And so is Sevilla's Plaza de España |
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| 4. And their river/sunsets |
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| 5. Don Quijote's windmills are pretty swell as well! |
