I may not speak Spanish but somehow feel unintimidated by this somewhat familiar language. I couldn’t resist eavesdropping whenever and wherever I am, catching a few understandable words but get stumped not being able to figure out the whole deal.
I downloaded this Spanish Talk Pad and thought it was a most clever thing to do. Ha! Ha! And another Ha! The easy part is when you are able to express yourself, with or without the Talk Pad, either with a question or a statement. The hard part is getting a response and not understanding it. Duh 😦
Like getting directions. Easy enough to begin with “Donde……” and getting confused with the isquierda (left) and derecha (right!) directions. These are words which found their way into our local language….. but somehow the meanings got crossed or lost.
So, imagine us Indios hunting for an apartment in Madrid. With all the Internet research on available flats within our budget, picking up that phone to dial the number and inquire is an ordeal. ☎ You see, hand gestures don’t work over the telephone. Yay, what to do?
We prayed for an angel. We found one. Through a friend, we met this Pinay working as a waitress in an Italian Resto who speaks Spanish fluently. What’s more, she just happens to be on a one-week leave. For 3 days, she made telephone calls, scheduled the visits, and accompanied us inspecting the apartments. She even negotiated in our behalf. We “followed” her negotiations through the familiar uno-dos-tres numbers we Pinoys have grown used to. Thank God!
This morning, we finally found the flat we wanted. Not exactly in the price range we wanted for its size, but we drew comfort in the friendliness of the porter and admin staff and the location. Move-in set this March 5. We’re “squatters” in Doyee’s flat 2 floors down while Mayette’s own flat is not yet ready for occupancy. Time to do our laundry too. Having concluded the deal, I passed one bar and decided to have my regular brew. No hot chocolate this time. Nor cafe con leche. Too much milk there. Had cafe cortado instead —- more coffee than milk. ☕ My usual. And a cinnamon roll. Then, back to my hotel for some siesta. The next few days would be devoted to some serious IKEA shopping.
Hasta luego! I’d get busy with the laundry.
lifeisacelebration 