It’s my last night here... I leave for Bilbao by bus at 9 am tomorrow morning, spend 2 nights there, and then I fly home Christmas day... but good news about that—now I get home at 6 or something instead of 8... which is great as long as I make all my connection flights and don’t end up spending Christmas in Paris or Atlanta, GA.
Anyways... I wanted to write a little goodbye to this place before I leave. So here goes...
Things I love about San Sebastián...
I love the people here. They are proud of where they’re from, and rightly so. San Sebastian is a truly amazing place, and I hope that I will see it again soon. I love that no matter how cranky or tired I am, or if I am just having one of those days, all I have to do is walk outside my door, and I can’t help but smile. The kids here are precious- all decked out now that it’s winter, in so many layers that as they ride in their strollers, their arms stick out at their sides like they can’t even move. Families are always outdoors here, walking around, talking with friends, and playing with their kids. I had never been to any particular city before and thought to myself, this would be the perfect place to raise kids, until I came to San Sebastian. Seeing the babies in their big old-fashioned navy blue strollers with shiny silver wheels, and the toddlers wandering about with their parents or grandparents just brings a huge smile to my face. Yesterday all the kids and many adults were all decked out in traditional Basque dress for a big festival day here. It was precious. The Basque people know how to have a good time. They are full of spirit. Not the crazy, party-around-the-clock kind of spirit, but something more genuine- something that is rooted in a part of who they are. True, sometimes they don’t come across initially as the friendliest of people, and will often be the first to describe themselves as being ´´ closed, `` but when they see how much this place means to you too, and how much their culture and city have touched you, they are different. You can see their expression change- sometimes they are surprised; sometimes they just smile because they know that this place is amazing, and they’re glad for the complement to their city.
This is sort of frustrating, because I am not doing this place justice... but I’m not going to give up yet... I love that the little old ladies here walk around arm-in-arm or holding hands. I love that when people greet one another here, they kiss on both cheeks, and I love that it rubs off on anyone who stays here for a while. Somehow it’s just better that way, and it means a lot when people you’ve only known for a while treat you the same as they do their close friends from here. This is going to make me cry- and it won’t be the first time today either. Oye vey... so it goes... I don’t know how to explain it—there is just something so different here. I walk through the streets and I feel proud to be here. It is kind of like a sense of community, I guess, that I have not experienced in the US. For one thing, I walk everywhere here, and so do most people. And I think that makes a big difference. There are always people out together everywhere here, and at all hours. And things aren’t so rushed; people aren’t so focussed on what they have next on their schedule, and they aren’t running around with a Starbucks cup affixed to their hand either. We don’t even have anywhere to get coffee to go here. It’s not something that the people here do. No matter how busy their day is, if they get coffee it is a moment to sit down and catch up with a friend. I love that. That’s the way it should be. Like yesterday, for example... I met with María Jesús-Pando, a professor at Deusto (it was her English language class that I talked to twice last week). She had meetings and craziness lined up all day, but when I ran into her at the cafeteria, she was taking time out of her day to have a cup of coffee and catch up with one of her friends, Larraitz, our academic advisor and another English professor at Deusto. I don’t know... I just love the personality of the people here, and the value they place on friends and spending time with one another.
Ok... well... Becca just called and we are going to do one last dinner with Jess Goldin and my German roomie Henrike (Juliane left yesterday... so sad... miss you already and love you heaps! Abrazos! And Rita left this morning at 6 am or something... she came in to say goodbye, and I was really out of it and couldn’t get my arms out from under the covers to hug her goodbye... sorry love! Hope you had a safe flight to Hungary!). So I've got to go... this isn't finished yet, but it's a start.
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