„You know what? 48 hours ago, I was standing outside on a rooftop terrace, wearing only a sweater, collecting my thoughts while I listened to a couple of groovy tunes. Now, I am schlepping through the icy streets of Bornheim, trying to stay warm; no easy task when the thermometer shows minus 8 degrees.“
That is pretty much how I responded when someone asked me how my Thanksgiving holiday in Spain went last week.
Of course, the idea of travelling to Spain to celebrate Thanksgiving seems a bit strange, but for me, it is right up there with taking vacation while I am on, er, permanent vacation. However, to set things straight, let me try and clarify. First, I went to Spain because I felt like making another visit before year end, since this Christmas I will be stateside, breaking the 10 year tradition of a Navidad española. Additionally, with my recently acquired spare time, it made sense to actually go somewhere to finish up my last official days of work. These days coincided not only with my sister’s birthday, but also with Thanksgiving.
With the exception of Juan, my sister, and myself, I’m not really sure if anyone else in Spain knew that it was Thanksgiving, anyway. That said, we did take a little time to give thanks, and I even did go shopping on Friday, and bought clothes that were, mmm, black.
OK, so my sister even did turkey and dressing for a dinner party on Saturday night, so maybe there was a bit more of a hint of Thanksgiving after all…
But, like I said, I was really just visiting my sister and her family. I certainly wanted a safe haven (not THAT haven, Chris) to finish out my final days as an employee before officially joining the ranks of the Arbeitslos. And I must say, I went to the right place.
There is nothing quite like having a sister who just simply rocks. I may have said that once or twice in a few previous posts, but I probably never say it enough. She is just fully cool. We had a lot more time to just spend time together over the past week, doing lunches, coffees, or just mucking about the house. Sure, my nephew and brother in law were there, too, but since it wasn’t a holiday in Spain, and because I was more relaxed and care free, we just had time to take it easy and enjoy ourselves. (note – it is not as if the household itself is all quiet and subdued; that is totally impossible with a lively 8 year old running about) Again, I went to the right place.
It was rather humbling to find that, while I was still able to understand most spanish conversations, I always seemed to be a step or two behind. Furthermore, I found it a bit more difficult to get the words to come out of my mouth. Alas, maintaining two languages is a bit trickier than I thought. Thankfully, people were most patient with me, and forgave the odd german word that kept slipping into conversations. I don’t believe it is my fault that „leer“ means one thing in German („empty“) and another in Spanish („to read“). And, for some reason, I started saying my Spanish numbers in a German manner, so of course the shop attendant did not understand that I needed size cuatro y cuarenta. (Note to self – Spanish intercambio in 2011, preferably 1st Jan)
Most people are aware that I am not the biggest fan of birthdays, but am somewhat envious of those who are. We sang „Happy Birthday“ to my sister twice on Saturday: once during lunch (mmmm, nice carrot cake!) and once during dinner (mmmm, nice cheesecake!). Typically, wishing someone a happy birthday before their actual birthday is supposed to bring bad luck, but since we weren’t in Gemany, I didn’t think it would be too out of order. Of course, on Monday, I did jump up and wish my sister an official happy birthday, and we did sing the song again at the cafe as we had a couple of carajillos de baileys with the gang after the kids had been dropped off at school.
I continued celebrating my sister’s birthday during the afternoon, as I caught up on a bit of guinness consumption, then met up with my sister and nephew for a couple more beers and tapas. Things caught up with me eventually, and a bit later, while my nephew did his homework, I had to lie down on the couch.
We had a nice little fondue for birthday dinner, and the evening would have ended on a relatively good note had we not forgotten to toast the birthday girl, once more as a family.
However, a few hugs and a bracelet helped put things right, at least from my side. Like I said, I am envious of those who enjoy their birthdays so much, and was at least glad to be present for my sister’s.
Other little highlights from the quick visit included taking the chance to beat my nephew 4 times on the trot at Uno, just as he was saying that he was Uno King around his house. We finished squares, and I really liked the little Uno King crown he made for me. „We are now BOTH Uno Kings, Uncle B! “
Somehow, during our dinner gathering on Saturday evening, the boys watched an episode of Star Wars in dolby surround sound, which wouldn’t have been that big of a deal, but the rear speakers were on the other side of the table, thus encompassing us into the prime location to enjoy the sound of light sabers at full blast, not to mention the fanfare of the music of John Williams. Maybe it is one of those you kind of had to be there moments, but it was comical, and fortunately, relatively short lived.
At any rate, I stood on the terrace late Tuesday night by myself, just listening to the ipod (psychedelic furs, if you must know; I realized that comps 3 and 14 that I made over the past couple of years are my faves) and looking out over the sea. Happy thoughts were all about, as well as a few (only a very few) melancholic ones, though they might have entered my head to due the Richard Butler stuff playing on my earphones.
So I find myself back in Frankfurt, in sub zero temperatures. The let down that I always have after visiting family is slowly fading (or simply froze, due to the fact that it is fucking cold here), and I am gearing up for a couple of weeks of bop around time, enjoying the Christmastime festivities in the area.
You would think I would be a bit more worked up about not having a job, but thankfully, after the little escapade from a couple of weeks ago, that is not the case. Instead, I move forward in „nada que perder“ mode, which is quite fine by me.
Keep the faith
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