Month Eight in Málaga—Language, literature, art, and lights
Art seems to have been the theme of this month. Here are a few highlights: Congreso de Literatura Hispanofiipina November began with the arrival of two lovely literary people from San Diego, California—Jody Blanco, professor of literature at UCSD and Marivi Soliven Blanco, the author of numerous books including a favorite of mine, the novel…
Read MoreMonth Seven (Mostly Not) in Málaga – Of New York City and Northern Spain
It turns out I spent only three and a half days in Málaga in October. James and I had to be in New York City for the first three weeks of the month to attend to an issue that had been pending prior to our move. New York offers its own unique attractions and I…
Read MoreMonth Six in Málaga – Intercambios and Small-World Encounters
With September came a change in the weather. For the first few days, there were clouds and a bit of rain, and when the sun returned, it was with a tempered presence. No more scorching hot days. No need to cower indoors until evening or skitter from scarce shade to scarcer shade in the height…
Read MoreMonth Five in Málaga—La Feria de Málaga
It’s August, the hottest month of the year in Málaga. It’s also the month of Feria, eight days of more than 200 free shows, some on stages set up in various plazas in the Centro Histórico, referred to as the day fair, and many others at the fairgrounds five miles away, considered the night fair.…
Read MoreMonth Four in Málaga—Sun, Spanish, and More
I recently utilized the Spanish healthcare system and had blood and urine analyses done. Todo bien. Everything within normal levels with a few things slightly above normal. Like Vitamin D. The doctor asked if I took vitamins. I hadn’t for months, not since I ran out of my multivitamin and fish oil tablets soon after…
Read MoreMonth Three in Málaga – Turning Seventy
June is my birthday month and though I’ve never been one to celebrate for an entire month, I thought that because this birthday was doubly significant— hitting the very big Seven-Oh! and doing it in Spain—that every day this month, I would write down something that made me happy. That intention lasted a few days.…
Read MoreMonth Two in Málaga—People to Meet, Places to Go, Spanish to Learn
Month two in Malaga has been all about people and places. And, of course, the vicissitudes of Spanish-language acquisition. People Since my second week here, I’ve been attending a weekly writers’ meetup of mostly expats, seasonals, and short-stays. Regulars and semi-regulars include a pair of very smart and affable former Seattleites who are co-organizers of…
Read MoreMonth One in Málaga
It’s been a month since we left Seattle for Málaga, Spain, thanks to my husband’s perseverance through the gymnastics of the visa labyrinth. Once we got here, I could no longer be a detached bystander. In our first two weeks, we found an apartment, arranged for electricity to be turned on, opened a Spanish bank…
Read MoreFarewell, Seattle (After AWP)
My husband and I are moving to Spain. Soon. Like next week. The idea had been in our heads for a year and the actual visa process was in the works for months. But when the visas arrived in the mail sooner than we imagined and we realized we needed to apply for our residency…
Read MoreMy ears are bigger than yours
Lend me your ears? I wrote a little essay about my ears and other body parts. It’s called “What I Know About Dismemberment” and it will appear in one of my favorite literary journals The Museum of Americana at the end of this month. But I thought it would be fun to talk a little…
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