Author: Kate Wilson

Not Spain Not France but Catalunya

~ Kate Wilson ~ 4 Comments

I wrote about our trip to the hot sulphur bathes at St Thomas in Catalunya Nord but I want to add a few photos `and some more information about this region. Before living here I had never heard of Catalunya Nord. Looking at a map I would have thought the area, sometimes known as Rosselló (Roussillion), and which includes Perpinyà (Perpignan), was in France…..and officially it is but it is also an area claimed by Catalans as part of Catalunya. In 1659 this part of the region was handed over to France as part of the Treaty of the Pyranees. This may seem like a long time ago but an important factor in this is that Català is still spoken here although French is the official language. I felt aware of the Catalan influence here but I also noticed that most people were speaking French. As always, there has been a history of repression of Català – Louis XIV forbade its use in official documents in 1700, it was banned in schools until the 1950s and it was only in 2007 that the Pyranees-Orientale Council proclaimed Català as one of the languages of the department, alongside French and Occitan, to try and promote it in public life and education.
In the market in Prada there was a stall which proclaimed its Catalan identity – we bought some very delicious potatoesThe area is dominated by the mountain called Canigó (Canigou), 2785m We set out to climb to the top but after van problems (not accustomed to climbing so high over 20 km of unmade up road), and the arrival of a thick sheet of mist just as we neared the topwe turned back and will have to go another day to feel the high that rewards you at the summit.This is one of the mountain villages that dot the landscape. Now I knew I wasn’t in ‘Spain’ as it is not surrounded by a horrible ‘urbanisation’ like so many places on this side of the border. Perhaps France has stronger rural protection laws or at least has not had the history of Francoist encouragement of unregulated development.

Chatting in the wash house

~ Kate Wilson ~ 4 Comments

 

There is a town near here called Caldes de Montbui.

I went there when my sister and my nephew were visiting, to bathe in the hot mineral baths in one of the spas. The one we chose was a beautiful building with modernist interiors called Broquetas. The water comes from the ground at more than 70 degrees and has to be cooled before you can comfortably get in. There are various places in the town where the water spurts out of fountains and I’ve heard that some houses have their own supply.Last weekend we went back again, this time to see our friend Paula Kramer doing a dance performance as part of a project called Miau I first met my partner on one of Paula’s workshops in the Pyranees – her speciality is dancing creatively in nature and in so many ways it was a healing and life changing weekend. It always feels special to see her and the other friends that I met on that workshop.
Some of these photos are a bit misty and dark but if you tilt the screen you can get the picture and I like the way they are rather mysterious and watery.This performance took place in a Safareig – a communal wash house that uses the natural hot water and has a large central stone tub where women used to come to wash their laundry and talk. There is a Catalan phrase ‘fer safareig‘ which means to gossip – a word that in English has some negative associations but which I think also describes a vital and caring way of passing on news about your friends aquaintances and family. Womens communications – so many words that are pejorative – nagging, bitching, gossiping….
This town now also has a large community of people from Mali and some of these women have begun to use the Safareig as a meeting place and for washing clothes again. There are three Safareigs in Caldes and one of them seemed derelict and sad although as part of the project it was being used as a grafitti house where you could write your desires on the walls.
At the end of the performances people were invited to have a hot bath in the tub – I dangled in my feet and legs but wasn’t tempted to plunge in when it started to fill up with hot steamy bodiesBut it was an incredible scene.

Wild swims

~ Kate Wilson ~ 7 Comments

 


