Is it just me, or is there an error in this story from the BBC?
(Original story here.)
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Author: Ben
“Photo assignments from two travel guides, plus my day job,” I said to myself. “I’ll be spread a little thin, but I can hack it for a month, no problem.”
It’s time for another ‘Notes from Spain Flickr Group’ Pick of the Month. Or NFSFGPM for short! This month I don’t want to post the winning picture here, because it is more than a picture, it is a story too, and you have to hop over to Flickr to read the whole thing and get the bigger picture, so to speak.
The photo is by Greg Gladman (he has won before), who tells a wonderful tale about a Zen moment in his photographic and working life in Spain. Read the story here (then check out some more of his amazing photos from Spain).
Don’t forget to add your pictures to the Notes from Spain Flickr Group, and our Black and White Steet Photography group, which will have a mid-monthly winner too.
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Am I a Guiri?
Eleena’s recent article (9 Famous Living Spaniards that Every Guiri Should Know) got me thinking more about the G-word.
Guiri is a word applied by Spanish people to foreigners in Spain, but not to all foreigners, mostly just those from Western European countries, the States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand… you know, us palid blondies 🙂 There is a definite element of looking like a total tourist involved too (sunglasses, sunburn, camera round neck, silly sunhat, sandals), though this isn’t essential.
A question that worried me for a long time was whether or not it is actually a bad thing to be called a Guiri. I remember how Marina’s sister once called me Guiri not long after Marina and I had started going out, and I took huge offense.
Yet at a party on Saturday night old friends of Marina’s were bandying the word around all evening and it didn’t bother me at all. In fact, I’ve started using the word quite a lot myself to talk about my fellow foreigners.
Being called a Guiri, I’ve discovered, is only a bad thing if it is said with spite (which is only about 20% of the time). Usually, however, it’s a friendly kind of a word, not nearly as demeaning as the way us Brits used to call the French ‘frogs’.
I think I am a bit of a guiri (despite my best efforts to Spanishify myself), especially in summer when I don much of the requisite kit (camera, shades, silly hat), but nowadays I really don’t mind in the least. Does the Guiri label bother you?
Notes: Frikipedia, something of a Spanish Urban Dictionary, has a great Guiri rundown in Spanish. Other classics include Gilipollas. As for the Urban Dicationary, see the entry on Spain, e.g.: “Spain: Builds SEAT cars, which are cheap but fun – Has gypsies who live in caves furnished with TVs, fridges, etc – Sells beer in McDonalds – Has awesome food and wine, making one realize the necessity of a siesta.” No comment.
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Speaking Spanish Like the Locals Do!
It’s not often I use this blog to promote our activities over at NotesinSpanish.com, but I’m so excited about the project we’ve just finished that that’s exactly what I’m going to do now!
Marina and I have just spent weeks working on what we’ve called our ‘Real Spanish Phrase Book and Audio Guide’. It includes over 100 of the phrases and expressions that real Spanish people use every day on the streets of Spain, explained in nearly an hour and a half of audio, with accompanying phrase book.
I’ve always been obsessed with picking up these sorts of phrases, things like ‘¡Dejame en paz!’, meaning ‘B+@+er Off and leave me in peace!’, ‘Esta chica esta zumbada’, that girl’s totally crazy, and one of my favourites, ‘La madre que te parió’, literally ‘the mother that bore you’, a quite exquisite expression to use when you are really really pissed off!
We’ve also put together a great bonus to go with the pack, ‘How to Sound Really Spanish in 10 Words or Less!’, again based on audio that basically does what it says on the tin: it includes the 10 words or phrases that will have Spanish people doffing their cap to you in respect in seconds!
Check it all out over at Notes in Spanish, by following this link:
The Real Spanish Phrase Book and Audio Guide
Here ends the shameless plug of something we are genuinely really really proud of. Have a great weekend!
Hi everyone, a couple of things that will hopefully be of interest to you all. Firstly, many thanks to John from Frankfurt who emailed me the following:
‘I thought you might be interested in the article (book? It’s 240+ pages long) “Spain Going Places” by William Chislett. Very interesting and sponsored by Telefonica, which means it is free.’
