I don’t typically like to blog when I’m frustrated, because I don’t want people to think I’m unhappy here or be worried, but today is just one of those days were a series of annoying little things aligned to bug the heck out of me. I woke up and felt like I had to walk on eggshells or avoid Ana because of our unresolved argument last night. I finally left to get some water from the grocery store and then over to Ceres for a coffee and buñuelos. They recognize me now and strike up short conversations with me. One day the guy asked me how coffee compares here and in the US. Today one of the women asked if I give private lessons. In the past I always felt weird about going to the same place all the time but now I kind of like it. They are familiar faces that I am developing relationships with (obviously not really intimate relationships, but still). Also, advice for other international students/auxiliares…ASK QUESTIONS! Take “risks” by asking or getting to know the people you run into a lot. Don’t let fear of making language mistakes hold you back or fear that you're asking something stupid (you can even lead into with "Ok, I know this might be a stupid question, but..." if it makes you feel better like it does for me). My interactions with the people at the panadería (bakery) Ceres started when I asked what something was (una empanadilla con atún y pimiento) so I wouldn’t have to say “that” and point every time I wanted it. As soon as I broke the ice and started a conversation they felt more comfortable taking to me. I think in many situations natives don’t strike up conversation with the foreigners because they don’t know if we can speak Spanish or why we are here. Especially if we’re here long term and not just on vacation for a week or two, more people are genuinely interested in talking to us or helping us out. They want to talk to us too, or are at least open to the idea, but they feel just as awkward as we do. Anyways, at Ceres today I got a café con leche con hielo (coffee with milk and ice). I’ve seen people order iced coffees before but never knew if it was only a specific coffee drink served with ice or if you could order any coffee served cold. So I got my coffee cold (it’s been really chilly since the feria ended but today it’s nice and sunny) and got 3 buñuelos. Buñuelos (like cream puffs) are typical of All Saints Day on November 1st so they’ve been in the bakery all week. They have buñuelos of chocolate, caramel, truffle, angel hair (I’m still not sure what it consists of, but I think coconut), cream and batata (sweet potato). The chocolate ones are my favorite.
I dropped my groceries off at home then left again. Thus started the frustration (aside from the existing frustration of the environment in my apartment). I went to the locutorio (internet café) to print some stuff but the computer wouldn’t read my external hard drive. The minimum to use a computer is 50 cents…50 cents down the drain. No, it isn’t much but I only had like 4 euro to start with and it costs to print. So then I went to another locutorio. That computer could read my external hard drive but their version of Word was too old to open my documents. Another 50 cents wasted. Then I decided to stop at the cash machine to get money for my stuff that I needed to print and to pay to get my gym membership started. Another fail. Even though my 700 euro paycheck is supposedly in the bank (and shows in my balance) the ATM would only let me take out 20 euro. I don’t know if I have to wait several days for my check to be processed or what. So, no money until at least Monday and no gym. On the upside I’ve been sitting in Plaza de la Constitución for almost 2 hours blogging and soaking up the last few rays of sun before winter. Apparently spring and fall don’t exist here. I’ve been told by several people that we skip straight to winter, and based on how fast the weather changed after the feria, I believe them.
Plaza de la Constitución
The last hint of summer
New vocabulary for the day:
andar/ir de puntillas: to tiptoe
capricho: whim, quirk
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