I published previous posts under the category called About  and I tried to focus  on the subjects about which you will be able to read in future posts. In this text,  I will explain the reasons that led me to choose the word “alandar” as the blog’s name.

So, you already know  a little bit about me and the reasons that have led me to do this work. I also attempted  to familiarize you with my town, Alcalá la Real. I wanted you to know about the Civil Hospital and the Mercedarias nuns who worked there; They did  inestimable work with poor people until the middle of the twentieth century, when they left the town. Finally I told you that the methodology that I am using in my research will be another important area of the blog.

Now, to complete this introduction,   I would like you to know that besides the term «alandar» containing one of my hobbies,  this word is also a philosophy, a way to understand life.

“Alandar”  is an invented word that I created when I put together two Spanish words: “al”  and “andar”.

• “Al” : it is a very common Spanish word, which is the contraction of the preposition “a” and the article “el”   (Al = a + el).  In this case you can translate “al” as “when”.
• “Andar” : In my native language this word means “walk”.

So, the word “alandar” means “when walking”,  which in turn,  has two meanings.

One is the literal translation that means the physical activity of walking, which I love to do. When walking (al-andar), not only does your body obtain the benefits of this exercise, your mind is also relaxed and your thoughts probably become clearer than those you have when you are inside.

So, many of the ideas for my research and this blog came to me when I was walking.

The other meaning of “alandar” derives from the word “andar”.  It can be understood in the colloquial Spanish language as a “process”. If something “is walking” we can understand that this thing is “in process”,  it “is running” or it “is working”.

This second sense of the Spanish word “andar” was responsible for my previous sentence  related to the philosophy contained in my blog’s name.

In my opinion, everything we do is a process. It is a continuous movement on the road towards our finish line (objectives).  In this walk, we are continuously learning and what we learn in each step is precisely what can make us redefine our goals and the path itself.

Therefore, it is the process of walking and the overcoming of its obstacles and difficulties which make our projects a reality. It is the road itself and what we learn on it what transforms our dreams into a fascinating journey.