Life in Ronda, Learning Spanish, Property in Spain

For some reason, the next month or two, my calendar is filled with birthdays, and of course many of them are nieces, nephews, children of friends, I think the age old adage of the spring time or summer time babies is manifesting itself, and I'm going to have to pay for it.

Toys are something I have very little knowledge of. I know what I used to play with when I was younger, but these days I see kids with toys that are completely different, I used to play with realistic action figures, now they play with aliens or dinosaurs.

The sad thing is that even though I see kids in the streets playing with these sorts of toys, and TV bombards you with commercials for toys before 9pm, I still have no idea what they are. And if I remember correctly, when I was a kid, we would imagine our toys being different. Let me give you an example, I was the only kid with a Ferrari miniature car, so I always got to play Magnum PI, even though my Ferrari was green.

So that makes sense doesn't it? the problem is I'm sure kids these days probably do something similar so it shouldn't be too hard to find toys for them, should it? Ah, you see that's where I think the thinking is flawed, I don't think kids actually play like we used to anymore.

My local toy shop is pretty woeful, all of the toys they stock are cheap, plasticy things that might cost a fortune but I'm sure will break after a few days. I'm not prepared to pay a small fortune for something that is going to break, so I tend to look for more solid toys from established brands, Cheapo Toy Factory of China is not my idea of a good brand.

But now I'm in uncharted territory again, many of the brands I knew as a child have changed or disappeared. The solution is Internet shopping, like so many things in life, online toy shops let you check out all the best brands, you can browse without being hassled, and then just to make even easier, pay online and have the toys delivered directly to the place it needs to go.

When I first heard about the election protests in Iran I don't think I believed they would last. Perhaps they'd be put down harshly, perhaps they'd go home of their own free accord, but now, well now I think things have gone too far for anyone to imagine this isn't a revolution in the making.

Millions of people have filled the streets of Tehran and other major cities, the army has stood to the side and not attacked the protesters, we're hearing of secret policemen going AWOL and being welcomed by the protesters, who throughout it all have maintained a peaceful silent protest.

My God, I haven't felt this way since the Berlin wall came down, or Ceaucescu was felled, or the streets of the Ukraine filled with people demanding freedom. Iran has all the makings of being the first Middle Eastern country to throw off the shackles of tyranny and join the free world.

People all over the Twitterverse are changing their avatar to green, the Iranian football team runs onto the field in South Korea wearing green wristbands, even here in Spain I see some school students wearing green wristbands. This is the big event of 2009, perhaps even bigger than Obama's election win.

Imagine, an Iran that truly works with the rest of the world to bring about peace, instead of an Iran that blocks and hampers every effort. If this goes all the way to full revolution, we could literally see one of the largest muslim countries stand up and lead the Middle East in a direction it has never been before.

I hope the protests in Iran succeed, and I hope they set an example for people in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Libya, and anywhere else living under tyranny, it doesn't have to be that way. Freedom is possible. You don't have to become carbon copies of the west, I'm sure you can create your own freedoms more suitable to your cultural background, but at least Iranians are standing up and saying they want their voice to be heard.

This is a political post, I don't often like doing this, but the situation in Iran is delicate and on Twitter I'm seeing genuine heroes in Iran having their message diluted through well meaning westerners getting caught up in the excitement of helping Iranians as they protest over the 'stolen election'. Please read the cyberwar guide for beginners.

Good Luck Iran!

There are so many different ways to learn Spanish these days, that almost every learning type is supported, from joining a class, to reading books, watching videos, or downloading podcasts, and learning spanish online for free is becoming easier by the day as academies rush to provide sampler lessons to encourage students to join their programs.

I'm lucky to be living in Spain, and to organize intercambio sessions with Spaniards who are also learning English, but I know a lot of people I've met in Spanish forums who don't live in a Spanish speaking country, and online intercambio just doesn't have the same appeal for them.

The first step to learning Spanish has got to be coming to grips with some simple Spanish grammar exercises, knowing that each verb had multiple varieties depending on the context and who is being addressed.

