A Night at the Spa

Now that Francisco has a full staff, he has every other Sunday night off. He wanted to enjoy and relax on his first Sunday night free, so we went to the spa. His sister is a travel agent for Corte Ingles so she helped him find a nice spa resort just an hour away from Barcelona. It was wonderful.

We arrived at the four star hotel ready to get pampered. Francisco had gotten the packaged that involved a dinner, breakfast and an hour at the spa’s thermal baths. We got there at 7:30 and our dinner reservations weren’t until 10:30. Since we couldn’t go in the baths until the next day, we wanted to take advantage of the spa. Luckily, there were open spaces for two massages. So we signed ourselves up for a 50-minute complete body massage. It was amazing. Considering I don’t really do much around here, I didn’t need it as much as Francisco did. He looked like he was in heaven when I met him at the lobby after our massages.

We then went to a nice three-course dinner that included a bottle of cava. It was delish! I started with a salad while Francisco had the soup. For our main course, we both had the fish with pea sauce. For dessert, we had caramelized apple eggroll with vanilla ice cream. It was so good my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

After we decided to go for a walk to burn off the food and look for a bar so we could get drunk. Unfortunately, the little pueblo had nothing open on a Sunday night. We ended up at the hotel bar and were able to get one drink in before it closed.

The next day, we went to the thermal baths. There must have been some confusion because the lady gave us three hours and access to another part of the spa. We weren’t going to argue with her so we were happy to take it. We started in the big pool where they had chorros...I have no idea what they’re called in English. They’re this waterfall type of things and you stand underneath them. There were also water jets to massage different parts of your body.

Then we moved on to a very shallow pool that had massaging water beds. This was my favorite part. You just lay on this metal bed under the water and water shoots out all over the place to massage your body. I could’ve stayed there forever.

After a nice relaxing tea break, we moved on to the other part of the spa that we got for free. It was a roman bath, which means there were pools at different temperatures. One was at a normal, tolerable temparature of 38 degrees celsius. The other two were the extremes: one at about 16 degrees and the other was at 44 degrees. The former was so cold that I think my toe froze when I dipped it in, and the latter was so hot you could see the water evaporating. I couldn’t quite get myself to get in the hot/cold pool. So I stayed in the normal one and enjoyed every minute of it.

We also enjoyed other features like the “dream shower” and the sauna. The sauna was great, although after a while the heat was making me feel lightheaded and it started to smell like nasty sweat in there. Right outside the sauna was a shower that was supposed to be good for you after a few minutes in the boiling heat. I decided I needed to refresh myself. I turned on the shower and screamed like a little girl as the freezing water hit me. The spa attendant apparently left out that detail when she gave us a preview of the spa. Fortunately, everyone had the same reaction and it made me laugh each time I heard that scream.

After almost three hours, we had to leave because we had lunch plans with Francisco’s brother. We were so relaxed that it was hard to get motivated to move. Actually, it was difficult to move at all. It was like were floating on air and our muscles were putty. We were both in cloud nine. Unfortunately, we found ourselves back in the traffic and chaos of the city two hours later. Sigh. At least we enjoyed it while it lasted.

Tess in BCN

It’s always great to see my dear amiga, Tess, so I was very excited when she told me she was coming to BCN. Her good friend, Mar, from the University in Madrid (she’s getting her Masters there this year) is from Catalunya. So she and Mar decided to come together.

I picked them up very late Friday night…actually it was already Saturday since they arrived after midnight. After dropping off their stuff at my apartment, we stopped by Francisco’s bar for a drink and some pintxos. Like all Fridays, we had to fight our way in there because it was so crowded. We then had to go to BCN to meet up with Mar’s friend. After a long bus/train ride, we went to Gracia, a young hip area in Barcelona. It’s kind of like Madrid’s La Latina or Malasaña. We went bar hopping and had a good time. It was past 6 AM by the time Tess and I got home. I think that was the latest I’ve ever stayed out since I’ve moved here.

Saturday I took Tess to BCN so we could go to a teteria. Michelle introduced me to this place and I love it. It’s small and cozy and brings me a lot of peace. The tea always reminds me of being in our tent in the Sahara with Hassan, our Nomadic guide. We met up with her Tess’ friend, Francesco, and his friends. They’re all from Naples, Italy and are studying architecture. They were great and very nice. I hope I can hang out with them more.

After tea, Tess and I got some Maoz, a vegetarian fast food chain where our French friend, Nono, used to work. They have these amazing fried cauliflowers! Being there reminded me of my last night in Madrid before I had to suddenly go back to Chicago for my dad: we were celebrating Fatou’s birthday and Nono opened up the store to make us some food…good/sad times.

