Adapting

A year ago I was writing about adapting to the local culture, but now it is time to readjust to life in Claremont.

Some parts are easier than others.

• It was great to out for dinner and have as much ice water as we want included in the price of dinner.
• I can turn a knob on the stove and flame appears, no match necessary.
• I don't have to look at my watch before going to a store. Most likely if I am awake, the store is open.
• I can enjoy fresh air while hanging laundry since my neighbors don't smoke.
• I don't have to plan what I am going to say before I go to the store/library/other.
• I can chat with the friendly people working at the grocery store.
• Each day a newspaper in English is delivered to the house.
• Having a car and knowing how to get places.

On the other hand I miss

• the immersion, the differences, the newness of everything. I suppose that would have worn off.
• the break from fund raising
• inexpensive and effective public transportation
• the solitude of my running routes
• digestive biscuits
• festivals!

It is good to unpack and get rid of things we should have not saved in the first place and savor some of the things we did save. It is good to go to the library and run into friends. It is good to cycle to the pool and swim with friends.

I am grateful for the chance to learn to love where I am.

Hidden treasures

Actually, it isn't so hidden because I found it when we were in Sant Cugat in December 2015, but my Spanish teacher recommended a visit so I made my way over there one day about three months ago.

This little church, also called a hermitage, was built recently but it was
mentioned as early as the 10th century, according to information from the city.

I don't know why there were flowers on the windows.

These tiles are on the side of the church and I came up with two different translations.

1) Please, ask yourself good beggars
or
2) Discover yourself a good beginner

and pray to the Holy Christ of Lloseres to give us a constant well and Heaven at dying hours.

Carrer de Llaceres is a relatively wide street and has a real bike lane. The houses lining it are beautiful, but are mostly hidden away.  Here are a few pictures.

This one has some sort of day care on the property.

This is my favorite, but I could not really capture it.
You can see other people's pictures here and here.

Even though I had been there for I hadn't really paid attention. I appreciated the reminder to get out and see the city.

Retrieving Things

When D. is on leave, I am too. I do still have some of the regular household duties like cooking, cleaning, and laundry, and even though some of those are more time consuming without a car and without TJoe's, I still have more time. My chores expand to fill the days, but when something needs to be done I have time to do it.

I visited many libraries to get books A. needed to follow the US curriculum. Occasionally I visited Barcelona to get specific ingredients and to get paperwork. It gave me an excuse to see new places and have mini adventures.

Toward the end of our time I got to go a little farther. As D. mentioned in his guest post I went to retrieve water bottles left behind. Maybe if it had been the US we would have left them (we left behind an entire box of water bottles), but these were two new ones and the only other two we had.

I happily volunteered to take the train to pick them up. I love being able to see the water out the window, but apparently some beachgoers are not as excited to have the trains rattling by and having to go over or under the tracks to get to the water. I think if they had to drive in LA traffic and deal with parking situation here they might be more tolerant.

Not many people out on a cloudy Monday morning.

It was a beautiful errand to run.

ta da!

The next pick up was not quite as easy, but was even more beautiful. I walked to the train station, took a train to Barcelona, took a metro to the bus station, took a bus to Tossa de Mar, and then took a taxi into the mountains where I met A.

a beautiful bus station (photo credit  - A.)

Lots of nice detail inside, too, but mostly covered my modern conveniences.

We started to reverse the trip, but instead of getting on a bus right away we walked to town and took a little dip.

View of the water

and the view from the water of the Castell de Tossa.

I will miss running errands in Catalonia!

License Plates

I find this topic endlessly interesting (the history, the materials, the geography, the politics), but I will limit the post to Spain. I can send you pictures from other countries if you send me a note.

standard car plate September 2000

standard car plate with an unofficial Catalunya sticker instead of España sticker

different Catalunya sticker

unofficial Basque sticker
learned about it on this site

different pattern with the B standing for Barcelona

even older without the EU sticker

specially-shaped plates for some cars

L for the province of Lleida

some cars have smaller plates on the front

the newer plates have a watermark (not sure of the real term)

I was so proud this day. I saw this plate and was able
to ask if the H indicated that this was an historic car.
They understood my question and I understood their answer!

Graffiti

Yes, I am home and settling in, but I have so many posts I did not get to. I will try to finish up in the next few weeks before I look at the pictures and wonder what they are from, just like I have forgotten my Spanish!

For example, I have written a bit about graffiti, but there is more.

