Day 34: How Far We’ve Come
Moving into a new apartment, really moving in, isn’t something we’ve done in a hot minute. Before we moved into our townhouse in Evanston we were fairly well-practiced in the art of making a new space our own thanks to fairly frequent moves. Settling down and staying in one place for 22 years weakened those skills a bit, and the moves we’ve done since June have all been very temporary and into borrowed spaces. Yesterday we woke up in an apartment we can actually make a home for almost as long as we want and it felt good.
I woke up first (as is the norm) and relished in the normalcy of embarking on my full morning routine. Moving through my quiet dinacharya that finished with an asana practice and journaling in our 2nd bedroom/classroom/practice room almost brought me to tears. Yes, I’ve maintained elements of my daily practices throughout all our moves. Also yes, practicing in a space that wasn’t mine felt different.
Once Bill was up and I’d finished yesterday’s post we went out in search of coffee and found success nearby at El Tio Nelo Bar, a little bar/cafetería full of locals. We ordered at the counter (en Español) and happily sipped away as we took in our new surroundings. The sidewalks are narrower in our neighborhood so there isn’t as much outdoor dining but El Tio’s had more window than wall so it still felt like we were outside. Their sugar packets had a lot to say and we did our best to puzzle out the pithy quotes.
Instead of heading straight back to the Awesome Flat we strolled around the block just to see what the neighborhood had to offer and found some potential gems, one of which I visited later.
A furnished apartment is a wonderful thing, and there are still items we needed to get to turn it into a home. Top priority: Coffee making supplies! We haven’t had coffee at home since arriving in España — it was time to change that. For the Evanston locals reading this, you’ll be pleased to know that the spirit of the Main Junior Department Store is alive and well here. Every neighborhood seems to have at least one if not several of these kinds of shops that have a little bit of everything. I spent about an hour wandering up and down every.single.aisle of one to get my bearings and find some creature comforts, including a grinder, a bubbler, and a french press. Coffee will happen, and I navigated the entire shopping trip todos en español!
Work and Yoga Therapy Training don’t translate well into blog-life, but that’s what took up most of the day (for Bill) and evening (for Me…9 am-3 pm in Chicago = 16:00–22:00 in España). We did get to enjoy our first Shabbat dinner in the Awesome Flat during my “lunch” break and Bill made Paella Valenciana (pollo solo) which was delicious.
We also got to head back into Rascanya for the evening since there’s still some work to be done on the Awesome Flat and the handy-human was expected in the morning (more on that tomorrow). Walking through Malvarrosa to get to our new tram station gave us a glimpse of our new barrio and left me excited at the prospect of building our Spanish life here. Going back to the Hobbit House after 36 hours away (and having the power go out while in the shower) also helped underscore just how awesome the Awesome Flat is and will be.
