the annoying yet slightly endearing wagon wheel!
Palacio de Deportes in Madrid
Music in Madrid
Concert goers in Madrid who go to see big international acts usually find themselves going to the Palacio de Deportes which as well as a venue hosting concerts is also a basketball arena. The venue is massive. I seen Artic Monkeys there last year and was sitting and it felt a bit impersonal like watching a DVD of the band because of the size of the stadium. This year I saw ‘One Republic’ there and it was standing room only which generated a much more connected atmosphere. I also saw Ed Sheran perform there a couple of weeks later and he did a decent job of entertaining the crowd which can be no easy feat in his striped back format (no other performers on stage) in a massive arena.
There are some open mic nights in some bars throughout the city but in general the live performance in bars is thin on the ground. Live local performances are something that Ireland
does really well, that visitors remark upon and something we should be very proud of and strive to maintain. The local Irish music scene of one man and his guitar belting out’ wagon wheel’ (for any non Irish this is a softish sounding country song which everyone in Ireland knows) in every local pub you frequent is actually something to be treasured about Irish culture.
Bono spoke recently on the Graham Norton show about the importance of the song in the pub in Ireland ensuring the bar stayed open and the punters stayed drinking. The pub performance culture in Ireland continues to entertain and enliven the masses throughout the Emerald Isle. So the benefit of living in Madrid as the capital is that you can get to see the big international acts play but for the real ‘craic agus ceol’ (music and fun) Ireland knows best what sweet tune to sing to.
The write way
Year two in Madrid saw me determined to delve in deeper to one of my favourite pastimes which is writing (strange that seen as I’m writing a blog ) I found two writers groups who informed me about open mic nights that are held every six weeks in Madrid. So, in the whole spirit of ‘feel the fear and do it anyways’ (or after drinking too much red wine at a writer’s group meeting and declaring that I would read at the open mic night) I decided to try my hand at reading a poem that I wrote. The evening of the open mic night dawned and between dashing from work to Spanish lessons I suddenly realised that I hadn’t actually ever read the poem out loud. So, the glamour of my life entailed printing off the poem in an internet café, dashing from Spanish lessons to the venue and reading it aloud to myself in the toilet in a café before reading it at the open mic. Panic flashed through my mind as I approached the venue. Frantic fear filled my mind. Questions such as ‘Will I bore people?’, Will I read it how I had intended?, ‘Why am I doing this?’ flooded my brain. Its a bit like learning a language you have to get up there and do it, speak it ,feel it, put it out there. Flawed? Yes, but it is in the imperfections that we learn. A hiking buddy of mine remarked that “people think you have to be confident to get up and do things but the truth is confidence comes from getting up and doing them.“ and the open mic experience makes me agree with this sentiment. I did manage to read it after a shaky and nervy start. I’m aiming to read at the open mic night in January only maybe this time I will make less haste and more preparation!
It’s official!Lessons in language learning, blagging and bureaucracy in the Escuela de Idiomas
Year two in Spain saw me determined to kick my Spanish level up a notch (which is the only way it could go considering I arrived in year one with about ten Spanish words in my vocabulary set). I had heard that the Escuela de Idiomas, the official school of languages offered accredited language courses at very reasonable rates but to gain this bargain rate you have to plague the school for information. The plaguing started in July and August which I sent several emails asking about language courses starting in September/October. Eventually near the end of September I received an email saying I could attend the school on an allocated date to complete a level test for a language course.
On online forums for expats in Madrid I had read conflicting reviews of E.O.I. with some people saying the classes offered a reasonable rate to learn a language and others saying that the level test was a scam to make money and that only a limited amount of places were actually available. I went along to the level test therefore wondering if I would actually get a place. The level test in itself presented a challenge. You have to do a grammar test with 100 (yes a hundred) questions, do an oral test and a writing task (I was in zombie mode after the level test). The next day I checked online to see my level placement ‘intermediate one’, it was so nice to be something other than a complete beginner) I had to go to the bank to pay for the level test then return to the school to queue up the next day with a copy of your passport, nie (this is a document you have to have if you are living/working in Spain) and the slip proving you had paid for the level test.
