homeless mussels

Just another day in La Coruña today: I had my early and best classes this morning from 9:30-1:00 with half hour breaks in between. I usually snooze about 5 times before getting up, but today I had one of those accidental shutoff moments, but luckily woke up with half an hour to spare. I biked over to school with my hands frozen to the handlebars and my head stuck to the ocean. No matter how cold it is, it's a good way to start the day. I arrived 10 minutes later with enough time to head to the school cafe to grab a cafe con leche (au lait) and some churros (spanish stick-shaped, crispy begneits). My classes on Tuesday are a bit older and much more talkative and responsive than the others, and I usually leave them more energized than I enter. I count that as a success.

(I'm giving David Bowie a try while I write this and I'm not really digging it. Ah, but Under Pressure just started.)

I left work and headed to the big cultural center that is nearby. This has become my getaway this year. It's a huge public space with high glass windows, wood beams, a theater, leisure areas and a nice library. A grabbed a layman's science book and the Woody Allen film Sweet and Lowdown, did my homework and then hussled home in the freezing rain. My lunch was a cabbage, chorizo and chickpea soup that I tested out the other day and some porkchops that needed to be cooked.

The interesting part of the day came at 8:30 when I was walking home with my bike in hand. I passed by the grocery store, Gadis, that I frequent when the stationary homeless man stopped me suddenly and handed me a bag of almejas (mussels). I was wary at first, but he was a jolly fellow and asked my name and then if I was Italian when he heard my strange accent. "No, Americano," I said. He said he was Jesus and advised me on how to cook the mussels and that they'd give me a hard dick if I did it right. He laughed and said I could visit him at the nearby Soup Kitchen whenever I wanted.
I hailed a little bit the rest of the walk home. Weird. I just cooked the mussels. They were good; I hope i don't get sick.