The cat named dog is no more.

On Monday the 25th of April, 2011, Inu-chan, my beloved tiny, Japanese tiger died.  My muse, mentor and monster, she began her life with me in her birthplace of Yamagata, Japan.  She moved with me to Vancouver, Canada and a few years later to Benalmadena,Spain. She died at home in Singapore having seen more continents, countries, airports and assuredly, more cargo holds, than most human beings.

As I write this there are 18 emails and 24 expressions of condolence on Facebook.  A lot of them are from people who got to meet her and say they are glad they did.  The others are from people who know how very much I am going to miss her, even if they don't know why.

On Monday at 11:13PM I wrote on my Facebook status, "Inu-chan died suddenly at home today. I don't know what else to say."

I wrote in my newsletter yesterday:

 "Yesterday my tiny, Japanese tiger died suddenly at home in Singapore. She wasn't ill and there was no evidence of an accident. I 'googled' Sudden Cat Death and discovered it is much more common than I could have guessed and the vets seem to agree that heart failure is quite common even in younger cats. Inu-chan was 10 and a half years old.

I regret that she did not live long enough to enjoy the much deserved celebrity that would have been heaped upon her after Memoirs of a Cat Named Dog hit the New York Times bestseller list but the 22 messages of condolence received within 24 hours suggest that she had already enjoyed more than her 'fifteen minutes of fame'.

Inu was not the first of my cats to die but she will be the last. My heart is not strong enough to do this again."

With each day I find the strength to write more.  I still can't talk (or write) about her without crying but I am finding the words, and that is a very good thing.  Unlike all of the cats I had before, Inu will live on in 'her' memoirs.

Issue #10

A Day in Andrea´s Life

I don´t have a job that demands my time so my schedule is extremely flexible. I wake up with the sun and have a couple of glasses of café con leche before showering and dressing. Some mornings I do a load of laundry while having my coffee and then take it up to the roof to dry after I am dressed. I am usually out and about by noon. Some days I explore my neighbourhood and some days neighbouring towns. Most days I go to one of the two supermarkets near my apartment and pick up a few items. I get the biggest thrill out of picking up a baguette and it is still warm. The supermarkets are not open on Sundays so if I am in desperate need of something I go to Barker´s Booze and Groceries. It is open everyday and has quite an impressive selection for a shop that is not as big as your average 7-11 convenience store. I try to write daily or at very least edit what I have already written. I spend about three hours in the internet cafe every day.

Yesterday was the beginning of Carnaval and it was kicked off here in Benalmadena with a drag queen show. There were children in costumes racing around the square where the stage was erected and a cotton candy concession was open for business. I learned today that Carnaval was banned during General Franco´s dictatorship. I also found an article with great pictures and have attached a link below for those who wish to know more about this festival.       http://www.endicott-studio.com/rdrm/rrcarnaval.html

Issue #9

Hanging in the ´hood

Groups of buildings are called urbanizations in Spain and the cluster of ten high-rise buildings that Inu-chan and I live in is Urb. Jardines del Gamonal (roughly gardens of the chief). It is located approximately, depending on whether you are going uphill or down, ten minutes from the train station and Paloma Park and fifteen minutes from the beach, on foot. There are 18 small restaurants and bars in the complex, 3 of them on the ground floor of our building. The other locales, commercial locations, on the ground floors of the buildings include a pharmacy, hardware store, pet store,and bakery. There are also a few beauty salons, travel agents, green grocers and internet cafes.
The next urbanization as you head downhill toward the sea is Zodiaco Corinto. There you will find more pubs but also a veterinarian clinic, a British health clinic, a British supermarket (where I get my monthly treat of instant macaroni and cheese) and Terri Fox´s Palace, billed as "the most glamourous place to be on the coast ...where fantasy becomes reality ". The show stars female impersonators Terri Fox and Shantell Michaels. This is where I ushered in 2010, sitting at the bar with Terri´s mother.

Issue #8

Benalmadena: My kind of town

Thank you to the 25 people who responded to the survey. It helped me to realize that I am exactly where I should be!! Jessica Selzer, author of Do It Afraid, was the only person who said being near a city was the most important although 5 other respondents said being near an international airport was really important. Being near the beach was of top importance for 7 people, nature got 4 and pueblo 3, only one person said being close to cultural events was number 1 but plenty of the folks who answered the survey made it their number 2.

Wikipedia describes Benálmadena as a municipality in the province of Málaga, part of Andalusia in southern Spain. The municipality is 12km west of the city of Málaga, on the southern coast between the tourist areas of Torremolinos and Fuengirola. It has a population of approximately 53,000 residents but also caters to a large number of tourists. There are three parts one of which is Benalmádena Pueblo, the original village, which is about 3 kms inland at approximately 200m above sea level. Its core is a typical white-washed Andalusian village. It has an archaeological museum, a bull-fighting ring and the largest Buddhist Stupa in the Western world. Benalmádena Costa has discos, hotels, beaches, shopping centres, and a marina. Tourist attractions include SeaLife aquarium and Selwo Marine Park. Casino Torrequebrada is along this same stretch. And then there is Arroyo de la Miel which means stream of honey. This is where I live. It was originally a separate village and lies between Pueblo and Costa making it very convenient to both the sea and the mountains. It is also convenient to Malaga airport and the city of Malaga because of the train station. It has become the main residential area, and is also the most commercially active. Arroyo de la Miel is home to the Tivoli World amusement park and the teleferico, a cable car which runs to the top of Calamorro mountain (769 metres). From here one can enjoy panoramic views of the Sierra Nevada, Gibraltar and on clear days, the Moroccan coastline.