Once I reached the top of the queue a non-smiling moustache man took my documents. I told him I wanted to do the classes in the evening but he shook his head and pointed to red boxes on his computer screen
“ Esta llena,” or ‘it is full’ he said. I’m not sure what came over me but I decided moustache man was going to let me into the class so making my eyes as full and sad as I could I started babbling about how I really wanted to learn Spanish and somewhere between the sad eyes the begging ‘por favors’ or pleases I threw in a bribe ‘’te compro una cerveza’’(I will buy you a beer). Moustache man said something that I didn’t understand so I just nodded fervently and he clicked on the red box to add one more number to it. I was in! The class had already started when I left the document checking office and it was only later I thought ‘’holy crap, I just tried to bribe an official’’.
The downside to the cheap lessons is that class sizes are large. Over half the class are Asian hailing from Hong Kong, China and Korea which means I may end up speaking Spanish with a Chinese accent! The rest of my classmates hail from England, America, Eastern Europe and there is a diplomat from Nigeria, an au pair from Germany and a teacher from Finland and I am the token Irish girl in the class flying the flag for Irish wit and Guinness whenever I get a chance! There
is something very lovely about learning a language in an international environment because not only do you get to learn a language but also about the culture and customs of your classmates. I learned for example, that you can’t cry in Korea in December, apparently there is even a song about it!
After having classes for two hours a day everyday between Monday to Thursday and including two Fridays every month from October to December, I hope I am improving, I have to get 60 per cent in a four part exam to pass (listening, speaking, reading and writing). Having the exam about a week after I return to Spain after Christmas is terrifying me (maybe I will say, well, what’s the craic? Instead of Hola, que tal). Im trying to keep some Spanish in my ears in Ireland over the festive season with some dvds and podcasts to keep me up to speed. So, I may have blagged my way into the class but passing the exam may require a bit more brain power than using my Irish charm. The school offers language classes in several different languages including in Irish. For now I will stick to building up more than a couple of words or ‘cupla focal ’( as we say in Irish) of Spanish but I guess it is nice to know I can study my own native language and many others if I choose to stay in Madrid.
a typical chino shop in Spain
Ode to el chino
For anyone living in Madrid a trip to a chinos (which is slang for a local shop usually run by Chinese people hence the name )will become a regular part of your time here. The chinos is the place for your basic essentials such as bread and milk and all sorts of riff raff from air fresheners to key-rings.There is normally some bored child sitting on a stool amongst the cans of tuna, shampoos and crisp boxes while the shop server normally seems to be watching some Chinese programmes on tv, There are some chino shops just for food and others for just household products which sort of resemble the 2 euro shops in Ireland but stock everything from electric plug sockets to Christmas trees and pillows and cutlery
If Irish people and Spanish people were as shrewd and opportunist as the Chinese we would having booming economies right now. Spanish people give out that the Chinese don’t learn Spanish but the shrewd business instincts of the Chinos always know how to ask ‘algo mas’ or if you want anything else and so of course I want and buy the Doritos when I only had intended to buy milk. It’s a bit like when you shop in Pennies and come out with an array of things you hadn’t intended getting (On an aside note more than half of the students in my Spanish class are Chinese and they said that in maths classes in China students study four maths books per year so it is no wonder they are the ones with a booming economy). When I go for a run on a hot day a chino man offers to sell me water on the street and when it is lashing rain the offer becomes an umbrella. You have to admire their pragmatic approach to business. Be it late night munchies, cleaning products, booze or a lighter that you need ,the chinos is your one stop shop for all the cravings and conveniences you need to fulfill.
