Day 41 (Málaga & Nerja)

Okay, so my host parents tested positive to Covid... The girls and I didn't, so we are still able to go out and about as we are double-vaxxed.

On Friday morning, I caught up with a local Aux to go to the student-run peluquería (hairdresser) to get a manicure. These are students who are 16-18 years old and have decided to pursue certain trades. They still attend the same school campus as regular students, but do not participate in formal classes. Our nails turned out pretty average, but were only 2€, and was fun to chat to the locals.

I went to Málaga on Friday and caught up with an ex-Aux who gave me a motorcycle tour of the Montes de Málaga. Usually, you would be able to see the whole coastline, mountain range, but is was quite cloudy. It was great to finally be in the bush again; apart from the ocean and mountains on the horizon, I haven't seen much undeveloped land here in Spain.

Back in town, I popped into the Málaga Museum. It was only 1.50€ and a huge collection containing art and archeological pieces from the local area. I forgot to mention that the week before, a group of us went to the Museo de Vidrio y Cristal (glass and crystal museum) which was super interesting. It's not very well-known as you need a be on a tour to enter and it's privately owned. However, we spent a bit over an hour there and the entry was only 5€. It's in an 18th century house in Málaga centre that is also home to the collector, Gonzalo. There was an enormous range of pieces from all over Europe and northern Africa and all sorted by era and style. In addition to crystal/glass, we also saw a functioning clock from 1860 and were even able to play a 150 year-old piano! We found out at the end, that the old man at the entrance who sold us our tickets was Gonzalo himself!

Later that evening, I caught up with a very multicultural group of people for a fellow Aux's birthday! We had a Brit, a Sri-Lankan, two Spaniards (one from Catalonia), a Honduran, an Italian, an Ecuadorian, and me! After a late night, I made my way to the bus stop at 8.30am, however, my SIM had become locked and I somehow missed my bus. I had to run to the nearest Orange store to call the helpline to get a PUK code to unlock my SIM, and then book another bus to Nerja.

In Nerja, I caught up with four Auxes (including two Aussies) to visit the caves. (By the way, there are many Facebook groups & WhatsApp chats to get to know all the other Auxes around Spain.) To get to the caves, you have to catch the bus to Maro, then walk up the hill. They were so much bigger than I could have ever imagined, and the stalactites and stalagmites were gigantic! The caves were re-discovered accidentally in 1952 and are now a major tourist attraction and sometimes turn into a concert hall! We then caught the bus into the town of Nerja (for 1.30€), and walked down through the narrow cobblestone streets lined with old white apartments to the Balcón de Europa which is a circular balcony that hangs off the edge of a cliff, giving you 210° views of the sea.

Notes:

- A lot of the homes here have bidets. I vaguely knew what they were as once upon a time, I accidentally clicked on the wrong button on a toilet in Turkey, however, I had never seen them as a separate unit. The one in my house has a lid which the family use as extra storage space, so I'm not really sure how often they get used.

- I only see the oven used for Friday night pizzas and many rental places don't even have one. The Thermomix seems to be the preferred cooking method, and most families have got one. It's basically an appliance that can do anything from blending to cooking. I've seen my host mum cook rice and stews, and make sauces and bread in it! We also don't have a kettle...there is a Nespresso machine for coffee, however, I have to make my tea using the microwave every morning.

- I've been documenting a lot of the meals, but in terms of dessert, I've had a Roscos which are Andalucían soft, fried doughnuts. Locas Rellenas are a Malagueña delicacy filled with cream. Tortas de Aceite (oil cakes) are Spanish oily, thin, flaky biscuits made with sesame and anise (I really don't like them, but the company, Inés Rosales, has been around since 1910, so had to try them). And we often have a fruit salad after lunch with the grandparents called Macedonia which has: banana, apple, strawberry, and sometimes kiwi and ornage.

- So, it turns out I've been making a linguistic error multiple times a day, everyday since I got here... In Spanish, 'good morning' is buenas días, however, people just say buenas (even though that just means 'good', it's the equivalent of just saying 'morning'). 'See you later' is hasta luego and I've just been saying hasta - which I thought was the equivalent of 'see ya'. Turns out, I've just been saying 'until'. I wish someone had told me earlier because now I have to try to unlearn this as it's become very habitual!