i think the first week living here everything was so new and exciting that i felt like i was on vacation. however, this last weekend the reality of living in a new city has finally started to sink in: not understanding the language (well trying, but constantly having to think things through about what you are saying and hearing), the semi-friendly but mostly unhelpful locals, the constant walking up and down mountains to do the smallest errrands (at least 30 minutes round trip if not longer), restaurants open til 5 but shops not until 5 and not after two, but bars only open at 10 and dinner at 9, weather that's more like san francisco in april or june (rain, fog, rain, fog) than spain...not that i am not having a blast, but last night the cumulative "frustration of the new" finally hit me full force. having spent the entire day yesterday on our feet and viewing a mediocre example of the local flamenco, jamie and i headed to our 'hood bar ( i use that term to mean specifically, the closest bar to my house where all the weird old dudes, the morrocan hash dealer, and other unsavory types tend to congregate, but where the owner is nice enough to remember jamie doesnt eat meat, serves us delicious tapas and otherwise leaves us to mind our own business) where we proceeded to let out our frustrations....lets call it a cathartic process.
after a solid night's rest, i decided to go about my domestic business, leaving the foreigness of spanish culture outside for a day...i should have known this was no easy task. once i finally figured out how to unfold my drying rack (on the front porch like all good spaniards without dryers) i set about to start a load of laundry....on the front porch...in the gathering storm. after jiggling with the nob and running back to my computer's online dictionary five or so times (wouldnt want to bleach or shrink all of my clothes on my first go), i finally got the damn thing started. only to find out that two hours later my clothes came out SOPPING wet. well, this didnt matter because it had seriously started to storm. so, i relocated the drying rack to the kitchen (this took some serious maguivering, believe you me) i began to wring out my clothes . (let it be noted that i started with a light load, mostly necessities, as a sort of trial run)... i stood out in the rain wringing out my drenched unmentionables for about an hour while jamie called spanish vocabulary at me from inside the warm house (high today was 7...that's about 40 but feels like a lot less when its hailing on your wet laundry). now, i've noticed that my neighbors have had the same laundry hanging in their backyard since last week (probably because it has rained everyday since then), so i thought i would be clever and set mine in the kitchen...and good thing i did, because about two hours later it started storming...torrential downpours of wintery mix complete with gusting winds (and i do not want my freshly laundered panties flying all around the albaicin). suffice it to say this experience did nothing to alleviate my frustration, especially when i have to duck under wet socks to access the fridge (see facebook for photo illustration).
i must say, however, that the enchilada project for today was an all day project resulting in a massive success (thankfully, otherwise i may have spun into a serious alien-culture depression without clean socks or mexican food). my refried beans are glorious and will last all week, the enchilada sauce was rich and savoury and will be perfect for a huevos rancheros brunch next weekend. though the comforts of home are few and far between, i find that a plate of homemade enchiladas (no matter where your kitchen is) can beat even the darkest homesick blues. my spirit renewed, i am dedicating my evening to studying all that i have learned in the last two weeks because tomorrow we begin level three and start to learn a whole new set of tenses and vocabulary. in the immortal words of scarlett o'hara, "tomorrow is another day."
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