The Three Wise Men - Brian
This week Shannon and I went on a little adventure – to find a new hat for me. I was looking for a cuban style hat, they’re great for the sun here. Unfortunately I’m a little off-season – many shops are closed in August for holidays, including the only hat store in Granada listed in the phone book.
The phone book here is really just a rough guide to what might exist – names and phone numbers , the occasional address might even include a street name and number. Names are listed in strict alphabetical order, meaning “El” and “La” are really long listings since they are the first words in the names of almost all stores, restaurants and bars in Spanish. Word of mouth is much more effective, so I asked a friend of ours who grew up here in Granada if there was another hat store; he said yes, its in Zubia (a district of Granada), near L’Hipica (a building), when you get close by ask someone on the street where exactly it is. Word of mouth has more listings than the phone book but it isn’t any more precise in terms of locating a place…
It was a beautiful morning so we set off to walk to Zubia and L’Hipica. As we came to a large pedestrian walkway in front of L’Hipica, we saw what we hoped would be the perfect people to ask for further directions – 3 old men sitting on a bench, 2 with canes and one with a hat. I approached one and asked if he knew of the hat store I was trying to find. Yes, its just over there, 2-3 streets and in the back said the 1st. No, its over there said another of the men. Whats he looking for? said the 3rd. After a brief discussion amongst themselves the 1st began again – its just over there, 2-3 streets. No said the second and I missed what the 3rd said. The 1st man would have none of it and finally held up his hand with a “perdon” and rather forcefully told the others to wait and let him speak. At this point I was hoping this might continue, but after some more muttering from the 2nd and 3rd we were on our way.
After the 2-3 streets we asked again and eventually found the hat store – closed for vacation.
This reminded me of a funny thing our friend Georges said when he was helping us learn Spanish – he didn’t want to spend any time practicing asking for or giving directions. He said no one really knows where anything is but will always tell you something no matter what language you all happen to be speaking. True enough Georges.