The roundabout of life Part I – Discovering a new world

When I first moved to Europe, it was a thrill.

Growing up on the West Coast, my idea of old European architecture came mostly from movies — and Disneyland. My closest encounter with a European castle was at ´it’s a small world´. So when I finally found myself surrounded by the real thing, it felt almost magical.

Everything was a discovery. Every step revealed another piece of history, another story, another way of seeing the world. It was like walking barefoot through the past.

Of course, not everything surprised me. Some things amazed me — while others left me scratching my head and thinking, “Well… that’s certainly different.”

Take my first trip to Paris. Everyone warned me: “It’s freezing! Bring warm clothing or you’ll freeze to death.”

I arrived wrapped in so many layers that I could barely move. Somewhere along the way, I managed to get stuck in a couple of bathroom stalls.

But I had the best time. Along the Champs-Élysées, people mistook me for the Michelin Man. I could barely move, but at least my eyes were uncovered.

And then there were the electrical sockets.

Plugging a plug into a Spanish wall socket can require the strength of a weightlifter. Sometimes it takes so much force that you begin wondering whether you’ll end up in the emergency room with a broken finger. Eventually, it becomes less about plugging in the appliance and more about deciding which finger you can afford to lose.

Among the beauties and surprises of living here, I discovered the importance of community.

Community is not a word; it is something you experience. People share, socialise, meet, talk, help one another, complain together, celebrate together — and know more about each other’s business than they strictly need to!

But there is warmth in it.

Perhaps that is one of the gifts of migrating. It has become such a controversial word, but it is what birds do every year. You arrive thinking you’re going to discover a new place, and eventually realise that the place has been changing you, too.

You don’t simply move somewhere and become a resident. Through friendships, conversations, neighbourhoods, associations, clubs and encounters, you slowly begin to belong.

You begin to see that there isn’t one right way of doing things.

There are simply different ways.

Which brings me to one of the things I have never quite understood about Spain.

Roundabouts.

But that, dear reader, is a story for next week.

By the way…

I hope you will join us on October 8th for Música de las Américas, which we are preparing with the Ayuntamiento de Marbella and our partners.

A piano duo and soprano are travelling from Paris for an evening of music from across the Americas, kicking off El Día de la Hispanidad.

For information or reservations, please email aif2018@hotmail.com.

This column has been occasionally and lovingly edited with a little help from AI.