• Mind wanderings

    Child-caused music funks and frozen Andalucia

    I’ve been in a random music funk the past few months because my child has completely destroyed my Spotify algorithm. Every time I log on I’m bombarded with JoJo Siwa and music from the Descendants (which is surprisingly good, it has to be said). And this wouldn’t be a problem except I use Spotify to discover new music, and that has gone all haywire now. I finally got around to signing her up for a Spotify Kids account linked to mine (not an easy task because we live abroad, and because with a family plan you all have to be in the same household, when I try to do it…

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  • Life in Spain

    Spanish Lockdown: I go out!

    Unimaginably bizarre. That’s how I’d describe the grocery store experience I had today. I was prepared for madness. I was prepared for crowds. I was prepared for empty shelves. What I got instead was silence, wariness, and everyone in gloves. Spanish people are huggers, and kissers, and generally very touchy people. They don’t do personal space very well. They’re also extremely loud. Go into any cafe at lunchtime, and you have to scream to be heard. So when I entered the Lidl here and was met with silence, it was freaky. I saw someone I knew, and instead of the customary greeting of kisses and hugs, we just smiled a…

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  • Life in Spain

    Spanish Quarantine Day 3: We make Inspirational Signs

    We’re still on quarantine here in Andalucia, and they’re taking it pretty seriously. People at the beach on the coast are being given tickets for being out and sunbathing. A woman was fined for being in the park with her daughter. A friend posted on Facebook yesterday that he thought the restrictions weren’t going into affect until Monday, and tried to go for a bike ride, and got yelled at by three people including a police officer. He quickly rode home, shamefaced. We live out in the countryside, so it’s not as hard, but it’s still weird not having any structure to our days from external sources. There’s no school…

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