Monday, June 15, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
SUSANA
While in Granada two weekends ago, I met Susana, a wonderful woman from Cuba. Though I´ve been in Spain for almost a year now, it was the friendliest encounter yet.
It was a Sunday, our last day in Granada. Though I had already traveled to Granada earlier last year, I wanted to take my mami to Andalucía, my favorite part of Spain. And what better place to go than to the last Moorish city of Spain, home of La Alhambra and Barrio Sacromonte´s flamenco? We had been shopping all morning, after starting off the day with typical tostada andaluza and café con leche. On our walk into downtown, we stopped by a scarf store that was, unfortuantely, closed. We were both disappointed about it, but continued on our way on a never-ending quest to find a Moroccan tetera and tea set - a purchase that should have happened while in Marrakesh a few weeks beforehand.
As we were on our way back to the hostel, content with our recent tea set purchase, rushing as our bus was leaving in forty-five minutes, we stopped in this scarf store that was now open. We entered and I immediately spotted a blue and red scarf I just had to buy. From the back of the shop, I heard ´puedes cogerla si quieres´ in a thick Caribbean accent. Not only was I initially excited at my first instinct that this woman could be Cuban, but someone was actually being helpful. FRIENDLY even. ¡Alá! When I walked up to the counter to give her my three euros, our nice store clerk told us tres pesos ... digo, euros. At the very moment, I knew it! There wasn´t a doubt in my mind that this woman was cubana, spotting her Cubanness from the moment we walked in. I asked her where she was from (La Habana) and told her all about my Cuban-American novio and his family. She shared with me that her husband was from Camagüey and expressed genuine concern at the distance betweeen me and my novio cubano, while I´ve been working in Madrid and he´s been studying hard to graduate and finally write about Cuba. She was excited about the buena mezcla between our Irish and Cuban roots.
Towards the end of our conversation, shortly after giving my mami kisses, she said to me, ¨Siempre tienes una amiga aquí. Me llamo Susana.¨ As we left the shop, my eyes filled with tears as I could not believe this beautiful, chance encounter and Susana´s friendliness. It was, and I´m sure will remain, my best experience with an individual here. Someone who actually takes the time to talk to you, introduce themselves, and ask questions about your life instead of rushing to take that one last smoke before break is over or pushing you and hurrying you along to catch the próxima llegada of the metro or cercanía. Perhaps I´ve been living in Madrid too long, where I, too, find myself living that survival-of-the-fittest mentality, especially on line 6 on my way to work each morning.
But perhaps it was a simple cultural and individual connection, brought together by a similar talking point: Cuba. Whatever it was about the meeting of my new friend, it filled me with joy, hope, and seemed to ignite once again that ¨buried by European travels¨ curiosity of going to the island, Susana´s patria to meet more people like her.
It was a Sunday, our last day in Granada. Though I had already traveled to Granada earlier last year, I wanted to take my mami to Andalucía, my favorite part of Spain. And what better place to go than to the last Moorish city of Spain, home of La Alhambra and Barrio Sacromonte´s flamenco? We had been shopping all morning, after starting off the day with typical tostada andaluza and café con leche. On our walk into downtown, we stopped by a scarf store that was, unfortuantely, closed. We were both disappointed about it, but continued on our way on a never-ending quest to find a Moroccan tetera and tea set - a purchase that should have happened while in Marrakesh a few weeks beforehand.
As we were on our way back to the hostel, content with our recent tea set purchase, rushing as our bus was leaving in forty-five minutes, we stopped in this scarf store that was now open. We entered and I immediately spotted a blue and red scarf I just had to buy. From the back of the shop, I heard ´puedes cogerla si quieres´ in a thick Caribbean accent. Not only was I initially excited at my first instinct that this woman could be Cuban, but someone was actually being helpful. FRIENDLY even. ¡Alá! When I walked up to the counter to give her my three euros, our nice store clerk told us tres pesos ... digo, euros. At the very moment, I knew it! There wasn´t a doubt in my mind that this woman was cubana, spotting her Cubanness from the moment we walked in. I asked her where she was from (La Habana) and told her all about my Cuban-American novio and his family. She shared with me that her husband was from Camagüey and expressed genuine concern at the distance betweeen me and my novio cubano, while I´ve been working in Madrid and he´s been studying hard to graduate and finally write about Cuba. She was excited about the buena mezcla between our Irish and Cuban roots.
Towards the end of our conversation, shortly after giving my mami kisses, she said to me, ¨Siempre tienes una amiga aquí. Me llamo Susana.¨ As we left the shop, my eyes filled with tears as I could not believe this beautiful, chance encounter and Susana´s friendliness. It was, and I´m sure will remain, my best experience with an individual here. Someone who actually takes the time to talk to you, introduce themselves, and ask questions about your life instead of rushing to take that one last smoke before break is over or pushing you and hurrying you along to catch the próxima llegada of the metro or cercanía. Perhaps I´ve been living in Madrid too long, where I, too, find myself living that survival-of-the-fittest mentality, especially on line 6 on my way to work each morning.
But perhaps it was a simple cultural and individual connection, brought together by a similar talking point: Cuba. Whatever it was about the meeting of my new friend, it filled me with joy, hope, and seemed to ignite once again that ¨buried by European travels¨ curiosity of going to the island, Susana´s patria to meet more people like her.
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