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Published: October 2nd 2012
A ROOM WITH A VIEW
The balcony outside our classroom in central Barcelona...fresh early morning air for Maureen before the hot sweat of thinking!Arturo says "Ballet!...ballet!...ballet!"
Well, actually, Arturo, one of our two daily Spanish teachers really says, "
Vale!", but in
espanol it sounds like "
ballet". Our first day of classes, Arturo, a 31 year old, skinny, scruffy-bearded, good-natured chico said "
Vale" at the end of just about each sentence. We had no idea what this meant. Never heard the word before. Finally, I couldn't resist asking. "What the heck are you saying Arturo?"...of course I asked in Spanish.
Vale is the same as
OK (but only in Spain, not other Spanish-speaking countries) he replied...so don't say
OK, say
Vale! Now I say
Vale, Vale, Vale to Arturo as often as I can, and he gets an impish, mischievous grin on his face knowing I'm teasing him.
Barcelona, as many know, is in the Catalonia region of Spain, on the east coastline peering over the Mediterranean, and like so many other areas of the world, feels unloved by its central masters...in this case the national government in Madrid. With financial struggles rising across the country, this fairly wealthy region is infused with a resurgence of separatist angst that has been bubbling for decades. Former dictator Franco has left
MAN ON THE FRINGE with his harem
One instructor (Natalia), 7 women from 4 countries and 1 lucky guy! Priceless!! a bitter taste in the mouths of the few people we have spoken to locally. Just speaking publicly in the Catalan tongue during his tenure would result in a death sentence.
The predominant language spoken here now is Catalan (a variation of the Castillian spanish we learn, ALSO spoken by everyone here), and the politics seem mostly Catalan, not those of Madrid. There are a host of newspapers at the corner newstands, each representing a strong viewpoint of the right or left wing. And the occasional one leaves politics aside and just concentrates on the vital aspects of the bodacious "Page 3 girls"! We'll be keeping our eyes peeled for more mass demonstrations like the one in Madrid (500 kilometres from here) last week that sent 60+ to hospital. Difficult days in Spain.
Meanwhile, after our daily stops en route for croissants and cafe con leche, our Spanish classes continue each weekday morning with instructors Natalia and Arturo.
Natalia, a single lady, regales us in a somewhat discrete and "
in my opinion" way about her thoughts on politics and children and bullfighting...Natalia abhors bullfighting--Catalonia is one of only 2 regions in Spain that have laws prohibiting bullfighting...
EL PROFESOR ARTURO!
Teaching Maureen and Kim (Sweden) how to say "VALE!" TORO, I like their laws!!. Aside from politics, Natalia uses the word "
terroristas" with a smile when she talks about children! Ask Natalia a simple question and you might get a 20 minute reply...this is a good thing if you're trying to evade a tough assignment!
Now Arturo? He actually makes me think of a wiry bullfighter (only this week did we put 2 and 2 together to figure out that MATADOR means KILLER in English!!)...he wildly gesticulates constantly with his hands and arms and upper body and speaks
MUY MUY MUY rapidly all the time. We have asked him to slow down a bit, but Arturo is ARTURO and wants us to experience Spanish the way real Spaniards speak. So, his class is a lot of fun and laughter, but it also takes a very energetic mind to keep up. The classroom isn't cooking hot, but I'm pretty damp with sweat at the end of Arturo's sessions...my brain is constantly calling for more nutrient-rich blood (
and hence, cafe latte and croissants!!) to feed the grey cells of concentration.
The school, called
Babylon-Idiomas (Idiomas means "languages" in English), is in the Girona area of Barcelona. It's just a
PAELLA by the Mediterranean
This is one of the best ways to spend a Sunday afternoon ever!! 5-10 minute walk away from many of the great historical sights of the city such as
La Sagrada Familia,
Las Ramblas (the amazing walking boulevard in central Barcelona), the
Old City and the
Barcelona Cathedral, and also some more recent ones such as the
1992 Olympic site and
Arc de Triomf. After classes each day we walk to an interesting site for a
cerveza or a
cafe latte (each about a buck and a half) before heading home on the Metro. We'll talk more about these places in a later blog posting.
