Starting today I am having a week of total immersion in Catalan. Where possible I’ll speak only in Catalan and listen to Catalan radio and TV. It is one of the recommendations in this blog about learning a new language and so far I haven’t really given it a good shot.
So, what about the blog?
I decided to continue writing here in English but concentrating on things to do with the language and how it is to let go of my mother tongue for a short time.
As I can speak English at home I have the tendency to slide back into my familiar pond when I get stuck for a word or a phrase or …. when emotions run high.
This has to stop!
For example today when we were driving to the rubbish tip and I wanted to express forcefully something about the driving here in Catalunya (eg the speed which people drive through built up areas and the way it is considered normal to put your foot down when approaching traffic lights so not to have to stop) I found myself swearing and cursing in English. Yet, I do have a store of expletives in Catalan. Many of them learned first hand from the son of the house.
So, here we go….
” Ei, ets tonto! … Puta merda…..Collons!!! Ostia!….Tio! ”
” You are an idiot…Shit of a prostitute….Bollocks…..The Host…..Guy!”
Funny how when you want to swear you automatically switch back to your own language and the new words seem somehow less strong. Also I worry that using Catalan means I am not so sensitive to how strong the words are. Who can I use them in front of?
A while ago I learned an insult from the boy – “Cara cul” It roughly translated means ‘bottom face’ which sounds funny in English but it caused trouble here. On the other hand I find puta merda offensive but he uses it almost every day without problems. Homework – puta merda. Vegetables on his plate – puta merda Time to turn off computer – ditto……
Mmmmm. More study needed I think before I can really relax and let rip.
Author: Kate Wilson
If
If I had charged my mobile phone yesterday before going out on a small excursion then I could have taken lots of photos to show you…
- the 11th C castle de Burriac that sits high on top of a hill looking down on the populations of Cabrera, Mataro, Argentona, Villasar and Cabrils.
- the wild flowers and herbs that edge the path you have to climb…and climb….and climb to get there
- the groups of castellers from Granollers and Mataro who were climbing high on each others shoulders to create a human castle, topped by a small girl who clambered up and onto the balcony of the town hall in Vilassar de Dalt. Can you imagine this happening in the UK where most children are considered too fragile to be allowed to do risky things?
As we walked through the narrow streets of this inland village, set on a hill and linked in spirit with its sister on the coast Vilassar de Mar, I cursed myself for failing to check my phone battery the night before. I couldn’t take pictures of…
- the statue of Sant Jordi gently stroking the dragon with his spear, an April 23rd rose tucked under his arm
- the inticately designed facades of many houses
- a water fountain and statue on the corner of the street dedicated to Saint Anthony. I stopped to anoint us all – two humans and a dog – and give thanks to this saint who is always so helpful in finding lost things.
The streets became quiet and we searched for somewhere to have a drink. Everyone was going down some steps into a bar which had a NO DOGS sign on the door but outside there were tables for smokers and dog owners. Suddenly there was a loud cheer. They were watching Madrid play in the Spanish League and Zaragoza had just scored their third and winning goal. The swifts were out in force. Little boys played with bouncy balls. People seemed relaxed and low key, it was so different from the evening shopping frenzy that takes over Granollers.
My mobile battery was not just low – it was mort. It had trilled a little song and then gone silent and dark. So I couldn’t see my contact numbers nor ring the friend who I had hoped to see in Vilassar de Dalt.
We said goodbye to the little village. Looking in the windows of estate agents as we walked back to the car only confirmed my idea that houses in such a pretty place would be expensive. The swifts were still swooping and diving over our heads, some men were preparing the petards(bangers) for the correfoc(fire run) and the rest of the town was watching Barça lose it’s game in the Spanish League. Later they could go to see a performance of Carmina Burana in the theatre in the centre of town or take their chances in the correfoc as it raced through the streets to the sound of drums and fireworks.
I have never actually seen one but that will have to wait for another Festa Major when I have my camera and am not accompanied by a small dog.
We were only a few kilometres away from Granollers but it felt like we were on holiday. Somewhere completely different and very charming.
Virtual Vermut
Phew it’s a relief to sit down at last with a glass of vermut and time to chat.
If you have time to join me that would be great and I can tell you about my day while we watch the town begin to wake up again after the lunch time break. It doesn’t take long to get used to this rhythm of life – a late lunch followed by a migdiada if possible
So what’s new?
We went today to look at a house for sale. It is too expensive and didn’t look promising from the photos but you have to start somewhere and it’s always good to look around. I like visiting houses and dreaming about possible lives in them. It was much better than I expected with a little walled garden, three floors of light rooms and views over Granollers to the Torre de Pinos on the other side. Unfortunately the large soap factory is also plonked directly in front so right from the first moment it was obviously not the home of our dreams.
