We got back from a week in Barcelona this Wednesday. Our timetable was full of visits to friends and family. At the weekend 17 of Pau’s family congregated for lunch. First to arrive Avi Sintas, Freddie’s great grandfather; a real charmer at 96! He’s an artist and still happy to be painting. Pau’s brother Joan, his girlfriend Pili and her daughter Alba arrived followed by Pau’s uncle, cousins, boyfriends and children… The food was typically amazing, cured meats, fantastic cheeses, seafood, cuttlefish, fresh fruit and a delicious cheese cake. SPOILT!
Being the only English girl in the house, there was a limit to how well I could get to know everyone, Claudia (Pau’s fathers second wife) speaks excellent English. With her help I benefited from some translation… in embarrassingly bad form however, I was unable to pull on any knowledge from my Catalan lessons and thus applied nil use of the language in my limited discourse. This can not continue - I’m imagining my sulk when the boys confer. Disaster. I have to do something!
Saying that, a week in Barcelona was much like a crash course in learning the language. I did surprise myself a little by being able to decipher a random statement or more broadly the topic of conversation. Yes, by cleverly linking facial expression, body gesture and the tone of voice I managed to decode the world around me … (?) HA! I’d love to know how accurate my assumptions were… A dangerous game me thinks.
In the Ros family photo (from left to right): Pau’s father Josep with second wife Claudia and their daughter Nora. Me and Pau. Avi Sintas (Freddie’s great grandfather). Freddie and Max. Pau’s brother Joan with girlfriend Pili and her daughter Alba. Pau’s cousin Aurora with Max and behind, her eldest daughter Nuria. Llorenc (Pau’s uncle), his daughter Maria with boyfriend Pol and niece Aitana (Aurora’s youngest daughter).