Trans-Lingual Transgressions

It was bound to happen: misconstrued meaninings and unintentional sexual inuendo whilst trying to master a new language. My mistakes to date...

Faux pas 1. Repeatedly saying "Estoy excitada" believing I was saying "I am excited", in an emotional sense. I have used this phrase often - to teachers, to people in shops, to new people I meet (often with a smile and a twinkle in my eye) - because there really is a lot to be excited about over here...

Some kind-hearted Spaniards have recently informed me that "Estoy excitada" actually means to be sexually aroused. Ahem. Apologies to those to whom I have been making declarations of my active libido. My embarrassment is something along the lines of this colour.

Faux pas 2. In the ice cream shop: Asking for "un coño de..." believing I was asking for a cone of something. The ice cream lady's stern correction of "No, coño. Cono.", alerted me to the fact that perhaps there is a slight difference between the two words*. Apparently a mere change in pronunciation can have a large significance in meaning...

*I have subsequently learned that cono is the correct word for ice cream cone. Coño is not. It is the word, often used in a derogatory or vulgar sense, for a certain part of the female anatomy.

I live (in Spain) and learn...

Una Noche de Coctels Baratos

A night of cheap cocktails in a dimly lit bar in el Raval...

Best damn mojitos I've ever had.

Not to mention the great music, beautiful wall-paper and toilets with glass-encased miniature animal displays.

There's Too Much Love

I could hang about and burn my fingers
I've been hanging out here waiting for something to start
You think I'm faultless to a 'T'
My manner set impeccably
But underneath I am the same as you

I could dance all night like I'm a soul boy
But you know I'd rather drag myself across the dance floor
I feel like dancing on my own
Where no one knows me, and where I
Can cause offence just by the way I look


Picture taken from Amberita's digital camera, lyrics courtesy of those lovely guys Belle & Sebastian.

Cosas Pequenas

Tutti Frutti en La Boqueria

Hmm, it looks as though my layout skills are a bit rusty. But I will just blame it on the website...

Mid Night Madness

In a drunken yet somewhat enlightened state I write the following:
Barcelona is brilliant. It is captivating and alluring. But tonight I saw the underbelly of the city which lurks beyond Miro and Picasso.
The streets at night are dark and cold. I walk with head down and handbag tight against my side. My boots click conspicuoulsy against the cobble stones. I wish to belong, to not feel like an outsider. To not feel vulnerable. It is past the hour when the Good Folk are out. The rest of the city to emerges, sticks its grimy head outside and takes over the streets, the sprayed walls and laneways strewed with daily offerings of garbage.

desde mi balcon

Erasmus Adventures

So the evening begins with slight hesitation on my behalf (I have seen The Spanish Apartment, I know what these Erasmus kids are like) but being Tarina's 21st we are set for an evening of large proportions...

...It doesn't take long for Kylie to work her magic. Soon enough we are all dancing. Shamelessly..

And so the night finishes in a much expected fashion. Hair dishevelled, feet blistered and faces grinning we stumble off into the early morning light to find a parked vehicle on which to sit upon...