Another day, another obnoxiously long post

Hola amigos y familia!

So after my post yesterday I took a much needed hr nap and with a little renewed energy I hit the streets to explore. I figured heading to the beach wouldn't be too hard because you can just see the water from our flat so I at least knew what direction to go. I made it down there in about ten mins but had to take a few turns to get there, always noting the street names as I did. However when I finally made it it turns out the train and major street run along the beach so you can't just walk onto it. So I walked down the sidewalk across the street looking for a way to the beach and noticed stairs going down into the street every other block and figured they led under the street but couldn't see the other side where they might come out. I refrained from going underground figuring if I'm going to get lost I'd rather do it above ground where I can at least see the sun and the beach.

So I started heading back and soon realized street signs are more a convenience than a rule and I ended up turning a street too early and got a little lost. But I knew what direction I was going so I wandered the streets till I saw the bakery I had bought a sandwich from the day before and was home. I figure if i just get lost a few more times i will have seen the whole town :)

When I got back one of my roommates I had met from the loft was here so we talked and had a beer for a bit. James is from England and despite being a twenty something with a few tattoos and a beach-goer style he is still in a way, what Mr. Tio describes as, an "English Gentleman." He's very hospitable and, because he is staying with his girlfriend, let my take his be for the night. He also showed me around the apartment, talked about the city, and drew me up a detailed map and instructions on how to get to the train station and take it to Barcelona. He also shows me the little "Garden" he is working on that consists of some very small but fruitful tomatoes and some failing strawberry plants.l Then he packed up and headed to meet up with his girlfriend and I was left to hang around the apt for awhile till the others got back from work.

The first back was.... Camille (no idea how to spell that), who is from France and apparently dresses very French according to Toni, but I can't tell the difference, it's all clothes to me. Her English is only slightly better than my Spanish, but after living here her Spanish is good. So we talked as best we could in broken English and Spanish for awhile until around 8 when she started making dinner. I told her I was going to run to the store to grab some food and she rattled off a lot of Spanish I didn't quite catch but the gist of it was that they all share food and were probably going to the store the next day, so I told her I would just get enough for me tonight. I headed over to the store which was closing as I walked up, a fact I'm pretty sure Camille had told me in Spanish but I had missed. So I walked back and asked her if I could share some of what she was making and she rattled off some more Spanish but the idea was that is what they always do and I was more than welcome to have some.

While she was cooking Adrian finally made it home from work....I don't think I have mentioned Adrian yet, but I had talked to him for a while over lunch. He is also from France and speaks pretty good English and Spanish. I said hey, but was working on setting up my external hard drive so I went back to James' room to work on it while he and Camille talked an laughed in French. Yes, you can laugh in French, it's a little more nasal. Once I got the computer set up I went to the kitchen and basically listened to them finish up a conversation in French and then I asked some question in bad Spanish and so we all talked in Spanish for awhile...I know enough to respond to simple questions and make simple comments and requests but I wouldn't say I held up my end of the conversation but at least I was there.

Camille served us all dinner which was a very good chicken and rice. We ate dinner around the table which is about a foot from the TV and watched Studio 60 in English with Spanish subtitles. Conversation dried up as the show went on but it was nice to just sit and have a good dinner and relax. After dinner I picked up the table and did the dishes as a way to kind of contribute to the dinner I had had no part in buying or making and the French folk went outside to smoke. I ended up just sitting on the couch and watching another episode of Studio 60 while they hung out and smoked, I could have easily gone and hung out with them, but I was exhausted and didn't want to interrupt their French conversation by trying to speak Spanish or anything else.

I was crashing on the couch when Sebastian came home from some trip. I got up and we introduced ourselves. I'm pretty sure he doesn't speak much English and he recognized immediately that I didn't speak much Spanish but we said "hi, nice to meet you" in English and Spanish and he went out to smoke with the Adrian and Camille. I finished up the show and said "buenos noches" and headed to bed around 11:30.

....this is going to be a long one, I'm trying to be thorough so prepare yourself for another day of description....

This morning, because I didn't have work and was planning on heading to Barcelona by myself, I did my normal summer/weekend morning routine and woke up and a decent hour around 8 and went back to sleep to a ridiculous hour of about noon. I had just gotten up to brush my teeth, and heard, "Barrett?" with a think Spanish accent. It was Joan, one of my bosses from the loft, asking if I wanted to go to the loft and meet some more people and talk to Toni for a bit. I figured that meant that Toni wanted to talk to me so I said "of course" and brushed my teeth and we headed out.

