#29 The Sun also Shines [PART3. Spain] ep.XIV "Guest①"

The first visitor came from Japan.

I hadn't imgained this person would come. Before my departure, she told me she wanted to, but you always take it as a just greeting, don't you?

This is Spanish learners capable of. Her name is Yuki, she and I were in the same Spanish class at my university for two semesters which is held for public.

 I don't know how old exactly she is, maybe almost as my parents. She came on a trip by herself for taking a week of from work. We decided to have dinners together on the first and the last day of her trip because she arrives and leaves in the airport in Madrid.

We went to a paella restaurant, where is close to Opera station which is her hotel nearby, on first evening, and I was so surprised to see many Japanese tourist at once. It's been a while, maybe since at Frankfurt airport, to see this many of them.

 I ordered a plate of olives by my instinct. Tomato salad was very good with olive oil and wine vineger's "Spanish seasoning". Spanish ham is excellent, for sure. We had a "mixta" for paella, which is with a mix of seafood and meat such as chiken. They showed us a paella pan first, then they serve it put on plates. This looked like a way to entertain tourist.

 After that, present time. Mizuho, so was she in the class, also gave me a lot. In the end, their presents were the greatest gifts from Japan. Miso in a broken-on-board-plastic box was lovely. And some Japanese rice snacks that I asked her to bring. To be honest, I can buy this in Madrid, but it is three times as expensive as in Japan. Curry showed up here which lit my eagerness toward it. The last but not the least, or rather the best, was instant miso soup sea shell flavored. It made my days.

I'm the only exchage student who got gifts with letters from two parents-aged ladies without any blood relation.

I felt a spark of tension between us two and a server at a restaurant we went on her last day of trip.

"What would you for drink?"
"I get a cup of sparkling water."
"How about you, mother?"
"No, she isn't my mother, but my friend."
"Oh well, I see..."

Artichokes are way much better than I expected. It was a cosy restaurant.

NEXT: The Sun also Shines [PART3. Spain] ep.XV "Guest②"

↓ To read in Japanese