Wednesday 11 August 2010

Sun and Sangria

I have been a right jet-setter this summer. Visiting Alessio in Sicily with Lucy, my month with an Italian family and now this. Looking back over previous blogs from last year, it's nice to see that, in the end, some kind of plan fell into place.

I came here with my cousin Vicky because Matt, an old tutor from her theatre company, now lives here with his friend Gordon so it was very much doable due to the fact that staying with them has really cut the costs. I write of course from Fuerteventura, a beautiful island in the Canary Islands.

The first thing that struck me about this place was the interesting and unique landscape, unlike any which I have previously seen. Grass and soil are pretty much non-existent, in exchange for deserts, dry bushes and the odd camel thrown in for good measure.

We are living in Corralejo which, culturally, is rather diluted, with lots of the feeling of Spanish lost due to the sheer amount of tourists it has to cater for. There is a large contingent of British tourists here so there are many 'British bars', usually run by British people, in which they can drink to their heart's content and meet other British people. Not exactly why I, a language student, would come to Spain but there is plenty of Spanish conversation to be had elsewhere in the town, and Matt has even offered to take us to a rural Spanish village off the beaten tourist track.

One such 'British Bar' in town is Golden Days, a bar in which Gordon entertains some nights. These events are your typical singing, quizzes and karaoke but are rather fun, with plenty of free shots to be had.

So far my language skills have come in handy and I think I've somehow been roped into organising Go Karting for all of us by the owner of Golden Days.

The weather here has been gorgeous and it's nice to be back in the sun after my five day plunge into the English rain between arriving from Italy and coming here. We have had a good look around the town, caught some sun by the pool, been down to the beach and had plenty of alcohol. The beach is wonderful. There is a very high topless to non-topless ratio with the women, which is always a bonus. It seems reservations about getting the baps out have been left at home. And I'm not complaining. The alcohol is gloriously cheap, with 22 cent cans of the aptly titled 'Cerveza' and €2.50 bottles of Rosé being among the highlights.

Last night was our biggest night out so far. After Matt's TV quiz finished at Golden Days, the four of us decided to head to a bar called Flicks, venturing out of the British bar zone and into a much more culturally mixed atmosphere. Within ten minutes of arriving, Vicky had already chosen her karaoke song and promptly informed the DJ. Ironically, the language I spoke the most last night was Italian. This came about when Vicky came rushing over to me saying she'd met an Italian bloke, Francesco, and so we went over and got chatting to them; me playing the part of interpreter and impressing them with what to them was a surprisingly good grasp of the language for an English person.

Soon enough, an Italian group of girls joined our little group. I like. I was very much enjoying the conversation but soon Francesco's plan became apparent. From the start of the proceedings I had taken a protective stance over Vicky, her being my cousin and all. So when Francesco asked if he could go and talk with her in private, I abruptly delivered the response of 'no'. But Francesco was a crafty devil, exploiting one of my weaknesses: Italian women. He attempted to set me up with one of the Italian girls in the group, a lovely young woman called Rossana. Now that my full attention was on her, he seized the opportunity to advance.

I soon realised that Rossana and I were not to be. She has a boyfriend and is a bit old for me at 25. Although there is still time to get to know a friend of hers, and as Francesco said "The boyfriend is in Italy. What he doesn't know won't hurt him". I did get her number so there's a small victory there. As it became apparent that there would be nothing going on between me and Rossana, it was already too late. I looked up to find Francesco holding my cousin's face and telling her to 'look into his eyes'. I pulled her aside and asked if she wanted to get away from him. Her answer was yes so we then entered into escape mode.

We decided to leave, opting to have a last drink in Waikiki; more of a nightclub affair this time. Again, this place was another melting pot of ethnicities, which I welcomed with enthusiasm. However, soon after we'd got our first round, shock horror, Francesco was there. He came over just before we left and gave me his number, asking my permission to see Vicky again. He did that thing people do when they make you ring them so they have your number, which is awkward when you don't want the person's number.

Needless to say, I received a text from Francesco at 6 AM saying he would very much like to see Vicky again. I hope we don't see him. I have however invited Rossana and her friends to come to an event at Golden Days to test their English karaoke. I am doubtful that they'll come.

So far I'm having a wonderful time.
Maybe I'll meet a Spanish girl tonight.

1 comment:

  1. Thaila Kelly (is cool)11 August 2010 at 19:52

    Hahahaha! awesome, this could be an episode of benidorm, i love it! :D go get some spanish out! x

    ReplyDelete