Meeting Folks in Alozaina February 5, 2014
At home, we are pretty social folks, especially me! On the road for long periods of time, it can be a bit constraining to have only one's spouse to communicate with. So, now that we are settling into life in Alozaina, it is lovely to be meeting new folks. On our first day here, last Friday, we didn't meet a soul, other than the grocery store vendors. However, on Saturday morning, as we puttered around the casita, me still in my pj's - as usual - an unexpected knock came on the door. We looked at each other with an air of surprise and anticipation. Who could it be? Being not quite presentable, I stayed out of the way, while Bruce opened the door to find two well-dressed, well-scrubbed middle-aged gentlemen, holding paper tracts. Yep, the Jehovah's Witnesses are here in Spain, too! This is one of the rare occasions when lack of the language is a benefit.
No more quickly had we settled back into our puttering than another knock came on the door. This time it was a tall, lanky Brit, who introduced himself as Rod, a friend of Hugo and Mary, our landlords. Hugo had told us about Rod and his wife Alice and what great folks they are. We were delighted to meet Rod, who had come to invite us to attend a small market, where we could meet many of the English-speaking ex-pats who live in town. We were so impressed that he had walked across town and down our rigorously steep stairway to welcome us. Rod is a stained glass artist, a fluent Spanish speaker, and a musician - with a fiddle to spare! He and Alice have lived in Alozaina for about 10 years.
When we found the market later, we met Alice, who is a painter, writer, and musician, as well as a transplanted Canadian (from Vancouver). Alice and Rob took us under their wings and introduced us to several other ex-pats, including Jon, who is a musician from one of the Devon (England) towns that we had visited in 2012. Jon is here for awhile, doing some writing and research on the Sephardic Jewish experience in Spain. There was also Steffi, who hails from "the other Portland" (Oregon) and who is here for a few months, having attended a nearby retreat. Tricia is a British organic farmer who invites workers to come and help out on her farm here. Anna is a Dutch artist who has built a straw bale house and lives off the grid with her Irish boyfriend. Mahree is an Israeli who also lives off the grid with her husband and is an ardent gardener, too. There was also Alvaro, a young Spanish-British engineer who will soon bring his wife and toddler from England to live here while he builds guitars. What an incredible community of creative, artistic, alternative life-style individuals we had fallen into! They all welcomed us warmly. In fact, when Alice heard that I am writing a blog, she invited us to join her and Jon and Steffi the next day for a newly formed writers support group at her house. We went, not without a tiny bit of trepidation, and it was a delightful sharing of ideas and thoughts and even some writing.
Bruce arriving at Alice and Rod's house
But, you ask, what about the Spanish natives? On Sunday, just as we were preparing to leave for our writers group, Bruce noticed our across-the-street neighbor, Juan, whom Hugo has also mentioned.
No more quickly had we settled back into our puttering than another knock came on the door. This time it was a tall, lanky Brit, who introduced himself as Rod, a friend of Hugo and Mary, our landlords. Hugo had told us about Rod and his wife Alice and what great folks they are. We were delighted to meet Rod, who had come to invite us to attend a small market, where we could meet many of the English-speaking ex-pats who live in town. We were so impressed that he had walked across town and down our rigorously steep stairway to welcome us. Rod is a stained glass artist, a fluent Spanish speaker, and a musician - with a fiddle to spare! He and Alice have lived in Alozaina for about 10 years.
When we found the market later, we met Alice, who is a painter, writer, and musician, as well as a transplanted Canadian (from Vancouver). Alice and Rob took us under their wings and introduced us to several other ex-pats, including Jon, who is a musician from one of the Devon (England) towns that we had visited in 2012. Jon is here for awhile, doing some writing and research on the Sephardic Jewish experience in Spain. There was also Steffi, who hails from "the other Portland" (Oregon) and who is here for a few months, having attended a nearby retreat. Tricia is a British organic farmer who invites workers to come and help out on her farm here. Anna is a Dutch artist who has built a straw bale house and lives off the grid with her Irish boyfriend. Mahree is an Israeli who also lives off the grid with her husband and is an ardent gardener, too. There was also Alvaro, a young Spanish-British engineer who will soon bring his wife and toddler from England to live here while he builds guitars. What an incredible community of creative, artistic, alternative life-style individuals we had fallen into! They all welcomed us warmly. In fact, when Alice heard that I am writing a blog, she invited us to join her and Jon and Steffi the next day for a newly formed writers support group at her house. We went, not without a tiny bit of trepidation, and it was a delightful sharing of ideas and thoughts and even some writing.
But, you ask, what about the Spanish natives? On Sunday, just as we were preparing to leave for our writers group, Bruce noticed our across-the-street neighbor, Juan, whom Hugo has also mentioned.
Juan is the go-to guy if you have a house problem that needs fixing - and another wonderful person, it turns out. We had been having trouble with our wood stove, despite Bruce's expertise. The pipe was filled with creosote and was not drawing well, often filling the house with smoke and giving little heat. Through emails, we had been advised by Mary to contact Juan. Well, now was the time. When we had explained the problem - in our best bumbling Spanish - Juan took over enthusiastically, running upstairs and outside to look at the pipe, opening windows to create draft and let the smoke escape, stuffing the stove with wood. He said (we think) that he'd get a ladder the next day and fix things up. In the meantime, he rushed back to his house and reappeared with a box full of oranges, tangerines, and avocados from his own garden. With a few more words, he left and reappeared with a huge jug of olive oil, from which he filled our bottle. It, too, was the product of his own olive trees. Sweet welcome gifts!
Juan's sweet gift of oranges and tangerines
Juan has been back a couple of more times, and the stove seems to be working much better. Today we met Juan's wife, Laura, who told us about her three daughters, one of whom has had to leave to work in Switzerland, due to severe unemployment here.
Tomorrow, on Bruce's birthday, we'll invite three of our new acquaintances to share some tapas treats with us. On Friday, there's flamenco on offer at a tapas bar. Next week, our British friends whom we met in France in 2006 will come to spend a couple of days with us. Suddenly life is pretty full.
Juan has been back a couple of more times, and the stove seems to be working much better. Today we met Juan's wife, Laura, who told us about her three daughters, one of whom has had to leave to work in Switzerland, due to severe unemployment here.
Tomorrow, on Bruce's birthday, we'll invite three of our new acquaintances to share some tapas treats with us. On Friday, there's flamenco on offer at a tapas bar. Next week, our British friends whom we met in France in 2006 will come to spend a couple of days with us. Suddenly life is pretty full.
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