Camino Frances

Camino Frances
Picture provided by http://www.caminodesantiago.me.uk/camino-maps/

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

02-07-2012 Boadilla del Camino to Carrión de los Condes

“Wait, are you two really brothers?”
“They are brothers of the Camino, I’m their Papi,”
This waitress is the first person to comment on Rafa and my continual use of, “I’ll have what my little brother is having.” and “just like papa.”

Espera un momento, ¿sois hermanos de verdad?”
“Son hermanos del Camino, yo soy su papi.”
Esta camarera es la primera de hacer un comentario acerca de nuestro uso del, “Yo quiero lo que está tomando mi hermanito,” y “tal como papá.”

Dinner, as usual, between Rosa2, Gerardo, Rafa and I became a trip to the psychologist as we discussed problems of expressing emotions. Rafa explained how he used to find it very difficult to hug and kiss his father. Only in the past year, since his father had a case of skin cancer, has he become capable of expressing himself. I told him I felt the same, I find physical contact especially difficult. However, over the past year, I have found it easier as my father has began doing Aikido with me. I don’t necessarily hug him and give him a kiss on the cheek before bed, but I push him around a little and express my affection in this way. Papi Gerardo agreed that this is a perfectly acceptable way of expressing emotion, especially if my father is aware of it.
AS we walked backed to our hostel, however, Rafa and I both agreed that other forms of physical affection still come difficult. Christina, for example, hugs us constantly and neither one of us is completely comfortable. We both recognize that hugs are good and, at least in my case, I want hugs… but it is still difficult to judge how to react. Rosa2 seemed a little surprised by our very open discussions and, perhaps even more so, by our very direct questions. I explained that this was normal, dinner is like going to the psychiatrist with Papi.

La cena, como siempre, entre Rosa2, Rafa, Papi y yo se volvió una cita al siquiatra mientras hablábamos del tema de las emociones. Rafa nos dijo que le costaba mucho abrazar y besar a su padre. Sólo fue en este año pasado, cuando su padre tenía un caso de cáncer de la piel, se ha hecho más fácil. Yo le dije que me sentí igual, me costaba mucho expresarme de una forma física. Hasta este año pasado cuando mi padre se apuntó al Aikido conmigo. Tampoco le beso antes de acostarme, pero me gusta empujarle un poco y me expreso de esa otra forma. Papi Gerardo me dijo que eso también vale porque mi padre lo entenderá.
Mientras volvíamos al albergue, sin embargo, Rafa y yo nos pusimos de acuerdo de que otro tipo de contacto físico todavía nos cuesta. Por ejemplo, Cristina nos abraza muy a menudo y ninguno de nosotros está cien por ciento cómodo. Reconocemos que los abrazos son buenos, y los queremos, pero todavía nos cuesta un poco. Rosa2 pareció un poco sorprendida por nuestras conversaciones y aun más con la forma tan directa que tenemos en preguntarnos cosas personales. Le dije que esto es normal, que ir a cenar con Papi es como ir al sicólogo.


I had an interesting day today walking with Estrella. Estrella, originally from Barcelona but living in Madrid, is something of a Spiritual psychologist in herself. She has spent several years developing her spiritual side, learning to think with the heart and not with the mind. She spent a year studying in New York as well as a couple months in Wisconsin. Now she is studying a course in miracles, a course that seeks to teach each person that the miracle is something they can prey for and achieve, recognizing that God is the love in the universe. Asking for a miracle is not necessarily asking for something to appear, but asking for inner piece with the problem we are having. The world that we see, the light and sound and pain and so forth, this is our interpretation. The world is literally what we make of it, physically and spiritually. There is no death, no world and the son of God is a free spirit in the universe. She said when she first heard this, she had the urge to tell the people to go to hell. But she decided she needed to study it before she could criticize. AS she began to study, reading that we are all children of God and that happiness is our inheritance. All that we see is the past, it is interpretations our mind has placed upon the world, but it is all things that have already occurred. All time exists at once and we must realize that our pain and fear is just our mind working. Love and happiness is what really exists. This all began to make sense to Estrella.

Pasé un día muy interesante caminando con Estrella, una chica de Barcelona pero quien vive en Madrid. Estrella, en si misma, es un tipo de sicóloga espiritual. Ha pasado varios años desarrollando su lado espiritual, aprendiendo a pensar con el corazón y no con la mente. Estuvo más de un año viviendo en Nueva York y otros meses en Wisconsin. Ahora está haciendo un curso de milagros, un curso cuyo propósito es enseñarnos que nosotros somos capaces de pedir milagros y reconocer que Dios es el amor en el universo. Pidiendo un milagro no es pedir que algo aparece, sino pedir la paz con el problema que tenemos. El mundo que vemos, la luz y el sonido y la pena, son interpretaciones no más. El mundo es, literalmente, lo que nosotros lo hacemos físicamente y espiritualmente. No hay ni muerte ni mundo real y el hijo de Dios es un espíritu libre en el universo. Me dijo Estrella que, cuando todo eso lo escuchó por primera vez, le entraba ganas de mandarles todos a la mierda. Decidió que tenía que estudiarlo más, sin embargo, antes de criticar. Mientras iba leyendo que todos somos hijos del Dios, que la felicidad es nuestro derecho. Todo lo que vemos son cosas que ya se han pasado, son las interpretaciones que han hecho la mente. Tanto el miedo como el dolor son cosas de la mente. Amor y felicidad es lo que existe de verdad. Todo empezó a tener sentido para Estrella.


Through the middle part of the day, we stopped in a village that smelled sweet like lickerish. After some investigating, we found a bakery that was selling freshly made pastries and we purchased rosquillas and amarguillas, two different tradicional pastries.


Por la tarde, pasamos por un pueblo donde había el olor de Anís. Después de una investigación, encontramos a una tienda que vendía postres recién hechos. Compramos rosquillas y amarguillas, dos cosas tradicionales.

The convent where we are staying is nice, with real beds. The nuns, however, can be a little annoying and one decided to follow me around for a little while and watch me move from room to room. It was a little disconcerting and I finally pointed down the hall and made a shuu shuu noise. She left me alone, but apparently she expressed concern to the other people about my ability to find my way around. Papi assured her I was fine and that was that.

El convento donde nos quedamos esta noche está bien con camas de verdad, aunque las monjas se pueden volver un poco pesadas. Una decidió seguirme durante un rato cuando quería yo ir al baño. Fue un poco raro y, al final, le indiqué el pasillo y le dije “shuu shu”. Me dejó, pero parece que le comentó a otra gente que estaba preocupado por mí. Papi le dijo que me dejara en paz, que yo iba bien, y ya está.

2 comments:

  1. You made a shuu shuu noise to a nun! haha

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  2. Love the part about the town that smelled like licorish. One thing I really miss about walking around with you is that I became so much more attuned to how things smell. Hey, do you remember that crazy monk guy when we stayed in the temple in Takayama? That was a great trip.

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