Bar�aBlog
Andrew Losowsky a British Journalist has a new Hammersly hosted blog called Bar�aBlog about his new life living in Barcelona.
It is QUITE amusing. I don't know whether to laugh or cry at some of it. I hope he continues, it's quite cleansing.
Some snippets:
Every 200 years or so, someone in Madrid tries to wipe out the Catalan language and identity, and each time it just keeps popping back up like the proverbial. This repeated defiance has made its people somewhat bolshy, like the time the mayor of Barcelona got a bit drunk and declared war on Napoleon, without really thinking it through. Still, we've all done that.
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If you have any other European languages in your utility belt, reading it is actually very straightforward. Listening to Catalan read out loud, on the other hand, is like trying to read braille by smell.
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I've been here two weeks and I've still got jetlag.
I think it has something to do with the temporal exchange rate - one Spanish day equals about a weekend in London, which means that a week in Barca is three and a half months in London, except for the work time, which is approximate to one lunar month, give or take, except when the Jewish calendar has a letter that has phlegm in it.
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The average Spanish day is long and involves a lot of breaks, each of which has a name. [This has to be my favorite]
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In creating the [Spanish] language, the dictionary elves dedicated a lot of time thinking up words for their breaks, but then didn't leave much left over for time itself. As a result, it all has the feeling of an afterthought: morning is the same as tomorrow (manana) and afternoon is late (tarde), which actually says everything you need to know about when your order will arrive.
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This isn't London. Closing times aren't rigid, people don't hate being here and a five minute delay does not merit two minutes of tutting and a four minute phone call. This is a wonderful, vibrant and creative city. I'm incredibly excited to be here.
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At least I've made a start and who knows, within a year I could be another bitter and twisted TEFL teacher along with the rest.
Very amusing stuff. Thanks to Moof for IMing me from Sunny Australia to tell me about it.
-Russ