People
Life in Málaga—with jaunts to Brussels, Paris, Nantes
September brought another opportunity for travel, starting with Brussels, where in addition to ogling the sites such as the Grand-Place above, I attended the European Writers Salon yearly conference. I went because I wanted to be in a physical space with other writers. Also, I’d never been to Belgium. I’ve never been to a lot…
Read MoreLife in Málaga—A retreat, France, racism. Oh, and Feria.
August in Málaga means Feria, when women don traditional Flamenco dresses and accessorize with flowers, fans, and shawls, when countless bottles of the sweet Cartojal wine are poured, and song and dance, both planned and spontaneous, fill the streets of the Centro by day and the fairgrounds by night. And it happens during some of…
Read MoreLife in Málaga—A Book, a Movie, a Friend, a Retreat
It’s the end of July and I’m posting this from northern Spain in the foothills of the Pyrenees, where the weather is cool and rainy—a nice change from the high temperatures in Málaga, where I spent afternoons indoors reading or writing, or in a movie theater sheltered from the heat. At the beginning of the…
Read MoreLife in Málaga—Comings and Goings
People come, people go. So goes the line in the movie Grand Hotel. And so goes our lives. In Seattle, where I lived most of my adult years, I established friendships, some close, some casual. I saw some of those friends move to different cities, while new people came into my life as a result…
Read MoreMálaga, Year 2—A Filipina Mexican American walks into a couple of cafés, and later into a social media tiff
Sometimes, you just need a bahn mi. One evening, starving after some event—maybe a Spanish class or a meetup with a friend—I popped into a tiny, new café which I had noticed a few days earlier. I addressed the man behind the bar (who was wearing a Chicago Cubs baseball cap) in Spanish, but he,…
Read MoreLiving and Learning in Málaga, Year 2—Otra Vez Madrid
January meant another trip to magical Madrid where I spent time with my friend Miguel, whom I first met in Málaga at the now-defunct writers meetup. With a Dutch father and Spanish mother, Miguel grew up in the Netherlands speaking three languages. He’s very much at home in Spain, is well-versed in Spanish history and…
Read MoreLiving and Learning in Málaga, Year 2—Four Joys
I’m not a big celebrant of Christmas. Organized religion and I parted ways many decades ago. But I’m still a believer in the family, friendship, and community aspect of the season. And the joy of solitude. I made a point to experience each of these this month. Family James and I took the train…
Read MoreLiving and Learning in Málaga, Year 2—Distractions and Illumination
First, the joy. The end of November is marked by the illumination of the luces de Navidad that span Calle Larios and other streets throughout the city. A light show with music happens three times a night until January 5. But the first part of November was anything but joy for me and nearly half…
Read MoreLiving and Learning in Málaga, Year 2 — New Book, A Reading, and a Trip to the States
October was split between Málaga and the States, between literary matters and family and friends. New book, new author photo The novel that I began writing in 2015 while at an artist residency at Ragdale will be published in fall 2026. Eleven years from start to finish! Those years included writing, revising, working a day…
Read MoreLiving and Learning in Málaga, Year 2—Adventures When a Friend Visits
My friend Debra came for a visit from Seattle on her way to an eight-day hike on the Costa Brava. In Debra’s three and a half days in Málaga and then three more days in Madrid, we did a lot of walking, a lot of talking, and a lot of eating. In between, there was…
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