Yesterday was our fourth anniversary of moving to Tenerife and last night, over a celebratory €2.20 bottle of Cava (we’re not afraid to push the boat out when the occasion calls for it), we got to thinking about what we’d achieved.
Number 1: Speak Spanish.
Our one year’s worth of night school at the Cervantes Institute in Manchester before we moved here had given us a good grounding in the language. Unfortunately, ground level’s pretty much where we still are. We can confidently get by in most situations that are initiated by ourselves, but if the phone rings we head into the ever-descending hell of “no entiendo, puedes repetir” which literally translates as “I don’t understand, can you say it again” but metaphorically says “I’m stalling ‘cos I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about”. And watching ‘Cuéntame Cómo Pasó’ on Thursday nights requires a dictionary at hand and an active imagination as to what’s actually happening on the screen. Last year we had the local priest down as having the hots for the beautiful daughter. As it turned out, we were right about that one.
Number 2: Earn a Living.
Well, if we change the word ‘earn’ to ‘scratch’ then we’re making good progress against that one.
Number 3: Learn to Salsa.
After innumerable Saturday nights crushed against the bar in Azucar, clutching a mojito and watching couples swirl and sashay in synchronised, sexual oscillation, we are DEFINITELY going to get lessons as soon as we can afford them (see number 2).
Number 4: Earn a living from writing.
(See number 2)
Number 5: Be happy.
Yeh! A big, fat tick goes into the number 5 column and the cork comes out of another bottle of Cava. After all, what’s the use of the other four if you can’t tick number 5?
LOL! The phone is the last hurdle, but I reckon you’ll know you’ve cracked the lingo when you can fall asleep just as easily in front of Spanish TV as you can English, ‘coz you hear it and are no longer listening intently. Yes, I can. 🙂
But I know you are doing much better than you think you are. Some people have been here for decades and are still stuck on “Dos cafe con leche, por favor.”
#2 – Well scratch is better than a mere itch! 🙂
#3 – Watch a certain site I know. One week there was a free salsa exhibition and workshops in Los Silos. Of course, now I’ve said that, it will probably never be repeated!
#5 – Yeah and €2.20 Cava tastes better than €25 Champoo anyway. Cheers!