Sunshine, with shade under the tamarind trees
White tables and chairs against white boardwalk
Women in flowy flowery dresses and gentlemen in panama hats
Behind a white-painted Belle Epoque iron railing, a busy beach with bathers
White Ferris wheel spinning
Orange Apérol spritz is (unfortunately still) the choice of many
Hiking sandals, on both men and women (why?)
Straw hats, very few baseball caps
Murallas of Parque Urgull
Patatas fritas and calamares

I have a new housemate. And she is the new girl in class. She is young, from Newcastle, does not do any exercise, does not like to work, and she smokes. Also, she favors to pronounce Spanish as if it were English. All this I found out in our weekly introductions exercise in class. I try to not judge her because she is different from me. At least she is here, working hard on learning Spanish. And I am sure the rest of the class has pigeonholed me in some way as well. Perhaps they think I am snooty because I wear pearls practically todos los días.

(San Sebastián, Spain; August 2019)