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A summer day trip unravels amid travel woes, pool closures, and family chaos
🇪🇸 Spain /Culture & Society

A summer day trip unravels amid travel woes, pool closures, and family chaos

From La Vanguardia · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Sources not specified Context piece
  • A child's planned summer day trip to their grandmother's house is derailed by a series of mishaps, including transportation issues and a closed swimming pool.
  • The narrative humorously depicts everyday frustrations like crowded buses, television commentators, and family disagreements, framed as a school composition.
  • The day culminates with further complications: a grandmother's health scare, a broken air conditioner at the clinic, and traffic jams, all while parents argue about school strikes and noisy neighbors.

The narrator, a child, recounts a planned summer day trip to their grandmother's house, intended as a pleasant escape from Barcelona's heat. The outing, however, quickly unravels due to a cascade of minor but frustrating incidents, beginning with travel disruptions. Copper thieves have halted the train service, forcing the family onto an overcrowded bus.

The train that takes us to grandma's house isn't working because of copper thieves, so we took a bus, which is super full.

— Child narratorDescribing the initial travel problems encountered on the way to their grandmother's.

Upon arrival, the municipal swimming pool, a key attraction, is unexpectedly closed. The reason? Some boys defecated in the water, leading to its closure. This event prompts the child to recall childhood warnings about the dire consequences of urinating in pools, complete with imagined red circles and public embarrassment.

The pool is closed because some boys pooped in the water.

— Child narratorExplaining the reason for the unexpected closure of the municipal swimming pool.

Back at the grandmother's house, the child is given a massive puzzle while the adults watch television. The program features pundits, described by the child as possibly alien inhabitants, discussing various issues. One commentator wears a Lamine Yamal jersey, sparking a brief observation. Lunch consists of the child's favorite foods: breaded cutlets and french fries. The father calls, deciding to pick them up by car due to ongoing train reliability issues.

I don't know if the commentators on TV are aliens.

— Child narratorExpressing confusion and amusement about the television pundits.

Later, the grandmother falls ill, prompting a visit to the local health center (CAP). There, staff have hung a banner protesting the broken air conditioning, with temperatures soaring to 32 degrees Celsius. The grandmother's condition is diagnosed inconsistently by the mother and grandmother as either high or low blood sugar. Meanwhile, the father's arrival is delayed by a significant accident on the AP-7 highway, causing an 18-kilometer traffic jam. The mother suggests the child write about the day's events as a school assignment, but then becomes agitated about the upcoming school year, which is threatened by a teachers' strike. The day concludes with the lingering issue of noisy tourists in the adjacent apartment, highlighting ongoing neighborhood disturbances.

The doctors and nurses have put up a banner because the air conditioning isn't working and the temperature is 32 degrees.

— Child narratorDetailing the uncomfortable conditions at the health center due to a broken air conditioner.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by La Vanguardia in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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