So far, while I've been doing what I need to do, and moving towards where I need to be, it feels like my way of getting there has been by violently falling down the stairs. My only handrail is my intermediate level of Spanish. It's been a saviour in times of surface level interactions, and in the best of times it's let me have a genuine laugh with a local. Fortunately most everyone here is patient and gracious with my antipodean stupidity!! For a country with some of the most relaxed, friendly people, they are hell-bent on their bureaucracy. This week, it's been establishing myself as a resident that's been hard. I've been used to it since dealing with the embassy in Melbourne, but going a whole day without accomplishing anything important can be crushing. When getting my criminal clearance I was given a form. They have no eftpos nor accept cash, so they asked me to go to an ATM to pay the form. No problem. I walk 20 minutes to the ATM to do this. Nada. I have no idea what a bank looks like yet and probably could have researched this and many things in hindsight. At one point i ask someone for 'el banco' and they direct me to 'el baño' which leads me on for another 10 minutes. Back at the station they explain to me that, of the three near-identical pages, I'm to scan the barcode on the last one because, for a reason that escapes me, that's the only one that works. After all this my PIN was wrong because I'm stupid and I gave up and tried the day after. It sounds like a lot of this is on me and it is: but there are layers and layers of paperwork, and unecessary stampage to go through here.
Sitting here having finally accomplished these things (setting up a bank account, residence card, fingerprints, sim card, etc.), I can say that this is only frustrating from an Australian point of view. The country works: there is a burst of energy in the mornings and evenings. Order is established by the best invention since music: the siesta, starting at, I think 2pm. Sometimes it's later than that. Or earlier if they feel like it. The Australian mind simply cannot comprehend!!
I start at the school next week. Monday. Nervy about it. Hey Siri how do I teach? Poco un poco. In the mean-time, what I've gotten to know about Valladolid has been really rewarding so far. Until now, I hadn't feel like I had much of a read on the place. It's a walkable European cityâ„¢, but there are barely any bikes about, and there's more cars than I expected. The place where I'm staying currently is next to its Flinders Street. I've been telling people it's the size of Geelong, but it feels bigger. Denser, more goings on. This country has old people walking about quicker than you are. I think I'm more used to them being tucked away. It also means I've had to try harder to find people my age. My hypothesis is that I'm too far from the university. And I don't know where to go out yet. Or how that even works in comparison to Melbourne, really.
I have compiled a neat list of my favourite interactions so far:
Amit from Himchal, India. This was the first person I met. So unfortunate how this unravelled. He was visibly nervous in the baggage claim, and he explained to me he was the first to leave home in search of work. He knew no Spanish, and knew of no work opportunities. His family was on his ass. I reassured him best I could of everything (he was convinced his baggage wouldn't come) and said I'd find him a taxi. When we got to the last declaration checkpoint, he got stuck with the authorities. I waited for 30 minutes outside but he never showed - I had to get a train to Valladolid. I felt guilty about leaving a lost soul behind, but I was tired and under pressure myself, and resolved then that there's a certain amount of self-preservation needed when travelling.
Mateo the hairdresser from Murcia; noticed I was struggling at the labyrinthian train terminal in Madrid after my flight. He took me under his wing until he waved me goodbye on the train like a 1940's farewell as I go off to war. Mateo introduced me to my favourite turn of phrase yet: 'poco un poco' referencing my bad spanish. It's a reassuring way of telling me that I'll get there step by step. Also 'Pija' which after google translation revealed was his way of saying people in the north are 'prickish' compared to Andalucia. Fair!
Maria at the tabasco shop across from my house. Told me "que horas son" is a better castillian way of saying 'what time is it' instead of "que tiempo es". The start of many adaptions to Spain-Spanish I had to make. El billete > el boleto (ticket)
That 12 year old dog I met at a level-crossing that looked like a cartoon character. Perrito!
Nubia and Jamon (?) my next-door neighbours. Was left alone in the house my first morning there, and the doorbell rings. They usher me into their place - lots of crosses! - I didn't know I was in trouble until I realised they were offering me three entire crates of free food from their friend's green grocer surplus. It was like 50 mushrooms alone. They then cooked us mushroom risotto later that night. Mushroom mania.
Museo de Cervantes tour lady. I was in a reflective mood and so walked into the museum for the guy who wrote Don Quixote. Happened to happen upon the time it was free, both of money and people. She was patient with my failure to understand her Spanish, and told me that while Cervantes' work is genius, full of satire, a lot of its complexities are lost in modern Spanish. The translation to English is even worse. But his old house is a tranquil place.
Trinette the conservative-questioning American ex-pat and my roommate from Colorado. ALSO: Eva, the left-leaning portland oregon roommate. Much to say, much to consider about these two. I must preface with their kindness; I was greeted on arrival with chicken "parm", meatballs and asparagus wrapped in bacon. It was divine, and Trinette's a great cook. Also, without their help, I would have been much more lost with getting residency. My test is their fundamental American way of life. A lot of it is fascinating, most of all their hollywoodish accents. But it seems like even the most left-leaning American is in a different box to what I understand as left-leaning. I've put it all down to entertainment and media addiction. I have a great quote for this, from Asimov: "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti- intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." As I write this, the Price is Right is blaring next door. Trinette needs a lot of help I think, her son is caught up with fentanyl and opioids there. Eva is also grieving two close family members as of two years ago. I feel sorry for them! I'll moving out in December to find people my age, not from America.