Before I left Cornwall last year I read a book called Waterlog by the late Roger Deakin and I find it has stuck with me – memories of some of his wild outdoor water adventures have become permanent images in my imagination and they help me when I am hesitating to take the plunge. If he could fling himself into an icy lake in Cumbria then surely I can do the same in the Pyranees? Over the past year I have swum of course many times in the sea but also in mountain rivers, lakes, woodland pools and, for sometime in the future, there is the tantalising dream of a dip in a totally wild unspoilt natural hot water mineral pool.This favourite pool is deep and mysterious and isolated – you walk a long way up river to get there and are rewarded with a magical setting. I am sure Les Dones D’Aigua live here. That strange shape is my reflection in the water – it was totally clear.A deceptively gentle looking river – it was impossible to swim upstream against the current. Had to wear my bathing costume here so it lacked that ‘je ne sais quoi’ of wildness.Duna’s first long swim – like me she prefers calm waters.These last pictures are of another hidden pool in the mountains of Montseny. Almost too cold even for me – but I did it!
And the dream of an open air natural hot spring? I heard of one close to the Bains of St Thomas in Catalunya Nord but we were leaving that day so it waits for next time….

3 Nice Things To Do on a Day Out in Barcelona

~ Kate Wilson ~ 8 Comments

 

First go to a cafe and relax with a drink, a plate of almonds, a notebook of vocabulary to memorize and an ipod.Yes I am also having a cigarette (still also possible inside cafes here until after Christmas)
And what was I listening to? A podcast of Thinking Aloud which, I know, doesn’t fit in well with my intention to immerse myself in non-english but I need to relax sometimes.
Second, wander through the streets and look at the variety of interesting buildings- not only Gaudi.Third – go to another cafe – this one Granja M Viader is the oldest granja (milk bar) in Barcelona – and enjoy a drink of hot chocolate with melindros (large sponge fingers). Thanks to Marta for introducing me to a new place.That must be more than 3 nice things- more like 100!

How long does it take to learn a new language?

~ Kate Wilson ~ 2 Comments

It’s time to get serious about studying Català.The date for enrolling (at the Centre for the Normalization of the Catalan Language ) is in my diary and I am determined this time to arrive at 8am and wait in a queue for two hours – that is only to get through the door! It will be my third or fourth attempt to join a Catalan class. These classes are free – paid for by the Generalitat with the aim of increasing knowledge and encouraging the use of Català which of course was suppressed during the Franco dictatorship years. They are also heavily over subscribed. If you want to test your brain power you can click here and discover how hard it is to find out when the courses actually start and how to enrol because it is all written in Català – which is the language you are wanting to learn! Some courses have the first introductory page also available in Castellano but when you search for real practical information it says ‘ this page is only available in Català – ha-ha!’ Or I just imagine that last bit!
But today I started again to do some home study and, while I was avoiding actually getting on with it I searched for interesting articles about how long it takes to learn a new language. I have no idea how fast or slow I am but I know there are some people who manage to get by after only a few months. I am not one of them!
I found this really interesting blog by Tim Ferriss which gives lists of the 100 most used words in spoken and written English. And, I hope he doesn’t mind if I quote him,
‘individual word frequency will vary between languages (especially pronouns, articles, and possessives), but differences are generally related to frequency rank, rather than complete omission or replacement with a different term. The above two lists are surprisingly applicable to most popular languages.’
I tested myself to see how many of the 100 I can already say in Català! Without cheating with the dictionary. Positive news! There were 13 I didn’t know which means 87/100 which I do!

Another piece of advice on this web site is to only feed yourself with language lessons about things you enjoy or feel passionate about. This is so true – my first words in castellano came from Tango lyrics. Alma. Trasnochando. Ausencia. Abrazo. Soñar. Llorar. Recuerdos.
I need Català for practising acupuncture amongst other things so perhaps I should start by reading books about health and meditation and Feng shui. Or maybe better to focus on family matters as my first point of necessity is at home. At the moment I am reading a book called Diari d’un Jove Maniatic which is a translation of an English book about an adolescent boy and although I don’t understand everything I find I want to pick it up and read every night!
I will also follow Tiffany’s advice to affirm positively things like ‘I speak Catalan’ before studying. I have also started my ‘ten words a day’ notebook for increasing vocabulary. Tim Ferriss says it is better to learn like an adult rather than trying to pick up a language as a child does. It takes years for a child but an adult can learn very fast if they follow tried and tested methods.
And I must stop sliding back into English when the going gets rough. It’s the easy option and especially because English is such a dominant language and many people want to practice it.