Here's a simple example, I have a cellphone; Yo tengo un movil. You have a cellphone; Tu tienes un movil. Notice how the verb changes, and it gets worse, the verb to have, is 'tener' in Spanish. Not only does the verb change for the person being addressed, it also changes for tense. If I wanted to say that I used to have a cellphone, I'd say Yo tenía un movil.

What I'm getting at is that English grammar is usually pretty straight forward. Our verbs only change slightly, perhaps we add an s to the end, lets forget about English irregular verbs for now, and we'll conveniently ignore the fact that tener is a Spanish irregular verb, it doesn't really affect this example, yet knowing how to use tener properly is incredibly useful.

Here is a breakdown of the verb tener;
Present tense
Yo tengo - I have
Tu tienes - you have
el/ella tiene - he/she has
nosotros tenemos - we have
vosotros tenéis - you (pl) have
ellos tienen - they have

Simple past tense
Yo tuve - I had
Tu tuviste - you had
el/ella tuvo - he/she had
nosotros tuvimos - we had
vosotros tuvisteis - you (pl) had
ells tuvieron - they had

Imperfect past tense
Yo tenía - I used to have
tu tenías - you used to have
el/ella tenía - he/she used to have
nosotros teníamos - we used to have
vosotros teníais - you (pl) used to have
ellos tenían - they used to have

Future tense
Yo tendré - I will have
tu Tendrás - you will have
el/ella tendrá - he/she will have
nosotros tendremos - we will have
vosotros tendréis - you (pl) will have
ellos tendrán - they will have

This morning I was treated to coffee at one of the oldest hotels in Ronda, the Reina Victoria, which is one of the Husa group's 5 star hotels in Spain. We sat on the terrace overlooking the tajo gorge, completely alone and in the shade, but looking out over the most incredible site, the sun kissing the hills as it rose on the other side of the valley.

I had no idea I was going to have coffee in the hotel cafeteria, the person I was meeting however is tired of the same place we always go, and she really wanted a break. The Reina Victoria (Queen Victoria Hotel to English speakers) has been home to some of Spain's most illustrious visitors, and despite her age is holding up well.

The hotel is well over 100 years old, but I think the staff take care to preserve that old world charm that must have captivated nobility of the early 20th century. The various lounges look dated, but in a luxurious way rather than a dowdy way.

The terrace was of course our reason for visiting, sure we enjoyed the coffee, even if it was a little bit more expensive than we would normally pay, yet the view made up the difference. As you'd expect from a hotel on the edge of Ronda's Tajo Gorge, the terrace looks down into the cauldron, and across to the Virgen de la Cabeza cave church, an old Spanish church.

Being one of Spain's 5 star hotels, you can expect the location to be perfect, far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the city, but close enough to still be part of what's happening if you want it. I'm not saying I'd recommend the hotel for guests, I haven't seen the rooms or the quality of service or the food prepared in the restaurant, but for having a coffee on a lazy morning it's perfect.

One of the things I love about living in Europe is the huge number of churches, and here in Ronda we have several old Spanish churches that date back to the early 1500s, and one that goes back to the 9th century. I'm not especially religious but there is a sense of peace that comes from going into an old church, and just opening your heart to whatever you experience.

The biggest church in Ronda, Santa Maria de la Mayor is one of these churches that fills me with awe whenever I go into it. At first glance it doesn't appear very spectacular, certainly the outside is a bit of a disappointment, several styles of construction seem to compete for attention.

Entering is a different matter though, and transforms this otherwise awkward looking building into a place of peace and harmony, not a sound from outside enters, and if you close your eyes you really could imagine being in the presence of a higher power. Personally I sit somewhere out of the way, and just enjoy the cold, the kind of cold banishes the harsh sun outside to another season.

Old Spanish churches are quite unique I think, all are Catholic, and all include numerous icons that are carried through the streets during any major Christian festival such as Semana Santa, Corpus Christi, or the town's saint's day. Santa Maria in Ronda, being the largest church, tends to be the start or end destination for many of these Spanish processions.

However the thing I like most in an old Spanish church is the windows, those stained glass masterpieces of art that I'd love to have in my own home, high up where they can be appreciated without seeing the imperfections. The photo below is just one of the many stained glass windows in Ronda's Santa Maria church.