Spain 2024-When It Isn't Quite Right

"Don't worry too much about making the right decision; make the decision then make it right." -Dr. Ellen Langer

This is a very fine quote when giving advice to other people; it's a little tougher when you have to follow it yourself. We've been struggling with feelings that the situation in Cordoba is not exactly perfect.

We have a small room with separate beds, no kitchen access; we have to eat all our meals out. We are close to the touristical heart of the city, this means narrow, blank white streets and most disturbingly, cars that seem like they can appear at any moment, forcing you to flatten yourself against the walls. Ahead of us, we have a day trip to Granada (in progress), and another full day after that before we get to move on to a new location.

We like living in a city more than being a tourist in a city. In Valencia, we absolutely lived and didn't even see a single museum. We did walk by the skinniest house.

What have been our favorite things in Cordoba so far?

1. Walking across the pedestrian bridge at night with the cathedral lit up above it (touristical, and local).
2. Visiting a neighborhood Taverna, watching the locals line up to joyfully slurp snails at a stand-up bar. We also witnessed a horse-drawn petty car deliver a glancing blow to an actual car and then race off down the street while ​locals scolded the driver. (Local)
3. Wandering into a school festival with a big stage filled with 6-year-olds dressed as cowboys and cowgirls dancing the square dance Cotton-Eyed Joe. (Local)
4. Visiting the really awesome cathedral-mosque and climbing the bell tower. (Touristical)

What are tools we have to make our current situation "right?" Or "right-er."

For Monday in Cordoba, we are checking with a local CrossFit to see if we can get in for a visit.

Another thought experiment is instead of imagining you just had two awkward days left, imagine we had rented this place for a month. What would we do if we were here in this situation for four more weeks.

One thing that would help a lot is to get access to the kitchen. We can see it. It's right off the beautiful, bountiful patio. But our hosts have not invited us to use it. If we were here longer, we would address that and see if we can get a corner of the fridge for our use.

One unlikely idea; we're sitting here on a train and a man walked by with two open bottles of wine. This might be the solution we're missing.

The final solution is recognizing that a huge part of this whole trip was learning what it important for the two of us as immigrants in another country. Turns out sharing a bed and having a kitchen are a pretty vital part of that for us.

When we put it like that, seems like it shouldn't have taken us four days to figure it out.