Sopa de Pescado
But now...about that fish-head soup. We live in a small, approx 800 sq. foot, 3rd floor apartment in an area of Barcelona called El Maresme-Forum with one other university student, 24 year old Seattle resident Thea, and our apartment owner, Pilar, a 61 year old Barcelonian. We each have our own bedrooms but Maureen and I have a bathroom to share, while Pilar and Thea share another.
Pilar is a nice, friendly lady with a loud voice who likes to share her love of the cuisine she prepares. Last night Pilar invited us to sample some of her magazine-perfect looking potato salad,
AMERICA's That Way!
Christopher Columbus- (the statue) gives Maureen directions on LAS RAMBLAS , the central boulevard in Barcelona. green olives and thin threads of red pepper artistically placed over its surface. Heartily, we joined in. As we finished up, Pilar began pulling a metal pot from the fridge filled with "sopa de pescado"...fish soup. Without giving us the option of refusal (we had already eaten dinner earlier as this was now all happening at the traditional Spanish dinner time of around 10 pm), she dished up two LARGE, I mean LARGE, servings into bowls and popped them into the microwave to heat.
Pilar plunked the semi-warm bowls of soup in front of each of us. Maureen dipped her spoon into the thick, gelatinous mass of vegetables and fish parts. She lifted the spoon and a long, gooey string of mucousy viscous material hung tenaciously between her spoon and the bowl. I immediately felt the potato salad in my stomach begin to re-surface without an invitation. There were large sheets of fish skin and boney, spiny chunks and shrimp heads bobbing throughout the mixture.
Pilar happily encouraged us to eat. "te gusta?"..."you like it?" she asked many times. We nodded with polite enthusiasm, while gulping down the slimy sludge and doing our best to not send the
SURF's UP!
Surfers and swimmers frolic in the Mediterranean on the Barcelona beachfront. whole mix back at her with a violent epigastric outburst. We've stomached guinea pig dinners before, but this was a challenge of a different magnitude. NOW, when Pilar enters the kitchen, we mysteriously disappear as fast as possible. This is not an acquired taste we're anxious to acquire! Pilar, we like you a lot but we're not ready for some of your cooking!!
So...there is good news and bad news and more good news. Prepare yourself! Are you a mad fan of European soccer (football, that is😉)? Next weekend the MADRID REAL team is coming to town to play BARCA FC, the Barcelona football team..great news!!
Just for fun I checked on-line to find the cost of tickets if we decided to take in these fantastico teams (the only 2 REAL teams in Spain! There are many others though). The nosebleed seats
start at $350 Euros (about $450 CAN, give or take). A great seat at centrefield comes in at $650 Euros...this for a regular season game...that's the bad news.
Two weeks after this match, the Glasgow, Scotland football squad comes to play Barca. Here's the good news again...the seats start out at just $45 Euros. Anyone
BLOWIN' IN THE WIND
Our laundry hangs out to dry on the third floor balcony of our 3rd floor apartment out there who wants to experience the Real Madrid-Barcelona FC match can sponsor us for about $1000 and enjoy the game vicariously through this blog...we aim to please!!! WHAT, no takers 😉 ?
So the week goes. Another week of breakfast at home (cereal), cafe latte in the cafe before class, intense interaction en espanol all morning, then the afternoon to play and sightsee. We're certain that a new set of adventures awaits around each corner of Barcelona as we begin to recognize faces in the community and on the Metro. We hope you'll take the time to come back and hear about what Arturo and Natalia have to tell us this week as we go forward in
El Mundo de Espanol. OK?? Oops...I mean
VALE VALE VALE!!
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Cherie Miltimore
non-member comment
You made me laugh!
Great writing....I laughed out loud.....I love eating but I am afraid of that fish soup. Cherie