Le Gente

La gente basically means “the people.” The Spanish people have been incredibly welcoming and friendly. I have had two recent experiences (in addition to the nice lady at the metro station) that have convinced me even more of this:

1.     Tito

My high school friend Chris is studying in Granada and he came to Córdoba to stay for the weekend. By about midafternoon that Friday we were hanging out in Pub Lennon (soaking up the wifi) with my EAP friends when we decided it was about time we found a place for him to stay. He decided to ask a group of older Spanish men who were sitting at the bar for suggestions. One of them (Tito) not only gave him the name of the place but came over to our table to show it to him online on my computer. Then he offered to take Chris there! If that’s not enough, when they got there the told Chris that it would be 30€ a night, and Tito told them “Hey, this is my American friend. 25?” They agreed and just like that Tito had not only found Chris a good place to stay, he saved him an additional 10€!! He took Chris back to the pub on his motorcycle and talked with our growing group of Americans for a little bit longer. He talked to one of the girl’s sisters over iChat and kept trying to talk to Andrew on my computer screen. It was really impressive that this man went way out of his way to help my friend, a person that he had never even met before.

2.     Javi

Just like the typical American tourists we are, my friend Sona and I were walking around the historical part of town and the Roman Bridge taking pictures of ourselves and every pretty thing we saw. We asked a Spanish guy (Javi) walking by to take our picture with the Mezquita in the background, and he quick acquiesced. Not only did he take our picture, but he also chatted with us after. He worked through our broken Spanish and answered our questions about where the young people hang out in the city. He tried to use our teeny map to show us places, but when that wasn’t successful he told us he’d meet up with us later and show us around. When Sona, Chris, and I met up with him later, he and his friends were so nice and welcoming. We were able to hang out in a local spot that was playing Spanish music (which apparently is a rarity here, we are always hearing American music) and we hung out for a couple hours. I’m pretty sure Chris (with his Mexican fluency) was even having a mildly political discussion with his friends at some point.  We all got to be like the Spanish for the evening, and we wouldn’t have been able to have this unique, fun experience if Javi hadn’t gone out of his way to be welcoming and show us around his city.

I’m sure I’ll meet more wonderful Spanish people who will be equally welcoming to us, and these aren’t even all the experiences so far. For example, my intercambio (my language exchange friend) took my to see the Judería (historical area with the mezquita) after sunset, when it was so much prettier than during the day (as well as less full of tourists).