On Sunday, Tess and I got up early to go on a Catalan adventure. Mar had invited us to her pueblo to have lunch with her family. Tess was also staying the night there because they had a very early flight the next day. Tess and I were very curious to see this pueblo calle La Bisbal de Emporda. On Friday when we were hanging out with Mar and her friend, they were telling us how they refuse to ever live there again. It only has 8,000 residents and everyone knows everyone’s business.

I personally thought it was a very nice town. As the girls described it, it was very small and really, there’s nothing there. But in my big city eyes, it was very cute and interesting. And I loved having lunch with Mar’s family. They live in a very nice house and like most Spanish families, they were very hospitable and fed us well, and a lot! I always appreciate moments like these. To me, it’s the best and most authentic way of experiencing another culture.

By late afternoon, I had to catch a train back to El Prat. As always, it was sad to say goodbye to my wonderful friend. Being with her is always like walking down memory lane (we’ve had lots of good times in a very short amount of time), and there’s always a lot of laughter involved. I hope I can visit her soon.

Visiting Madrid

I just realized that I never blogged about my visit to Madrid…and that was like a month and a half ago. Let’s see if I can recap it all.

As always, Madrid was great. I was super excited to go and see everyone. I arrived on a Thursday afternoon. Tess picked me up from the airport and we spent the rest of the day hanging out and catching up. It was so great to see her.

On Friday, the boys (Xalba, Iñaki and Unai) made dinner for us girls (Tess, Sara and me). It was a wonderful dinner with lots of good food and good conversation. It was like old times again and it made me so happy to be there among some amazing friends. I, of course, had to be nosy and check out my old room. There’s an Italian girl living there now and it was weird to see it with her stuff and not mine. The boys said I was a better roommate (ha!). After forcing Xalba to sing and play a couple songs on his guitar, we continued the fun times at a discoteca. The night ended with Tess and I stopping for chocolate con churros on the way home.

On Saturday, we had our second annual Halloween Party at my old piso. This was the main reason I came to Madrid. Halloween last year was such a success that Tess and the boys wanted to have another party and they wanted me to be there. This year I dressed up as Gripe Porcina (or swine flu). I dressed in all pink, wrote GRIPE on my shirt, and wore a make shift pig’s nose. People didn’t quite get it at first but it caught on.

The party was even bigger this year. There were so many people, people I had never seen in my life! I knew maybe ten people there. I found myself hanging out in Xalba’s room most of the night to avoid the crowd. I was feeling suffocated. Other than that it was fun. The next day however was not so fun. I had to catch a very early flight Sunday morning, so I went straight from the party to the airport. I pretty much spent the entire day sleeping as soon as I got home.

My trip to Madrid was bittersweet. It’s a known fact that I love Madrid and my heart will always be in Madrid. But being there also reminded me of the worst part about Madrid: the lack of permanency. It reminded me of how people and friendships come and go in Madrid. I don’t know if it’s just because I meet the same kind of people in Madrid, outsiders from other countries or other parts of Spain. This aspect of living in Madrid always made me sad. Every time I leave and come back, I lose old friends and have to make new ones. It’s always fun to meet new people and make new friends, but it’s not that easy to do after a certain age. That night of the party, I thought about a lot of people and I was missing all of them.

My weekend in Madrid made me wonder how long I would have lasted there, knowing that most of my relationships were temporary. I like to think that I would have stayed for a long time. After all, I am crazy about the city. But another part of me think that that probably would have gotten pretty old. Now that I’m looking for a little more stability in my life, I probably would have grown to get tired of it and leave. This then leads me to wonder if I left Madrid at a good time, before I got sick of it; Is it better that I left with good memories rather than leaving, running the hell out of there? I guess we’ll never know.

By the way, in case you were wondering how I was able to afford a ticket to Madrid…well, I couldn’t. Being an awesome friend that she is, Tess bought me a ticket. Since I couldn’t quite get enough work to buy me a ticket, she decided that instead of her buying herself a ticket to BCN, she would buy me a ticket to Madrid. So she called me one night and told me she was doing so. I was glad and very grateful to take her up on her offer. I hope someday I can surprise her with a ticket somewhere.

Life and its many surprises

It’s amazing how things ALWAYS work out. A few weeks ago, I had my first breakdown since I’ve arrived in Barcelona. I couldn’t stop crying and it was for no particular reason. It was a combination of many worries: the lack of a job, the lack of money, and the lack of friends because it’s hard to make friends without spending money. All this – things that consistently concern me but always try to ignore – was amplified this time around by the fact that my hormones were out of wack.

When the hormones finally left, I was feeling much better and went back to positive thinking only mode. About a week later, my luck started to change. First I got myself a new private class. Second, I got called for a job interview at a new school, which hired me a few days later to start in January. This school is much more organized and more professional than the one I’m in now. They have more company classes and they pay well. And lastly, Tess emailed me that she had bought a ticket to visit BCN.

