30 days ago, I put up my last post, thinking I'd have a pretty busy month ahead of me with football (Arsenal!), apartment hunting, spanish class, and private english classes. For the most part, I was right, though it certainly didn't happen as I expected. The last two weeks of September were almost unbearably slow. All of my private classes went on hiatus for some reason or other, and I suddenly found myself with a ton of idle time.
I'm sure the wise person would have taken advantage of the opportunity and found adequate housing, but due to some unusual circumstances, my situation was a bit more complicated, nevermind it's a bit difficult to rent apartments in Valencia in the first place. I spent a bit too much time lounging around the pub in hopes that the ideal sitio would drop into my lap.
OK, so that plan didn't work so well, but I did meet some interesting characters, including one man from Doncaster who had a habit of telling me each time he saw me (five or six times) that his favorite movie was Green Street Hooligans. GSH is a pretty good film, I must say; it's about West Ham United football club, stars Frodo Baggins, and is a bit on the violent side. However, no matter what conservation topic we happened to be on, this guy (usually five pints in) would start in again, "Green Street Hooligans" is the BEST movie EVER! (As a side note - I rather enjoyed meeting Ian, and appreciate the fact that he sat with me to watch Arsenal vs. Manchester United, a heart attack inducing match that happens no less than twice a year. As those of you who are passionate about certain teams know, sometimes it's nice to watch a match with an impartial spectator, particularly if you're sitting there trying not to break your beer glass, not hit anybody, and see your team scrape a last minute victory. I was fortunate that we won that day, so didn't even mind hearing the words, "Man, I LOVE Green Street Hooligans!" one more time. Alas, Ian's experience teaching school in Valencia didn't work out, so he chucked back to England almost as quickly as he came. All the best, mate.)
Arsenal football helped me through the slow period of September. After the win over ManU, they have managed to win every match since.
The last days of September picked up, and I got back into Spanish classes a few hours a week, then found a steady intercambio who wants to meet regularly. Neither of these helped keep my cashflow in balance, but at least my spanish is improving.
Out of the blue, a guy I met in early summer rang me up and asked me to play on his football team. After many months on the sidelines, I finally got a chance to return to the pitch, sporting a green jersey sponsored by Paiporta Construcciones, S.A. Cool. Thankfully, I held my own on the field; I haven't forgotten how to play the game.
As October began, I was nearing panic mode. I had no apartment and only limited classes at the center. I've more than overstayed my welcome with Lynne and Fran, so was particularly concerned about the apartment bit. Furthermore, a lack of classes means a lack of income, and that can start to suck in a hurry. Thus, I was a bit down.
I have continued to sing in the choir in Alboraya, and we did have a concert to look forward to early in the month. The choir had been invited to the town of Pont de Suert, and we arranged to stay in a nearby hotel & spa, all located in the Pyrenees Mountains during the holiday weekend Oct 6-9.
Las Saturday, I couldn't help but laugh to myself. Instead of watching Euro 2008 qualifiers in some bar, I was sitting in a woolen mill listening to a woman speaking in Catalan to our choir about how wool is made. In a few hours, I'd be singing a concert; songs to be sung in valenciano, catalan, gaego, italian, and castellano. I have to struggle enough with castellano, the other languages I'm just about hopeless with, but I'm doing it up, anyway. "Wow, I can't believe I'm here," I laughed to myself.
This alone was enough to boggle the mind, but to add to the zany action, less than 48 hours before, I'd received a call from my old company - they had a job with my name on it. What had merely been a quiet discussion in August was suddenly becoming reality. Me, working in my profession again. In Europe. In Germany. Almost immediately.
Holy shit.
So here in October 2006, my mind is going a million miles per hour. It's a triple ride on the super "hopeyoudidn'teatafootlongchilidogforlunchaswe'regonnafuckyouup" roller coaster at Coney Island. Two days ago, I was standing next to Jacobo and Jose Luis trying to find out what happened to my music as we sang "Te Quiero," and today I'm trying to find out the climate in someplace called Weiterstadt.
More details to come soon, but meanwhile, ¿como se dice Keep the Faith in aleman?
bryan
10/10/06
for more information about the hotel in the Pyrenees, visit www.caldesdeboi.com
suggested soundtrack for this post:
Robbie Williams greatest hits
Rock Against Bush compilation vol.2
