Lost in Translation

My second day here in Spain. My senses are in such an overloaded state I can´t really write about everything. I´m experiencing so much I can´t sum it up in words. Galicia is so different from what I expected of Spain. It feels like I entered a different world with ppl speaking a different language. First of all, ppl, I wanna apologize in advance as i won´t be able to blog as often as I thought I would. The family doesn´t have wireless, so the only internet connection I have is on their computer downstairs. And so, although I´ve taken some pics, I won´t be able to upload them either. But I´m sure that during my 2 week vacation around Europe at the end of May, I´ll be able to upload the photos and blog more as I´ll be staying in hotels.

Now, about my life here so far. Would you guys believe that here in Pontevedra, very very few people, or none at all, speak English? It´s quite a small town, unlike big metropolitan cities like Madrid and Barcelona, so it´s a bit of a backwater. The population count is even less than that of Penang, and I can see the horizon everytime we drive to town to drop the kids off. Those that do speak English speak only the rudimentaries. Kinda like my Spanish. Which is not saying much at all!! When they say ´poco´, they REALLY MEAN IT. About as little English as the word itself.

I feel so lost, and the airport losing my luggage doesn´t help either. Do you believe I haven´t got it back yet? Supposedly, it´s on the way to the house but I haven´t seen the person´s batang hidung yet. Aida and I have resorted to communicating mostly in body language and Spanish. It´s like, when she speaks to me I understand most of it, but I can´t speak what´s on my mind coz I can´t frame the sentence. This is sooooooooo frustrating!! I feel like a simpleton. And when she speaks to her kids or any other adult on the street, their conversation goes wAY over my head. Oh man, what a feeling. I need to learn past tense and future tense.

And guess what? I have to drive their big old volkswagon polo. That´s right. MANUAL. I have to drive the kids to school every morning. Aida and I did a test run just now, and after the first 10 minutes, it wasn´t that bad. But Pontevedra streets are very narrow, and the people drive very slowly. Which is good. Or not. Manual is never good when you have to stop a lot. And ppl cross the street at will, so it´s like an unspoken rule to stop and let any person who happens to be crossing or waiting to cross. I start driving the kids to school next wednesday. Do the math. I have to learn streets of Pontevedra by next wednesday! And let me tell you, it´s full of twists and turns. No easy feat, and I´m scared shitless I´ll crash their car.

I´ve had two cups of coffee since morning. Apparently during their free time, Spaniards in Galicia pump themselves full of coffee. Do you guys have any idea how much caffeine that is? I´m still waiting for my jet lag to catch up with me. I´m so lost in translation you wouldn´t believe. The kids are scarily energetic. Carmen is such a darling. She warms up to anyone very fast. She likes volleyball, dancing, swimming and bicycling. Juan is very fussy with his food. He only takes his drinks and food HOT. He has to be force-fed, but Aida does that. Me? I watch as their conversation goes over my head. He´s always running, kicking, jumping and monkeying about, and he doesn´t listen to me because my Spanish is crap. Everytime I try to tell him to do sth in spanish, like go bathe, eat, etc, he gives me this look that´s between confusion and derision, and goes ´qué??´ or ´no entiendes nada.´ Trust me, my Spanish is good enough for me to understand that. He doesn´t speak a word of English. Carmen, on the other hand, knows how to speak a few words of English, and I´m supposed to speak English all the time with them. But their English is even worse than my Spanish, and they don´t understand sentences. They keep chattering away in Spanish, and I have absolutely no idea how to speak English with them. It´s like, how can you be comfortable speaking English in a household where everyone speaks only Malay/Mandarin/Tamil? It´s the exact situation here. Except that it´s Spanish. I feel like...how do u say it, a shirt on a dog? In other words, extraneous.

Don´t get me wrong. I know what I´m getting myself into when I opted to come to Spain. Total immersion. Gave me a whole new perspective on that word. Although, I came to Spain looking for sun, language, sightseeing and romance. Well, one out of four is fine for now. Sightseeing and/or romance will come when I get used to the culture here. Sun...well I´m still looking for that. It´s pretty cold here, about 15 degrees celcius in the mornings, and averaging 17-20 during the days. Drizzles a lot, too. One thing is for sure. Galicia is quite unlike the rest of Spain. But then, Barcelona is also pretty cold this time of the year. Hopefully it´ll be warmer with much more sun when I go there at the end of next month.

Right now, I´m depressed coz my luggage with all my worldly possesions and NECESSITIES are nowhere to be found. I spent yesterday and today in the same clothes. It´s so disheartening, esp when you´re already feeling lost and incapacitated. Just what I need. On top of that, I start to smell too. I´m lucky it´s cold here. I shudder to think of what will happen if it´s sunny and sweltering. I don´t have my adapters with me, so I can´t even charge anyth, including my phone. It´s on its last bar of battery. I also cannot believe I left my iPod and hp charger in my luggage.

Things have got to get better soon. It just has to, or I think I´m gonna have a nervous breakdown. PLEASE. POR FAVOR.