Y solo hay un deportivo

Independentistas gallegos

Stokies on Tour

Me and Xavi outside Balaídos

Near Nati's nan's house

View of Ourense

Natural Thermal Spa, Ourense

Thermal Fountain, Ourense

Millennium Bridge, Ourense

At the thermal fountain, Ourense

Buenos!

This has been written for a while but I’ve been waiting for the photos from Natalia so that’s my excuse for lateness this week!

Last weekend I went Aída and Natalia to Ourense, to spend the weekend at Natalia’s. Ourense is in Galicia, but is more inland than Vigo. Apparently it, and Santiago, are the only major towns without a sea in Galicia. Was really good, I got a double bed all to myself and slept like a God for the weekend. Natalia’s parents are really lovely, and kept asking loads of questions about things all weekend as well as showed us around Ourense, to this fountain with naturally really hot water and to the Millennium bridge where you can see all over the town, as well as just pointing things out all the time. We also went to an old lookout tower near to Natalia’s nan’s house and to this little bar in a typically Galician village. So I got to see and learn a good deal. We saw the fountain and the bridge on Friday evening after tea and by Saturday night I’d got a cold, so I think it was that because the temperature, especially at night, has really dropped in the past few days. But Natalia’s parents gave me some medicines and tissues and looked after me, so don’t worry Mum!

Food-wise I ate really well. As I said Nati’s parents are lovely and knowing that I don’t think much of seafood they didn’t serve any all weekend! (I forgot to mention that I ate octopus at Miguel’s! It was actually alright, probably because it was covered in paprika but I couldn’t eat more than a bit of it, covered in bread.) We had this cake called “Brazo de Gitana” or Gypsy’s Arm which is like a Swiss roll without the jam and with fresh cream. I also tried this thing, I need to ask Natalia what it’s called, which was like a sweet jelly sort of thing on a slice of cheese. I really liked it but have forgotten its name now, apparently it’s very, very Galician. I also ate churros con chocolate for breakfast, which is a bit like doughnut strips dunked in a chocolatey drink thing, very very very Spanish but the first time I ate them in Spain. I ate so much there I’ve felt like I need to go the gym all week!

On Saturday early evening we went to these thermal spas, which are natural. The water in them is like 60 degrees and nearly burnt. Was really good but a bit surreal to be so hot when, like I said, the temperature outside has gone so cold. Was really good though, I’ve always said I want to go to Iceland to go to these thermal spas or geezers or whatever they’re called and now I’ve done it, in sunny Galicia! Coming home Natalia’s parents gave me a load of really good quality cured meats, because they know that most days I take a sandwich  to uni rather than eating at the residence, because I have classes and they said it’d stop the boredom of the same sandwich every day. How nice!

This weekend I went with Xavi and Miguel to watch the Galician derby football match between Celta de Vigo and Deportivo de A Coruña, which was a good laugh. Me and Miguel wore Stoke City tops, just for a laugh but I had my hoody on and bought a Celta scalf too. It was a really good derby atmosphere in the stadium and I have never heard/learnt so many insults in my life. I can now swear at people in Galician, because one of the chants at Depor fans was, “No son Gallegos son fillos de puta,” which you can google translate yourself. There was another chant which I thought was quite clever, “y solo hay, y solo hay, y solo hay y solo hay, y solo hay un deportivo, deportivo alaves” to the tune of oh when the saints, which translates as, “and there’s only one (5) deportivo, deportivo alaves,” i.e that Deportivo de A Coruña does not exist. I’ve never heard so many swear words in Spanish in my life, especially when Celta got an undeserved red card, Miguel shouted, “ostdia puta maricón joder!” which, again, you can google translate yourself! I’m really glad to have seen a Spanish football match because it’s more popular here than in the UK, everyone is obsessed by youtube videos of goals and following the English and Spanish leagues, girls as much as boys.

On a cultural difference note, self-deprecation isn’t really appreciated here too much either; when we were insulting the people of A Coruña, where incidentally I believe my Spanish grammar teacher last year is from, I said to Miguel, “No soy gallego, soy hijo de puta,” and he like no no no no no, no you’re not. I was like I know, was a joke. Ah well, live and learn. Also learnt that the phrase, “ser un pulpo” or to be an octopus actually has bad connotations. As I said that someone in the resi was a pulpo meaning they touch a lot, and I think I might have offended them. Word of advice: don’t use expressions until you fully know what they mean. Had to play the I’m foreign card to get out of that one! And a note about uni: on Thursday our English-Spanish translation teacher taught for about 30 mins of the 90 and kept asking why we all looked so glum and tired, and then she decided to send us all home, so that we can relax and cheer up. Haha, no complaints because I went to a part of the campus where there was botellón because it was the saint’s day of the Telecommunications faculty. I don’t think at Durham there’d ever me a load of people getting drunk outside the languages department, on uni property; but no complaints if it ever happens! On the way home I was desperate for a wee so had to get off in the middle of the bus route and find a bush somewhere, but thankfully my roommate Anxo got off with me and we went back to the resi together, rather than being empty bladdered and stranded by myself.

And that’s the imports from these two weeks then! See you soon!