Francisco’s luck was also changing. He finally found a new chef. Now that they are fully staffed, he has a little more time for himself. That same week, he and his brother won 2^nd price for El Prat’s Innovative Entrepreneur of the year (first price went to a couple of guys who put up a affordable parking structure for travelers going to the airport nearby). Besides monetary award, the boys will be on El Prat’s magazine and Francisco was interviewed in El Prat’s radio. Hopefully all of this will give them more publicity.

And just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, a great offer came. Luisa was the first person to hire me for a private class. She hired me right before I had my breakdown. The week we were supposed to begin class she got the flu and had to cancel. She cancelled again the week after. I was starting to think she had changed her mind.

Last week, she called me so we could meet up and talk about the classes. At the meeting she told me that she still would like to have classes, but she also had another idea. She proposed that I do “real life” things with her while speaking English and putting the language in context. This means that she would take me shopping, take me out to eat, and best of all, travel with her. Everything would be paid by her.

Whaaaattt??? That’s exactly what I was thinking. When she was finally done laying out her proposal, she asks me if I thought she was crazy and if I was interested. I was almost speechless. I, of course, told her how much I loved the idea. She was very glad to hear it and very relieved that I didn’t think she was crazy. We started class last week and she wants to plan our first trip soon. She also introduced me to other people who are interested in English classes. I couldn’t be happier to have known this lady.

I knew moving to Barcelona would have its ups and downs. I remember how it took me a good four or five months to really feel comfortable and be truly happy in Madrid. As always, in any big transition, one has to overcome many difficult moments. Unfortunately, during down time, it’s easy to forget these things.

It's just like what Forrest Gump said: "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get".

Jo no parlo al català

I dont' speak Catalan but I wish to learn it someday.

What is Catalan? Catalan is the official language of the autonomous province of Catalunya. Although Castellano is the official language of Spain, Catalanes make sure they maintain their own language. Catalan is used in schools, in businesses, in roadsigns, etc. Basically, in Catalunya, Castellano is only the second language, an extra subject in school – the majority of schools at least.

How can a “provincial” language have more importance than the principal language of the entire country? Catalanes are very proud of their language. It is often used by Catalanes as one of the reasons why they should not be part of Spain. As some of you may know, Spain has a very complicated history, especially its recent history. After decades of oppression from the Franco regime and its imposition of all things he considered “Spanish” (one country, one language, one religion, etc.) on the entire country, Catalunya tried to regain as much of their own culture and independence as they can. One of those would be keeping their own language alive.

Sidenote: Besides Catalunya, Pais Vasco is another province that has been fighting for independence. This is where the terrorist group, ETA, comes from. Fortunately, the Catalonian separatists turned away from violence after one or two failed attempt.

So how do I get around without knowing Catalan? Well, fortunately, most people speak Castellano. Most adults speak it because they were raised speaking both and used both languages in school. Some say young people now know less and less Castellano. But as far as the kids I’ve met, they speak one just as much as they speak the other.

There are also a ton of immigrants here. Catalunya is one of the more economically successful provinces in Spain. So of course, people migrate to where there are jobs. This includes not only immigrants from other countries, but also people from other provinces. Francisco’s parents, for example, are from Asturias and Castilla de la Mancha. For this reason, Francisco mainly speaks Castellano because it’s how he communicates with his parents.

Furthermore, many words are similar enough to Castellano that when you see it on paper, you will most likely figure out what it means. For example, ciudad would be ciutat, or universidad would be universitat…get the pattern? They also say Catalan is a combination of Castellano, French, and Italian, so if you are familiar with those languages, it helps even more. They say merci instead of gracias, for instance, or per che (because in Italian), instead of porque. The best example of this though would be their numbers: uno, dos, tres, quatre, cinc, sis, set, vuit, nou, deu.

In terms of pronunciation, Catalan also has some strange combination of sounds. I have a theory that Catalanes speak better English because they have as many vowel sound combinations as we English speakers do. They also utilize the different accent marks like ´ and ` and ç. They even have strange words with a period in the middle (ie. Paral.lel).

Thus far, I haven’t really run into any problems. Sometimes people speak with a different accent and I can’t quite get what they are saying. But other than that, no one has ever spoken Catalan to me or made me feel bad that I don’t speak it. Sometimes when I’m with a group of people, they speak Catalan among themselves and then I start to feel left out. In the end though I can’t ever really be angry with them. We are in Catalunya after all.

Here are a few Catalan words/phrases I’ve learned so far:

Que fem? – What are we doing?

Petonets – kisses

Dame foc – Give me a light (when you need to light a cigarette)

Deu – Goodbye

Bon dia – good morning

Bona tarda – good afternoon

Bona nit – good night

Si us plau - please