This anti-Nazi, pro-independence, and pro-squatter (the sideways N in the circle) graffiti was at my language school. I admit that I am the one that wrote to the city asking that it be removed.

Not long after a truck showed up

and it has been blank ever since.

Here are samples of other graffiti around town.

The 33 refers to the letters cc, which is racist shorthand about keeping Catalonia Catalan and excluding others. The symbol next to the 33 is the Catalan flag with a star, which represents Catalonian independence.

"Young people from Sant Cugat support the PAH (the right-to-housing group that helps people who have been evicted). Bank criminals are guilty!"

"Twenty years of fighting," followed by the symbols for the youth independence movement.

Because this is in purple it is a feminist message.
"Aggressors, you are not welcome here."

"Less jingoism.
More socialism.
Sant Cugat expelled residents."

"The independence we want is rebellious and disobedient."
This spot is very popular for graffiti. I saw it repainted several times.

"Freedom for Catalan Countries."

More squatters symbols.
"They won't be able to evict popular culture."

"Give life to dead spaces."

This is related to the one above, encouraging empty buildings (e.g. former slaughter house) to be used as a place for young people to make music and hang out. 

This one is more universal.
"Against the increase in public transportation fees."

I could not have understood this without out the help of J., who came over about once a week to practice English. His translations of the culture all year long were invaluable!

Feeling the Love

We arrived home and it almost feels like we never left. One thing that reminds me that we were away is the warm welcome I receive when I see people I haven't seen a year. Arriving in time for the big local holiday celebration was a great idea since we got to see so many people in one day.

A sign on the garage welcomed us home.

This cake was in our frig and another neighbor left fruit, milk, and fruit for us. A friend left cookies at the door and the next day we found peaches in the same spot.

We didn't sleep much, but 5 a.m. was a good time to set out a blanket for the parade and to talk the person delivering a newspaper in English right to our house! A friend picked me up so I could swim with the team, which is one of the things I missed most.

Good to go and good to come back!

From There to Here

Yes, we made it home along with our luggage, but it was a small challenge.

Twenty-four hours before our flight I checked in, but was able to check in only A. His boarding pass showed only one piece of luggage even though my original email said two pieces. I knew better than to call the local number for help and used our app to call the US 1-800 number. The person explained that even we had requested the extra luggage we had never been charged for it. Huh? I am sure I should have noticed, but the truth is I thought if I asked for it and offered to pay that I would receive it. Luckily that problem was solved with a credit card. And, no, I don't know if what I paid is what I had offered to pay. At that point there was not time for discussion.

The next blip was when we arrived at the airport. The person checking me in asked if it was okay if I had been selected for special security. I answered the question honestly but received only a smile in return. I don't think speaking directly is part of the local culture.

We figured out where to take the oversized baggage (the tandem - exactly 32.0 kg, although 32.1 and 31.9 on different scales) and then had to hustle to security and not sit and enjoy our snack (hummus - too close to a liquid to make it through) because we were told to get right to the gate. This went smoothly until passport control when the person started flipping through our US passports. I figured out she was looking for our entry stamp. Panic! Do I tell her it is not in there since we used different passports to enter. I couldn't think of what else to do so I told the truth. She said that was fine and let us through. Phew.

We made our way to the gate where I was told to stand next to the counter along with a few other lucky people. A went off to the long line to get food. Then we were asked to stand over there instead. As more people arrived we were asked to moved to another place. Finally after standing around they had us walk over a separate waiting area (was there a reason we had to stand around and not wait here the whole time?). It was a bit of panic because A. was still trying to get food, but he finished just as I was being shifted to the second area. They said he could wait with me, which was good because I had been holding his bag while he shopped.

When it was my turn to go in they took A.'s stuff and had him take off his shoes. I tried to explain that he was just keeping me company, but it wasn't until he completed the extra security check (a process that involved a pat down and taking all our stuff to the x-ray machine and bringing it back) and they went to stamp his pass that they figured they had made a mistake. Oh well. We both finished and had time to get water and use the bathroom before boarding. Whew.

The last blip was the lack of vegetarian meal even though I had an email showing I requested one. It was not a problem since A. was too sick half the food and I just picked off the pink meat from the queso and pollo sandwich.

The good news is that I watched four movies (Sing and Lego Batman with A. and Hidden Figures and Gifted on my own) and some tv shows in addition to playing with the four-year-old sitting behind us. More good news was that customs was long but easy, all our luggage showed up, and the college student I hired picked us up and even brought all the luggage inside.

I haven't slept well yet, but I know it will happen eventually.