When we got there Toni was on the phone, so Joan took me around and introduced me to all the non-English speakers that Toni had not introduced me to the day before. I stood there quietly nodding and laughing when they laughed trying to act like I could fallow the description of why I was there and who I was. There was a lot of people to meet and I don't remember any of their names but Joan explained to me kinda what they all do so I have a better feel for how the loft works, or at least how it is organized. Its increasingly impressive how easily everyone here transitions between languages so effortlessly. In the loft, everyone can speak Castillian (Spanish), more or less, but Joan also told me that the locals, like him and Toni, still speak Catalan to each other and that their are actually 5 languages in Spain but Castillian, pushed by Madrid, is more or less taking over, but Catalan (he puts up his fists) is stil fighting back. Also in the loft, depending on who is talking, you will hear French, Portuguese, and English floating around. We made our way back to Toni and he asked if I would like to go get lunch with him.

Toni, in many ways, reminds me of my dad. His role at the loft if very similar in that they spend a lot of time on the phone and with clients as well as general stuff around the loft. He is also is very much a conversationalist, a social entertainer. On the car ride talks about the loft and about the local town, and how he was born just a few kilometers up the coast. He takes me to a restaurant on a hill that overlooks the whole town and has a great view of the coast. The place used to be, and sort of still is, a church that was built in...I think he said the 13th...maybe 14th century. He took me in where their are still pews and everything still there. The church honored the virgin someone who I can't remember now, but she was said to look over those on ships making journeys to and from Cuba. There are painting hung around of ships in storms and they have some behind a bared door with things hung by locals to bring good luck with loved ones. Toni threw me off guard at one point by asking what my religion I am, I only felt a bit off because I'm not really anything. But I told him my dad's family is very Catholic but now we aren't really very religious. He reassured me that he is the same way and we moved on.After showing me around this part of the church we go back outside and around the corner in the same building is the restaurant.

The restaurant is outside seating and it is obvious Toni knows the family working here as he pops his head in to say hola to everyone. He asks if I would like to sit in the sun or shade (he actually says "shadow," one of many translation anomalies that make me smile) of which I have no real opinion so we find a table that has both so he can sit in the shade and me in the sun. It is a beautiful day and I enjoy the warm sun and cool breeze and I look out over the town and sea. We talk a little about everything, people at the loft, work, me, the town. We talk a lot about how Toni thinks it is very important to spend time in other countries to really get a sense of the world and other cultures, something I very much agree on. We don't really look at them menu, Toni just asks if I like lamb or veal and when I ask which he prefers here, he orders both. He asks if I would like some wine or a beer but as I have only been awake about half an hour I ask for just water, but when the wine comes he pours me some as he explains how he "loves to have wine with lunch, especially on Friday." We eat some cooked vegetables and I mention I like the roasted bell peppers and he insists I have both, a very "Toni-esk" thing. We also have an interesting cod fish salad that is a little bland, but very light and tasty. The veal and lamb are delicious and simple. By the end of the meal I am very content and relaxed from the wine and we both pass on dessert but Toni says he will have some "cafe" and I tell him I will have some with him. He explains that it is actually espresso and if I would like coffee it is "cafe americano." I tell him espresso is perfect and we enjoy or little espressos and look out over the town (I feel so European). As Toni pays for his meal I reach for my wallet but Toni insists, as he has told me about 6 times in 2 days, that "I am his guest." I thank him many times but we are cut short when his receiptblows away and we hop up to find it and head to the car and back to the loft.

Toni realizes he has a meeting and offers to take me back to the flat if I want to go. I tell him I can stay at the loft and don't want to make him late, but as I do he pats at his pockets and looks concerned. It turns out when hes receipt blew away he had left his phone at the restaurant which is near the flat so he takes me back after retrieving his phone from the restaurant.

And so here I sit in James' room typing away from waaaay to long with Spanish music drifting in through the window with the breeze. I hear the occasional firework (a black cat just went off as I typed that) which Toni explained was kids playing and will lead up until the Celebration tonight where people build bonfires on the beach and you hear fireworks going off all night. He also told me to watch out because the kids think its hilarious to throw them between the legs of strangers as they walk down the street, which I am pretty sure happened to someone near me yesterday and it scared the crap out of me. But I'm excited about tonight, hopefully I can get some people motivated to go down to the beach and hang out. I think Adrain and Camille are driving to France but I believe James will be here. I hope so, I'd be nice to have someone to hang out with for the weekend.

Well I feel I am wasting the day so maybe I'll go explore again. If anyone is actually reading all this non-sense feel free to leave comment if there is anything else you would like to know about or whatnot. Hopefully today and tomorrow I'll take some pictures and figure out how to post them by Sunday. Until then,

Abrazos