I certainly was interested, and the book, subtitled “Economic, Political and Social Progress, 1975-2008” is definitely required reading for confirmed hispanophiles. You can get hold of the mammoth pdf via this direct download link.
Secondly, for all you avid Spain photographers out there, don’t forget to check out, and hopefully join and add your images to, another addition to the NFS Flickr scene: the “Spain: Black and White Street Photography” group. I find street photography fascinating at the moment, and think Spain is a pretty fine place to practice the art!
Photo: Faces of Spain 1, from my La Virgin Dolorosa set.
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Notes from Spain: 3 Years Old This Month!
Notes from Spain started slowly in March 2005, and since then, according to this wonderful WordPress blogging software, there have been 736 posts and 5,582 comments, with, I hope, plenty more to come!
Many many (many!) thanks to all of you who keep reading and joining in. Without the encouragement, feedback, and occasional abuse, we would probably have stopped long ago!
It never rains in Cordoba. At least that’s what my friend Alistair and I thought when we took 24 hours out of Madrid to photograph the Semana Santa processions there this Easter Wednesday.
By 11pm that night, we were exhausted and soaking wet, having spent the entire day running around town only to discover that there was no way the vigines and accompanying processions were leaving the churches in a little bit of rain. We asked a barman what we’d done to deserve such bad luck. ‘Bueno,’ he said, ‘It’s rained here on Easter Wednesday for the last four years.’
Great. Easter dates change every year, yet it always manages to rain on that Wednesday, Miercoles Santo. Still, there was plenty to photograph – disappointed, damp Cordobans primarily…
… and the odd happy few that were sensible enough to stay in the bars…
For more Cordoba-Easter-Rain street photos from our damp, yet still immensely enjoyable 24 hours in Cordoba, check out my photos on Flickr, and more great images here, from my fellow photographer Alistair.
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The Humble Sandwich Mixto
This post is inspired by the extraordinary discovery that the above photo, of the simple Sandwich Mixto, is the most viewed image in my Flickr Stream.
So here’s the question: You walk into a Spanish bar wanting a quick, satisfying, base food fix, something more that than the free tapa that comes with your beer. Maybe it’s eleven o’clock and you need a calorie boost, or something to take the edge off your hangover. What’s it to be?
Mine’s a Sandwich Mixto, two grilled slices of slightly oily toast, with cheap ham and cheese in the middle. The Spanish equivalent of a bacon butty. Can’t beat it. What would you order in similar circumstances?
Updates: On the coast this is often called a ‘Bikini’ – see comments. Plus, Chris from Spanish Sauce has the full Sandwich Mixto / Bikini recipe here!
This post forms part of an ongoing series about running an online business in Spain. If that is something that might interest you, read on!
Nowadays a lot of people including, I suppose, myself, are touting the dream of a live-anywhere, internet-based income. You know, the idea that you can chill out by the beach, check your email once a week, and watch the cash role in.
The reality is obviously a little bit tougher than that. Not only do you have to find an online business idea that works, you then have to lovingly pay attention to it, full time, for a very long time. Still, it beats having to commute to work every day, and yes, you can live by a nice Spanish beach if you want to!
Hurray! I’ve been looking for this for ages, and now regular NFS commenter Parubin has found it! Here’s his great comment, from an earlier post, in full:
“@ Sandy : “Is there any website we can see a list of smoking and non-smoking establishments in Spain?”
There is : http://www.nofumadores.org/
In the horizontal Menu Bar select ‘Ocio Sin Humos’ and then ‘Buscador’ (or better you can have this website in English, by clicking on the British flag select ‘Free-Smoke Enterteinment’ and then ‘Search’).
Then you can choose between ‘Bares y Cafeterías’, ‘Restaurantes’ and ‘Discotecas y Pubs’ narrowing your search by city, town or postal code.
It is the owners of the venues who choose to join the lists of this website, so I’d say there are more places than those listed there.
As an example, in Madrid city there are listed :
– 139 bares y cafeterías.
– 297 restaurantes
– and only just 1 pub?? 😦”
Thanks to Sandy for the quesion, and Parubin for the link we’ve all been waiting for. Shame there are no non-smoking bars or restaurants listed in my corner of Madrid!
Notes from Spain by Ben Curtis 