Mopping and the Art of Recycling

Mop & recycling bins in kitchen

Okay, these two things have nothing to do with each other, other than the fact that these are two living adjustments that I am making here in Barcelona.  First, let's talk about mopping.  Mopping was never a big part of my housecleaning life in the U.S.  In the places I've lived in, it was relegated to just the kitchen, since the rest of the house had carpeting in most rooms, either wall-to-wall or carpets that covered most of the wooden floors.  In my last home, even the kitchen floor was made of wood so I didn't even own a mop.

Here is Barcelona, however, a mop is an essential cleaning tool.  Most homes have either ceramic tile or parquet floors with very little carpeting.  Also, the windows here do not have screens on them and the windows are usually open day and night so the house and the floor gets dusty very quickly.  This is where the mop comes in very handy.  I pretty much use it throughout the house, from the loft to the kitchen with great results!



The Art of Recycling

Barcelona has an extensive recycling system.  On every block there are bins for regular trash and for

recycled trash.  Unlike the recycling that we had to do in Alexandria, VA, where all recycled materials go in one container, the city of Barcelona requires you to separate the different materials yourself.  Basically, you end up with 5 containers in your home, one for: glass (green), plastics and tins (yellow), paper (blue), organics (brown) and a container for whatever is leftover (gray)

.  The good news is that you can take your trash downstairs to the city bins anytime.  The bad news is that you need to set up a system to separate these materials in your house yourself.  Since space is a premium, especially in my place, it takes the right type of bins to fit well in the house.

Trying to find the right bins drove me crazy, and as a consequence, I think it drove Chris crazy too a little bit.  But finally at Ikea we found some bins that could work.  What I found out about myself is that until I had my recycled and trash system set up, I really wasn't able to do any real cooking or food preparation in the kitchen.  It sounds weird but once that happened, I felt the freedom to prepare my meals in my home.

More Furniture

Last week I received most of the furniture that I was waiting for.  At Ikea I got a nice desk, a filing cabinet and a beautiful coffee table.  A Murphy-style bed was installed in the second bedroom.  I found a little TV stand that fits perfectly in the loft for my meditation area.  On Friday I got a replica of the Eames chair.  I am now waiting on the furniture that will go under the TV.

With the bookcases, desk, filing cabinet and meditation space set up in the loft, I feel like I've created my own little man cave, except that it is open to the living room below.  It does get warm up there sometimes and so I got a small fan that helps make it a little

more comfortable.

So now I'm starting to look at furniture and kitchen accessories.  Coasters, wine cork opener (I should have had this one earlier!), kitchen timer, trivet, etc.  I also need a place to put on display some of the art objects that I shipped over, including some Native American art, and art from South American countries.

Medical News

Having moved to my permanent residence and having received my new residency card that reflects that address, my friend Jordi and I went to the medical offices in my neighborhood to see if I would be able to use the public health care system here.  The woman we talked to said I needed to make an appointment with the Spanish Social Security system, which also administers the public health system.  That happened last week.  It was short and sweet.  Basically, Spain changed the law so that immigrants that come after 2012 and do not contribute to the system through payroll tax cannot access the public health system.  Prior to 2012, being a legal resident also entitled you to the health care system.  So, that puts to bed the question of having access to the public health care system.  I initially didn't think I did, but friends here thought my legal residency allowed me health care access as well.

I recently found an American doctor in Barcelona.  I set up an appointment to see her this Wednesday.

Beach Culture and Social Events

I know this sounds like a big "duh", but I am finding that many friends go to the beach on the weekends since it is so close and so accessible.  Just this weekend I spent the entire day with friends on the beach.  Although there are beaches right in Barcelona, some don't consider the water as clean enough to bathe in as well as the fact that they are very crowded.  So many will go either south or north of Barcelona by train to the many clothing optional beaches all up and down the coast.  One weekend I went with Chris to Sitges, which is south of the city.  Then with two different groups of friends I went to two northern beaches, Sant Pol and Caldes D'Estrac.  The beach scene is usually a mix of gay and straight, families and singles, young and old.  At Caldes D'Estrac, there is a beach bar sitting right on the beach (chiringuito), which makes it both convenient and an occasional refuge from the sun.  I also invested in a beach umbrella, which makes being on the beach more enjoyable for me.  Going with friends to the beach seems to have taken the place of the hikes, which have died down because of the warmer weather.  I find these too are great opportunities to meet some new friends, practice my Spanish and learn new things.  I'm sure the hikes will start up again in the fall.

On Thursday a group of friends got together for drinks and tapas and a few of us ended up having dinner together.  All this was in my neighborhood, so I got to know some new places to hang out.  On Saturday I had a wonderful rooftop dinner at a friend's home with 8 other friends.  We arrived at 9:30 pm and left about 2:30 am, eating, drinking and lots of conversation (it was a warm evening, so some had their shirts off).