New Chapter

Wednesday, May 1. We just moved in to our new place. A Seik family from Delhi has rented us a room in their home. Baldar (~60) manages a restaurant afternoons and evenings. He speaks some English, but not much. Mandeep the daughter (~20) speaks more English; she stays home now, but aspires to go to nursing school. Jasbir (~45) speaks no English or Spanish only Punjabi and stays home full-time. She smiles beautifully and is somewhat shy but very welcoming. We have a minimally furnished double room facing a small street. The two women sleep in the other bedroom; apparently Baldar sleeps on the couch. We bought a cheap set of colorful sheets at a 10€ store—everything exactly 10€, they don’t even make change—use my sleeping bag as a quilt, and made pillows our of our down jackets stuffed inside our fleece sweaters. Pretty basic, but we slept quite comfortably. The other third-world detail: no toilet paper in the bathroom, only a bucket and scoop for water. Fortunately, I am familiar with that drill from my years in Asia.

   We started Spanish language school on Monday, Camino Barcelona. It is excellent in every way: lively and highly professional teachers, challenging curriculum, daily extra-curricular activities, and an interesting cross section of students. My class has 10 students, from China, Iran, Lebanon, Turkey, Austria, Netherlands Brazil, Colorado, Washington and Alaska. Mike’s class includes a retired businessman and sailor from Mauritania.

   While most of our time in Barcelona has focused on finding a place and taking care of the nasty little business details of life—navigating bankers’ hours, paying lawyers bills, negotiating residency bureaucracy, long commutes and shuffling too much luggage—we have taken time to visit two museums and go hiking in the hills, a nature reserve, behind Barcelona. Mike also obsesses daily about wanting to hear from the guy with the boat soon to arrive in the Canaries.