News from the gym?
Yes I went today and it was very good. Twenty minutes running. I haven’t done that for years. I don’t bother with the ipod since I realized I like the music on Flash FM which is the same station the boy listens to at home. Two days ago I had my first conversation with someone at the gym when he apologised for coming into the ladies changing room. I replied that I do acupuncture so I am accustomed to peoples bodies and anyway I never get changed or shower in there. This seems to have changed something for me at the gym as today I was greeted in English by another of the men and everyone said Hola and Adéu!
That reminds me of something I wanted to tell you – it is interesting here that when you meet someone you know in the street they say Adéu as they pass. So they are saying goodbye! It took me several months to stop saying Hola and start saying Adéu and even now it feels weird but I can do it.
“Hello hello! I don’t know why you say goodbye I say Hello” Apparently if you say Hola it means you want to stop and have a conversation. Adéu shows that it is no more than a passing greeting and you don’t have time to stop
I went to the market on Thursday and bought these white trousers. I am fairly oblivious to current fashions but even I noticed that Zara is full of white stuff and all the young people in the street are wearing white and black clothes. So I took the risk of buying something from a stall even without trying it on and they are great – a little see-through but who cares about that?
I wore them today with a pair of the white shoes that the Tieta gave me and felt much more a city girl than my normal country bumpkin.
And look at the beautiful bracelet – it was made by one of my nieces Alisoun who is raising money for a project working with traumatised children in Rwanda. She decided to send one to all the women in our family and I’ve been wearing it all week, amazing at the brightness of the colours when it is touched by the sunshine.
So, it’s getting chilly again and too cold to sit outside for long. This April the UK seems to be getting all the sunshine while we have the showers which is only fair and I’m glad to think of my dogs running and playing in the warmth.
Hope to see you next week for another Virtual Vermut and if you would like to write one yourself let me know and I’ll send people on to your table!
Oh! I didn’t get to tell you about the football….oh well another time and perhaps…is it possible…you are quite glad to escape?
The Cathedral by the Sea
Last night I finished reading this book – in Catalan!
It’s the first full book in another language that I’ve ever completed and though I can’t say I understood every word I actually got very hooked on it in a sort of ‘can’t put it down’ sort of way.
Does this photo show you how huge it is? It is 658 pages long and has lengthy sections describing events and historical facts
‘And what is the use of a book,’ thought Alice, ‘without pictures or conversations?’
If you are thinking of reading this novel, in any language, I would warn you that it is relentlessly didactic. the author wants us to know all about the building of the cathedral, the details of the various wars and how the armies were organised. He wants us to understand how life was in medieval Barcelona at a time when Catalunyan merchant ships were dominating the Mediterranean. Work, money, politics – all are explained sometimes at great length.
I thought of giving up several times and for a few weeks lost interest completely in the plot as the characters became static while the events of history unfolded around them.
Then…still reading as I was too stubborn to stop….I reached the last third of the book. Now reading alone as Pep had long ago finished it, I suddenly was hooked by the story. A plague ravaged Barcelona, the Jewish quarter came under constant attack from the Christian residents, the Inquisition started to terrorise the people and the main characters at last started to evolve into recognisable human beings with strengths and weaknesses.
It is worth reading this book if you are interested in this part of the world – I do know a lot more now about the history as well as feeling ready for the next challenge.
Which is …. our Sant Jordi book and we hope to read more of this one together and out loud – it’s a great way to learn a language
Granollers bits and pieces
I remember one day in Penzance a woman came into Fields Chemist asking where she could find a Perfumeria. None of us really understood what she was wanting. Did she want perfume, face cream, make-up? All of this she could get in Hammers Chemist as well as medicines and toothpaste. But no. She didn’t want those things. She wanted a Perfumeria and couldn’t believe there was no such place. A cultural divide.
Well….here in Granollers ……you can’t walk more than a few hundred yards without passing a Perfumeria. Every time I pass one I wonder how much perfume a town can use. They sell lots of things except for medicines. For that you go to a Farmacia.
In the evening the centre of town is full of noise and bustle. People shop and have coffee and walk around with their families, friends and dogs. Duna looks peaceful here but actually I couldn’t relax in the shop as every time another dog passed she got up to bark frantically and yank on the lead. At other times I looked out to see her lying on her back with a new friend patting her tummy. Men especially can’t resist her and I have many conversations in the street about her age, breed, gender, and name.
There are lots of places to sit in the streets – so if you are waiting for a friend you can relax and watch the world go by. These benches are designed so you can put your feet up!
Today – thursday – is market day so now I am off to battle through the crowds and practise my catalan vegetable vocabulary.