just another spanish sunday (ooooo, ooo)

It is 2 pm. I am dazed, weakened from lack of sleep. My nostrils burn from hours of second-hand smoke and my eyes are dry because I haven't put in my contacts yet.

I am GROGGY.

Last night was my first botellón. It is somewhat akin to the drinking in the park/parking lot phenomenon Ontarians have described to me so fondly...but with less sneakiness. It is, at least in Don Benito, a totally legitimate weekend activity, enjoyed by the underage crowd (yes, I saw some of my students) as well as people who could afford to drink elsewhere (my landlord and his buddies, who took us out). In other parts of Spain the cops would have shut down the drinking in public, but here they canton the parking lot in front of the cinema/leisure complex and keep watch.

It is technically illegal to sell alcohol after 10pm, but there is one unmarked door on calle Ancha that is in the botellón business. We arrived at midnight and started the tiresome business of trying to keep track of a dozen names, professions and home towns. When the group had collected, everyone threw in five euros and the botellón of rum was purchased. Because my sinuses are up to their usual shenanigans I opted out, and marched towards the parking lot brandishing my ice tea.

The botellón functions by zones. The kids I teach are at one end, grinding to the reggaeton blasting from the sound systems in their cars. The crowd gets older (if not more mature) as you go along. We found a spot on the grass, laid the bottles and bags of ice on the ground, and proceeded to socialize.

We stood around sipping drinks and making small talk for a good three hours. I got kudos for my Spanish and answered innumerable questions about Montreal, university, teaching English, the UAE and the Portuguese. In turn I learned about being a cop in Madrid, studying at the uni town of Cáceres, the places I should visit, and how Don Benito (where I live) is better than Villanueva de la Serena (where I work). It's not a glamourous event (you have to be careful not to surprise the people peeing behind your car) but it is a good way to meet people. It's a cheap night out and a pleasant one, at least while the weather holds up.

At 4 am we were starting to feel the chill so we wandered into the bar-restaurant-cinema complex Las Cumbres and bumped along to very loud house music until they finally turned the lights on at 6 am. By then I was dead tired, not just because my entire respiratory system was screaming (I feel like I am the only non-smoker in this entire country), but also from the effort of following quick, slang group conversations all night.

Today is for lazing, recovering, detoxing. It's all quiet out now, but in the afternoon people will emerge for a last coffee or drink before the long weekend is up. I will be dutifully studying road signs and prepping classes. Just another Spanish Sunday...