Fluency

The grass is dry but the sandy soil is still damp from the morning dew. The valley is awash with the buzzing and chirping of insects and accented by bird songs. From one of the walls of the valley I can hear the lazy echo of a goat’s call. I open my eyes and the reality seems more like a dream. Above me stands a huge cactus whose flowers are nearly ready to bloom. Behind the cactus the ground rises to a peak that won’t permit the sun to enter the valley until later in the morning. On this hill are the native plants and grasses of the dry Mediterranean climate that grow in on and around the large rounded granite boulders. On the opposite wall of this valley is Portugal. A great rock protrusion stands and watches over the valley. The bending layers of rock expose its age, but still it stand strong, enduring the tests of time. Below it are groves of olive trees and terraced grape vines. Below that is the Duero river that cut out this valley. The river is the reason I am here.

In the 1950s men reformed the lay of the land that took ages to create. A dam, that I would consider great if it weren’t for the rock formation above it, connects to an acre of electrical transformers and massive constructions of metal beams carry the power lines into Spain and evidence the ingenuity man. Below the electrical project is the town that was built to sustain the people who built it. The town is tucked into the quietest and greenest part of the valley. Above the futbol field in the center of town stands a church. As my tiny new friend Nieves told me, “In Spain, if there is no church, there is no town.”

I lie on the grass in front of one of the small white terra cotta houses that surround the church and complete the villa. Here is where the Spaniards and my fellow Anglos stay while at a program called Pueblo Ingles.

Pueblo Ingles is an English immersion program for Spanish professionals in the pursuit of fluency of the English language. For me it is a free week of delicious food, new friends and fun in this quiet paradise. While I sit in the grass I appreciate this bit of silence more than ever. While the program is “free” to me, it is actually provided in exchange for my conversation. I have been in constant conversation for about 12 hours a day, sometimes lead by activities, sometimes casually at breakfast, lunch and dinner and sometimes in one to one conversations with a Spaniard.

It is quite possible that I am learning as much as the Spaniards. 12 hours a day of conversation is not exactly natural for me. I am learning the art of conversation. I am learning about the region of Galicia in northern Spain from which this wonderful group of primary and secondary school teacher come from. And inevitably I am learning about life. Not being someone who is at all interested in conversation for the sake of conversation, I have had conversations ranging from parenting and values, the Spanish education System, the existence of absolute truths, the Spanish Revolution, the anatomy of the knee, the passive voice, introductions to baseball, South Africa, and even the purpose of life and of course food.

While exploring in my free time, a beautiful Australian girl and I found a granite island in the middle of river where the rushing wind and soft current of the deep river provides a space to bathe in sun and silence and reflect. As more and more of the world fills my head I am reminded of the truth that no man can do or understand it all. The Spanish, who are notorious for their ‘ability to enjoy life.' They have many ways of explaining this attitude to me. “Ju are jung, they tell me while explaining the world to me, “ju cang gwait.” This idea of patient flow is something that I cant help but to adopt while I stay here.

Life flows like the river. The flow of the river is a function of volume over time. One can attempt to control the flow or slow it down but inevitably the water must pass. I am learning that instead of controlling volume one must accept time. Lying on the warm rock, feeling my breath I could just experience the flow. The river brought us all their for the Spaniards find fluency of language.  I am discoveringd the fluency of life.

Another vague post. I am exhausted. When I get some rest and time I will fill in some more details of this trip and get many more pictures up.