Whew. 48 hours later. fade in...the narrow streets of Santiago de Compostela, beacon of religous fervor for christians throughout the universe. And boy can they dress. Hiking boots, pink tights on the ladies, tank tops and shredded huck finn hats on the guys. Romance languages drift like the smell of orange blossoms on the streets here...Portuguese, French, Catalan, Galician, Euskadi, Ameringlish, and Castillian...they float about the cathedral and local ´prazas´ and ´ruas´ of the town whose towering church was evidently built on the remains of St. James after he decided to pack his stuff, leave Hispania in 40 A.D. and go get beheaded in Jerusalem for his trouble. What a thankless job. It beats taking arrows while tied to a tree I guess.
We got here yesterday after an amazing, 650 km bus ride from the dry, hot, sepia plateau that keeps Madrid a little above the rest of Castilla like a huge kitchen table into the green, rolling hills of Galicia via the towns of La Bañeza and Lugo. It was cool to see the ultra-modern wind turbines on the hilltops an hour north of the capital. They would have made great giants. The highlight of yesterday´s travels was entering Restaurante Sofia in La Bañeza only to be greeted by a parrot that said...yes...it said ¨Hola.¨ No joke. After a lunch of paella and veal, with flan for dessert that Sue would have gone nuts for, we rolled into more pine-covered hills and into the autonomous community that calls ´galego´ its language of choice. Here a ¨salida¨ is in fact a ¨saida¨, a ¨plaza¨ is a ¨praza¨ and a ¨conjunto¨ is a ¨conxunto¨(the X sounds like an SH). It´s all good, though, because here they drink their white wine out of bowls and the play the bagpipes like it´s going out of style.
In the 4 days that we´ve been here, I feel like the language is almost back. I am obligated to speak Spanish with the students 24/7, and I have been taking time to walk around and be perhaps a bit too Minnesota Nice with the introverted Spanish.
Last night France kicked Spain´s culo in the World Cup, after Spain was up 1-0...we went out with faces painted only to see the other team score three. All the drunk old-timers were shouting ¨cago en la mar¨ which means ¨I shit in the sea.¨ Fricking hilarious. I love Spain.
This morning, a nice breakfast of croissont (a tip of the hat after last night´s loss?) and OJ led to a nice tour of the town in its old quarter where the pilgrims coming off the Santiago de Compostela are happy with their wooden sticks and scallop shells, which are a symbol of the 30-day walk from the Pyrenees. I bought a newspaper published in Galician, and lo and behold I could understand 90% of the content. Well, the ads anyway. Today we had our first day of class, too...for ten days we teach for four hours per day: conversation, grammar, reading, writing, cultural stuff...the curriculum is pretty cool since this is an immersion program.
We are living in a converted monastery a block from the cathedral, it now houses a hotel and restaurant, but still feels like a holy place despite the college students from nearby Universidade de Santiago de Compostela smoking in the hallways and telling dirty jokes in the shadow of the statue of the monk over in the corner. My room is tiny, but with a bathroom. This whole town is ancient. The Romans knew it well, on their way to finis terrae, and since then the Camino has kept it economically vibrant. The photo I uploaded is of the cathedral, but here´s a link to the monastery in which we now reside.
Now, I am off to go make reservations for a night in Pamplona on 14 july...three days after I turn 28...to see if I can´t earn a scar or two on the last day of the Fiestas de San Fermin with the final 8AM bull run. Just kidding, mom. I promise. I think a Cuban cigar, a glass of good rum, a walk down the Paseo de Hemingway and a bullfight will suffice.
Until then, more class, a trip to A Coruña on 4 july and a trip west to COmbarro on my BDAY, then to Bilbao in Basque Country on 12 july to get the students to their family stays and me on my way to San Sebastian/Pamplona/Logroño for some wine in the region of La Rioja.
hasta luego, amores y gilipollas....
