Unemployment

I can't say much for other people who are unemployed in Spain, considering that Spain's unemployment rate is actually quite tragic, however, my time of unemployment has been quite satisfying, besides the weather. The rainy season has been upon us, so besides the last few days or so, it has rained almost constantly in Barcelona. Going back to my Rain in Spain blog, you can imagine that the first few days was dreadful, but being that the entire city has literally been cleansed on an hourly basis for about 2 weeks now, the rain doesn't bring about such a strong smell of urine anymore. Besides being stuck indoors and wishing to be outdoors (or being out, wishing to be in), my time of unemployment has been good. I've written some (not for my blog, unfortunately) and I've had the time to wander aimlessly about the streets of this city, taking in all it has to offer with the various people I've become acquainted with during my time here. I know now, as do my peers, that if I enter a restaurant that serves tapas, their patatas bravas must be sampled and compared shamelessly with other restaurants'. I know that Asian/ Chinese stores have most things that dollar stores have, and that everyone calls them Chinese stores (its not racial, its factual). I know that, despite being part of Europe and having the assumed quality of certain beverages, the beer sucks, the wine generally tastes questionable if the bottle has been open for more than 2 hours and the coffee is sub-par. That being said, beer and wine are cheap, so if you can get through the first 2 glasses, you're good to go. Coffee has become less of a requirement in my life as of late, partly because of my friends, and partly because it is not nearly as readily available here as it is in North America. Maybe that's because people in Spain sleep, and take their time about things, and therefore have less of a need for the caffeinated beverage. Either way, I feel I am being welcomed to this culture whole-heartedly!

Spanish people look at you. This is something to become accustomed to in this culture, and to be fairly warned of before you expect that no one in the street will look at you. People look each other in the eyes, and more often than not, smile at each other if one person smiles first. If they don't, the stare is cold. People on the metro stare, even past the "okay, now its staring" phase. It is quite unnerving at first, and you think "Do I have something ON me? Is there food in my teeth? What is my hair doing?" When you realize its not you, its just the way they are, there is a temptation to stare back, give a dirty look, walk away or turn your back. I've done all of these. I've also smiled, though that has invited more attention, and so I've stopped doing that.

I was actually recognized by one of the men that goes around selling flowers to people in bars and restaurants after about 5pm. He was on the metro at 10 a.m. one day with a cart full of fresh roses and when he scanned the metro car, he saw me, looked past, and then did a double-take. He smiled at me and I smiled back. He offered me a flower by nodding in their direction, because he was at the opposite end of the car. I did not accept. Though some people would think it is most sweet of him to offer me a flower because he clearly recognized a familiar face from the many bars and restaurants he frequents, pedaling his wares, I know that those same people, as well as others, would see it as a mark of the "walk-of-shame", on which I was not. (For those of you who don't know what a "walk-of-shame" is, it's probably best that you keep it that way). What I can say of the events of that morning is this: only would that ever happen to me. Right.

Besides all the rain, the food, the drinks and the flowers in Barcelona, unemployment has been good, but its getting old. Which is why I've now taken up Spanish classes. Twice a week for two hours a day, I will be learning Español. Its a good thing too, because my new roommate is Colombian, and doesn't speak much English (she speaks less English than I speak Spanish, which is good for me, because we communicate mostly in Spanish then!)

Oh yes! I moved *again*. My new roommate is fantastic!! The first day I moved in, she made chicken and rice, which tasted fantastic, and left some for me. The second day, she made soup and again, made some for me. It has been a week and a half of almost every day there being food for me. I've offered her things as well, and sometimes she eats some with me and sometimes she doesn't, but the thought is there anyway. When I make peanut butter cookies again, she will get some (I say some because lets be realistic, by the time the second tray gets out of the oven, I will have already eaten most of the first.. only most because I'm not trying to get fat here.) Today we talked about how she wants English lessons, so I told her I would teach her. We also talked about how she's married.. WHAT?! Yup, ella esposo es en Colombia. How sad. They've been married 10 months and she's been here for 3 years, for work. Not sure how it all works with the math of that, but she showed me pictures of her wedding. She was beautiful! (She still is...).

I can't think of much else to say other than that I've been enjoying life here in Barcelona, and I'm now looking forward to being useful again. I think the reason I've not been blogging is because that is the only thing I've had to procrastinate. It's difficult to use blogging to distract myself from unwanted homework when it is the only thing I should be doing. I expect this pattern to change in the coming weeks.

Stay tuned for my holiday travel plans, as it has become apparent that I am definitely not coming to Canada.. Where will I go: Madrid, Venice, Rome, Brussels? Who knows?