Nice to meet you Linda! Actually yes, Spain is gorgeous! I love Spain. I first lived in the southern province, in a tiny town at the Mediterranean shore. And those areas are beautiful in a way the desert can be. I had enjoyed the lack of cold seasons for several years, but then moved to the northern province of Asturias, which is a paradise on Earth. I am an expat and have been gringoing around Spain since 2011. Is it ok that we exchange personal infos in an open forum like this?
I am a bit past 60 and I don’t see why I should invent any other number:) I don’t care about the age even if I am unable to age gracefully. I am starting to fall apart. And here I don’t care either. My only concern is my pet bunny. I would not like to go earlier than he decides to cross the bridge, because no one will take as good a care of him as I do.
My lung condition probably started due to living for 10 years in a city with quite high background radiation. Being exposed for so long never ends well. I remember how at some point I suddenly acquired the habit of opening any window i could reach once i entered any room, no matter the season, at home or in the office. I always felt i needed more, more, more fresh air. My girlfriend grumbled over this habit of mine but none of us realized it was actually a symptom.
I think your age is perfect for enjoying life. Maybe any age is. Depends on the person. If you feel content with cookies inside you this is just awesome! I loved making cookies at certain point. Not with peanut butter tho. I don’t like peanuts.
Do you know that Spain has its own specific Christmas delicacies only available around Christmas? These occur as a wide and wild range of modifications but its basis is almond paste. They are called “turrones”. My favorite was “turron de yema tostada” not any longer tho.
Some things are easier to forget than others. At the start of this dietization journey I thought the aromas of the city would torture me. But I found that the smell of coffee, fresh baked bread or chocolate are quite bearable and don’t cause any agony or something.
And a couple of days ago when I was trying to trigger a fibrillation with the Holter monitor’s tentacles all over me, I ate some chocolate first time in more than a decade. And I found it abhorrent. I know it was not about chocolate, it was me. My tastes had changed so profoundly that I could not reacquire the taste. It felt nauseating, earthy and hot in my mouth, almost inedible, too dense to swallow, leaving an awful aftertaste. I can’t imagine I liked this exactly brand and make, Suchard with orange zest, in the ancient past.
Spanish people hardly speak any languages in addition to their native tongue. They learn English at school but with meager results. I noticed that some employees of medical and veterinarian institutions can understand English or even talk on a decent level. The older generation learned French but I have no knowledge of their level in this regard.
Whoever immigrates to Spain, learns Spanish. I love Spanish and I listen to lots of books. There was time i listened to a Spanish book a day. I am a notorious book addict. I distinguish between different dialects of Spanish, and understand most of them. The hardest to understand is what is spoken in the southern provinces, e.g. the so-called Murciano is just a joke, it's indecipherable. As for conversing I am not an avid Spanish speaker. That’s because I have never operated in places where Spaniards occur naturally. In fact I lead a pretty much secluded existence. Besides it is one of several languages that I use on a daily basis and switching to can be sometimes troublesome. I also have impaired hearing and heavy tinnitus so my perception can be flawed. Haha, i am a rare collection of health issues, can be really proud of myself:)