Unstoppable weeks are passing by taking with them all the temporary highs and the severe downs of our emotional state, all the critical “die or live” moments, all the panic, all the sarcasm and all the fun. And I’ve never stopped to write about the two lovely girls from our “fraternity” who “fixed me” and marked a huge positive difference in my year: Jo and Lina. When the “Mielec effect” and all the injuries will have been healed the only lasting thing would be my friendship with these girls. And that mattered the most all the time.
Joanna, the polish girl in the group, is a friendship I treasure. She’s the hard working-striving for excellence type. She took us around the country, in spontaneous trips, every second-weekend. She took all the problems of 4 internationals, none of them easy to manage, on her shoulders. Nevertheless we fought the most against her and she fought the most against us, trying to “treat” us of the “preconceptions” syndrome. Finally we learned that her intention was not only to defend what is beautiful about Poles and their fundamental values but rather to help us to see behind the appearances, to help us to create the right expectations, to accept and enjoy differences. I appreciate her resilience and power to wait for each of us to overcome the cultural shocks and learn at our own rhythm about the beauty of what is surrounding us in this year. Since there is no nice place where to have a coffee in this city we finish most of our days in Jo’s small flat, having dinner, dancing, playing cards, or simply talking for 4,5 hours. Then we go at home energized by the warm fuzzy feeling that comes form having an active group of friends who are part of the same pursuit, struggle, call it whatever…
Linita is simply the definition of “best friend”, my Colombian best friend. The things changed for better when she join us in July. She’s the friend good at everything, I mean mastering the art of playing guitar and piano, interpreting art, dancing salsa, tango etc, playing chess and any kind of sports from aerobic to tennis and swimming, able to fix a bike or a car, expert in Excel and other applications etc. Pictures are running in front of my eyes as I’m typing… the two of us together from the first moment, speaking Spanish, going for a coffee, going to the market, losing our time on the streets, cooking, sharing every piece of chocolate, sharing all the ups and downs of our experience, our trips together and the crazy fun we had, the night of the bike accident, the homeless period, all the reciprocal “advices”, the small secrets, the moments at the office. She reminds me daily why I love so much LatAm with its rhythms and way of living, and why I cannot imagine my future without having a friend from LatAm close to me.
One day we will be together on a bitch in Cartagena remembering what brought us together.
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