Sick in Spain December 12, 2007
Posted by Luke in Madrid, Spain, Travel.4 comments
So I am officially sick – well, not officially. I haven’t been to a doctor or nuffink. Don’t believe in the cretins. But I have been to a chemist, or a farmacia, to be precise. I’m not enjoying it, and I’m still working. Still putting in the long, hard road, and quite frankly, still whinging as well. And why not? I’m sick. Someone give me sympathy!!
I’ve got some Christmas and New Years Plans now. I was going to head to Malaga for NY, and although still a possibility, I am now more likely to celebrate the coming of 2008 in Berlin. I’m not quite sure where that is but I think it’s a pretty big city somewhere in Europe. Maybe Switzerland (sarcasm, hey?). I’m meeting up with my mate, Jon, who teaches in Lithuania – Vilnius, to be precise – and hopefully roadtripping for a week or so. But who knows, these, like so many of my other plans, may fall to pieces. I should consider a contingency plan – perhaps Malaga. But I’m looking forward to it, especially to the prospect of 16 or 17 days off work!!!!!!
Also, any one have any advice on how to get past a stumbling block in Spanish? It’s not anything specific, moreso the entire language. Help! I feel like I’m going backwards in it.
Now to marking, and writing, tests!
Hasta luego!
Lejos December 10, 2007
Posted by Luke in Uncategorized.1 comment so far
So I’m slack. Slack, slack, slackity slack slack. So slack that I rarely manage to put any words on this page. Even though, everything is always new, everything is always different and, well, you know, whatever…
Ah, but for some news: This weekend was, once again, a long one. Four days off and now it’s Sunday and I’m sitting here procrastinating creating tests for my classes tomorrow. I don’t know why we have to write these tests – the students aren’t happy about it and I’m not happy about it – perhaps we should strike. No, but seriously, I have to write tests for all my classes.
Anyway, to the point, Lejos. This weekend, like many others, was a long one. I intended to take full advantage of this and head out of Madrid again, this time to Granada. Unfortunately, with my habitual bad planning abilities, I left it too late and was unable to find a room available. I could have just gone anyway and hoped for the best, but the last thing I wanted was to arrive down South and discover, much to my disbelief, that there were really, and truly, no rooms available. So I didn’t go.
Which meant I was stuck once again in Madrid without an agenda. Luckily, or unluckily, being stuck here also meant I was stuck here with this horrible cough that refuses to leave the back of my throat, which meant being here wasn’t that fun anyway.
But as things happen, I decided to make the most of it. I headed to the Reina Sofia (an art gallery with Picasso’s Guernica) which I didn’t enjoy as I should have because of this damn cough. But I kept at it and got in touch with a couple of friends to see if they wanted to check out a jazz club or such that eve. Turns out that great minds think alike and we headed to Cafe Central to check out a band Lejos. Consisting of violin, piano, guitar, double bass and drums, this band was possibly one of the most amazing groups I have ever seen. All four of us sat there in almost stone cold silence, our eyes gripped to the movements of the musicians as they darted around various forms of jazz. This was ‘true music’. You could feel it through the walls. Even four bottles of wine into it, they were still amazing.
Friday, I failed to do much, recovering from the night before being of greater importance, than anything else I might have planned. I went out briefly with Santi, Rocio and some other friends, at first to the University where they were designing sets for a friends performance, and then to some small typically Spanish bar for dinner of tapas around midnight. It was a typical Spanish evening – not particularly eventful but enjoyable nonetheless. My Spanish is particularly appalling at the moment. I’m not sure why but I feel like it’s going backwards a little.
Onwards with the weekend, Saturday day was once again uneventful, but we decided to return to watch Lejos for a second time. And once again, astoundingly magical. The soaring of the violin, to the tempo of Egozcue’s guitar picking, the coordination of melodies and harmonies all working together to form heaven in a quintet. Everyone in the room was caught up in it, even Terry Pratchett (yes, the author) who was sitting up front tapping his feet. I especially liked the two young girls, children of one of the musicians I think, who mouthed every note and beat that the musicians played, creating their own duo of vocal mimes.
If nights could always be like this…
but now today, I must return to the real world and write tests!
