Spanish views from a small town

This morning, my daughter and her cousin-best friend went to the Sunday market in Padrón. When they arrived, since there weren't many people, they decided to eat a café breakfast at a small establishment. They were both wearing their masks, and the woman who welcomed them, too. When she saw them, she commented to the cousin, "Hello! It's been so long, hasn't it? What will you have?" The two gave their order, acknowledging that, yes, it had been a long time. After the woman had served them, the two asked each other, "Do you know her?" "No, do you?" "No." When they got up to pay and leave, the woman asked the cousin about her brother, "He must be quite the man by now, isn't he?" The cousin nodded, "Yes, he is." They exchanged further pleasantries and left. The cousin mentioned, once outside and walking away, "My sister is now a boy, it seems." The two didn't know who the woman was, and since they we...

Today feels like someone turned on the oven and left it on with the door open, even after the cake was taken out. There's a yellow warning on for extreme temperatures in our corner, with highs forecast to reach at least 36ºC/96.8ªF. When my last student left at five, I closed the window and the blinds at the front of the house. Maybe, I'll get a bucket of ice cream from the freezer to eat in the half-darkened kitchen in a little while.  What I am not going to do is go to the beach. I don't like the thought of slow-roasting an hour or two. Besides, the water temperature is freezing. I don't do from oven to freezer. My baking dish might; I don't. And now, the regional government, in the question of safety, it must be said, is making it obligatory to wear masks at all times when outside the house, even if there is a distance of at least a meter and a half, as long as there are people around. Even at the beach, if you are walking along the surf line or getting up to...

One thing that I am sometimes asked, when chatting with someone who finds out I grew up in Boston, is, why are people in the United States so stupid as not to wear a mask? I have no idea. I, too, didn't know there were that many people who don't understand basic science. I understand that, under normal circumstances, it is an impingment on our freedom to be ordered to wear a mask or not. We have grown up with the idea that we are free to choose what to wear on our person, not only in the United States, but also in Europe. But these are not normal circumstances. Most people in Europe, not just Spain, have complied with the orders to wear masks. We have had explained just how coronavirus is spread and how to defend ourselves. Once the dearth of masks had ended, more and more, we were encouraged to wear them, and when enough were being manufactured and available, ordered to do so by many countries. The greatest disseminator of the virus is the droplets of saliva and moist air ...

Yesterday I went to Santiago to bring down my daughter and the last of her things from her rented apartment. This has not been a good year for her, ending with the lockdown of a couple of months. At least the roommate she was with was a nice person; they were comfortable in their companionship, and they weren't at each other's throats. After bringing everything downstairs and filling the car well, we drove into the center of town, where I parked in a parking garage, and she went on to do business with the real estate office and the internet provider. I went walking down to one of my favorite book stores. Follas Novas in Santiago is a pretty big bookstore, though not on a Barnes and Noble level. They do tend to have hard to find books, and if not on the shelves, you can order them. The reason for this is that they tend to cater to the university crowd. They also have a nifty little English language section that I like to peruse every now and then, both for books to use in my...

The number of infected with the coronavirus keeps going down in Galicia. There are barely any new infections. Yet, we tensely wait for the moment people are allowed to freely travel within the country. Already, people have arrived here from Madrid surreptitiously. I'm sure most of them were justified in their trip, and that they feel fine, but the particular vileness of this virus is that the incubation period is so long, and that during that time, you can easily infect people without knowing.  I think the population can be split into two camps. One, the afeared of catching it, that comply with wearing a mask, washing hands, and keeping their distance. The other, that sees that the danger has passed, and that life is meant to be enjoyed, even if in the middle of a close crowd of friends. I belong to the first camp. It's not that I don't believe life should be enjoyed, but that I want to be able to enjoy it without lying awake at night, wondering if I'm going to get ...

After two months, I finally returned to my weekly Saturday shopping in Boiro.  At times, it even seemed like a normal day. There were plenty of people, but not overmuch, like a slow Saturday in the summer, when most people are at the beach. I found most of what I wanted, but some things are still out of stock. I wonder if some products will ever come back.  Some stores are still closed, like Merkal shoe store, and the Chinese bazaars, probably because they measure more than 400 square meters. Until Phase Two, only small stores are allowed to open, to give the small business owners a respite.  About three bars near the market place had their tables out. To my eye, there wasn't two meters between the tables, nor did there seem to be less people than at other times. Some of the tables were occupied, and the gregarious nature of Spanish conversations made it seem like the terrace was filled with a lot of people. Some wore masks, others didn't. I wore one. I hate the d...