La Rodilla, El Ascensor y La Ultima Semana

So, not boasting about new found Spanish learnings (really!) but am trying to actively use my recently gained language abilities with the new found understanding of the maxim "Use it or lose it." The translation of the title of

this post is as follows: The Knee, the Lift and the Final Week..............................The Knee - A few days ago my right knee started communicating some issues to me and I limped home from a lovely morning with amigos americanos, to nurse it. I stepped out that night to get a dinner snack, took a leg up (no step height ordinances here!) to go into into the tienda and the knee screamed back at me. "Basta!" it yelled. "No mas!" And as they say in Spanish, it hurt like a motherfucker. I limped home, hoping for the best. Not to be. Woke up to find that moving through the apartment was almost as hard as when I had Covid a few years ago and couch to kitchen was an hour-long endeavor. Showering that morning was one huge fear that the housekeeper would find me, naked as a newborn, on the floor of the shower, blue from now-cold water, days later. Survived the shower without a soapy slip, and found my way to Farmacia. Bought a leg brace and some ointment. It's been, couple days later, a very slow recovery. So slow, I'm contemplating bugging out of a two night sojourn to Madrid. Why go to Madrid, after all, if you can't walk around and enjoy? I'll let you know........................................................................El Ascensor Monday morning, new week, on my way to the gym with a backpack and a bag full of kitchen garbage. Locked the apartment door behind me, stepped into the elevator (here a "lift") and not a second and a half into the descent, boom!, the lift jolts to a halt. Now, full disclosure, I've always had a back-of-consciousness fear of elevators after losing a good friend and housepainting partner to a horrific elevator accident back in college days. So when this morning's car jolted to a halt, my mind started racing. What happens if it drops three floors to a concrete pad? If I jump before contact, can I avoid the worst? I put the backpack and the bag of garbage onto the floor and fret. Press the trouble button, am immediately put in contact with an operator. "Hola, buenas dias, habla Ingles?" I babble. She does, and promises a technician. Fifteen minutes later, after a peek at two Valenciano workmen through the door, I am freed and sent to the ground floor (zero). Pleased to be free and limp off to the gym..........................................La Ultima Semana It's now officially my last week in Spain, my last week in Valencia. So many thoughts, so many emotions. More to come before I leave this weekend, but this much is certain...I love it here...coming to Valencia for the last three months was a truly good decision.