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.

Issue #7

This is the third country in which I have spent Christmas, the first being Canada and then Japan and the only thing that the holidays share in these three countries is the date, December 25th.

For more than a decade preceding my move to Yamagata my ´traditional´ Christmas celebration began with Christmas Eve at the Worthington´s which included walking the half block to the Anglican church to sing carols and then returning to their warm and beautifully decorated home to eat, drink and be merry. Gifts were exchanged but not opened. The opening of presents had to wait until Christmas morning. In the wee small hours before dawn I would return to my house and sleep until noon. Upon waking, I would have coffee and open my presents and then get dressed to go to Zoë´s. The party she hosted all those years was the highlight of the season for many people and we would eat and drink some more with the party finally winding down well after midnight. I would spend boxing day at Gail´s apartment. It was a ´girls´only day attended by Gail´s mother, sister and niece. I was an honourary member of the clan on this special day and we would play card games and, yes you guessed it, eat and drink. With the exception of a couple of hours spent singing at St.Judes, the holidays were a secular celebration for me.

In Japan, Christmas is a secular event. There is no holiday and I worked every Christmas Day for the 5 years that I lived there. Christmas Eve is the largest ´date´night of the year, much like New Year´s Eve is in Canada, and the restaurants were crowded with young couples. Japanese families that celebrate Christmas do so by eating chicken for dinner (you have to pre-order your KFC for that day) and Christmas cake. This is not the heavy fruitcake that Canadians call Christmas cake. It is like birthday cake, complete with candles, but instead of "Happy Birthday" written in icing on the cake, there is "Merry Christmas". Small children are given a toy or other treat. The really big family time is New Year´s and that is when the shops are closed and everyone is home with their loved ones.

Here in Spain there are two really important days in the 12 days of Christmas. The celebrations begin with Nochebuena on the evening of December 24th. A feast consisting of seafood, fish, ham, cheese and cava (Spanish champagne) is enjoyed and there is music and dancing. The centrepiece of the decorations is not a tree but a nativity scene called a belén in Spanish. On January 6th, the Epiphany, is Three Kings Day. This is the time the children have been really looking forward to because the Three Kings will bring presents to the children just like they brought to the baby Jesus. There is a parade in every town with candy being tossed to the crowd. Christmas is definately not a secular holiday in Spain.

Issue # 6

Feedback Request

First off, I would like to sincerely thank everyone who has taken the time to let me know what they think of the Correo. I really appreciate it! So why, you ask, am I asking for feedback now? Well, I am seriously considering moving to another part of Andalucia. My lovely home in Arroyo de la Miel was on a 6 month contract and it is up at the end of February 2010. Please take a few minutes to consider these questions and send back your answers. Everyone who responds will receive a free week of accomodation on the beautiful Costa del Sol with all the sangria you can drink.

If you were planning a holiday in the south of Spain which of the following would be important to you?

1/ Close to an international airport

2/ Close to a city

3/ Close to a beach

4/ Located in a small Andalusian pueblo

5/ Close to a marina or port

6/ Close to cultural activities i.e. bullfights, museums, festivals, markets

7/ Close to fun activites i.e. theme parks, aquariums, casinos

8/ Close to a shopping centre or major department store

9/ Close to nature i.e. mountains, forests, rivers

10/ Close to a Buddhist temple ;-)

Please organize from most important to least important and feel free to add any comments or suggestions.

5th Issue

The Berlin Zirkus: An Evening at a Traditional Circus

I attended the early performance of the Berlin Zirkus on November 28, 2009 in Benalmadena, Spain. I sat in the front row and with popcorn in hand excitedly awaited the show. The ring was enclosed with bars as the first act was the Bengal tigers. Frank Bügler is the patriarch of the family and he trains the animals with the exception of the horses and ponies who are trained by Patricia Bügler. After the tigers, the bars were removed and the audience was treated to an impressive display of juggling by Maikel, a prepubescent boy who is following in the footsteps of his teenage brother Anthony, a consummate showman who really plays to the crowd. Their younger sister acts as assistant to Anthony´s plate spinning display and is mastering the hoops. She doesn´t have her own act yet. There are two different clown acts and a tightrope display by Miguel Ferreri that had me on the edge of my seat. The non-human performers include camels, long-horned cattle, the aforementioned tigers, horses and ponies and my favourite, the elephants. I had my picture taken with Miss Esmeralda. The finale brings all the performers and their children into the ring and the smallest children get a chance to show their skills and get a taste for the limelight.

The term circus is commonly used to describe a travelling company of performers that may include acrobats,clowns, trained animals,and other stunt-oriented artists. The Latin word circus comes from the Greek word kirkos meaning circle or ring. The circus of Rome is thought to have been influenced by the Greeks, with chariot racing and the exhibition of animals as traditional attractions. For some time after the fall of Rome, itinerant showmen travelled the fair grounds of Europe. Animal trainers and performers are thought to have exploited the nostalgia for the Roman circus, travelling between towns and performing at local fairs.

The first true animals acts in the circus were equestrian acts. Soon elephants and big cats were displayed as well. Isaac A. Van Amburgh entered a cage with several big cats in 1833, and is generally considered to be the first wild animal trainer in American circus history. The use of animals in the circus has been a matter of controversy, as animal-welfare groups have documented many cases of cruelty in the training of performing animals. The modern circus, like the Cirque de Soleil, uses only human performers. The traditional circus may soon become a thing of the past.