Day 3 Friday March 1, 2013

My first library visit was scheduled for 9 am Friday morning, so I had to make sure I got myself up in time to get a bus to the campus. I got on the bus behind a woman and sat across from her. She looked and me and said Hola and I discovered that she was a librarian and that she would be giving me a tour at the Library. ¡qué casualidad! (Coincidence, right?) She got me off the bus at the right stop and to the right place in the library to meet with the director, Roser Lozano. I did my interview  with three librarians, one seemed to be there for her English speaking expertise. I really appreciated that because my Spanish is not good enough to carry off an interview totally in Spanish.

After the interview, the director rushed off to a meeting and the two librarians graciously showed me their library and explained their services and policies. The library has many windows and is well laid out, tidy, and modern. I believe it was built in the 1990's so it is not very old. I have many pictures to show when I return. I spent about four hours with the two librarians and then met with the director once more before I left. They also presented me with a bottle of champagne made in the Enology Department of the University. Yes, they have a four-year wine-making degree and the bottle had their own label on it! They were extremely gracious and welcoming to me and I really appreciated it.

It was quite a relief to have my first interview over and went back to the hotel to meet Lola for the afternoon. It was raining in the morning but by the time we were able to go out again, it was just cloudy. We took the advice of the librarians and walked down the Rambla (the main street) to the port. They said it was traditional to take a walk there and "toca la herra" which means touch the iron fence at the end of the Rambla. It is supposed to be good luck so we made sure to do it! Then we walked through the old town which had winding streets and many little shops. We stopped in one little bar and drank a beer and later stopped at a bakery for a little pan con chocolate. It doesn't sound like a very  good combination but they were both very good!

I am still not used to the time change, but I am not sleeping during the day, so I am sure I will get straightened out soon. Lola seems to have adjusted well already.