Dealing with discomfort

On Saturday night I hung up some clean laundry on the rooftop. The sky was starry and clear. I awoke on Sunday morning to the sound of pouring rain. My clothes, of course, were drenched. I spin-dried them once more, and hung them up after the sky had cleared. And they got rained on again!

I'm feeling like those clothes right now: Wanting so hard to get dry, and getting rained on constantly.

My first week back in town has been interesting. School is taking all of my time and energy. We have a couple of new subjects: Dancing with the mantón (fringe shawl), playing percussion on the cajón and learning rhythms with palmas (hand clapping). I'm in school every day till 9pm (except on Fridays).

I'm loving almost every single class I take, it's never boring. But it's hard on my body.

Living in an old Sevillan house in the historical center means living with a reduced level of comfort. And I'm having more trouble dealing with that than I thought I would. My minimally equipped kitchen is so tiny I can barely turn around in it. There's no heating except for a small electrical oven which heats the air directly in front of it. It's humid and cold. Towels don't dry well. There is practically no water pressure in the shower. I dread the day I'm standing all soaped under the shower and gas in the bottle runs out! Toilets and faucets are runny and waste water. Paint is crumbling off the walls. There is no vacuum cleaner, here in Spain they use brooms and mops. It's hard to get the place clean. 

The worst thing is the bed. My back aches badly because of it. I blocked it hard last July and is has not healed well due to crappy Spanish beds. I can deal with all other discomforts, but I'm tired of being constantly in pain. I will stay in this apartment till the end of March, so I had to find a solution.

So today I took a regional bus out of town to IKEA to buy a new mattress. I loved doing that, usually people take their car so it's tricky to get there on foot. I enjoyed walking around the store and looking at all the familiar furniture and kitchen and bed stuff. I bought some little things to improve my kitchen and feel more at home. Right now I'm waiting for my mattress to be delivered to my house. I really really hope it helps improve my back pain!

I don't want to feel ungrateful, I realize I have many things. My apartment also has its perks. But it's funny how the body reacts. I feel like I had to cross the ocean swimming and not be allowed to hold on to anything. When one cannot relax anywhere, one starts to feel very ill and exhausted and there is nothing to be done. I finally would like to start to relax.

On that note, a photo taken from the rooftop and a beautiful song from a beautiful guitarist to remind me and you: