Learning Spanish is kind of like falling over. Residencia Asistada. Tercer Edad. Gerontologia. I think the only words that aren't totally obvious there might be tercer edad. Then again, I don't know how useful these words are. I suppose there may be some kind of instance where it might be important to know the building you are passing is an old folks' home: "Please help me, I am OLD!"

I had to go back to the warehouse/hole in the wall behind the church tower, because the oranges I was getting elsewhere, even in the market, weren't as good. I could hardly deal with it today though. One woman took interminably long, and I wish so much that I could have recorded the interaction to be able to better describe to you just how weird it is. Senor cualquier is almost like some kind of entertainer. As he answers detailed questions regarding what exact kind of oranges or potatoes he's got, while jumping around the shop collecting the items, he also gives a little extra information just in case you need to be convinced, "these are buenisimo, put several on the grill and... uufff!" Or, "these avocados are perfect," (quickly slices one open to show the row of ladies waiting), "you can eat them today or leave them till domingo, martes and they'll still be good." To anyone from home this makes him sound like some kind of a bad salesperson, but the way he does it is completely honest, and it is always true, at least at his shop. It is the ladies that drive me nuts with the number of detailed questions, but I suppose when you are not picking the produce out for yourself, you need to know, somehow.

I made the mistake of eating one sitting here on my bed just now and got a little juice on the unnecessary "blanket" (more like a thick second sheet). I am just hoping that does not attract cocroaches. Last night I went to the pena that takes place from Wednesday to Friday right outside my studio. I managed to be friendly for once with a random stranger (actually my normal state). And then Esther, the English woman who rents me the studio, came along too. The singer had a letra that mentioned a cucaracha on the pared, and a paloma that ate it. That letra came right after one about how much he loves his gitana girl. Unfortunately I came home and found a cucaracha on my pared.
The pena takes place just outside my (or rather, Esther's) little garage practice space, on a concrete area, with a few wooden boards for benches and other random chairs and the rest stand. There are still a few oranges left on the trees above the garage, and during the siguiriyas two oranges came bouncing down off the tree. Fortunately, flamenco singers are used to stuff like that (normally just noisy dumb people in the audience). The singer was a tall and intimidating, very gitano looking guy, with his dark, curly hair in a pony tail, and wearing all black, though casual, unlike the other kinds of penas. When he sung, he didn't look at anyone, and his face turned sweet looking.

There was a wind blowing my white laundry on the rooftop, the sky was pink, and there were swarms of swallows. A wrought iron scrollwork thing on top of a church just across the opposite rooftops was tilting sideways. Some procession band's trumpets and drums were playing, and they would get a bit louder and then a bit quieter. I don't know if it was the wind, carrying the sound from the river, or if they were turning corners in the streets. Now inside I can of course still hear them.

I took a class today for the first time in months and watched the same one yesterday. Juana Amaya is awesome - a very highly regarded dancer of a traditional, gitano style (less perfectly sculpted stuff, more fire), and a really nice person. I wanted to try the advanced class because I really didn't want any more tangos for the time being, which was what the intermediate was doing. Watching yesterday, I knew I was capable of doing the footwork, but didn't know if I could follow along fast enough. If I'd been able to take the class yesterday I might have done better, but it is too fast for comfort to do the same all month. She told me it doesn't matter whether I've done too much tangos recently, I just need to dance really A LOT, to raise my level.

This is really true, but my aims are slightly different than most of the advanced girls. Some of them don't even have better arms than me, and she felt the need to stop them from coming in at the wrong spot when the singer changed her entrada. Basically what it amounts to is they are good sight readers, due to having taken many, many similar classes. I may or may not get to the level where I can quickly "sight read" complicated footwork (I already know I can do it if given time to learn it). I am still working with the tangos material I currently have. Learning more is not going to help me land anything in the right spot, when I am given something in an impromptu situation. My aim is to know what I already know so well that I can adapt my pasos to whatever music I'm given. I have my doubts that simply taking a million classes and being able to pick up more and more complicated stuff quickly is going to do that for me. Perhaps some of them manage that after a while, but I intend to do that first, and what they are doing later, or at least along with it. I intend to do the same thing with the other palos that I want to learn.

The other possibility is technique with Angel Atienza, and what I'd most love is some unknown, random class with Angelita Vargas, which is as of yet, unorganised.