The Chinese population certainly have a strong presence in Spain and with an ageing population here many Spanish people are delighted to see Chinese children raising the youth population and from immigrants in general) and like in Ireland where many couples adopt babies from China this has also occurred in Spain ensuring that the Chinese ethnicity has a strong presence and a strong future here. I have heard Spanish people remark that they have never seen a funeral of a Chinese person here with one remark being 'they never die, the chinos, they use the same id papers.’ illuminating that perhaps some Chinese stay here for a few years and then return and perhaps their family members and friends replace them instead. The Chinese community therefore is very much alive in Spain. Now, if I can just resist those damn Doritos every time the chino man asks 'algo mas’ then all will be well but the shrewd chino man outwits me every time.
The rooftop view of Madrid from ciculodebellaartes
Year two, a different viewpoint
Upon returning to Madrid in September for the start of my second year living here it is interesting to think about and see different viewpoints of the city. The literal viewing point came in the form of visiting the Circulo de Bella Artes and taking the lift to the 7th floor to see roof top views of Madrid. It felt like a bit like being in a Carlberg ad for ’ if Madrid did the best view in the world….. ( the song from the Ikea ad ‘you will always find me in the kitchen at parties’ played on loop in my head from viewing the swanky bar which is all steel corners, fake grass and modern design). I felt a bit out of place in a GAA jersey (after just coming from watching the All Ireland Final in the James Joyce bar). The building itself is worthwhile to check out as it houses interesting art and photography exhibitions (www.circulodebellaartes.com ).
There is a bit of a sense of ambiguity for expats on the whole regarding tourist spots or things to see or do and check out (only when you have the visitors do you start to think’ oh I really should have seen x, y and z). The reality is you don’t eat tapas everyday and sit in the sun as the mundane realities of life continue including paying bills and doing washing but sometimes it is nice to do the touristy things too to remind yourself of why it is good to live in the city!
News reports announce that a street in Madrid has been named after Margaret Thatcher, and the question of Scottish independence receives plenty of column inches and airtime due to its parallels with the Catalans wanting independence from Spain. My personal viewpoint is that naming a street in Madrid after a British political leader is a sickening attempt to cash in on British tourists so you could say that 'Calle Margaret Thatcher ’ (calle is the Spanish word for 'street’) ain’t exactly up my street!
Living abroad gives you fresh insight into yourself and your own country and about the country you choose to live in. We are all guilty of stereotyping how we expect a country to be, be it from taking tango lessons in Argentina (where I assumed it was an integral part of Argentinian culture only to meet Argentinians outside of Argentina afterwards who say it is not all that common/popular and is just a tourism marketing strategy), to people assuming that all Irish people have red hair. Living in a place however, dispels myths or as Seamus Heaney more eloquently put it 'Still, living displaces false sentiments’. By actually living in Spain the viewpoints I have learned are that not all Spanish people support bullfighting (it is banned in Catalonia but is not supported by all other Spanish people) nor is it a national custom to take a daily siesta. The viewpoints I reflected upon when returning to kick start my second year in Madrid gave me a positive outlook for the year ahead.
Things I rejoiced about and that struck me as I returned to Madrid is how safe it feels at night, how going home at 330 feels early, how knowing where your going makes you realise how much you love the city, how from building up a network of friends you now have a social calender of house-warmings and birthdays not to mention Gaelic Irish match viewing sessions that you must attend , how good the fruit and vegetables taste (I guess food being exposed to sunshine and not arriving battered and bruised and a few days old by the time it is exported accounts for this), how lovely it is to have some clue language wise and culturally (although I still asked for a fireman instead of a lightbulb) , how much there still is to discover now that the initial year of settling in has passed.
So, year two brings with it different view points both in the literal and metaphorical sense. Sometimes the view can be hazy but when we wait through the fog we can see a clear viewpoint . Undoubtedly year two will bring with it sunshine and showers. The experiences of different viewpoints to learn from, build on and look from are an important component of the fabric of living abroad.