New Friends All Around

My two latest acquaintances are certainly worth noting.

 

First, after attending a festival for Granada’s patron saint (which will be described in greater detail later), my roommate, Jillian, and I ventured off into the Albayzin (the Arab quarter) instead of continuing further down the mountain to our home. The streets are lined with narrow shops, which sell products typical of Morocco. The vendors generally stand outside the entrances and encourage passersby to explore their wares. From store to store, there is slight variation in products and prices, but overall, once one has visited one of these shops, all has been seen. Jillian was searching for a set of Moroccan tea glasses for a friend of hers, so we were venturing into every shop quite systematically, as to find the very best prices and designs.

One shop, though, had no owner outside; instead, he sat inside around a corner, messing with trinkets and papers at his desk. As we neared the back of the store, we heard “The Circle of Life” playing, so quite naturally we had to take a moment to dramatically sing along. What we thought was a subtle performance apparently caught the attention of the shop owner, who came over to ask if we preferred a different song (oops!). We assured him that on the contrary, we loved the song, and all those of the Lion King variety, for that matter. Introductions then followed (all in English, by the way), and before we knew it, our new friend started showing us a project of his: an Iron Man suit. Apparently, he moved to Granada from Morocco to attend the university for civil engineering. Since school, he has worked in his shop, but still loves constructing things, particularly those related to comics. In the past, he participated in many of Spain’s comic-cons, always dressed in full, hand-made costumes.

His Iron Man suit is still in the works, and though he really only has a mask so far, it is quite impressive. The design, firstly, is spot on. The mechanics are what truly complete the work, as he has it wired so the eyes light up exactly like the real Iron Man mask. In addition to this mask, he has one glove/mechanical hand that is half finished. Jillian asked if she could take a picture with him and his mask, but he explained that he is not proud of his work until it is completed. Promptly, he took down our emails, which he wrote in a small notebook beside the email address of a British woman. In a few months’ time, we will receive photos of his finished costume. Of course, he wishes for us to visit in the meantime, and we will most certainly oblige.

 

Friend number two: Yesterday morning, as I impatiently watched my bread toast, a new girl wandered into the kitchen, making a beeline for the busy, already cooking senoras. With a bit of difficulty, this girl explained that she desired a room change, as hers was not suitable – it was cold and small. The senoras kindly explained that the residencia’s owner could make the change, but for the time being, they themselves could do nothing. Despite the senoras’ explanations, the girl pressed on, quite insistently. Clearly, communication was an issue (among others, possibly).

Anyways, finally the senoras managed to satisfy the girl. She then proceeded to examine each container of milk and finally asked me, in Spanish, what the labels meant. I could not figure out exactly what needed to be done, as she did not speak English (I know she heard me talking to another American), but her Spanish was most obviously minimal. How on earth should the difference between skim, whole, and 2% be explained? I tried a lite mix of English, Spanish, and lots of gesticulating… eventually, with the help of the senoras, we got the point across. By this time, my toast was nice and toasted – the distraction certainly made it toast faster.

As I moved to jam and butter said toast, the girl introduced herself as Sarah (from France) and explained once more her room predicament. After a few minutes, we slowly progressed to the dining room, where she continued her rant about the ridiculous nature of her living situation. Occasionally, she ventured into other topics, such as couses, length of time in Spain, etc. Honestly, though, I understood very little; she spoke a little bit of Spanish but with a heavy French accent… but mostly just French. I felt bad for her, though, as she was truly distressed by her sad little room. She repeatedly mentioned the window and needing fresh air, too. It did help that she kept restating her complaints because it definitely took a few listens to comprehend her words.

In any event, once I finished eating (she never did eat the two pastries she grabbed… they just stayed in her hands), she dragged me to her room. Granted, we went down a wrong hall or two, but finally we found it. That poor girl did have reason to be a little put off, I suppose, as her room really only had enough room to shimmy between the twin bed and the armoire. Mounted about shoulder’s height on the wall was the radiator, which most certainly was not working at the time. This radiator was extremely close in proximity to the desk. Wedged in an awkward corner, if one sat at that desk (provided the heater felt like functioning), skin would be burned for sure. I apologized for her situation, and we then ran up to my room so she could investigate. Seeing as my room is for two people, it is far larger, and Sarah, being the ultra-determined person that she clearly is, wanted to know the exact price of having such a room, etc.

Do not worry, though, today at breakfast Sarah’s spirits were much better – a room switch was granted! My goodness. After sharing another meal with her, I am still uncertain of why she is here. Either she is teaching a French class at the master’s level or she is taking courses at the master’s level to eventually teach French. No clue. I enjoy her company, though, especially with her sometimes twitchy facial expressions as she tries to think of a word and her eagerness to make conversation. Speaking with her is proving to be such a great opportunity to practice Spanish, as it is far less intimidating since she too is learning.