It’s Been A While

 What a long time it's been since I've had a go at one of these. After a long summer back home with mi familia and a holiday to Greece, I'm back in my Spanish home of Ponte V with things looking slightly different to the last two years. So, I thought I’d catch you up a bit. 

1. The school year of 2021/2022 has started with a new job  well, same job, new place. After two years working in my first academy I thought it was time for a change of scene. So, I now work seven minutes away from my flat instead of five. 

It’s been a helluva’n adjustment. 

I think it did take Mum a second to figure out why I’d change academy, but not come home to her and the dogs. I can’t say I’m 100% sure myself, but I think part of it could be down to the shame of having lived here for two years and still being horrendous at Spanish. So, I have to stay a bit longer. I’m still terrible, but at least this way I’ve given myself a bit more time. 

2. One great thing that has come from the blogging hiatus is that my family finally made a non-disastrous trip over the agua to see me. They made their flight and the country didn’t go into another nation-wide lockdown. A magnificent success, I think. 

A success, at least, until I realised that meant that there were seven English people with absolutely no Spanish skill walking around instead of just me. This was it - my time to linguistically shine and, as far as ordering food is concerned, I think I did brilliantly. The beauty of having a family full of only English speakers is that anything I say is impressive. To them I was practically native. To the natives, still definitely a bumbling Brit. 

3. Of course, the world is still rife with Covid so I also had to struggle through getting vaccinated in España. Surprisingly straightforward in the most chaotic way. After a “quick” trip to the doctor to see if I could get jabbed there, I figured out I was in the wrong place after a less than fluent conversation with the woman behind the desk. 

Me: pointing shooty gun fingers at my arm Necesito una vacuna.

Her: Para Covid. 

Me: slightly put out because I didn’t think I looked that bad. Si 

Her: Far more words in the space of four seconds than I thought was possible to say.

Me: Uhh. Enthusiastically apologise for my lack of Spanish. 

Her: Exaggeratedly pointing at nothing in particular. Aqui, no. 

Me: Oh! Okay! Looking around for some reason. Donde?

Her: Another few seconds of too many words followed by a tired eye roll. Mobile?

Me: No questions asked, hands over my phone and watches as she scrolls through my pages before finding maps.

Her: Typing for an excruciatingly long time. Aqui!

Me: Ace! Thanks!

Fast forward to the next day and the attempt at what I hoped was the right place. This time I was taking no chances. I showed up to the gate with what I needed already on Google translate and was told to get in the queue and talk to the freezing woman’s colleague. Nice and simple. I joined the queue, spoke to a security man who pointed me towards a woman who was not in the mood to deal with a clueless English woman’s shite and handed her my ID card and stood silently. After launching my things back at me and pointing towards another door, I was told to wait next to cubical 11. It was at this point that I was slightly concerned about the fact I hadn’t told anyone I was there for my second vaccine, not my first. I only got the chance when the nurse started rolling my sleeve up and I managed to make an attempt at explaining. 

I think she asked what my first vaccine was, so that’s what I told her. 

Her: Hoy, no. Pfizer.

Me: Okay, I just want an appointment. 

Her: Espere.

Me: Okay.

Her: Leaves.

Me: Hangs around like a lemon until she returns with a friend.

Her: Mi Amiga.

Me: Glad someone could speak to me in English. Hola.

Amiga: In the thickest Spanish accent I’ve ever heard - a lot of words I didn’t understand.

Me: Hmm?

Amiga: Nesecites Moderna?

Me: Slightly too enthusiastic. Si!

Amiga: Leaves. 

Me:

Her:

Me:

Her:

Amiga: Wielding an obscenely large needle. Aqui.

Me: Following like a lost puppy. 

Amiga: Stabbing me with the sword-like needle. Repeatedly asking if I’m from Londres.

Me: No, Worcestershire.

Amiga: Que?

Me: Worcestershire. 

Amiga: Que?

Me: Worcestershire.

Amiga: Que?

Me: Worcest- Si, Londres.

Amiga: Writing Londres on my form. Muy bien. 

So, I’m double vaccinated with something I’ve been told is the same as my first dose, but can’t be entirely sure wasn’t just a syringe full of water.

4. On a completely unrelated note - I saw a dolphin! In the wild! An incredible day at the beach with Tom where we were joined - quite randomly - by some people we know and some people we don’t. Beers were drunk, sandwiches were eaten and games were played. All in all, a great day at the beach. It wasn’t until things were winding down and Tom and I were playing catch that I spotted something odd in the water. 

I will be honest, I got excited because I thought I’d spotted a cheeky, recently waxed nudist and I wanted someone to have a childish giggle with. I soon realised that wasn’t the case, completely ignored the ball Tom had thrown to me to draw his attention to it. 

“It’s a person.”

“It’s grey.”

“They’re old.”

“Your skin doesn’t go grey!”

After a few seconds I released an incredibly childish giggle when the fin popped up and we realised what it was. I alerted the rest of our people calmly (lies) that it was there and excitement grew to the point that two of us - one of them being me, who’d recently just changed out of my bikini top ready for the journey home and was in my bra instead - decided to go for a swim. Not wanting to lose any time at swimming with a dolphin, I asked if anyone would judge if I didn’t change back into my bikini. They wouldn’t. 

In we went. 

It was just as we got out far enough to be near to where we’d spotted it that we heard a conversation about dolphins dragging humans out to sea and drowning them coming from our group on the shore. 

We paddled our way back in shortly after that. Our time watching from there lasted a good twenty minutes more though as the dolphin was clearly loving all the attention from its spectators. 

Once it, and we, finally did leave it was just three of us left for the walk to the bus - still on a dolphin high - when we saw the most incredible evening sky. So incredible that, the man I’ve been living with for two years suggested we have a photo. 

A great photo. 

5. Arguably, my greatest achievement since coming back after the summer is that I’ve converted my American flatmate from drinking terrible herbal tea to having a proper Yorkshire brew… with milk! 

A small victory, but I wanted a round five instead of leaving it at a unsatisfactory four things.