Posts Tagged: movistar

Life — Comments Off
3
Oct 09

My Saturday Afternoon

After the café I walked down who-knows-what road to find a supermarket. Christine (the woman who is housing me) told me there was a market in either direction on their street. Well, I guess I missed the place because I kept walking and walking… and as usual, I ended up in Plaza Cataluña. I knew I couldn’t get what I wanted at the store there – el Corte Inglés – so I went to Movistar, a cell phone service provider and asked them if I could buy a SIM card to put in this little phone I had last time I was there. They told me to go to Corte Inglés! So I ended up there anyway, and I got my SIM card, so I now have a Spanish phone number. I tried texting my friend Sophia, but it gave me an error. I’ll have to figure this out as soon as I finish writing.

I ended up browsing school supplies and got myself a notebook, a cheap pen (fountain pen tip, bonus). I don’t think Spain has discovered what is known as “college ruled” notebooks. All of the notebooks in the store were lab notebooks (the ones with squares for graphing) or if they had lined paper, the lines were quite far apart (much like the notebooks kids use in elementary school). I gave up looking and got the squared kind. I’ll get over it.

Of course, I had to browse their book store as well. As usual when I go to book stores, I left with a new book. I bought the third book in the Millennium series by Stieg Larsson. The titles change a lot from English to Spanish, so I won’t bother remembering what it was called. It’s not out in the USA for another year, and although reading the Spanish version might go slower than in English, I really want to read it and I’ll deal with it. Maybe by the time I finish I will have improved some, too. Once I walked out, I saw a newsstand and bought a copy of El País, the more worldly of Spanish papers.

Tired of walking and sweating from wearing my jacket (hey, it was chilly this morning), I walked to the subway and got off at Girona where I live. I’m getting a bit confused by the ambiguity between Gerona and Girona. I’ve seen both printed. I prefer Girona but I can’t tell you why. Anyway, off topic… not that the previous topic was of much interest… I decided to look once more for the supermarket. I walked around the block and voila! I purchased razors, soap, some orange juice and mussels for a lack of inspiration as far as foodstuffs goes. Now I realize I should get some bread and cheese and ham, but I’ll do that later. After the supermarket I came home and now I’m typing this up and relaxing. I think I’ll take a nap before I venture out again. I’m still worn out from the traveling and my arms are actually sore from those suitcases yesterday. I’m out of shape. I’ll fix that later.

For now, siesta.

PS

I met the older son (I think he’s 27 or something around there, I don’t remember) and he was nice, but quiet. He spoke to me in English first, and it sounded like there is a market for me in Spain. I can’t say my Spanish is much better than his English, but once I start actually using it we shall see.

The following picture is for Ryan:

mejillones

Eating some Mejillones for my afternoon snack.

Life — Comments Off
3
Oct 09

Good morning!

Play this audio as you read for a more immersed experience:

[wpaudio url="http://robrogan.com/images/cafeaudio2.mp3"]

I arrived in Barcelona yesterday. It was strange seeing the skyline of the city from the plane this time. Returning was a different feeling than being there the first time. The best comparison I can give you is the feeling of seeing the face of a loved one after a while. I’m not referring to the “oh I missed you feeling,” but the less conscious recognition of certain details of the person’s face. Faces are all just faces, but the unique parts of each one is what enables you to distinguish them. So, when I was flying over Barcelona, I noticed some buildings that I hadn’t given much thought to the first time around. It was all simply “that’s Barcelona” when I came the first time. This second time felt more like “oh yeah, that building, very nice, I feel at home.”

I hope I didn’t muddle you up in the description, but it was something distinct, and worth noting.

My back was drenched with sweat by the time I made it to the apartment. I had two very large bags (50lbs each), and rolling them was no issue, but carrying them two flights of stairs into the metro, jumping on said train, jumping off, ascending a couple of flights, going down a hallway, descending again, hopping on another train, and off, and up, and over, and OH an elevator! Then down the street, and which way is number 69? Whew. Fortunately, I had a sweater over my shirt, so I didn’t look sweaty except for the red face. Unfortunately, I was wearing a sweater. I prefered to leave it on over looking sweaty. So that was that.

I am being put up with a family by the Gerona stop in Barcelona. The mother is very nice and I’ve only met her so far. The apartment is also very roomy. I like it. I’ll get pictures of the room and everything later. Right now I’m in that awkward adjustment phase I’m learning is typical the more I stay with strangers abroad. I’ve never had as good an experience as I did when I lived in Costa Rica with a family for a month. They were the nicest and most inclusive. The last time I was in Barcelona, the people were nice, but not too inclusive. Well, regardless, I kind of ghost my way around the place for a few days until we all feel more comfortable. I got up this morning, showered, went back to my room, and then left the apartment for breakfast (at this café currently). All of this was done without encountering the people that live there. I wasn’t being evasive, but I wasn’t going out of my way to find them and say hello either.

You see, with my experience in Costa Rica, the place I stayed provided three meals a day and everything. I ate and conversed with them all the time. I felt like a family member! The first Barcelona family was only paid for two meals a day, and the mother would just set the food out for me and sometimes sat with me, but I didn’t have one meal with the family. This time, my arrangements do not include any meals on their part. I have to get my own food. You quickly learn how essential food is to socializing.

Back to as I was saying, I got up and left the apartment without a word (they were in another room I suppose) and I walked about to find a place to get breakfast. After passing a few cute cafés, I noticed one with that typical “wifi ” sticker in the window and knew it was my winner.

I need to learn some breakfast words, but saying “esto” tends to work fine for the time being. I got a café con leche and after saying “esto” I learned that I picked out a blahblahblah de chocolate. Unfortunately my ear wasn’t up to catching what the guy said this morning. It was good, and de chocolate is all that mattered. It’s a narrow place with little tables and a typical Spanish bar. They play old-but-not-too-classic music.

I’ve been here a while and it’s time to pack up and walk on.

To do:

  • go to Movistar and get a new SIM or re-active my old one for my Spanish cell.
  • go to a store and get a bar of soap, a razor, and something to make for food later.