Veneris díes (Friday)

El viernes, the day of Venus or Friday, has arrived:  my second one here in Madrid.  In brief summary, the week, classes, and people I've met my first week, living in the Malasaña district of Madrid, have all been better than I'd anticipated.  Yes, you will also note that today I changed the style of my blog - I'm using the new Google online editing feature.  It's fun to work openly with cool tools again.

I'm reminded that I have not said much about my neighborhood here in Madrid:  Malasaña.  I do think I have had good luck in terms of my choice of neighborhood and apartment. I have been told that the tourists and foreigners tend to stay on the other side of the La Gran Via, and I think this is true; it seems to be a line of demarcation between tourists and locals.  So, keep the secret and visit this district when you come to Madrid - you could spend a week here and never venture out. Just remember this street name:  Calle De Fuencarral.  Also, the stores (wine & grocery) and bars are considerably less expensive, friendly, and personal.  Also, if you are going to find anything locally made, it will most likely be here.  Last night there was a fantastic party with live music in the Plaza de Dos de Mayo [square of May two] footsteps from my front door.  The band played a hybrid of funk, dance, and traditional Spanish sounds.  As a result I probably did not finally get to sleep until about 2am.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I've begun reading poetry and stories by a famous author, Mario Benedetti, with one of my language coaches.  There is one very short story, possibly the shortest story I've come across and liked, and I want to translate and share with you:  Su amor no es sencillo [Their Love Is Not Simple].

Los detuvieron por atentado al pudor. Y nadie les creyó cuando el hombre y la mujer trataron de explicarse. En realidad, su amor no era sencillo. Él padecía claustrofobia, y ella, agorafobia. Era sólo por eso que fornicaban en los umbrales.

[They were detained for indecent exposure.  And no one believed the man and the woman when they attempted to explain themselves.  In reality, their love was not simple. He suffered from claustrophobia, and she, agoraphobia. It was just for this reason why they were fornicating on the threshold.]

If you don't get it, he could not be inside the house, and she could not leave the house... so they HAD to meet in the middle.  I thought this was awfully funny.  I found this interpretation of the story on Youtube - interesting, if not a bit strange, but definitely creative:  Su amor no es sencillo [interpretation].

[geek moment]  Short and simple again - the verb haber - there is or there are.

This verb an exception and is always in the third person SINGULAR.  So, that means there is no conjugation other than "hay" and corresponding forms across other tenses (i.e. simple past, subjunctive past/present, etc).  So the key is, don't make agreements so that it may be plural.  This is a common mistake foreigners make.  Example:  No había soluciones [there were no solutions] NOT No habían soluciones; No hay soluciones and I have no idea what the third person plural agreement for hay even is in present tense.  This is an important item to note on the road to fluency in Spanish - a common error, and I do it at times too when speaking a lot or quickly.  This is an extremely important verb and used all the time.  There are exceptions of course, if you are Catalán you may also tend to make this error, with a certain degree of understanding from the listener.

Time to get ready to go out - remember, it is Friday!

¡Hasta la próxima entrada!