Category Archives: spain

la vida sin besos (life without kisses)

07 Tuesday Jul 2020

Posted by in coronavirus, culture, films, sevilla, spain, welcome

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More Ennio Morricone from Cinema Paradiso… a montage of all the kisses that were cut out of film scenes by the fervent village priest, later spliced together for an unforgettable cinematic moment (floods of tears every time I watch it).

Life without kisses…

And I’m not talking about romantic kisses, though I do miss those too. The other day someone mentioned on Twitter that one of the BEST THINGS to come out of Covid was that she would no longer have to go through the trauma and social awkwardness of having to greet people with the Spanish “air kiss” on two cheeks. I should point out that she is British living in Spain, so the whole kissing thing has never felt natural to her. Then other Britsh expats chimed in saying much the same thing. Not me though.

I LOVE kissing everyone I meet! For me this is one of the BEST THINGS about living in Spain and very sadly for me it has come to a stop, at least for the foreseeable future. Though I have seen people in the street greeting friends with kisses, and even removing masks to do so. It’s like they can’t help it. For me it’s always been more awkward when someone sticks out their hand for me to shake. Like, eeeeeeewwww… I have no idea where that hand has been. Because let’s face it, a cheek is not going to come into physical contact with as many gross options as a hand does throughout the day.

How are you greeting people these days?

 

 

pride 2020

27 Saturday Jun 2020

Posted by in sevilla, spain, video

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pride 2020

I remember always feeling proud to see the pride flag flying atop our city hall building in Plaza Nueva during Pride Month (I know I have a pic of my own somewhere but this one came from wikipedia). It felt good to know I lived in a city in favour of inclusion, diversity and freedom. But today I saw it wasn’t there and then I remembered that the new asshole Andalusian powers that be have forbidden government buildings from flying anything but official flags.

But don’t worry, I fixed it.  😉

unsafe travel stickers

25 Thursday Jun 2020

Posted by in coronavirus, sevilla, spain, tourism, travel, welcome

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unsafe
These two so-called “safe travel” stickers (apparently there are others) are being promoted by ICTE and WTTC but do little more then create a false sense of security. Anyone can get one of these online just by PROMISING to obey the protocols. No inspections, no control, no nuthin. Worse than useless, they are actually dangerous.

Since our borders were flung open again this past Monday, the very first day after our three-month lockdown, coronavirus infections have been on the rise throughout Spain.

What has really made me feel sick this past week is seeing people on Twitter discussing their summer holiday plans, saying shit like “let’s go to Spain or Italy, they have way fewer cases than we do!” as if… what?? Think about that for a minute. How is it okay for you to go somewhere without even considering the people who live where you are going? The people you are likely to end up infecting. And who the actual FUCK decides to go abroad on FUCKING HOLIDAY during a FUCKING GLOBAL PANDEMIC? The mind reels.

Just to be clear… I am far from anti-tourism. My entire business relies on tourists, and especially from the UK and US. But we have all seen the whole tourism thing spiralling out of control over the past few years so maybe this had to happen. Problem is that people keep refusing to believe things can’t just go back to the way they used to be. Well, they can’t and they won’t. Because they never should have been that way. So deal.

juana la loca

24 Wednesday Jun 2020

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juana la loca
Today is San Juan, which is also my saint’s day. Since of course Shawn is John, which is Juan in Spanish and which is also…. Juana, John, Jack, Ivan, Ivana, Sean, Siôn, Shaun, Shauna, Ian, Jean, Jeanne, Joan, Jane, Janet, Giovanni, Giovanna, Evan, Ivan, Jan, João, Jenny, Vanya, Zane, Sinéad, Siobhán… just to give you a few other versions of my name, both male and female.

Growing up I hated my name big time. It was a BOY’S NAME (really, it is) and I wanted a cute girl’s name, preferably something ending in a Y. But later when I was older I kind of liked having an unusual name. And then I moved to Spain.

Can I tell you? Almost NOBODY can pronounce my name here. I get Chon, Chown, Chan and somtimes, when they see it written, Chwan. And of course over the years people have asked if there was a Spanish translation for my name and I’ve always said “noooooo…”. Why? Because I never wanted to be called Juanita (though an ex used to call me Chonita and somehow I was okay with that).

But I think I am about to change my mind about this. It turns out that Juana is quite a respectable Spanish name, and of course it always brings to mind Juana La Loca (a name that I think also suits me). So once I get back to circulating in society here and people ask my name I think I’ll say “Just call me Juana”.