After shopping around the mercadillo a bit, we settled down on the beach. Mama, Olivia, and I sat at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea, the water cold as it lapped against our feet. Soon, we were sitting on the sea-stones and letting the water wash over our legs. I say sea-stones, first, because I love the way it sounds and the imagery it draws in my mind, but most importantly because the shore was made up almost entirely of smooth rocks, not sand. We began skipping stones, and found that our skills were about tied: sometimes one of us got a really good throw in, and the next time, the rock would sink with a spectacular whump! sound.
Daddy soon joined us, and then it was time to really get into the chilly water. Whoo, did I mention that the seawater was cold? After diving in and relaxing for a few minutes, we all headed to the shore. That same morning, we had bought mats to sunbathe on, and sunbathe we did. It was incredible to feel the sun roasting my skin while my core was still chilled from the water.
After a couple of hours, we ended our beach time by skipping more sea-stones. Daddy was the best at it, and we all had a lot of fun. Now, we had to run back to the apartment and all take super quick showers. (Let me tell you, a perk of getting my head shaved for childhood cancer research, other than the obvious, is taking really fast showers. With hardly any hair, I can shower in less than five minutes.) The reason we were rushing was because one of the best, if not the best, relative on my mother's side of the family, was coming to visit us. Paco is my great uncle, and he and Mama are really close. He's a retired cop, and though he is quite serious sometimes, he is always a cool cucumber. He is a beer connoisseur; he truly makes an art out of drinking beer. At one point, while we were all out on the terrace, he educated my family on how to determine the quality of beer. Apparently, it's all about the espuma (foam).
In order to characterize Paco as best I can, I will explain some of the best and telling parts of the extended conversation that took place mostly between Mama and Paco. My dad can understand much more Spanish than he can speak, he mostly listened. O and I didn't talk much, either. Honestly, I was embarrassed that I was not completely fluent in Spanish, and plus, I really enjoyed simply absorbing the conversation. Anyway, here are some of the things that Paco said:
Generalizations about groups of people are false, and Paco doesn't understand them. For example, a kid that goes to Adriana's (his granddaughter) school, is part of a gypsy family, and his mother is from Mexico. The child's parents work hard, and though they are poor and considered low as dirt by some, they pay for their kid to go to a private school. They do this in hopes that this can allow him to break the system of poverty and low-class life many gypsies face. Paco doesn't understand how people can think badly about that family.
One pet peeves of Paco is backseat drivers. Often when Paco and his wife, Mamen, leave to go somewhere in Barcelona, she tells him where to turn. He protests that he has been a taxi driver in Barcelona for five years and a police officer there for thirty five--he known where to turn! But, he's just learned to accept that Mamen will tell him where to drive.
One of Paco's sayings that is famous in my close family is, "Que desastre" (what a disaster). During the multi-hour conversation, he used this saying at least three times. Once, he said it while talking about a time when a guy got his car towed twice in two days. The man parked his car in one place, then got his car towed. The next day, he parked in the same place, and his car got towed again. He showed at the police station and asked for the director, whom was Paco. He yelled at Paco for a long time, saying insults that Paco had never even heard before. Paco just stood there the entire time, saying nothing. Finally, the guy said, "Hey, after talking this much, I'm getting thirsty. Is there anywhere around here where I can get some water?" Paco told him where he could get a drink, and when the man came back, he apologized and said he was out of line. Paco accepted his apology and sent him on his way.
Though I could give countless more examples of our conversation, it's 10:30 pm for me right now, and I'm tired. Once Paco left, we are dinner, chilled a bit more, and went to bed.
Sunset from the terrace
Breakfast!
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