Plastic Plates in Águilas

Today is Saturday and currently I am the lone patron of my favorite coffee shop located within the heart of Murcia's university district, La Merced. Cafe Haskell is a gem of a hangout spot partially because it is the only place in the city that makes you feel like your inside a relaxed cafe setting. The owners are two Italian girls who have decided to decorate their business with various mementos from San Francisco which is also another reason why I have become a fairly frequent regular. With a earphones safely guarded under the protection of grey beanie and a warm caffeinated beverage awaiting the initial first sip the vibe in Haskell is quite comfortable. It's been a few weeks since updating this blog so I hope that whoever is taking time to read this is having a great weekend :)

Life here in Murcia has been following a very busy pattern. From Monday until Thursday a great deal of free time has been dedicated towards planning activities for Nuestra Señora de los Angeles and Vicente Medina the two primary schools that have contracted me to work as an English language assistant. Tuesdays have now officially become the most pressing day of the week because at Nuestra Señora de los Angeles located in El Esparragal, Spanish for Asparagus, I have taken the helm of an English after school program to help some of the students receive extra practice. With the goal of helping fourteen students gain an increased understanding of my native language while also giving myself some much desired extra experience teaching without supervision I am confident that everyone will gain something valuable from this experience. The first class ended with a variation of "Hot Potato" which was surprisingly successful.

This past week has also marked the return to full-time salsa lessons at Bora Bora which will be good for learning some new dance moves, meeting new people, and also getting more Spanish practice. The group so far seems really nice and I'm excited to see where things go. When not dancing or doing something related to teaching English a great deal of time has been spent doing language exchanges, exploring new parts of Murcia, and taking part in some of the country's more well-known festivities. Murcia is not a big city when compared to Madrid, Barcelona, or even Denver but it manages to provide its inhabitants with a wide variety of dining options, nightlife, parks, group activities, and all for a very affordable price. Also with more than 40,000 university students there is a constant energy that keeps the lifestyle here refreshing.

Last Saturday for many people around the world represented a day to be with your significant other, also known as Valentine's Day. In Spain and in various other countries, most notably Brazil, another celebration was in full effect: Carnival. A month before Lent, typically around February, many cities around the world take part in large parades, days of non-stop dancing, exotic costume parties, and various celebrations that last for two consecutive weeks. If you happen to be in Spain during this special time of year there are a handful of destinations worth visiting such as Cadiz, the Canary Islands and Águilas.

Águilas is a small Mediterranean port city of roughly 30,000 people that is sandwiched between the edge of the Murcian and Almerian districts of southern Spain. Last weekend my roommate Lucia, her classmates, and myself took a train from Murcia and took part in the Carnival festivities within it's narrow stone streets and under the protection of the cities' once prominent cliff-side castle. Between DJs playing tunes ranging from Blink-182 anthems to latin infused foot stompers we had a really fun time. Thousands of people, all of whom dressed up in costumes, crowded the narrow streets in what turned out to be a seemingly infinite dance party. Dressed as a picnic I quickly lost most of my costume in the fray of dancing and crowd swimming people, which mainly included plastic plates and neon colored silverware glued to a green T-shirt.

The following morning we all arrived back in Murcia via a early train not exactly sure what year it was but the trip was well worth it. Next weekend one of my best friends, Anna Sun, will be visiting Barcelona from California and a much anticipated reunion almost six months in the making is going to be taking place.

Thank you for reading this blog. You look really pretty. I hope you are having a great day and I miss you a lot.

Much love, gravy, and plenty of biscuits,

Daniel Anetac (Catena)

Zen Station

An empty white plate with fragments of remaining empanada crumbs lies to my left as I balance a now fully consumed miniature glass bottle of what once was pineapple juice down on the table facing me. Slightly hunched over the marble square table it's difficult looking forward due to piercing yellows from a saluting sun. Enclosed within the center of three rows of small square tables I am taking a seat within the cafeteria of the Alicante bus station and without thinking I decided to eat my breakfast while facing the large rectangle shaped primary window. Two people can be faintly seen directly in front of me through the curtains of sunlight as I attempt to bat my eyelids free from their stinging discomfort.

The room is fairly large and combined with various ticket kiosks and tourist booths there exists a great deal of space for people to relax before traveling to other destinations. I, like every almost everyone here, am waiting for a bus. Based on the illuminated departure and arrival times there sits at least a few minutes before the moment arrives for me to grab my small backpack and make way towards the exit. 

With muffled and hard to recognize Spanish voices dancing with static making routine announcements the bus station is at a bare minimum capacity since it's still quite early in the morning. Before my bus arrives there isn't enough time to do anything except wait for it to lurch into the station and collect the unknown quantity of people who are finding ways to stay occupied until it's potential appearance. 

With the sun still blocking my full vision I can make out the partially concealed moving figure of a cleaning cart being guided by a soft walking bathroom attendant.

Waiting can be a difficult process. With the comfort of eye blinking speed technology and a constant rotating wheel of daily tasks it can feel like a dragging red light has been preventing you from crossing the street towards the next wave of circulating activities you would like to be swimming towards. If there was a non digital clock somewhere within the station there would sit a slightly growing suspicion that the hands were moving in the wrong direction.

In relaxed motions a series of large passenger buses can be heard accelerating in and out of the two story bus terminal but still the one I'm expecting hasn't parked in the loading bay. 

With my jacket fully zipped due to sudden chills from the outside and a backpack sitting patiently beneath my feet I'm ready for this bus to be here. However knowing that this is something I have no control over I decide to change the one thing I know is manageable, my breathing patterns.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths, four.

Repeat.

Not having any say of when this bus arrives actually isn't that bad. There isn't a button to make it change is speed nor do I have an app to know how much time it's lacking. The ticking of time will simply have to progress in its normal undisturbed pattern.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths, four.

Repeat. 

With the sun loosening its blinding powers due to incoming clouds combined with a different seating position its starting to feel relaxing having to wait. The bus will be here when it gets here, so until then all I care about is,

One, Two, Three, Four, Repeat.

Thank you for reading this blog, I hope your enjoying your day :)